OEM TESLA roof racks Crack Glass

[vjason]

This is a lie and/or they are clueless. See my link from above; the Raleigh SC measured it and said it is out of spec. Awaiting my new roof now.

The car I rejected was because of the rear glass being shifted to the driver side. I was told that spec was just not actually touching the side. I told him his spec was bad and they need a new one. Go for pickup round 2 tomorrow.

 

[AdamVIP]

I argued that if they were telling the truth that their spec is crap but they insisted. I have a different one now that I picked up on Friday. It looked much better in person although it seems to have its own set of issues that I've been finding.

 

[vjason]

I would have asked them how you install an official Tesla roof rack if the glass is almost touching on one side.

Hope the replacement works out.

I argued that if they were telling the truth that their spec is crap but they insisted. I have a different one now that I picked up on Friday. It looked much better in person although it seems to have its own set of issues that I've been finding.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Oh this sucks. Guess I’ll just keep taking both wheels off my bike to get things to work. I was kinda eyeing that rack option, but no way I can take that chance. So sorry this happened ...

I put my full suspension XL 29er in only removing the front wheel. I do have a dropper post though. That being said I use a hitch rack most of the time.

 

[M3Gator]

So this just happened to me. Used a torque wrench set at 5NM. Roof cracked. Definitely returning the rack and won’t trust it from here. New glass coming in a few days... ughh.

 

[Sully151]

I put my full suspension XL 29er in only removing the front wheel. I do have a dropper post though. That being said I use a hitch rack most of the time.

How has the hitch rack worked out for you? Any major loss of range, can you still access the trunk easily enough?

 

[jordanair45]

So this just happened to me. Used a torque wrench set at 5NM. Roof cracked. Definitely returning the rack and won’t trust it from here. New glass coming in a few days... ughh.

Wow ! Sorry to hear that. Wtf. Come on Tesla

 

[Daniel in SD]

How has the hitch rack worked out for you? Any major loss of range, can you still access the trunk easily enough?

Huge loss of range. Probably using about 400Wh/mi vs. 320Wh/mi without (I might drive fast though). Can't open trunk with bike on the rack unless I fold it down (1up brand rack, usually just remove bike first).
I bet the range loss is just as bad with a roof rack though and I know that eventually I would drive into a garage with the bike on the roof

 

[Gouldness]

Sucks about your upcoming 1100 dollar glass bill.

Fwiw i had a Seasucker talon crack my rear glass (mounted how they recommend), but that's a story for another time, anyway the guy at Tesla service said the front windshield is the most expensive due to the AP cameras and calibration. My all-in quote for my rear glass (the big pano one) is only $787 after tax.

 

[Gouldness]

I put my full suspension XL 29er in only removing the front wheel. I do have a dropper post though. That being said I use a hitch rack most of the time.

Ditto, dropper post is a game changer. I have a XL hybrid bike without it and i have to take both wheels off, which is why i never take it anywhere.

 

[Gouldness]

This whole thread has sold me on going with a custom hitch.

FYI: i just had my rear glass crack using a Seasucker talon. Mounted to their spec. Third trip with it cracked on a small bump in the road 100 ft from my house :-/

I chalked it up to being a 2018 model, maybe the glass was rushed, looks like Tesla glass is brittle overall or their mounting engineering is just complete *sugar*.

 

[Ludalicious]

Bummer for sure. I can't be the only one who thinks it's a terrible idea putting anything above a glass roof. For this very reason I was hoping they would release a model 3 without the glass roof option for contractors who could put ladders above the roof.

 

[njneer]

Honestly not a bad idea. Cheap insurance if they break it

I had the Vancouver service center install mine last week for exactly this reason. They did a great job in just under an hour and charged me $100CAN. Worry free for me.

 

[MMBTUS]

Fwiw i had a Seasucker talon crack my rear glass (mounted how they recommend), but that's a story for another time, anyway the guy at Tesla service said the front windshield is the most expensive due to the AP cameras and calibration. My all-in quote for my rear glass (the big pano one) is only $787 after tax.

I recently had to replace the rear glass after chipping an edge with a thermos bottle on its way into the trunk. Don’t ask.

The part was available within a few days. Safelite replaced in my driveway. Bill was $475.

While waiting for the appointment, I got a note from Tesla with exciting news about their new glass replacement services.

 

[atmasphere]

Hmm. This thread has officially convinced me the roof is too risky. I watched an install video for the stealth hitch and that’s definitely beyond my comfort of car disassembly ... Not sure how often I’d use it but my 58 fixed post road machine just can’t make it without the wheels off. The other obvious benefit of the rack is keeping all the seats available. With my bike inside I’d only have two seats left ... and limited storage.

We do have another car and that’s generally the rack car though my prior vehicle was an SUV and we had a hitch on both cars.

I used he Kuat NV and it seems like a lot to throw on the back of such a small car.

 

[silenteski]

Installed mine tightened to 6nm (the instructions that came with mine said to use 5-6nm, unlike the 8nm stated in previous versions). No problems yet. Completed a 2k mile trip with a pair of 30lb bikes and 15lb racks on top. Sorry to hear about the cracked glass. If you try it again, definitely use a torque wrench and be sure the post is seated properly using the “wiggle” test.

 

[ECCtechguy]

Just FYI Tesla service mentioned to me they have seen a few issues like this where the glass cracked.

 

[holmgang]

Harbor Freight sells cheapo torque wrenches (I think $12 with coupon). Get the 1/4" drive model. 6nm is not very much torque and most common torque wrenches (that one would use on a car) only go down to 10ft-lbs (13.6nm). They really should include a fixed torque wrench with the rack.
Make sure you try the torque wrench on something non critical first to make sure it's working!

IMO definitely do NOT buy a cheap torque wrench!

The reason you'd need one is for precision fastening. And cheap wrenches are not precise, especially not at the lower readings.

Most tools, you buy a quality item once and keep it for life. For $12 I'd rather get a bottle of wine and tighten by hand!

 

[phillcom3]

I got my roof rack yesterday. I wanted to see what the fuss was about, with the glass cracking, so I installed it myself.

Every turn was giving me a mini heart attack, you could hear the hooks settling against the glass. I only tightened to 4nm and then turned halfway to align with the lock slot. You can install yourself, but you need to be very cautious, use a torque wrench. I tightened evenly, one full turn per side. Be sure to pull up on the hook bolts after you put the bars on the car, to get rid of any "slack" on the hooks, so they tighten more evenly.

I can see the glass getting cracked from not using a torque wrench and not properly installing the metal hooks/bolts.


View attachment 445114

you do realise wind resistance on the rack will create more than 4nm of force? in the reagon of probably 2 orders of magnitude more?

 

[Daniel in SD]

IMO definitely do NOT buy a cheap torque wrench!

The reason you'd need one is for precision fastening. And cheap wrenches are not precise, especially not at the lower readings.

Most tools, you buy a quality item once and keep it for life. For $12 I'd rather get a bottle of wine and tighten by hand!

I agree that harbor freight torque wrenches aren’t great. 8nm (6ft lbs) of torque isn’t too low for their 20ft lb model though. I’d definitely take it to the service center before I did it by hand. Harbor Freight torque wrenches are way more precise than me.