Stress cracks in rear light

[jamherber]

Cleaning the car over the weekend, I noticed some stress cracks had a appeared in two places on the N/S rear light.

There is no evidence of any impact. Since the leaking tailgate was fixed last year at Bristol SC, the only way to shut it is slam it quite hard (I did bring this up at the SC but they insisted this was fine) so I don't know if this a contributing factor.

I suspect Tesla will just claim it's impact damage if I put in a warranty claim.

Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[Cloggie]

I think the spread of the cracks and the lack of impact damage shows clearly it's not due a 'bump' or a stone

 

[michelerusso88]

The second picture where the little circle dot is is where the injection moulding point is. These lights must be incredibly cheaply made

 

[Billbrown1982]

Yeah I think they would have a hard time proving that it was caused by impact...you never know, they might play ball.

Would be inclined to pop into a SC and get the ok before raising a ticket though, otherwise they might auto charge you.

 

[jamherber]

Yeah I think they would have a hard time proving that it was caused by impact...you never know, they might play ball.

Would be inclined to pop into a SC and get the ok before raising a ticket though, otherwise they might auto charge you.

Not an option sadly as my nearest SC is a 4 hour round trip away, hence the dilemma of being auto-charged if I raise it as an issue.

 

[Cloggie]

I would raise a ticket in the app with photos and ring the SC an hour later to discuss. See what they say, pretty low risk

 

[jamherber]

Update on this. Initially Tesla agreed to send out a ranger to inspect it but they then cancelled this saying I'd have to make the 200 mile round trip to Bristol for them to take a look which means taking another day off work that I really haven't got time for. I argued the point but was told that rangers can't make warranty decisions??

My fourth trip back to Bristol in 6 months of ownership and I strongly suspect they'll try and claim it isn't a warranty issue, when it clearly is a manufacturing defect.

Really, really unimpressed with Tesla build quality and customer service - as much as I like the car, it'll probably be my first and last based on my experience so far.

 

[Durzel]

They ought to be able to tell you if its a warranty repair just from photos in my opinion. Not sure what seeing it in person is going to achieve beyond that.

It is possible I guess that a ranger can't decide on the day if its a warranty repair. In all my interactions (with Bristol, ironically) there has never been any doubt beforehand on either side whether the ranger is turning up to do warranty work, or paid work.

That said I can't see any reason why the ranger can't give their educated opinion on whether it's a warranty job by just calling the service centre while they're there.

EDIT: You should not have to slam the boot to close it.

 

[jamherber]

They ought to be able to tell you if its a warranty repair just from photos in my opinion. Not sure what seeing it in person is going to achieve beyond that.

It is possible I guess that a ranger can't decide on the day if its a warranty repair. In all my interactions (with Bristol, ironically) there has never been any doubt beforehand on either side whether the ranger is turning up to do warranty work, or paid work.

That said I can't see any reason why the ranger can't give their educated opinion on whether it's a warranty job by just calling the service centre while they're there.

EDIT: You should not have to slam the boot to close it.

Ever since it went in for a leaking boot and was ‘adjusted’ by Bristol SC in December , we’ve had to slam the boot to get it to shut. Did query it on collection but was told that it was fine.

 

[Durzel]

If you have to slam it to close it, that would suggest to me that it is not aligned properly, and further that this misalignment could mean it hits other parts it ordinarily wouldn’t - e.g. the light clusters.

I had my bonnet realigned by Bristol SC, after I pointed out a slight horizontal difference, and it came back looking like this...

I thought maybe they were trying to make it look like a 911. When I queried it I too was told it was “within tolerance”. Ended up driving home and doing it myself.

Without seeing your boot in person it’s impossible to say for sure, as “slam” is an interpretative word, but I can pretty much close my boot with two fingers just pushing downwards, so I suspect yours is definitely not right.

 

[Mathmos]

I can't see how slamming your boot lid could make that happen. Unless you are the Incredible Hulk.

 

[Durzel]

I can't see how slamming your boot lid could make that happen. Unless you are the Incredible Hulk.

if the bump stops don't stop it, the boot will make contact with the rear lights.