Model S Plaid: Paint chipping on Rear quarter panel and doors

[EPOWER PLAID]

Love this car. I don't drive it on dirt roads and only hand wash. My rear quarter panels are getting chipped. Looks like the New flare out is catching the road debris. Anyone else seeing this on their car? only 800 miles

his?

 

[impastu]

I drove from delivery at SC to detailer for PPF...intend to install mud flaps when I get her back in my driveway. Bought the Amazon generic ones that @jebinc had a good experience with.

 

[aerodyne]

All day everyday!

Then, think of them as little tiny badges of honor....

 

[krsgio]

My 2015 was getting rock chips in that section and lower door so I wouldnt say its just specific to the plaid. I made some carbon fiber splash guards on the front to prevent them throwing rocks with my more agressive offset and sticky tires which seemed to help for me but if I was getting a new car PPF for sure would be going on these areas.

 

[headcase]

Yeah, with Tesla's notorious soft paint, hard acceleration, and now wider body panels, this car is literally screaming for PPF.

First thing I am doing when I pick up mine is PPF all over.

 

[razh]

That much damage from 800 miles!?!? How does Tesla expect it to look after 50k miles?

Widebodies must always be accompanied by well-designed front mud flaps, but I guess Tesla missed the memo.

 

[Buddha2345]

I’ve got the same thing going on, didn’t notice until I washed car first time at 800 miles.

 

[ct101]

Weird - mine came with PPF already applied to those areas? Maybe Tesla knows this is an issue??

Edit: maybe SCs are peeling this off during delivery prep, not knowing it’s supposed to stay??

 

[Buddha2345]

Mine came with it also, not helping that much at all. Bigger rocks go right through it and it doesn’t cover enough area. It’s getting tore up, issue needs attention from Tesla.

 

[razh]

Has anyone brought this issue up with their service center?

 

[headcase]

I now see aftermarket carbon fiber mud flaps in the future... otherwise, it’s like sandblasting those rear panels all day long.

 

[Tdriver]

Its a known issue with the MYP also. I added the front mudflaps and that fixed it. They are the contoured ones that look nice on the car.

 

[xEvoLveDx]

Can you guys post some more pics of this that are further out so we can get an idea of the entire area that needs to be covered in PPF? Also is it happening on the back edge of the rear door as well? The more pics the better! Thanks!

 

[Buddha2345]

Are there any mud flaps for 2021?

 

[razh]

Are there any mud flaps for 2021?

no. If they add it, they’ll need to decrease EPA rating on range

 

[WiLz]

Mine also came with a piece of film to that area.

But I had it removed when I did PPF to the whole car for a cleaner look.

 

[headcase]

Mine also came with a piece of film to that area.

View attachment 687895

But I had it removed when I did PPF to the whole car for a cleaner look.

The PPF on that section comes on all the refreshes now, to help mitigate the chipping that is going to result from the wider stance. But that won’t be enough.

 

[razh]

The original PPF from Tesla is 13 mils thick, which is the same as XPEL's Armor PPF.
Regular PPF is anywhere from as thin as 1 mil (wrap) to 10 mil (XPEL's regular stuff).

Given how bad the chips look at only 800 miles, there is no way I wouldn't recommend replacing the factory 13 mil PPF with something thinner.

 

[Art VandeIay]

to 10 mil (XPEL's regular stuff)

The "regular" XPEL Ultimate Plus has a nominal thickness rating of 7.6 mil. It was very briefly called XPEL Ultimate Plus 8 (when Ultimate Plus 10 was released).

XPEL Ultimate Plus 10 has a nominal thickness rating of 9.6 mil.

And XPEL Ultimate Plus 7 has a nominal thickness rating of 6.6 mil, but it's mainly designed for interior surfaces.

 

[juanmedina]

The sticky tires blasting every that they pick up on road. PPF is a must on those areas.