Ripped Undercarriage Composite from the rain?

[Gasaraki]

I paid to have mine replaced, rather than have a giant hole there.

Looking at it, post-repair, it's easy to see how the design is flawed.

On my car, the front lip of the protector does not sit flush with the car, so no wonder it can potentially catch water.

That's bad design. Why would it not be tucked under the hard plastic piece.

 

[JWardell]

The issue is why did they make that part out of cardboard in the first place?

OK, maybe it’s not cardboard but some other flimsy composite fibreboard type material that appears to lose structure and strength especially when wet or just rips and breaks apart when it scrapes against other objects?

If it was made from panels of high impact plastic/composite material most of these issues would not be occurring. Why not make it from the same material as the rest of the underbody?

Maybe there’s a good reason? To help with heat dissipation/ventilation? Would be good to know if there is some genuine design reason why they went for a different material at the front of the underbody.

We will exaggerate because it's flimsier than it should be, but the reality is it isn't actually compromised when wet. The material is used by a lot of other manufacturers in wheel wells. It is cheap, lightweight, and dampens sound better than plastic.
It's basically felt + epoxy similar to carbon fiber + epoxy which of course is very durable. But there's not continuous linkage in this material so it can tear once a rip has started.
The other issue is it is underneath the car where it is likely to be torn by debris. Even worse, it appears there are some manufacturing issues where many cars did not have its leading edge protected, and even some retainer bolts missing.
It goes along with the water that fills my trunk in that this is a California car where not as much thought was put into engineering for weather.
Most other cars use hard plastic underneath which would be a little more durable, but not as quiet. Most don't bother covering the back of the car because they don't care as much about aerodynamics.
It's a great opportunity for aftermarket companies to make replacement parts out of upgraded materials. Plastic, aluminum, titanium, etc. Look up replacement skid plates for other cars and you will find similar.

 

[jedanielee]

I just got both front and mid aero shields replaced under warranty today, in Portland OR. Original damage was due to driving through a puddle back in August.

 

[kailm]

I just got both front and mid aero shields replaced under warranty today, in Portland OR. Original damage was due to driving through a puddle back in August.

Wow you got lucky. They charged me for it $220 with tax. But I did get the newer studier composite and not the old one which was saggy and flimsy for sure.

 

[ejfeldmann]

Just happened to me- ripped composite tray dragging on road. I just purchased my Model 3 about 5 months ago and this was our first heavy rain. I went through a puddle. I am bringing it into service- they better not charge me. My Dad's $19,000 Honda Accord LX 2017 was behind me and had ZERO issues.

 

[MP3Mike]

My Dad's $19,000 Honda Accord LX 2017 was behind me and had ZERO issues.

Of course because your Tesla cleared the way.

 

[zariok]

This happened to me in May '19 on my Aug '18 P3D and they replaced it with the same composite material for free.

It happened again today during normal driving in rainy weather at non-highway speeds.

It occurred in exactly the same spot with just about the exact same rip. Now, I did have to pull it off to keep it from grinding on the road.

 

[ChrisH]

This happened to me in May '19 on my Aug '18 P3D and they replaced it with the same composite material for free.

It happened again today during normal driving in rainy weather at non-highway speeds.

It occurred in exactly the same spot with just about the exact same rip. Now, I did have to pull it off to keep it from grinding on the road.

So odd that it is happening to some and not others. I thought for sure I would have this issue by now living in the Seattle area but good so far.

 

[MP3Mike]

It occurred in exactly the same spot with just about the exact same rip.

How deep was the standing water at that spot?

 

[ChrisH]

How deep was the standing water at that spot?

I think they meant the rip occurred in the same spot of the aero shield.

 

[AB3DC]

Model Y now has an injection-molded plastic aero shield. Do you think Tesla Service will replace the Model 3 composite with the Model Y aero shield for those of us who have this problem?

 

[EVTuning]

Model Y now has an injection-molded plastic aero shield. Do you think Tesla Service will replace the Model 3 composite with the Model Y aero shield for those of us who have this problem?

Most likely not interchangeable between the two vehicles.

 

[tombar]

Most likely not interchangeable between the two vehicles.

If they aren't interchangeable, it be great if Tesla started using the molded PP for M3s and then replacement for torn off existing M3 could be the molded PP..

 

[Eno Deb]

Hopefully the also redesigned the rear cover such that it doesn't collect water and dirt anymore (e.g. by adding more drain holes).

 

[augkuo]

I've had the same issue but it was because of hitting something at high speed on the freeway - fortunately, we weren't too far from a truckstop with Flextape in stock so that did the trick as a temporary solution.

After removing the Flextape I still wanted something more durable to keep the cover from flapping and tearing more - I figure this part would take some time to procure so I thought of a solution so that the car could be drivable in the meantime.

First I jacked up the front sides, put supports underneath so that I could get to the tray and remove 9 10mm hex bolts and 2 16mm hex nuts so that I could get it off the car. Now you can see the tray and the damaged corner after removal -

My idea is to use some already ripped office chair rug protector to replace the corner by cutting it and gluing it to the tray.
The smooth side got sanded and cleaned to make sure the glue had something to bond to and the tray where the plastic was
going was cleaned as well. The nice thing also about being see-through is that it'll be easy to mark where to drill the hole for the bolt.

After cutting and gluing, it still has the frayed edges which may catch and peel off from the plastic -

I used some tape to keep the edge clean -

Then I put the tray temporarily back on to mark the bolt hole and drill through the plastic.

We'll see how long it takes Tesla to get a better part for this and hopefully this fix will last awhile!

 

[asian_xl]

Found 4 missing screws under my car when I picked it up last year. I asked my mechanic to check them all out when my car is lifted.

 

[Perscitus]

The injection molded PP splash shield is $12 at your local SCs parts dept. No VIN check required. Many SCs stock it.
Replace away or sandwich over an untorn OE fiber splash shield.

 

[augkuo]

The injection molded PP splash shield is $12 at your local SCs parts dept. No VIN check required. Many SCs stock it.
Replace away or sandwich over an untorn OE fiber splash shield.

I got the quote from Tesla and it’s $165 - part number 11104312-00-B. The current part number on my car is the same but with an A at the end.

 

[Perscitus]

Yeah just a revision or supplier change.
The injection molded part is $12.
Huge cost saving to Tesla I guess.

 

[augkuo]

Yeah just a revision or supplier change.
The injection molded part is $12.
Huge cost saving to Tesla I guess.

How do you order the $12 part? Is it the same part number? Thanks!