MY Door Trim Discoloration

[acarney]

Can I ask what you used? So far I've tried wd40 and stainless steel wipes with no success.

I was actually just able to use microfiber and water... it dulled it a lot for me but it's not removed. That's how bad mine looked as I pulled out from the car wash, if that's AFTER you tried to clean it... man, I'm sorry, that's really bad.

If you go the replace route, I would stop by a Tesla service center and set up a replacement that way, mobile service had a heck of a time getting the right part numbers for me even when I submitted pictures with it.

 

[Schulz1983]

For everyone that is having the discoloration it would be cheaper to have the trim wrapped in vinyl than replacement. Replacing the trim means this problem will likely return. Just wrap it in matte black vinyl and use dry thru car washes to your hearts content. Ours is almost a year old but trim still looks new. Our Y has never seen a drive thru car wash though.

 

[acarney]

For everyone that is having the discoloration it would be cheaper to have the trim wrapped in vinyl than replacement. Replacing the trim means this problem will likely return. Just wrap it in matte black vinyl and use dry thru car washes to your hearts content. Ours is almost a year old but trim still looks new. Our Y has never seen a drive thru car wash though.

This is something I've considered a lot. If I do eventually replace it I will NOT be using a automatic wash of any type again because you're right, it's going to get corroded by it all over again, my mobile service guy even said it likely would happen again.

If I go the black vinyl route I'm just curious how well they can do those rear windows with the trim being part of the glass and on how the vinyl holds up two or three years down the road with temperature changes (20F nights and 120F in the summer) and so much UV exposure. If it starts to get brittle and crack or peel or scratch after a year or two I would rather speed the $800 for replacement and just not wash the vehicle in the three coldest winter months.

 

[Schulz1983]

This is something I've considered a lot. If I do eventually replace it I will NOT be using a automatic wash of any type again because you're right, it's going to get corroded by it all over again, my mobile service guy even said it likely would happen again.

If I go the black vinyl route I'm just curious how well they can do those rear windows with the trim being part of the glass and on how the vinyl holds up two or three years down the road with temperature changes (20F nights and 120F in the summer) and so much UV exposure. If it starts to get brittle and crack or peel or scratch after a year or two I would rather speed the $800 for replacement and just not wash the vehicle in the three coldest winter months.

A lot of people wrapped the original chrome that came on the model 3s. I believe those have held up really well. We used to have a Camaro with vinyl stripes. They were 10 years old and still looked good. Vinyl is quite resilient and a good installer will make it look perfect. One advantage would be placing vinyl over the black, whereas model 3 owners was having it installed over chrome. Do you have a heated garage? We just wash ours in the garage during the winter time. It is heated though.

 

[Srad600Volt]

For everyone that is having the discoloration it would be cheaper to have the trim wrapped in vinyl than replacement. Replacing the trim means this problem will likely return. Just wrap it in matte black vinyl and use dry thru car washes to your hearts content. Ours is almost a year old but trim still looks new. Our Y has never seen a drive thru car wash though.

Another option, just paint it (professional or DIY)?

 

[acarney]

A lot of people wrapped the original chrome that came on the model 3s. I believe those have held up really well. We used to have a Camaro with vinyl stripes. They were 10 years old and still looked good. Vinyl is quite resilient and a good installer will make it look perfect. One advantage would be placing vinyl over the black, whereas model 3 owners was having it installed over chrome. Do you have a heated garage? We just wash ours in the garage during the winter time. It is heated though.

I don’t. I probably could suffer by with rinseless wash since the garage really doesn’t get below about 40F except for very cold nights. I mainly just want to get road grime and salt off so I could probably do it in 20 minutes or something.

I may also just use a drive through manual wash for the high powered wash water and then a quick detailing spray at home or something. Also, I’m curious if the soap for the manual wash isn’t caustic… seems like hydroxide based soap might not be the best when you have idiots that might spray a dog off in the back of a truck or something in the manual wash bays…

 

[TomServo]

Maybe I missed it, but will a Ceramic coating protect these pieces? I haven't needed to use a car wash (been lucky with the weather here in southern IL where I could use a Waterless Spray Cleaner) but sooner or later I will probably need to get winter road grime and salt off my Y.

 

[LwlPeak]

This is something I've considered a lot. If I do eventually replace it I will NOT be using a automatic wash of any type again because you're right, it's going to get corroded by it all over again, my mobile service guy even said it likely would happen again.

If I go the black vinyl route I'm just curious how well they can do those rear windows with the trim being part of the glass and on how the vinyl holds up two or three years down the road with temperature changes (20F nights and 120F in the summer) and so much UV exposure. If it starts to get brittle and crack or peel or scratch after a year or two I would rather speed the $800 for replacement and just not wash the vehicle in the three coldest winter months.

I am also curious how they would wrap the rear triangle trim since it is actually part of the window??

 

[jcanoe]

Maybe I missed it, but will a Ceramic coating protect these pieces? I haven't needed to use a car wash (been lucky with the weather here in southern IL where I could use a Waterless Spray Cleaner) but sooner or later I will probably need to get winter road grime and salt off my Y.

No; the high pH detergents and cleaning agents used in many of the touchless car washes will remove the ceramic coating.

 

[acarney]

I am also curious how they would wrap the rear triangle trim since it is actually part of the window??

I have no idea either...

And mine was a less than 1 year old professional ceramic job that I specifically talked to them about the trim. I had also done one to two layers of a retail grade ceramic. They either don't bond to metal or they're taking off instantly by the wash chemicals...

 

[Schulz1983]

The manual washes don’t use the same caustic soap that the automatic washes use. The automatics use such caustic soap to try to get the vehicle clean without having to touch it or get close with sprayers. We have an auto car wash here in MO that doesn’t hurt my trim to run through. I’ve only used it a couple times and have switched to home cleaning. I have an underbody sprayer attachment for my pressure washer, so I just clean my vehicle in the garage now. Basically anytime it snows I immediately clean the undercarriage. I had a 2014 grand Cherokee before and the undercarriage had no rust on it.

 

[Kevv]

View attachment 557539

Have you notified tesla? Have you got it replaced with any charge?

 

[miggz410]

Have you notified tesla? Have you got it replaced with any charge?

Same thing will happen if tesla replaces it.

 

[Oobitsa]

Zepps stainless steel cleaner on a rag takes this right off.

 

[ranss12]

"Zepps stainless steel cleaner on a rag takes this right off"

I use WD-40 with a paper towel. I have to redo it every 3 months or so, though.

 

[LwlPeak]

Yes after every car wash I do at home the WD-40 wears off and trim discoloration returns. I have not attempted any polish compound or anything like that.

 

[Ron N]

I had mobile service out today for a different issue and they said that the door trims being discolored like this are not a warranty item because it's from the high pH values in the chemicals in the car wash.

That's BS. I own a touchless carwash and we test PH regularly. Low PH goes on first at 3.5 followed by High PH at 12.5...Net 9.0 PH on car. The black trim on my early 2021 Model 3 still discolors. If you notice later 2021 Model 3's, Tesla has changed the trim and it does not discolor. They SHOULD be replacing this at NO COST to the customer. Meanwhile Back to Black restores the original finish which is something we should NOT have to do!

 

[Jeff Davlt]

That's BS. I own a touchless carwash and we test PH regularly. Low PH goes on first at 3.5 followed by High PH at 12.5...Net 9.0 PH on car. The black trim on my early 2021 Model 3 still discolors. If you notice later 2021 Model 3's, Tesla has changed the trim and it does not discolor. They SHOULD be replacing this at NO COST to the customer. Meanwhile Back to Black restores the original finish which is something we should NOT have to do!

If they fixed the issue with a new trim then that is the one issue I have with my early 2021 model 3. It irks me that this is an issue. I’m now avoiding any car wash and being it’s 25 degrees out, my car desperately needs to be washed.

 

[acarney]

If they fixed the issue with a new trim then that is the one issue I have with my early 2021 model 3. It irks me that this is an issue. I’m now avoiding any car wash and being it’s 25 degrees out, my car desperately needs to be washed.

I’m just on the other side of the state from you and I’m in the same boat…

 

[Budshark]

If you notice later 2021 Model 3's, Tesla has changed the trim and it does not discolor.

Do you have a source for this and I assume it applies to Ys as well?