Paint advice please - bare spots

[MrBadger]

Unfortunately, unlike most (all?) other car manufacturers, Tesla would seem to paint their cars with the doors etc on. This can lead to 'shadow marks' in paint application which is possibly what you are seeing. I am sure many who do not intend to keep their cars for long a long period of time would not care about this, but for those of us who keep cars for a long period of time, it is a concern as we are reliant on the paint prep being done properly.

 

[ChrisA70]

"Does Tesla have any quality checks built into the production process at all?"

I think their business model to ramp numbers up as fast as possible relies upon us to undertake those checks, at least during this rapid expansion and market penetration phase in Tesla's growth.

That might work whilst the buyers are mainly Tesla fans. I’m not so sure it will be satisfactory once your typical casual car buyer goes through this experience! I went with a friend yesterday to collect his black SR+ from Heathrow. It didn’t feel a great experience. They kept us waiting over an hour then the handover felt extremely rushed. The car had been very poorly valeted, numerous swirl marks, water spots, fingerprints, scratches on the boot lid. Plastic trim on the sill on both sides was either damaged or not fitted correctly. The rear glass roof panel didn’t line up with the front panel. This is so far away from my previous experience of picking up numerous new cars over the years, from very cheap (Ford Ka £9k) to my current not so cheap BMW (£35k). Of the 10 or so I’ve had, only one, a Vauxhall Corsa, has issues on delivery. The others, genuinely, had none. The Model 3 is great but as time goes on Tesla need to nail the quality. They’ve been making the Model 3 for 2 years now. Yesterday has made me more nervous, not less, for my own collection day when it comes. Mine is white rather than black so the valeting errors should be less obvious, at least...!

 

[Fullerene]

That might work whilst the buyers are mainly Tesla fans.

This is a problem, everybody who has placed an order wants theirs and quotes along the line of "I don't want to have to reject it for any reason, maybe if the battery pack was missing, maybe.. " just exacerbate things.

The rear glass roof panel didn’t line up with the front panel.

They have been making them for years but, ramping up production is difficult, it smells of rushing to get them out the door. I hope in time to come we don't see Honest John saying avoid buying an early one as corners were cut.

 

[Johnii__82]

Hi guys.

Here is some conclusions & 5th inspections of Tesla Model 3:s....

This thin paint & primer issue can start to corrode in some time and then we owners will be screwed... because there is zero paint & rust warranty on Teslas warranty agreeement....

Here is the background story:

Finnish Tesla Model 3 Inspection Reveals Soft, Thin, Under-Spec Paint

+

Finnish Goods Inspection Finds Tesla Model 3 Paint Is Soft And Thin

BR,

Joni from Finland

 

[Dann76]

Theres no excuse for this, it’s just poor and they need to sort the manufacturing process out. The paint bots need a re code. Problem is its not easy to fix after delivery

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

It's not difficult to paint a car properly in this day and age, it's not just the premium German manufacturers that manage it. They're clearly just cutting corners and not giving a crap as they have so much demand at the moment they don't need to. I'm just glad I'm leasing...

 

[Jason71]

My thoughts exactly! Dissimilar metal corrosion can be a major problem if the joints are not well protected and isolated. Well known in the aircraft industry. Looking at the Electrek diagrams there seem to be lots of opportunity for this. FWIW 'high strength' steel is more corrosion resistant than mild steel.

Given that what you are talking about is basically the car body becoming a battery (alloy=anode, steal=cathode, electrolyte = salt water) you'd like to hope that Tesla of all people would have a good understanding of it.
Then again maybe we are onto something. Emergency range extension. 1000 miles but at the end of it your aluminium chassis is gone

 

[Johnii__82]

Fyi !!

This info is from here:

Tesla Model 3 owners worldwide with paint issues

One of UK guy has problems with the model 3 painting....

 

[tren01t]

I asked our delivery guy at Dartford about that missing paint. He told me they are all like that, and that Tesla will not do anything about it.

Here is a picture of mine -
View attachment 445140

Maybe if Tesla will do nothing it is worth having a think about some Waxoyl or Dinitrol treatment in certain areas.

That is correct, Tesla will not take care of this citing a manufacturing issue. My wife purchased a M3 LR Black 2021 July and it is the same issue on both driver side and passenger side. Additionally, there were missed areas on the trunk lid. I call those unpainted areas "Holidays where the painter took a holiday and forgot to paint the spots) Dropped off vehicle for other delivery issues and pointed out the paint issues. For the service advisor who saw this for the first time went to speak to his manager who confirmed the issued but cited a manufacturing issue and all Teslas had this. He offered to show me other Tesla M3's that that had these holidays and sure as "sugar", they were there on a blue 2021 M3. He suggested in the survey to point out this issue so it could be sent up the chain of command.
This totally blows for vehicles that cost 50K+ and their f ing robots that need more calibration or better still sent back to robot school imho. I have a 2020 M3 SR+ pearl white and i did not see the issue. The manager was nice about it and said he has a MY white and said it was not as noticeable as in other colors. I wish there was a way that all Tesla model owners can take pictures of these and send a huge wave to Musk as a message for him to do better in quality control in all areas.
Now, I will stop ranting.

 

[Adopado]

That is correct, Tesla will not take care of this citing a manufacturing issue. My wife purchased a M3 LR Black 2021 July and it is the same issue on both driver side and passenger side. Additionally, there were missed areas on the trunk lid. I call those unpainted areas "Holidays where the painter took a holiday and forgot to paint the spots) Dropped off vehicle for other delivery issues and pointed out the paint issues. For the service advisor who saw this for the first time went to speak to his manager who confirmed the issued but cited a manufacturing issue and all Teslas had this. He offered to show me other Tesla M3's that that had these holidays and sure as "sugar", they were there on a blue 2021 M3. He suggested in the survey to point out this issue so it could be sent up the chain of command.
This totally blows for vehicles that cost 50K+ and their f ing robots that need more calibration or better still sent back to robot school imho. I have a 2020 M3 SR+ pearl white and i did not see the issue. The manager was nice about it and said he has a MY white and said it was not as noticeable as in other colors. I wish there was a way that all Tesla model owners can take pictures of these and send a huge wave to Musk as a message for him to do better in quality control in all areas.
Now, I will stop ranting.

This is an old thread and applies to cars in the UK ... originally supplied from Fremont. More recently we have Made In China Teslas supplied to us here in the UK. The reports from newer owners seem to show that paint and other aspects of assembly have taken a step up. My Fremont car was good in the paint aspect other than the hidden door jamb areas that were always left without top coat as "standard" ... "it's not a bug it's a feature" if you like!