Model 3 Scratches All Over And What Tesla's Tech Said

[electronblue]

Tesla paint isn’t worse than any other.

The thing is, it looks like for some Model 3s built in a certain timeframe Tesla paint seems to be worse than many others, so we can’t really dismiss these reports without knowing if this car might be one of them.

Is it an area people touch when opening or closing the doors?

As one possibility, you may wish to read the thread about paint issues, if the paint issues are in areas that may be subject to wear and tear from touch - or if they may be lacking in paint:

Model 3 paint wearing off

Most reports are based on road rash but there are also reports that touching by finger could leave more marks than is usual for cars of this kind.

There is a theory that some later 2018 or early 2019 made cars at least have thinner and softer paint than previously and that shows in easier wear on the doors as well as possibly a see-through effect from too little paint in some areas of the car.

Here is a picture of the see-through effect in some painted areas:

Here are a couple of more extreme examples of the wear and tear:

 

[Johnii__82]

Im sending these pics about a new model 3 thats been purchases 6 months ago. I had a Kia Soul for 10 years and when I sold it the paint was in better condition than my current Model 3.
Im curious if you guys experience a similar situation. The strange this is that the tech in Tesla mtl literally told me that Tesla’s paint is not good quality and that their head office told them that after the car had driven 250km they will do nothing to fix this problem. For a car at this price this is pathetic to say the least. I wonder if any of you that experienced this pushed the matter further.View attachment 420990View attachment 420991 View attachment 420992View attachment 420993 View attachment 420994

You are experiencing the same issues what i have.

Attention to Tesla Model 3 owners - there are hundreds of Model 3 owners worldwide who are not happy with the paint of Model 3. There are many Model 3 Teslas in Canada that have a rust problem already and Finland Model 3 owners at least 20 people have noticed their paint wearing off in 1 month of usage & driving in normal clean roads. #TeslaPaintIssues #TeslaQualityIssues

This is not normal wear and tear, it is clear that this is a production issue. That’s why we are filing a group complaint against Tesla. Public complaint: Consumer advocacy service Check this thread also from Twitter: J Savolainen on Twitter

If you are a Tesla Model 3 owner who has a legitimate reason to file a complaint against Tesla, please sign our group complaint and join our Facebook group to get more info about the issue.
Tesla Model 3 owners worldwide with paint issues

Also you can update your details to the Google Sheets document which you can find here:
Global Tesla model 3 paint problems

Check my model 3 pictures after 1300 miles ( 4 weeks usage ). It is not looking driving only paved & tarmac roads with summer tires starting on 29.3.2019.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QzikQ60_nTfUiT2_QspvrnJHChdh1muO?fbclid=IwAR0ad4mIACHweV2sJFg_ai5e-XcRnmT8867EsEHQZXKdIgQGSnVR4Dvqeqg

 

[M109Rider]

How is this Tesla’s issue, or a paint quality issue. ?
The car paint has clearly been scratched.

 

[M109Rider]

You are experiencing the same issues what i have.

Attention to Tesla Model 3 owners - there are hundreds of Model 3 owners worldwide who are not happy with the paint of Model 3. There are many Model 3 Teslas in Canada that have a rust problem already and Finland Model 3 owners at least 20 people have noticed their paint wearing off in 1 month of usage & driving in normal clean roads. #TeslaPaintIssues #TeslaQualityIssues

This is not normal wear and tear, it is clear that this is a production issue. That’s why we are filing a group complaint against Tesla. Public complaint: Consumer advocacy service Check this thread also from Twitter: J Savolainen on Twitter

If you are a Tesla Model 3 owner who has a legitimate reason to file a complaint against Tesla, please sign our group complaint and join our Facebook group to get more info about the issue.
Tesla Model 3 owners worldwide with paint issues

Also you can update your details to the Google Sheets document which you can find here:
Global Tesla model 3 paint problems

Check my model 3 pictures after 1300 miles ( 4 weeks usage ). It is not looking driving only paved & tarmac roads with summer tires starting on 29.3.2019.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QzikQ60_nTfUiT2_QspvrnJHChdh1muO?fbclid=IwAR0ad4mIACHweV2sJFg_ai5e-XcRnmT8867EsEHQZXKdIgQGSnVR4Dvqeqg

I see dirt, water, and wear and tear on your car paint.
Could have been from poor care of the paint. Who knows.

All black cars show marks.
This thread is a little dramatic.

 

[Johnii__82]

I see dirt, water, and wear and tear on your car paint.
Could have been from poor care of the paint. Who knows.

All black cars show marks.
This thread is a little dramatic.

There is no dramatic if the paint is not good enough to hold on normal daily use or it is not durable. At this point it looks very bad.

Why they are removing then the BLACK paint or changing the default to WHITE ? And adding extra 1000 $ to the black?

Elon Musk on Twitter

 

[ngogas]

Hmm black paint on any car will show scratches if you don’t take care of it. In this particular case it looks like a bad rag was used.

Others maybe legit paint issues but this one to me doesn’t. Is there any light color paint that shows paint coming off or fading?

 

[forkee]

y'all need to stop blaming auto car washes. if this was the result of the rolling brushes (or slapping squids as I call it) you would see a repetitive and consistent scratch/swirl marks over the entire car (see pic), not random multidirectional swirls in various areas. plus car washes uses air to dry, much better than dry cloths that can abrade the paint.

granted, some drive thru ones can damage the paint/clear coat, but there is a whole spectrum of washes that offer different amount and kind of brushes or touchless.

 

[voip-ninja]

There is no dramatic if the paint is not good enough to hold on normal daily use or it is not durable. At this point it looks very bad.

Why they are removing then the BLACK paint or changing the default to WHITE ? And adding extra 1000 $ to the black?

Elon Musk on Twitter

All it would take is washing the car with a dirty cloth and trying to rub off small dirt marks to create scratches like that.

I do agree that Tesla paint is not as good as it is on other premium marquees, however there is a difference between lower quality paint and simply abusing the car and being shocked that the car is getting scratched up.

Black is 100% the hardest to maintain "color" that a car can be painted and will show even light scratches rather dramatically. My dark blue one I was pretty careful with and ceramic coated it but there's still some fine scratches here and there due to the extreme contrast between the dark paint color and the clear coat getting scuffed.

If you own a dark color car and want it to stay fresh you HAVE to learn how to wash the car properly with two buckets, clean microfiber towels checked for contaminants that can scratch the paint, etc. You have to learn how to dry a car properly.

Running it through any kind of automatic car wash because you don't want to put the effort in to clean it yourself means you will have a pretty scuffed up looking car in short order.

If you want the car to look as good as possible for as long as possible and somewhat reduce your effort in the washing/waxing department then get the car ceramic coated.

 

[super20g]

There are several threads and even Facebook groups (see #TeslaPaintIssues on Twitter for example) about the softness of the Model 3 paint in cars built in/after the second half of 2018.

Model 3 paint wearing off

Paint Issue

Paint Issues : TeslaLounge

Well, good thing the whole front clip on my MSM has been repainted twice by a 3rd party body shop. Never thought a repaint would be a good feature on a new car...

 

[super20g]

Why they are removing then the BLACK paint or changing the default to WHITE ? And adding extra 1000 $ to the black? Elon Musk on Twitter

 

[juanmedina]

Is a back car and that doesn't look bad. If you cannot feel the scratches with your finger nails they will buff out. I will never own a black car ever again and I glad that didn't go with black on my model 3. I am glad Tesla switch the free color to plain white so people that don't know better do not complain.

From this:

To this:

 

[pipestem]

I feel the OP pain, but I think the comments here on black paint in general and Tesla paint in particular are somewhat over the top. I am at 6 months and 7k miles and the black paint looks new and gets compliments. We've had and still have other black cars and no irregular wear (except for a major hail storm once).

edit: lol, i see the Elon tweet from yesterday. look on the bright side, maybe they will improve the black paint process.

 

[super20g]

I wonder if the new white will replace the multi coat white or be an addition. Black looks beautiful clean with a fresh detail job but dang it is hard to maintain on a daily driver.

 

[Lhshockey24]

Obsidian black properly washed+waxed versus Obsidian black after off-roading. Had I tried to rinse and wipe off all that dirt with just a rag my car would look like the OP’s in 5 min.

Also RIP Obsidian Black

 

[tashtibet]

first it says,"new model 3" and I was wtf and then 6 months old-common man !!!!

 

[Scott7]

You are experiencing the same issues what i have.

Isn't your issue about road rash? That's totally different from scratches in the paint. Unlike road rash, one can very easily cause scratches in black paint on any car from any brand just from poor washing/drying technique.

I think your issue is a legitimate complaint, but in my opinion it damages your cause when trying to include issues that affect all cars under the same umbrella. It comes across as alarmist. Just my 2 cents.

 

[CarterStC]

My MSM developed a bunch of scratches on the passenger side around the handles. I think my daughter was scratching it somehow. I used a bit of polish and a microfiber towel, and I was shocked how quickly the scratches buffed out! They looked deeper than they were.

 

[electronblue]

Isn't your issue about road rash? That's totally different from scratches in the paint. Unlike road rash, one can very easily cause scratches in black paint on any car from any brand just from poor washing/drying technique.

I think your issue is a legitimate complaint, but in my opinion it damages your cause when trying to include issues that affect all cars under the same umbrella. It comes across as alarmist. Just my 2 cents.

Not really. As far as I understand @Johnii__82 ’s car also suffers from abnormal paint scratching from the sheer softness of the paint.

 

[forkee]

My MSM developed a bunch of scratches on the passenger side around the handles. I think my daughter was scratching it somehow. I used a bit of polish and a microfiber towel, and I was shocked how quickly the scratches buffed out! They looked deeper than they were.

probably fingernails, rings, bracelets, watches

 

[Uncle Paul]

Maybe this is why Tesla has changed the Model 3 standard paint from black to white. White is much better at hiding scratches. Black is the hardest to keep looking pristine.

Agreed with others, looks like your paint has seen some abuse.