dirkhh
Middle-aged Member
Welcome to the real world. There is zero incentive for Tesla to do that. Quite the contrary. They are going to fleece us every chance they get. And we'll all line up and reserve an early Model X...
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Parking sensor retrofit - $6000 ??
- Thread starter nkohlimd
- Start date
Welcome to the real world. There is zero incentive for Tesla to do that. Quite the contrary. They are going to fleece us every chance they get. And we'll all line up and reserve an early Model X...
Right, in other words you purchased the car with the features that were available at the time. Hypothesizing months later whether the car "should have" had parking sensors and parlaying that false argument into an unspoken expectation of receiving these features down the road even though no promise or representation was ever made, is laughable. Talk about entitlement!
Wow, so you purchased an obviously deficient vehicle? Why on earth would you do that?
Tesla shook you down, eh? They totally ripped you off and "fleeced" you of your money because they sold you a car with specific features that you felt was totally acceptable at the time because you actually bought one. Can you please remind us when Tesla held a gun to your head?
dirkhh
Middle-aged Member
Exactly my point. The economic incentive goes exactly the other way around. Signature owners pay more for a similar car than production owners. And usually their cars have lots more technical issues. Yet the desire to have the car earlier makes lot of people get in line.
So why on earth would they give them anything for free? It makes no sense.
fleece(flis)
n., v. fleeced, fleec•ing. n.
[...]
6. to overcharge.
No implication of a gun to the head (btw: I love the fact that I got negative reputation comments for using the same term... get a life, people... Yes, Tesla is going to fleece us. Every. Step. Of. The. Way. You can stay in denial and believe that the upgrade fairy will bring you goodies, in the meantime I recommend putting money into the piggybank for the next n-thousand dollar upgrade for something that you think you are entitled to get).
Kraken
Member
I was talking to a guy at the Palo Alto store tonight. He wasn't dressed quite like the rest of the employees and I know there has been some extra attention at the store with the grand opening and the model x prototype on display, so he might have not been part of the normal sales staff. Anyway, regardless of his position, he seemed like he knew more details than he was allowed to tell me, and he seemed in the know of something coming down.
basically, he said that the original retrofit option was just way too expensive (what we already know) and that they planned on having the price released within one month of the release of the sensors on new orders. Due to the excessive price, they went back to the drawing board and are going to be making some decisions really soon (he might have even said something about this week, but the details are blurry). He referenced the price of the parts ($500) and the price of 3rd party (a couple grand) and said that they hoped to cut it somewhere in the middle.
He also reiterated many times that they wanted to take care of the people who are already owners and stand out as the company that did allow current owners those types of opportunities.
Again, I wouldn't take too much from this because I couldn't tell you who he was from Adam, but I left hopeful of a reasonable price point and an update pretty soon.
also, for those of you who chose a dark color, those sensors are nearly invisible from more than 2 feet away. Unfortunately for me, they were very obvious on the pearl white due to the dark ring around the outside. It was nice to be able to see them on a variety of cars. The actual interface was very useable too, and they let me do a test run of it in the parking lot. I do still have my doubts that it will help with a low curb (I avoid parking over any curbs at all).
basically, he said that the original retrofit option was just way too expensive (what we already know) and that they planned on having the price released within one month of the release of the sensors on new orders. Due to the excessive price, they went back to the drawing board and are going to be making some decisions really soon (he might have even said something about this week, but the details are blurry). He referenced the price of the parts ($500) and the price of 3rd party (a couple grand) and said that they hoped to cut it somewhere in the middle.
He also reiterated many times that they wanted to take care of the people who are already owners and stand out as the company that did allow current owners those types of opportunities.
Again, I wouldn't take too much from this because I couldn't tell you who he was from Adam, but I left hopeful of a reasonable price point and an update pretty soon.
also, for those of you who chose a dark color, those sensors are nearly invisible from more than 2 feet away. Unfortunately for me, they were very obvious on the pearl white due to the dark ring around the outside. It was nice to be able to see them on a variety of cars. The actual interface was very useable too, and they let me do a test run of it in the parking lot. I do still have my doubts that it will help with a low curb (I avoid parking over any curbs at all).
Regardless of what they decide on for the particulars of this retrofit, I hope they maintain this philosophy throughout retrofit decision-making.
This. This is what I've always been led to expect from Tesla, regardless of what anyone says. It's why I decided to jump in early. Hope the philosophy continues.
*edit* tired of agreeing with brianman
huntjo
Member
I had a P85+ loaner for a day with 5.0 and parking sensors. Thought they were cool for a while, but decided the beeping was a little annoying at times when I already know it's super close, like pulling into my garage. I probably won't push for parking sensors retrofit, unless it's part of adaptive cruise control.
...of course, I clearly would have benefited from the sensors on delivery, since I have hit my own garage twice. Once scuffing only paint armor, and once damaging the bumper. But now I'm kinda used to living without them
...of course, I clearly would have benefited from the sensors on delivery, since I have hit my own garage twice. Once scuffing only paint armor, and once damaging the bumper. But now I'm kinda used to living without them
For reference, I would happily pay a couple hundred dollars over third-party for a Tesla retrofit, just to get the sensor information showing up on the main touchscreen.
Great. Let's hope the same philsophy applies to the winter weather package, which is equally if not more important to retrofit.
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The beeping can be turned off. I would turn it off and rely on the visuals on the screen. I mainly want it to gauge distance in front.
I've just got the quote to retrofit parking sensors on my car after my better-half backed into a well camouflaged pole in a parking garage (her story and she's sticking to it). The quote is for just around 6k as previously reported. Since I have a bumper that most likely will need to be replaced (waiting for estimate from Euro Collision next week) I may be in a situation where I am already paying nearly 2k for a rear bumper replacement (parts, labor, paint) and I've confirmed that I get to keep the other parts that are replaced (front bumper/nose cone). Those parts seem to have a quick-sell street value of about $1100. So the parking sensor retrofit would only be about 3k additional. I suspect it will come down to how much the repair/replace quote is for the current bumper.
Wow, just so I'm understanding you correctly, Tesla has actually offered a "retrofit" to you and quoted the cost as $6,000?
ken830
Model S 85, Model 3 Performance, Model X LongRange
A coworker bumped into my rear bumper in the parking lot. Replacement/paint/etc cost just over $2,000... I had wanted to hold-off on the repair because of the rumors hinting at parking sensor retrofit requiring bumper replacement, but this was April and there was no news for over a month.
Yes. Although it all hinges on the cost to replace/repair the rear-bumper. If that hits 2k, then its toss-up.
JPP
Active Member
At today’s event @ Chrissy Field in SF, I had the opportunity to talk with Jerome G, and get a close look at his personal (well..corporate with MFG tags) red P85+ (debadged). He was very generous and gracious with his time, and fairly candid. He noted that essentially every new feature/add-on/update/retrofit gets put on his S early (he really is on the bleeding/alpha edge), with all of the attendant woes and benefits. He has tested tires (original Contis, new Michelins), suspension upgrades, parking sensors, power folding mirrors, and so on.
Photo of Jerome's rear bumper:
I asked about the parking distance control system, and the possibility of retrofits. He in fact had them retrofitted into his personal S. There are many significant issues, and this will not ever be offered as an ‘advertised’, mainstream upgrade.
First, there is the technical and cosmetic issue about making holes in the front and rear bumper fascia. In his opinion, trying to create holes in the painted bumper fascia is fraught with cosmetic issues, with paint flaking and a subtle uneven appearance to the openings. In forward production, they use a sonic system to make a very precise clean hole without disrupting the paint. Also, in the retrofit, the mounting system to the fascia apparently needs to be different than the system used in forward production, and he was/is unhappy with the fitment. He showed me the cosmetic result on his personal S, and I agree that it just does not look perfect.
More significant is the wiring harness. Older production vehicles do not have the necessary wiring. Even current production, depending on the ‘build list’, might not have the proper wiring for a retrofit (apparently they do use different harnesses and wiring looms depending on options ordered). In some instances, he noted that doing a retrofit would be essentially impossible due to the complexity of rewiring the chassis.
Jerome did not rule out the possibility of individual owners asking if TM would (for essentially any price) in fact do a retrofit, but IMHO this will never show up as a ‘factory approved’ option.
I think that if you are waiting for this, and you must have parking sensors, find a local installer/customizer and decide if aftermarket will work for you. Also note that one TMC contributor is working on a retrofit front bumper camera (identical to the existing rear camera) that might be an easier better option for S owners who are concerned about front bumper damage.
Sorry for the bad news.
Photo of Jerome's rear bumper:
I asked about the parking distance control system, and the possibility of retrofits. He in fact had them retrofitted into his personal S. There are many significant issues, and this will not ever be offered as an ‘advertised’, mainstream upgrade.
First, there is the technical and cosmetic issue about making holes in the front and rear bumper fascia. In his opinion, trying to create holes in the painted bumper fascia is fraught with cosmetic issues, with paint flaking and a subtle uneven appearance to the openings. In forward production, they use a sonic system to make a very precise clean hole without disrupting the paint. Also, in the retrofit, the mounting system to the fascia apparently needs to be different than the system used in forward production, and he was/is unhappy with the fitment. He showed me the cosmetic result on his personal S, and I agree that it just does not look perfect.
More significant is the wiring harness. Older production vehicles do not have the necessary wiring. Even current production, depending on the ‘build list’, might not have the proper wiring for a retrofit (apparently they do use different harnesses and wiring looms depending on options ordered). In some instances, he noted that doing a retrofit would be essentially impossible due to the complexity of rewiring the chassis.
Jerome did not rule out the possibility of individual owners asking if TM would (for essentially any price) in fact do a retrofit, but IMHO this will never show up as a ‘factory approved’ option.
I think that if you are waiting for this, and you must have parking sensors, find a local installer/customizer and decide if aftermarket will work for you. Also note that one TMC contributor is working on a retrofit front bumper camera (identical to the existing rear camera) that might be an easier better option for S owners who are concerned about front bumper damage.
Sorry for the bad news.
What exactly constitutes a wiring harness? No explanation I've heard of why parking sensors cannot be retrofitted has been sufficiently detailed for me to make any sense of.
artsci
Sponsor
Basically, a wiring harness is a cable with a bundle of wires and connectors that make the electrical connections for a number of components. The Model S has 2 harnesses for the front bumper which connect a number of components. For example, there's a separate harness for the tech package. As new features are added the harness is modified, which is why the parking sensors won't work with pre-June 2013 built cars. The sensor connections weren't in the harness for the earlier cars. You could make the connections separately but only at huge expense and incovenience. Here's a drawing of the two:
Do you know what's involved in that? Routing wires might be a pain, but third party shops do that sort of thing all the time. I suppose there's more to it than routing the wires, but what?
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Sure, but if it can't be integrated into existing wiring, it can't be qualified as a "factory approved" option, but rather as an aftermarket option. Kind of like some dealer installed alarm systems.
And if it's an aftermarket option anyways, there's probably a lot of third parties that can do it a lot cheaper than Tesla, which is probably why Tesla is considering not offering it.
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