Repair front passenger and falcon door - Right Side

[soniboy]

Hello Everyone,

I just joined TMC, so please bear with me!

I recently purchased a Salvage title Model X 2022 Plaid with few damages... one them is right side(passenger and falcon door down below) and other one is quarter panel(attached in the picture), I was wondering if i need to replace everything or this can be repaired(just to save money) ?


Appreciate for your response!
Cheers!

 

[ThomasD]

You are going to need to at least replace the front door. The quarter panel may be able to be fixed with Paintless Dent repair. Get a hold of a Paintless Dent repair place and ask them if they could come and take a look at the car.

 

[soniboy]

Thanks alot Thomas, ill try to get hold of them. On the other hand do you think in the front frunk, anything major is missing apart from headlight and front badge/ v bars.
Unfortunately I don’t have the pictures yet from front hood opened. So I just guessing storage box must be missing too.

You are going to need to at least replace the front door. The quarter panel may be able to be fixed with Paintless Dent repair. Get a hold of a Paintless Dent repair place and ask them if they could come and take a look at the car.

 

[ThomasD]

Get a notebook and write down all the damage and missing parts you see. Prioritize what needs to be fixed now and what can wait.
You should remove the Bumper Cover and see if there is any damage to the inner structure. If no damage to the inner structure then replace the headlight and get that working. I wouldn't worry about if it is missing the Frunk Liner at this time. Same with the rear section. Get all the lights working then worry about the cosmetic stuff. Does everything else work on the car? Have you tried charging it? I would make sure all of the mechanicals work and there is no damage to the suspension before doing anything else.

 

[soniboy]

Get a notebook and write down all the damage and missing parts you see. Prioritize what needs to be fixed now and what can wait.
You should remove the Bumper Cover and see if there is any damage to the inner structure. If no damage to the inner structure then replace the headlight and get that working. I wouldn't worry about if it is missing the Frunk Liner at this time. Same with the rear section. Get all the lights working then worry about the cosmetic stuff. Does everything else work on the car? Have you tried charging it? I would make sure all of the mechanicals work and there is no damage to the suspension before doing anything else.

Hi @ThomasD thank you again, sorry for late response, and yes, I already prepared the list of missing parts/oem already.

I found few headlights but for me it’s getting little confusing if i buy matrix headlights or the normal LED ones, i was reading and looks like since 2022 plaid is by default Matrix.. but nothing concrete yet.

Before testing the charing, i am finding the right/faster Charger that can work for US cars in EU, kinda converter.

 

[karkrazy]

So this is a US-spec salvage X currently in Europe? And you haven’t had a chance to power it on or charge it?

 

[Milan Djabirov]

Hi @ThomasD thank you again, sorry for late response, and yes, I already prepared the list of missing parts/oem already.

I found few headlights but for me it’s getting little confusing if i buy matrix headlights or the normal LED ones, i was reading and looks like since 2022 plaid is by default Matrix.. but nothing concrete yet.

Before testing the charing, i am finding the right/faster Charger that can work for US cars in EU, kinda converter.

The 2022 Plaid is not Matrix, just order the lights in the parts catalog or you could have connector compatibility issues. There have been unsuccessful attempts to retrofit post mid-2022 matrix lights in model S to 2021 and early 2022 with no success. Start by testing the battery (edit: if low voltage battery is dead you need to jump start and charge that before anything), charging, all service mode alerts/screens in the screen (you can find online how to go there) including 0 to 100 back battery health, then move on to the suspension, assess the frame structure, and finally order the lights. No point of ordering lights if you can't fix the battery or structure/suspension so you can drive it. Locate a good reputation body shop that has worked on Teslas in Poland, don't try DIYs or self assessment.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

Also it occurred to me, the low volt battery powering some basic systems is probably dead, so you may need to figure how to fix that before you can even attempt regular charging.

 

[soniboy]

So this is a US-spec salvage X currently in Europe? And you haven’t had a chance to power it on or charge it?

Hey @karkrazy yes, thanks for pitching in.. my car is still in Transit to Poland. So I can’t get my hands on it. Unfortunately

 

[soniboy]

The 2022 Plaid is not Matrix, just order the lights in the parts catalog or you could have connector compatibility issues. There have been unsuccessful attempts to retrofit post mid-2022 matrix lights in model S to 2021 and early 2022 with no success. Start by testing the battery (edit: if low voltage battery is dead you need to jump start and charge that before anything), charging, all service mode alerts/screens in the screen (you can find online how to go there) including 0 to 100 back battery health, then move on to the suspension, assess the frame structure, and finally order the lights. No point of ordering lights if you can't fix the battery or structure/suspension so you can drive it. Locate a good reputation body shop that has worked on Teslas in Poland, don't try DIYs or self assessment.

Thanks alot @Milan Djabirov for your detailed explanation, looks like my car already has low battery warning, probably it was not chargd since few months in cold weather. I am attaching a screenshot.

I am trying hold of one good local Tesla body shop in Poland. And unfortunately they don’t respond. I will be patient. Lets hope they accept my car for repair. I am no-voice so I wouldn’t risk for DIY.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

The good news is the high voltage battery has plenty of charge so sitting in cold weather is not detrimental, but fixing this alert is absolute must. The low volt battery should be under the plastic panel between the frunk and windshield which should be easy to lift with a plastic pry tool - check the type (lithium or lead depending on manufacture month could be either and determine if there’s damage or corroded connection.) read Teslas manual on how to jump start and safely interact with low volt cables. You can’t operate the car without either battery.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

Also, when you finally get to test that HV battery (after fixing the LV issues), I recommend not doing it at home. It does not look to me the battery was impacted from these pictures but you need to remove that battery cover and examine visually very closely, as an impacted battery could have you sitting on ticking fire bomb if coolant system is damaged or cells ruptured. The car should hopefully have service mode alerts if so but you never know. Also I can easily see a shop not willing to deal with it without verifying the battery integrity somehow. Does Poland have Tesla service center? Maybe worthwhile having it checked there if so.

 

[soniboy]

Also, when you finally get to test that HV battery (after fixing the LV issues), I recommend not doing it at home. It does not look to me the battery was impacted from these pictures but you need to remove that battery cover and examine visually very closely, as an impacted battery could have you sitting on ticking fire bomb if coolant system is damaged or cells ruptured. The car should hopefully have service mode alerts if so but you never know. Also I can easily see a shop not willing to deal with it without verifying the battery integrity somehow. Does Poland have Tesla service center? Maybe worthwhile having it checked there if so.

Good day Milan.. thanks for your reply, yes Poland does have a service center, but they are not at all responsive. Secondly, i firmly believe that they dont treat or priortise the car from US or imported car as that of local tesla.
I have noted down your poitns already, i am very sure i will not try that at home, but there is one body shop which deals with tesla too, I am in touch with them.
Hope i dont get surprises.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

These kinds of restoration projects have a potential benefit. Creative individuals gain expertise that can become a beneficial business opportunity. EVs have a huge waste problem where a not-so-major accidents cause insurance to write it off as a salvage title and the whole thing goes to waste. Like the Ioniq5 story in Canada, where some kid scraped the car underside and the dealership gave him a f**ky*u repair price by quoting a battery replacement worth more than the residual value of the car

There is a big opportunity niche both in the US and Europe for independent EV repair/restoration shops. Else EVs will become a joke no one wants to own due to plummeting values and unrepairability / insurance issues.

 

[soniboy]

These kinds of restoration projects have a potential benefit. Creative individuals gain expertise that can become a beneficial business opportunity. EVs have a huge waste problem where a not-so-major accidents cause insurance to write it off as a salvage title and the whole thing goes to waste. Like the Ioniq5 story in Canada, where some kid scraped the car underside and the dealership gave him a f**ky*u repair price by quoting a battery replacement worth more than the residual value of the car

There is a big opportunity niche both in the US and Europe for independent EV repair/restoration shops. Else EVs will become a joke no one wants to own due to plummeting values and unrepairability / insurance issues.

i would be night mare for me, hope nothing turns out like that to me..

But @Milan Djabirov on the other hand, do you knwo is there any way to check like if 2022 Plaid MOdel x is LED/Matrix, i spoke to few guys like me(same model car from US)and repair guys, they told me they are coming default Matrix. So i don't know which to order or look for. I will attach some pics just in case if you get it more clearly.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

The word "Matrix" is a bit misleading. It doesn't do spot dimming like some of the German offerings. I am fairly sure 2022 is "old" (which by no means is bad, it actually looks better visually but is supposedly not as good).

And below is a similar angle of my November 2023 made car. It has "matrix", but I never compared against the "old", however the two are not compatible in model S!

 

[Milan Djabirov]

And seeing this beatiful black on white MXP in the salvage yard is a sad picture indeed.

 

[soniboy]

And seeing this beatiful black on white MXP in the salvage yard is a sad picture indeed.

I know, i am trying to get her home haha.
But when you say OLD is it LED ?
and OEM on Tesla catalog is confusing.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

OLD is old as not new (not oled). This was a pic I took from this forum. No idea about the parts, but I am sure the 2 styles will have different part numbers. Won't have time until later today, but I am stopping by my service center to pick my own X and I can try to ask there.

 

[Milan Djabirov]

Sorry, these days I don't think you can get any sort of help in Tesla Service centers beyond sale pitch and ticket related stuff. They didn't even want to talk to me about my own car, which I had issues regarding their service about. So on to another service ticket and could not get info on parts.