Spontaneous Crack in Glass Roof

[schmoot]

Wanted to update everyone.

Service center requested pictures of the crack, most likely to confirm the location and make sure it's a stress fracture.

They unfortunately don't have the part, so need to wait another week to get it repaired. Interesting note is they specifically mentioned that the loaner may not be a tesla. Wondering if this is different between S and 3 owners.

 

[dhu1]

Wanted to update everyone.take

Service center requested pictures of the crack, most likely to confirm the location and make sure it's a stress fracture.

They unfortunately don't have the part, so need to wait another week to get it repaired. Interesting note is they specifically mentioned that the loaner may not be a tesla. Wondering if this is different between S and 3 owners.

No, that is common if they run out of loaners, they rent from local car companies. Having said that, everytime they mention that I might not get a Tesla, I still get one. Makes no difference if you have a X or a 3, my experience has been the same with both cars. By the way, installing the window will only take half a day.

 

[timk225]

I suspect it is body flex causing the glass breakage, not "defective glass".

 

[dhu1]

I suspect it is body flex causing the glass breakage, not "defective glass".

If that was the case, we would all be having issues at some point. Anyways, when it happened to me, my SC said it was a defect in the amount of pressure applied when originally installed. He was confident that they had fixed the issue in the factory.

 

[dhrivnak]

Wanted to update everyone.

Service center requested pictures of the crack, most likely to confirm the location and make sure it's a stress fracture.

They unfortunately don't have the part, so need to wait another week to get it repaired. Interesting note is they specifically mentioned that the loaner may not be a tesla. Wondering if this is different between S and 3 owners.

I doubt it as it has more to due to the availability of loaners which are often sold toward the end of the quarter. My Model 3 was in the shop for a firmware issue and they gave me a Model S. P90D

 

[David29]

Actually update to what I said before: The new replacement glass has formed a new stress crack and my SC says it could be a bad batch of glass. They're waiting to hear back from the parts department

Just out of curiosity, anyone know if Tesla makes this glass them selves?
I seem to recall an announcement a year or more ago about "Tesla Glass," a new business to sell special glass. I think it related to the solar roofs, but I wonder if they also do, or did, make automotive glass as well...

 

[ecarfan]

No need to apologize for requesting that a word be used in accord with its generally accepted meaning. The current production version of the 3 has a “glass roof” (Tesla’s wording), not a “sunroof”. I have requested that the Model 3 forum moderator change the thread title.

Sorry to be "that guy", but it's not a sunroof.

View attachment 291770

Hope it gets fixed quickly for you tho.

 

[scrapps]

I just found this when I arrived at work (and the roof had dried off)

I don't suppose Tesla will cover the cost of tinting and ceramic proing my glass? Hopefully they can replace the windshield at the same time, which was scratched on delivery.

 

[dhu1]

I just found this when I arrived at work (and the roof had dried off)

I don't suppose Tesla will cover the cost of tinting and ceramic proing my glass? Hopefully they can replace the windshield at the same time, which was scratched on delivery.
View attachment 296896 View attachment 296897 View attachment 296898

Whoa, that is the first we've seen of the back glass getting cracked. All previous instances have been relating to the front glass.

 

[jsrawa]

I just found this when I arrived at work (and the roof had dried off)

I don't suppose Tesla will cover the cost of tinting and ceramic proing my glass? Hopefully they can replace the windshield at the same time, which was scratched on delivery.
View attachment 296896 View attachment 296897 View attachment 296898

I hope they cover the tinting for you. I think they should, it’s the right thing to do.

 

[adaptabl]

I think this issue is well documented and the crack pattern is pretty unique (spreads from the front center area), so if Tesla saw this years down the line, they should be able to identify it as the same issue.

I wouldn't count on that. After the 4 year warranty you are on your own.

 

[voip-ninja]

I wouldn't count on that. After the 4 year warranty you are on your own.

Well, yes and no. If there's a defect in the design that causes this to happen, then there's a good chance that they would end up having to eat these for an extended period of time past the original warranty and reimburse owners who pay out of pocket for repairs.

I've owned multiple cars where I did an out of pocket repair and a year or two later it turned out the part was known to have a high defect rate and after sending paperwork in the manufacturer reimbursed me.

 

[dhu1]

Agreed. I've had this on my BMW's.

The issue with this particular crack is that unless we've heard otherwise, this is the first and isolated incident with respect to this glass. We'll see if they take responsibility for this issue.

I am paying attention to this, since I got my back window tinted as well and it certainly would not be cheap to do it over again. @scrapps, please keep all of us posted as your precedent will help all of us who have similar issues down the line.

 

[Moderatefan]

Did anybody see this educational video?
Unlikely it's related to recent M3 glass issues, but probably still applies.

 

[Yurand]

My wife's 3 developed a stress crack in the rear glass panel as well, though in a different spot. Taking it in for replacement on Monday.

 

[drawfour]

Did anybody see this educational video?
Unlikely it's related to recent M3 glass issues, but probably still applies.

I wonder if this is more related to the fact that the hot air for the EVs is immediate, whereas in a standard ICE, it takes time for the air to warm up because it's waiting for the engine to warm up before it can divert much heat. Also probably depends on how cold it really is. My current SUV sits outside the garage, and we occasionally will have freezing rain or snow that will coat the car. I always just start the car, put the defroster on high and wait until it melts. (I'll be parking my 3, whenever I get it, in the garage, but I just have to clean the garage first to get a spot for my car.)

But definitely good to know. I'll invest in a quality ice scraper and some driving gloves I can leave in the car to make sure I don't crack the windshield. That would be a sad and costly day...

Wonder if Telsa could add a "safety" mode that would start by slowly ramping up the heat output to the defroster to get a gradual heat distribution instead of full-on.

 

[smac]

I wonder if this is more related to the fact that the hot air for the EVs is immediate

Lots of PHEVs have remote heating, so I'm not convinced it's an EV problem.

More likely a supplier issue.

 

[drawfour]

Lots of PHEVs have remote heating, so I'm not convinced it's an EV problem.

More likely a supplier issue.

It could also be that he had some pitting from rocks already, and this was going to happen anyway. It's hard to tell.

 

[Enginerd]

My wife's 3 developed a stress crack in the rear glass panel as well, though in a different spot.

Curious, as this is not at the edge of the glass, and it's aligned with the defroster element. There's another thread about distortion in the rear glass, which also seems to involve the defroster elements. Can you tell if Tesla has embedded the defroster elements in the glass, instead of laying them on the surface (common practice)?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I wonder if this is more related to the fact that the hot air for the EVs is immediate, whereas in a standard ICE, it takes time for the air to warm up because it's waiting for the engine to warm up before it can divert much heat.

That can happen to ICE vehicles too. The windshield in my '97 Honda CR-V cracked all the way across when I defrosted the window one day as the car was covered with snow.