maximus96
Member
what are you guys using to wash your car? I washed it twice so far with no such discolorations. I foam gun with Mother's California Gold and wash with Carpro Reload. No issues so far.
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MY Door Trim Discoloration
- Thread starter jeffpaz
- Start date
Ironman793
Member
I think it's mostly from drive through touch-less car washes, which I've used for years on many different cars and have never had an issue like this.
Is this so called the "Tesla's way of service", same as everything "Within Spec"? They can walk away after Sales done.
Millions of cars from different manufactures with Black Trims have no issues (including my wife's Odyssey) after touch-less car wash. Should not Tesla find out their parts' issue first instead of blaming their customers went to car wash?
This is definitively not a single case here. It could be the problem from the supplier of the trims. Well, anyway, at least this is just the words from a service technician, not Tesla.
Have any of your other cars had anodized aluminum trim?
What is the logic here? Who cares what materials exactly Tesla is using on the trims as long as it works properly for the entire life time?
Should we appreciate Tesla because it used some special materials/coating on the door trims even if they are not working in the real environment? And, blame yourself for any problems happen down the road because you do not take care of it like a baby?
Ironman793
Member
Well, I don't know for sure, but I've never seen any of them react like this to a car wash. It was actually embarrassing when a friend stopped
by to look at my brand new Tesla and noticed how bad it looked. Elon needs to get on the phone with the trim supplier like right now. There are going to be tens of thousands of pissed off Model Y owners when they are told they have to carefully wash their cars by hand with a mild PH balanced soap to prevent the blacked out trim from being ruined.
Ironman793
Member
Ok my car is in service to get the hitch installed and address the issue with the front trunk saying open when not. I mentioned the spotting on the trim and was told there is a bulletin for it now and they are sending something to address it. He also mention they say to not use on any other black trim (door handles, side cameras, etc.) He said the stuff should be in soon I will ask them when exactly when I pick up my car up tomorrow. So obviously the window trim is a different material also I didn't have this before I used a touch free wash so hand washing seems to not be an issue.
My Volvo XC90 had this issue with the chrome trim getting streaks from the carwash that I used to use... no more.
They didn't get whatever the cleaner is in yet. I asked him what type of metal is it he said stainless steel but he was just guessing on that I assume. The service writer seemed to indicate it will be if someone complains about it type of issue and that mobile would come out and take care of mine. I assume I have to put in another service request for it.
Tesla told me, via text, that warranty won’t cover chemical damage. However, I think the more people that ask, the more likely they will help.
Bikeman
Member
Stinks of BS. This discoloration happens to all other cars out there, I guess, for the same reason?
It just happened to me after a touchless car wash in PA. I spoke with the owner who said it couldn't possibly be the car wash.
This appears to be a Tesla defect... I hope they fix it under warranty.
![20200716_142226[1].jpg](https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/attachments/20200716_142226-1-jpg.565737/ "20200716_142226[1].jpg")
![20200716_142215[1].jpg](https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/attachments/20200716_142215-1-jpg.565738/ "20200716_142215[1].jpg")
This appears to be a Tesla defect... I hope they fix it under warranty.
But yet it was:
Not every car wash causes it. And some people even get it when hand washing their Model Y. It is an incompatibility between some car wash chemicals and the trim.
It likely isn't a defect, but a design decision. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and what Tesla will do long term. So far they have said it is not a defect and will not be covered under warranty. Though they might be bringing in a cleaner that will restore the trim. (Will they charge for it?)
If they made a “design decision” to build the car out of straw, I would be pretty upset at them making such a stupid decision.
Don’t they do any real-world testing on these things?
Quick update; service center didn’t have a solution and they said I was the first person to mention this. Also, I found a stainless steel appliance cleaner seems to work well in addition to the mequiars hyper dressing. The stains did reappear with the Mequiars eventually, and I will see if the stainless steel cleaner lasts longer.
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