Hi all. I am absolutely in love with my new model y long range with blue exterior. Most enjoyable car I have ever driven. The only issue I have is that more than any car I have ever owned, it seems the model y exterior is so hard to keep clean. It shows every speck of dirt and water spots are extremely common and tough to clean. Am I missing something or doing something wrong? I welcome any ideas or insights you have.
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Model Y washing question
- Thread starter Captain78
- Start date
Have you ever owned a dark color car? I've had several. I swear, I can detail a dark car, and before I have all the supplies put away, the car seems to have a coating of dirt/dust on it. I'm not joking!
So, sorry, it's your new-car joy of dark/shiny paint, and the reality that it shows dust/dirt very quickly after washing.
So, sorry, it's your new-car joy of dark/shiny paint, and the reality that it shows dust/dirt very quickly after washing.
Counterintuitively, darker colors show dirt much more than lighter colors. Black is my favorite car color... for about 5 minutes after washing.
Honestly - Tesla has the softest paint I've ever seen on any production vehicle in this respect. The color doesn't really matter - it's the paint that is the problem IMHO. We have a 2023 MY LR MSM. It's dark gray metallic almost the exact same color as the 2017 Honda Accord EX-L that my wife drove previous to the MY. I just spent 30 minutes using a high pressure spray washer as follows:
Pre-soak
Rinse
Foaming soap
Rinse
Wax
Rinse
No direct contact with the surface other than the high pressure sprayer process listed above. Same process I've literally used on no less than 30 other vehicles prior to owning our Tesla over a 36 year timespan brand agnostic. It's like the vehicle wasn't even washed. Same dirt caked on - no dirt was released from the paint (i.e. incredibly soft). I'm stunned at this quite honestly. Other vehicles I've owned with clearcoats come out shining brightly with no dirt left on the paint surface after the exact same process. I'd expect better paint quality after spending 60k on a luxury CUV. I can see why people spend 4-5k on aftermarket PPF and CC on these cars - it's likely the only way to keep them clean given how soft the paint seems to be.
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HitchHiker71: Tesla paint quality has been discussed in dozens of threads.
Soft? How new is your car? Teslas are delivered within a few days of manufacture, unlike legacy cars that take weeks+ to make it to the purchaser. It's probably that the paint just hasn't had enough time to cure fully.
Soft? How new is your car? Teslas are delivered within a few days of manufacture, unlike legacy cars that take weeks+ to make it to the purchaser. It's probably that the paint just hasn't had enough time to cure fully.
Agreed on the fact that it's been discussed in dozens of threads - doesn't make it any less of a flimsy excuse for a multi-billion dollar company that supposedly sells premium vehicles using crappy quality paint that is widely known for significant quality control issues across the board. Tesla is going to lose a significant amount of business to competition based upon this one issue alone if they don't get their act together and start focusing on delivering better customer experiences and delivering better quality control and using better quality paint over time.
Here's a pic of paint damage on the rear quarter panel right behind the left wheel well - again - car is only 40 days from delivery:
We took delivery of our vehicle on 3/30 - it was built on 3/14 - meaning it's been almost 60 days since the vehicle was built - which is more than enough time for any paint on this earth to fully cure. That's just another flimsy excuse IMHO. As a test - I took my five plus year old RAM 1500 through the exact same car wash process after we did the Tesla. The Delmonico Red paint is clean as a whistle and shining like it was nearly brand new - same exact wash process. Same process I've used on 30 other vehicles over the past 36 years without issue. This is a truck that sits outside in our driveway every single day - since it won't fit in our garage - bearing the brunt of whatever weather/sunlight we have every single day. It retailed for $63,500 in 2018 (I paid $47k plus TTL for it at that time).
I will put in a service ticket for the paint damage pictured above - but color me thoroughly unimpressed with the gremlins we've experienced with this vehicle since taking ownership. I fear we have made a rather significant 60k mistake with this purchase decision.
HitchHiker71: No "flimsy excuse" about the paint. Simple reality. Young paint is soft. In Texas sun, my Tesla hardened up in 45 days (fingernail test).
In Delaware, with your later (delayed?) Spring, and little sun (heat), I'd expect it to take considerably longer.
Your experience isn't unusual, I'm guessing Tesla has done little to change their delivery timing, nor have they improved their painting methods. I will say that, after waiting 60 days )since new) to have my car ceramic coated, now 2 years/44k miles later, the red paint on my 2021 MYLR is as good as the best paint I owned on mid-80s Audis. Just sayin'!
Buyer's remorse is a real bitch.
In Delaware, with your later (delayed?) Spring, and little sun (heat), I'd expect it to take considerably longer.
Your experience isn't unusual, I'm guessing Tesla has done little to change their delivery timing, nor have they improved their painting methods. I will say that, after waiting 60 days )since new) to have my car ceramic coated, now 2 years/44k miles later, the red paint on my 2021 MYLR is as good as the best paint I owned on mid-80s Audis. Just sayin'!
Buyer's remorse is a real bitch.
I guess I've literally never experienced this before in the past. That is what is shocking to me. We've literally owned no less than 30 vehicles over the past 36 years. Something is different about Tesla's paint in this respect. I've never had any vehicle's surface be able to hold onto dirt after being subjected to a powerwasher that contains soap intermixed in the stream. Never. Whether brand new or a decade old. To essentially require any Tesla owner to spend an additional 4-6k for PPF/CC on top of a luxury vehicle price tag - just to protect the crappy paint on the vehicle from the manufacturer - that's over the top IMHO. Literally no other manufacturer I've ever dealt with has this requirement. It's really disheartening to say the least. Leaves a really bad taste in my mouth so to speak.
I've also literally never experienced buyer's remorse on a vehicle purchase. You are correct, it's a real bitch to say the least. I've never really been an early adopter type person, but we thought Tesla having been mass producing vehicles since 2012 would have these fundamentals worked out, but apparently that's not the case. Our next BEV will most assuredly not be from this brand if shoddy built quality and crappy paint is what is par for the course.
I bought a big bottle of the stuff from amazon, so far it works fine. Car is clean and no swirl marks even under bright light. https://www.amazon.com/Optimum-NR2010G-Rinse-Wash-Shine/dp/B00GG9FK2M/
HitchHiker71: I think you're still missing my point. Your paint isn't fully cured. EVERY car you purchased in your 36 years of experience was probably at LEAST 60 days old. IMHO, this makes a big difference. You just can't compare 40-50 day old paint to your 5 year old truck paint.
I'm very sorry for your experience.
I'm very sorry for your experience.
csrpenfab
Member
I recently went to a Porsche Club tech day at "The Rag Company" HQ here in Boise. They did full demo of ONR using a member's Cayman. Their process is to take a bucket with 4 gallons of warm water. Add about four capfuls of ONR. Then add some of that solution to a hand pump sprayer. Use the pump to saturate the entire car, and then go over it with a wash mitt dipped in the bucket (with a grit guard). Then a final spray from the pump sprayer and dry the car with a good quality microfiber towel. This method works great, and I use it on my Boxster S to clean the entire car/wheels in about 15 minutes.
For my MYP, I did an Avalon King DIY ceramic coat and it gets driven through a good quality car wash every week or so. The coating is a year old and holding up great. I don't do the ONR rinse-less wash on this car since it's my daily driver. Being dark blue, it's got a few swirls but still looks great. I'm not going for "show car" paint car on my daily MYP. I'll save the muss/fuss for the Porsche.
I hear what you are saying, and I agree with your point that paint takes up to 60 days to fully cure. My issue is that, if Tesla knows this and there's a causal link between rapid delivery and paint problems, I don't see where this is documented anywhere for prospective customers nor actual customers that take delivery of these vehicles, which are definitely outside of the norms when compared to the 95% of automotive buyers that have driven other vehicles for decades prior to considering a Tesla purchase. I know, because I searched using the word "paint" on both the public Tesla website, and I also searched and read the entire Cleaning section of the owner's manual here:
Model Y Owner's Manual | Tesla
Learn how to properly clean the interior and exterior of your vehicle.
www.tesla.com
There's literally no mention of what you're referring to, which again, for a multi-billion dollar company, is delivering a rather dismal customer experience, especially if Tesla has awareness of these issues, and I'm pretty certain they are plenty aware. They simply don't care enough to do anything about it. As you yourself said, nothing has changed over the past two years in so far as delivery timing, or paint improvement, yet people just seem to accept these issues as par for the course - then go spend 4-6k to fix problems that the manufacturer should be fixing. Perhaps Tesla should consider focusing less on cost cutting and price cuts - and focus more on actual improvement of their delivery processes and products to promote better customer experiences to win more customers to their brand, because they've pretty much lost any repeat business for me. Just my two cents of course.
My chief concern for Tesla is that the fanboy base has already been saturated. The remaining 95% of consumers that aren't early adopters - aren't going to put up with these kind of product/process deficits or dismal customer experiences. Product demand is already falling off for Tesla products - inventories are already building up according to the trackers on this forum, and Tesla is likely going to have to pause factory production looking ahead due to increasing market competition that does not have these same quality control issues. If the reason for these paint problems is really due to rapid delivery - then perhaps Tesla should simply openly admit to and then document these issues in the owner's manual to make prospective and new customers readily aware.
So the reality check (and hugely unpopular opinions) here are this:
1) Tesla is objectively bad at some of the basics of building cars. Panel fit and paint are two notable areas where the "world's most advanced car company" isn't good at stuff nearly every other automaker is good at. The nonsense replies you get here about all the things you're supposed to tolerate or do are mostly insulting to the reader. It should be possible -- as it is with any Toyota, Audi, or Chevy -- to just keep the car clean and expect the paint to look great for at least a couple of years. (Cue the 19 responses, "All I do is this 9 hour cleaning routine and it looks better than any other car I've ever owned").
2) It makes absolutely no sense to spend 4-6k protecting mediocre paint. I know people here do it. I know people on the Facebook groups do it. But the logic of doing it? Just no... stop talking yourself into such a thing. It's a ~$50,000 car. How is it worth 10% of the purchase price to "protect" something that isn't all that good to begin with. It seems somewhat sensible for someone intended to keep the car for a while to buy a white one and pay for a professional, high-quality wrap. First of all, that will largely protect the factory paint for years (valuable for resale to a point). Second of all, the companies like 3M that make such films make them to be washable and maintainable. Third of all, you can get a color of some style rather than yet another white/grey/black car or Tesla's OK but long-in-the-tooth red and blue.
I will note I am a long-time Tesla owner. I have had one since 2016. We just ordered a new Model Y to replace the Model X. We are leasing. I don't want to own this car long term because I am quite certain that the build quality will fail to impress and the long term wear and tear on the exterior will disappoint. (Ironically, assuming the drivetrain is glitch free at the start I could imagine that serving well for 10+ years easily).
At the end of my lease, the paint will be Tesla's problem and not mine.
Thanks for taking the time to respond in detail. I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. I've been an auto enthusiast for 36 years now and some of the issues I've experienced are frankly just due to a combination of relative inexperience building automobiles, or just not prioritizing delivering good customer experiences as a general rule. I know that Musk really doesn't value customer success conceptually internal to Tesla - he's fired entire teams over the past few years dedicated to this function, so I'm not shocked per se, but it's still disappointing on some level. The leasing idea is a good one, provided the lease deals are acceptable. I briefly looked at the lease pricing and didn't find it very attractive at the time, but will take a closer look at it when the CT finally comes to market and my number comes up.
I am a new 2023 Model Y LR midnight silver metallic owner; picked it up on July 11. Been reading all these posts on Tesla paint. I don't want to be spending $5k PPF nor an expensive $3k for professional ceramic treatment so I've been looking for DIY solutions.
While there are DIY products for wrapping, it's not easy for an amateur to be doing that well. So my focus has been on DIY ceramic products and something that is easier to use. Won't last anywhere need a professional treatment but a whole heck a lot less expensive. Reading reviews and watching Youtube videos, Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating was rated well (Turtle Wax claims it supposedly would last a year - I'd be happy with even half that much) so I purchased it along with the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic 3-1 Detailer and the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wash and Wax. I'm ready to go.
In particular, I got a spot of tree sap on the door and I couldn't get it off - it's faded after using different products but I can still see it which prompted me to get this done now before more hard to remove stuff gets on the car.
However, reading the posts here, I've learned new paint needs some time to breath and cure - especially on Tesla cars, So I have two questions:
1. How long do I need to wait before using DIY ceramic products?
2. In the meantime, waiting for the paint cure, how do I protect my car from bird crap, tree sap etc?
Note - I saw videos where CERAKOTE Rapid Ceramic Paint Sealant, while a sealant, supposedly allows new car paint to breathe and you wouldn't need to wait for new car paint to cure but it has a different silicon formulation and a bit more preparation before using than the Turtle Wax product. Has anyone had experience with it?
While there are DIY products for wrapping, it's not easy for an amateur to be doing that well. So my focus has been on DIY ceramic products and something that is easier to use. Won't last anywhere need a professional treatment but a whole heck a lot less expensive. Reading reviews and watching Youtube videos, Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating was rated well (Turtle Wax claims it supposedly would last a year - I'd be happy with even half that much) so I purchased it along with the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic 3-1 Detailer and the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wash and Wax. I'm ready to go.
In particular, I got a spot of tree sap on the door and I couldn't get it off - it's faded after using different products but I can still see it which prompted me to get this done now before more hard to remove stuff gets on the car.
However, reading the posts here, I've learned new paint needs some time to breath and cure - especially on Tesla cars, So I have two questions:
1. How long do I need to wait before using DIY ceramic products?
2. In the meantime, waiting for the paint cure, how do I protect my car from bird crap, tree sap etc?
Note - I saw videos where CERAKOTE Rapid Ceramic Paint Sealant, while a sealant, supposedly allows new car paint to breathe and you wouldn't need to wait for new car paint to cure but it has a different silicon formulation and a bit more preparation before using than the Turtle Wax product. Has anyone had experience with it?
