My 19 Inch Slipstream Wheels Have Very Soft Coating. Anyone Else?

[BaileyDog12]

I picked up the car last week and driven it about half those days. I've put on like 300 miles on it I think but nothing too crazy.

So today I was taking a look at the car, everything looks great. But then I take a closer look at the 19 inch slipstream wheels.

All 4 slipstream wheels have rock chips! The worst one is the front passenger wheel - there's like 4 rock chips and scrapes on that alone!

The damage is occurring about an inch out from the center cap. I guess rocks are getting picked up, ping ponging off other slipstream spokes causing the scratch/chip damage and then exiting.

I have not driven on any crazy roads...just the typical freeway and open suburb streets of So Cal.

I'll post some pics when I get the energy.

Anyone else have this issue or just me?

 

[BaileyDog12]

Pictures probably help! I think it's a design flaw where debris gets picked up too easily, or the coating used out the factory is WAY too soft. It'll be interesting to see how beat up these wheels look after 1 year at this rate. Other than this cosmetic issue, the car has been great. At the end of the day, not the biggest deal. I wonder if Opticoat would have helped though I doubt a 2 mm sealant would have made much difference.

Front Passenger (yup those are nicks and stratches ):

Rear Passenger Side:

Rear Driver Side:

Front Drivers Side:

 

[Edmond]

It takes like a month for the coatings (paint, clear coat) to harden, as they're low-VOC. This applies to the whole car.

 

[Tdriver]

I would make sure Tesla makes note of this. If it is caused by the design of the wheel others should start reporting it.

 

[BaileyDog12]

It takes like a month for the coatings (paint, clear coat) to harden, as they're low-VOC. This applies to the whole car.

Never thought of doing this, but just did email Tesla per your suggestion! Hopefully I can help future owners avoid the same issues I have had on the wheels. I do think that's a lot of damage on the wheels for one week of ownership.

 

[WestCoastP85D]

Did you try to buff those out with NuFinish or similar? Should be able to make it less apparent, doesn't look too deep.

 

[BaileyDog12]

Did you try to buff those out with NuFinish or similar? Should be able to make it less apparent, doesn't look too deep.

Didn't try to buff it out with any orbital buffer (don't have one). I used some Meguiar's instant detailer I had and used a lot of elbow grease and microfiber towels and those scratches are definitely there on those wheels. Perhaps a few scratches could be buffed out and some clear coat would survive underneath.

But the passenger front wheel has chips that definitely cannot be buffed out. You can feel the chips on those that would require a wheel repair guy already.

 

[BaileyDog12]

I would make sure Tesla makes note of this. If it is caused by the design of the wheel others should start reporting it.

oops meant to say to you and not Edmond that I followed your suggestion and emailed Tesla.

 

[BaileyDog12]

Fwiw, i emailed tesla on this a week ago and nobody from Tesla bothered to acknowledge I sent the email to date.

So it is what it is.

Not sure the other 19 inch or 21s have better coating but keep that in mind.

If anyone else with these new wheels have similar issues, would be interesting to know to help future buyers

 

[WMAC]

That looks like damage from the big tool that they use to fasten all five bolts simultaneously at the factory.

 

[BaileyDog12]

That looks like damage from the big tool that they use to fasten all five bolts simultaneously at the factory.

Hmmm i dont recall damage taking delivery. Also i know for certain i looked at the wheels almost everytime after i drove it and only 1 wheel had the scuffs at first. Then it seemed overnight all 4 were scuffed.

Guess i had some bad luck.

Definitely dont recall driving over anything too crazy.

 

[WMAC]

FF to 16:30 and see if it's possible the socket tool lines up where your scratches are:

I think they are too uniform in placement to be from happenstance.

 

[BaileyDog12]

FF to 16:30 and see if it's possible the socket tool lines up where your scratches are:

I think they are too uniform in placement to be from happenstance.

Haha thanks WMAC. Why'd you have to show me this video????

I see what you are saying now. I don't want to think negatively and think Tesla could deliver me a car with scratched rims and put polish on there to cover it up when I took delivery.

I also have to be honest in that I don't recall all 4 wheels being scuffed like that. I recall 1 wheel being scuffed and the other 3 looked fine. Then I swear days later, all 4 got scuffed like they are now from out of nowhere (granted AFTER I took Meguiars instant detailer and cleaned the rims off). But who knows, my mind could be tricking me either way.

Now that you've shown me the video, I see what you mean. But how could they do it to all 4 freaking wheels? It appears there's a human being who has to line up the machine. One wheel? Yeah maybe. All 4?

I know they were cranking these vehicles out so anything is possible.

I don't want to accuse Tesla of anything. I guess I can follow up and politely ask about it. I will say that I am dissappointed they never responded to my initial email with "thanks for the feedback, we appreciate it and will forward your notes to R&D." I wasn't even looking for them to do anything other than an acknowledgment so that my experience could help future owners.

 

[WMAC]

My first thought was, new wheels, new procedure with old tool. Maybe the guy bolting them on used the old alignment method on new wheels and hit the fins that weren't there before. If nothing, call your DS and say, "I don't know if this happened during assembly, but, I have identical scratches on all four of my wheels that look like it could have happened during assembly and I didn't notice until a couple days ago. Have you ever seen this before?" See what he says.

I know when I took delivery, I was so excited that there were several things I overlooked until days or weeks later. They took care of it. You paid a lot of money for this car and you aren't trying to get one over on them. Any way you look at it, your wheels shouldn't have scratches on them.

FWIW, that's exactly why I have matte black TSportline slipstreams I can fix scratches myself;-) Maybe this is a good push to get yours powder coated black or gray.

 

[BaileyDog12]

My first thought was, new wheels, new procedure with old tool. Maybe the guy bolting them on used the old alignment method on new wheels and hit the fins that weren't there before. If nothing, call your DS and say, "I don't know if this happened during assembly, but, I have identical scratches on all four of my wheels that look like it could have happened during assembly and I didn't notice until a couple days ago. Have you ever seen this before?" See what he says.

I know when I took delivery, I was so excited that there were several things I overlooked until days or weeks later. They took care of it. You paid a lot of money for this car and you aren't trying to get one over on them. Any way you look at it, your wheels shouldn't have scratches on them.

FWIW, that's exactly why I have matte black TSportline slipstreams I can fix scratches myself;-) Maybe this is a good push to get yours powder coated black or gray.

Yeah I did not realize that the scratches were evenly spaced between the lugs on all 4 wheels like that till you pointed it out. After realizing that, I can see that it definitely could be during the bolting stage and/or the rock chip scenario.

Yeah I barely examined the car when I took delivery. In fact, the doors were locked so I didn't have a chance to look inside till I signed the papers. I know that if I asked they would have obliged, but I was trying not to be overly uptight and anal (which I totally can be). I can see why some owners took those 144 point checklists with them to take delivery.

So this is a lesson learned. Note to self: Always buy the fancy upgraded wheels or get fancy aftermarket rims like WMAC

 

[BaileyDog12]

Delivery team and service team stepped up for me today very quickly after I expressed some dismay about lack of follow up this morning. WMAC's post got me thinking it was unlikely to be rock chips.

Had a chance to go into Service today and a service manager checked things out. He acknowledged the scuffs though its still to be determined the next course of action. He did say they were not rock chips in his opinion.

If the damage occured prior to delivery, i was told it would have been from a spinning machine that come after wheel install and not from the lug nut socket machine.

To be continued...

i will say i appreciate tesla and its employees trying to get this right instead of telling me i didnt pay close enough attention during delivery.

I would tell prospective owners to look closely inside and outside the car and not feel rushed or too cool for school. Inspect the car for a good 10-15 minutes and tell them to leave you alone while you do it.

 

[My Dakine]

Delivery team and service team stepped up for me today very quickly after I expressed some dismay about lack of follow up this morning. WMAC's post got me thinking it was unlikely to be rock chips.

Had a chance to go into Service today and a service manager checked things out. He acknowledged the scuffs though its still to be determined the next course of action. He did say they were not rock chips in his opinion.

If the damage occured prior to delivery, i was told it would have been from a spinning machine that come after wheel install and not from the lug nut socket machine.

To be continued...

i will say i appreciate tesla and its employees trying to get this right instead of telling me i didnt pay close enough attention during delivery.

I would tell prospective owners to look closely inside and outside the car and not feel rushed or too cool for school. Inspect the car for a good 10-15 minutes and tell them to leave you alone while you do it.

That a good ideal to be left alone so you don't feel rushed.

 

[Tanquen]

Yea, I just can’t see those being chips from road debris. It’s too uniform in location to the lugs. Looks like whatever was used to mount the tires marked them up.

 

[Alex D]

I'm glad Tesla is going in the right direction for you. Sounds like they're willing to make it right. Good luck!

 

[BaileyDog12]

Months ago, Tesla swapped out my wheels after I voiced the concern it was a delivery issue ( and I honestly think it was). The service center manager and everyone involved that I spoke with (a total of 2 or 3 people) were so pleasant about it and very accommodating.

I got the wheels swapped out and now I have wheels that are not chipped.

2 Thumbs up for Tesla customer service. Car has been great.