MX17 - FalconWing Door weather stripping deteriorating - Not covered by Warranty

[mycrew143]

Hi All,

2017 MX 36k miles... excellent condition...(other than this)
Has anyone else experienced the top edge of the falcon wing doors surrounding the roof glass just deteriorating, cracking, breaking and melting to the underside door frame???
I went to the SC and they said it is not cover under warranty because it is rubber. A $1k each door to fix!!!!

I have included pictures...

Let me know your thoughts. I don't see how this can not be covered. I looked at the new car warranty I see no provision to eliminate this from warranty. Plus I do not use the falcon wing doors that much so it is not a to much usage issue.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[ps004ynos]

I'm not sure on the specific warranty language but I agree with you, they should cover it. I think the problem is (correct me if I'm wrong) but the seals are a part of the doors, so replacement is very expensive (thus their hesitation to fix it). I believe at least one person posted on the FB model X group that he paid for the fix but he was well past 50k miles.

 

[mycrew143]

The seals are built onto the glass panels on the roof of the falcon wing door.

 

[Akikiki]

Odd. First time I have heard of this. If it was common we would have heard about it in a lot of places, not just here. Makes me wonder what's been used or applied or dripping down on your roof. Especially only 2 years old or younger. Sounds like there's a contributing chemical impacting this. But what do I know? Nuthin'.

 

[ShawnA]

Hi Mycrew43,

I don't know exactly where this seal is... Is the rubber deteriorating or is the aluminum body of the car
dissolving. I see that you are in Florida.
Your proximity or lack of proximity to the ocean could be a factor.
Salt water is quite corrosive to aluminum. If the salt water accumulates and penetrates to bare aluminum
you will have trouble similar to your pictures...

Good luck,

Shawn

PS - Ozone and bright sunlight are enemies of rubber. Is the car garaged or shaded?

 

[jgrgnt]

Same issue. March 2017 X 90D. Service Center replaced the glass under warranty. I guess the left side wasn't that bad (yet), so only the right side was replaced.

 

[mycrew143]

This seal is on 3 sides of the falcon wing roof window attached directly to the roof glass. I love my X and the only thing that has touch this is sun, rain, wind, dirt, car shampoo and water. I used a water Ionizer when I wash the car. PFF on front and ceramic coat all over. No tree dropping or chemicals. Other rubber in the area is not affected. Only around the glass.
jgagnt, did you have to put a fight to get them to replace it?
ShawnA, I actually never took it to the beach or close to it. I was about 20 miles from salt water. It did not occur( or I did not noticed it ) until I moved to California about a month ago. If you look at the picture rubber is running across the center roof section has no issues.
I am wondering if the black paint is amplifying the deterioration of the molding?

 

[jgrgnt]

This seal is on 3 sides of the falcon wing roof window attached directly to the roof glass. I love my X and the only thing that has touch this is sun, rain, wind, dirt, car shampoo and water. I used a water Ionizer when I wash the car. PFF on front and ceramic coat all over. No tree dropping or chemicals. Other rubber in the area is not affected. Only around the glass.
jgagnt, did you have to put a fight to get them to replace it?
ShawnA, I actually never took it to the beach or close to it. I was about 20 miles from salt water. It did not occur( or I did not noticed it ) until I moved to California about a month ago. If you look at the picture rubber is running across the center roof section has no issues.
I am wondering if the black paint is amplifying the deterioration of the molding?

No, I didn’t need to fight for it. They replaced it without protest. I can’t imagine why they would deny a warranty claim. I’ve never seen rubber seals deteriorate so quickly. Note the part revision ends in K, which possibly means Tesla went through several iterations of this part before finding a composition that didn’t deteriorate.

 

[Brian's ReX]

While I wholeheartedly believe Tesla should cover this... for those that are worried about their rubber seals (I'm not convinced Tesla didn't use substandard rubber), Krytox is a fantastic rubber treatment! (disclaimer: I do not work for, nor am I associated with, Krytox, or whomever makes/sells it in any way)

However, it's expensive and 'interesting' to apply!

To see posts like this makes me glad I live in the northern climate, as well as keeping it garaged! To the OP... I would try to escalate this and see if you can plead your case that this is 'unacceptable rubber degradation'. It looks to me like it's just a case of serious UV damage - but I'm not an expert!

Good luck!

 

[Akikiki]

... (I'm not convinced Tesla didn't use substandard rubber)...

I too hope they repair it under warranty. But let's be fair to the "system". Highly unlikely that Tesla choose the rubber compound themselves or made the strips. They did decide on that supplier, and they may have stuck it to Tesla with a poor product.

 

[rainforest]

I can’t really see where this is. Pictures are too close up.

 

[VikH]

Wow. Push back hard on the SC. This should be covered. Maybe show them the service invoice from @jgrgnt

 

[re04586]

I went to the SC and they said it is not cover under warranty because it is rubber. A $1k each door to fix!!!!

Sorry to hear about your experience.

The Tesla of today is not the same as the Tesla pre Model 3. They are more and more likely to refuse repairs under warranty, even issues they used to consider a warranty item.

Take the yellow border for example, this used to be a warranty item, now it is not covered. They refer to this from page 7 of the warranty listing some exclusions:
"The environment or an act of God, including, but not limited to, exposure to sunlight, airborne chemicals, tree sap, animal or insect droppings, road debris (including stone chips), industry fallout, rail dust, salt, hail, floods, wind and (thunder)storms, acid rain, fire, water, contamination, lightning and other environmental conditions."

I can see them claiming that the sun caused this issue, thereby relieving them of the warranty obligation. To be clear, I don't agree with that interpretation, but be warned they might use it. The fact that others have been able to get this repaired under warranty before, does not guarantee it is covered today.

 

[alcibiades]

Sorry to hear about your experience.

The Tesla of today is not the same as the Tesla pre Model 3. They are more and more likely to refuse repairs under warranty, even issues they used to consider a warranty item.

Take the yellow border for example, this used to be a warranty item, now it is not covered. They refer to this from page 7 of the warranty listing some exclusions:
"The environment or an act of God, including, but not limited to, exposure to sunlight, airborne chemicals, tree sap, animal or insect droppings, road debris (including stone chips), industry fallout, rail dust, salt, hail, floods, wind and (thunder)storms, acid rain, fire, water, contamination, lightning and other environmental conditions."

I can see them claiming that the sun caused this issue, thereby relieving them of the warranty obligation. To be clear, I don't agree with that interpretation, but be warned they might use it. The fact that others have been able to get this repaired under warranty before, does not guarantee it is covered today.

Sunlight and heat aren't the same thing. That the screen can't handle temperatures isn't an "exposure to sunlight" problem. That's absurd.

 

[Terthen]

I agree it should be covered. For my X, the seal tore, necessitating replacing the entire roof glass assembly for that door. It shouldn’t deteriorate that fast.

 

[Hornetdoc]

Hi All,

2017 MX 36k miles... excellent condition...(other than this)
Has anyone else experienced the top edge of the falcon wing doors surrounding the roof glass just deteriorating, cracking, breaking and melting to the underside door frame???
I went to the SC and they said it is not cover under warranty because it is rubber. A $1k each door to fix!!!!

I have included pictures...

Let me know your thoughts. I don't see how this can not be covered. I looked at the new car warranty I see no provision to eliminate this from warranty. Plus I do not use the falcon wing doors that much so it is not a to much usage issue.

Let me know your thoughts. View attachment 440996 View attachment 440998

I just recently had the same thing happen in the same area. 2016 signature Model X P90D. Bringing into shop this week. Will let you know if they will cover it. Agree that it should be covered. Have never seen this in any other car I’ve ever owned (35 years are counting)

 

[gangzoom]

Have never seen this in any other car I’ve ever owned (35 years are counting)

Our X at 2 years old and 28k is currently in the shop with likely front upper suspension arm failure. In 20 years of car ownership I've never had a cars suspension fail so quickly.

As much as I love our X we have to admit Tesla understands very little about how to build a good automotive that can last the test of time. The bad MCU glue, suspension failures, seals wearing prematurely, all of this stuff shows just how amateurish Tesla is when it comes to car construction.

Am inclined to try and sell ours before the warranty expires, only if Lexus did an alternative EV .

 

[Lhshockey24]

We have had this replaced twice under warranty. The second time they replaced the entire glass. The issue has already returned within 6 months.

 

[ajdelange]

I used a water Ionizer when I wash the car.

Tell me more about that please. I use de-ionized (RO) water to wash as I am too lazy to wipe and don't want streaks.

Just to be clear: I am not suggesting that "ionized", whatever that means in your particular case, water is responsible for the rubber deterioration.

 

[Dogdude222]

My 2016 Signature P90D had the same thing. The rubber basically deteriorated to black goo. Previous owner thought it was "grease" from the doors which was depositing on the roof. Tesla mobile service out of Boise replaced both FWD roof glass panels under warranty. Mine were so bad I couldn't even wash the car without ruining a wash mitt permanently.