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On Monday when driving back from Reno to the Bay Area I went to charge at the Rocklin supercharger near Sacramento. Shortly after backing in and charging my low tire pressure warning came on, which I thought odd because the tires are less than two months old and I hadn't hit anything.

Anyway, it turns out that the tire stop at the supercharger sliced open the inside sidewall of my tire. While not perfectly centered in the wide parking space when I backed in, I wasn't that far off as the pictures below show.

The parking stop is a low 72" long beveled plastic stop that goes across much of the back of the parking spot. When the back tire is against the stop the charging port is about perfectly aligned with the charger with the charging port located just to the side of where the supercharger connector normally rests in the pedestal. The 72" stop is not much wider than the back of the model S. The parking spot was quite wide as well. I was around 7-8 inches to the left in the parking space when I backed in.

I believe this is the parking stop: Parking Stops - 6', Plastic, Gray H-2309GR - Uline

These pictures were taken after I pulled forward to see where the leak was coming from. It's not clear at the angle this picture was taken but the parking stop is actually quite low to the ground and is less than 3" high (lower than many speed bumps). There's actually quite a bit of clearance. The edge of the parking stop is actually rather sharp. I contacted ULine who sells the parking stops and they quickly replied back that they'll contact their manufacturer, presumably to round the corners off.

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To add insult to injury, I had purchased the 19" rims and tires less than two months earlier because I had too many problems with potholes in San Jose destroying my 21" rims. In the past year I had three rims destroyed due to the roads near where I work. I figured that since I was at a service center with stock Tesla tires that it should be easy to just replace the tire and be on my way. WRONG! Tesla doesn't stock the tires that ship with their wheels (at least at Rocklin).

Since my car was full of luggage the Rocklin service center charged me to ship my wheel back to Fremont (the service center I normally use) because they don't carry the tire that ships with the wheels I bought from Tesla! I couldn't simply replace the OEM tire that shipped with my wheels at the Tesla service center (and pay $300).

Tesla — 19" Slipstream Wheel and Winter Tire Package

Also, according to the Rocklin service center Tesla doesn't include road hazard with their tires, unlike buying tires from Tirerack or other shops. If I weren't in a hurry I'd have Tesla tow me to a tire place to replace the tire (stock) which Tesla doesn't carry at their service center.

I also had backed up quite slowly until I felt the rear tire(s) bump against the parking stop. I was somewhat off-center but not excessively so as the photos show plenty of space on the driver's side. Obviously I could not see the stop in the driver's side mirror either and I could not see well in the passenger's side. If I had been a couple of millimeters left or right there would not have been an issue, but the sharp corner of the parking stop sliced open the inside sidewall of my tire.

I've seen similar stops at other superchargers, but they're usually rubbery and rounded on all sides. There were three spots like this here, one of which had the stop well off-center.

I will never buy tires from Tesla. The fact that there is no road-hazard and they don't carry the tires they sell means I can't rely on them if I get a flat. Not only that but I'm paying straight retail.
 
I'm having a hard time visualizing what actually cut the tire wall. I see what appears to be a concrete bumper like in most parking lots, but I assume that was not it. It would put you too far back in the stall and on top of the other facing car.

Tesla NOT stocking the tires is odd and probably should be fixed when they roll out the M3. Sorry about your experience. Always happens when it's the least convenient. o_O

Whatever you use for your paint protector/maintenance is working. Very nice shine/depth on your car. :)
 
The edge is quite sharp and sliced the sidewall open. It is not rounded, despite looking slightly rounded in the photo. It also is not a normal parking spot stop but is much lower profile, When the back tires rest against it the car is in about the perfect location to charge, not too far back. When the back tires rest against the stop the charge port is directly next to where the supercharger connector normally rests in the pedestal. In my case I was not quite centered and the edge of the tire stop sliced open the sidewall. The bumper looks like concrete but is actually a high-density plastic.

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-2309GR/Parking-Lot-Safety/Parking-Stops-6-Plastic-Gray

I noticed that most of the ones I see are beveled at the ends, unlike this one, to prevent damage like what I experienced. There is no beveling on the ends.

I had 3M opti-coat put on my car several years ago and use Chemical Guys products on my car.
 
I'm guessing the reason Tesla installs low profile parking stops is to prevent Model S's with Smart Air Suspension from "settling" their bumpers / air dams onto "normal" height parking stops when the Model S is turned off and the SAS depressurizes. Been there, done that.
 
I charged there yesterday. When I backed in, I got the Stop warning well before the tires were even close to the bumper. I stopped and charged no problem.
If I had ignored the Stop warning, I guess I could have hit the bumper.
(BTW, they're installing 10 more Supercharger stations at this site.)
 
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At locations like Hamilton Marketplace and Newark, DE, they have black rubberized stops which I'm pretty sure extend almost the width of the parki^H^H^H^H^Hcharging spot. I always back in until I tap the stop at these locations. But now I'll have to look and make sure I'm lined up correctly if the stops are of the shorter length variety.
 
I'm guessing the reason Tesla installs low profile parking stops is to prevent Model S's with Smart Air Suspension from "settling" their bumpers / air dams onto "normal" height parking stops when the Model S is turned off and the SAS depressurizes. Been there, done that.

I have SAS on a 2015 S85D and it has never lowered when the car is off and I have it set to raise at all my normal stops where I park. I always put the menu to the SAS when I park and check it is properly up when I pull in, and then look again when pulling out.

...I keep reading about this 'settling' and consider this defective behavior...is this an older car problem?
 
I have SAS on a 2015 S85D and it has never lowered when the car is off and I have it set to raise at all my normal stops where I park. I always put the menu to the SAS when I park and check it is properly up when I pull in, and then look again when pulling out.

...I keep reading about this 'settling' and consider this defective behavior...is this an older car problem?
Mostly it is just the car takes a few seconds to adjust to the load, I think. So it seems like it is lower when all that's happened is that it hasn't raised itself yet. I'm a bit paranoid about it so don't get in trouble, but I have noticed when a bunch of people get in the car you'll want to give is about 30 seconds to adjust itself after you've powered it on. You feel the car raising.
 
You should really make a habit of never getting close to curbs or tire stops. I guess it comes from years of driving cars with low clearance (4" or less) - I just never, ever, ever get anywhere near one of these or curbs or anything like that... would usually rip the front air dam or bumper right off otherwise.

There's never, in my experience, been any reason to tap your tires on a curb or tire stop. I've never even had a reason to put my bumper over one or the other... It's a good habit to be in, you'll never damage your car accidentally.