Scraping noise under Model 3. Open plastic shield.

[jjjord]

I have a performance M3 and heard that awful sound few when getting back from a road trip in a rainy day/weekend.
Only hearing at lower speeds, and intermittent. After inspecting I found it was a plastic shield under second row seats that has the front opened and since getting some air was bent down and back. At higher speeds it bends more and doesn't touch the pavement so no noise.

My question is - is this a warranty issue, or should I try to fix it myself?
I'll put some pics later too.

By the way I also found there are these plastic clips missing behind the rear wheels. (pictures coming)
Anybody else had these issues?

 

[PoitNarf]

Anybody else had these issues?

Unfortunately, yes...

Ripped Undercarriage Composite from the rain?

 

[JeffK]

This exact thing happened to mine after my first drive in the rain (didn't go through any large puddles). Had it replaced under warranty.

 

[jjjord]

Ah, I see. As much as I like this car, there are a lot of straight DUMB “engineering” decisions. I still like driving it, but it kind of kills the joy when you know it.

I gotta start a thread about the most annoying things in the car. Or look for one

 

[HeatproofGenie]

Ha another one! Sorry OP.

I taped between the entire battery tray and this back tray seam with Gorilla tape prophylactically on mine after hearing a number of times of this happening to others. Seems better to not get a ton of water and road grime back in the rear motor area.

It could be definitely engineered much better but to be fair to Tesla their undertray setup is way more aero than most any other ICE car. Needs to have a slot or something the tray inserts into before getting bolted down and the tray needs to be made of something much tougher.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I thought all Tesla’s had a steel shield for the undercarriage to protect the battery?

 

[PoitNarf]

I thought all Tesla’s had a steel shield for the undercarriage to protect the battery?

Yes, but the aero shield is below that.

 

[Perry]

I had the same problem. After rains, shield got detached, caught air under the car and got pulled down. The road ground it down and its all destroyed. It is made out of some really brittle and crappy material. Looks like some composite plastic lined with fabric. Fabric that absorbs water under the car?! Makes no sense. Tech will come this Thursday to replace it under warranty but I fear this will be a reoccurring issue until they get sick of replacing these and redesign the part.

 

[jjjord]

I got some pics for you to check. The closest SC is 2 hours away. What do you guys think I should do?

 

[jjjord]

Ah, and here are some pics from the wheel wells of both the M3P and the M3LR. Don't you think they skimped on the plastic clips there?

 

[ngogas]

@jjjord thanks for the pics

As for the wheel well, mine was missing from the rear driver and one from rear passenger. The mobile service came and replaced it.

 

[jjjord]

@ngogas your what was missing?
Judging from the pics there are 3 clips missing at each wheel well (2 for the performance).
So I am missing total of 10 of these between both cars.

 

[jjjord]

As they mentioned here:
Undercarriage Composite Tray Ripped | Tesla
the interesting part will be what happens when you have to drive in slush or snow drifts (inevitable)...
Not driving my car in bad weather seems like not a good solution...

 

[Perry]

I got some pics for you to check. The closest SC is 2 hours away. What do you guys think I should do?

Yep, I got the exact same thing. Seems to be a design problem. They are replacing mine under warranty with mobile service, in two days. Don't let them tell you its not covered under warranty. This is a design problem and this will keep happening until they redesign this part and make it stronger. Point them to this thread and show them that this is a common problem.

 

[Perry]

Ah, and here are some pics from the wheel wells of both the M3P and the M3LR. Don't you think they skimped on the plastic clips there?

After a certain manufacturing date they stopped putting those grommets. Engineering thought they were not necessary anymore so they didn't forget to install them. Mine doesn't have those (Aug build) and none of the cars after approximately that date have them installed. If you get a good person at SC and ask nicely they will install them but they tell you they are not needed.

 

[Perry]

As they mentioned here:
Undercarriage Composite Tray Ripped | Tesla
the interesting part will be what happens when you have to drive in slush or snow drifts (inevitable)...
Not driving my car in bad weather seems like not a good solution...

You should not have to abstain from driving in any condition based on the poor design of the car. Drive normally and have them replace the broken parts under warranty. If they get enough of these, they'll redesign the part and you'll finally get a permanent fix.

 

[jjjord]

You should not have to abstain from driving in any condition based on the poor design of the car. Drive normally and have them replace the broken parts under warranty. If they get enough of these, they'll redesign the part and you'll finally get a permanent fix.

I got a call from closest mobile service. They wanted to check how much it will cost etc, but then I told them it is a design flaw and gave them links to this and the Tesla forum threads. They checked and said there is a new revision of the part with “strengthened material”. Will post pictures later when they install it. My car was build in Oct, so the revisioned part must be fairly new.

 

[Perry]

I got a call from closest mobile service. They wanted to check how much it will cost etc, but then I told them it is a design flaw and gave them links to this and the Tesla forum threads. They checked and said there is a new revision of the part with “strengthened material”. Will post pictures later when they install it. My car was build in Oct, so the revisioned part must be fairly new.

They just replaced mine under warranty but its the same old part. Next time it breaks I'll ask for the new part.

 

[jjjord]

I got it replaced as well. They did both the front and the rear shields. The new ones are revision B (stamped on the shield instead of A) and are a bit stiffer, but same type - plastic with fabric-ish coating. Also noticed the front of the rear shield has a little curvature up (second pic), so it's less likely for water and air to catch it. I'm duct taping it anyway

 

[Dbello70]

Thank you all for posting about this issue. It really educated me when the same thing happened to me and it got me angry. My Mid Aero Shield was damaged last week in the rain. I was shocked to find out Telsa was not covering it under warranty, especially with the TSB that was issued earlier this year. My Model 3 is 2 months old and I live in Miami where it rains, hard, all summer. After reading all the damaged aero shield posts on this forum and others, I'm more annoyed. I wrote Tesla and I'm attempting to invoked arbitration on this issue. I have also complained to the NHSTA, DOT, Florida AG's Office, the CFPB and the Better Business Bureau. Its really not about the $214 it cost to replace the shield. Its about a clearly defective part that should be recalled and replaced. The service guy at the Tesla Coral Gables service center said the Tesla mid aero shield, part # 1104313-00-B, is the number 1 stocked item at their service center. Yes, I had the new aero shield required by the TSB and it still failed. I paid $60k for a car i cant drive in the rain.