Stupid rock puncture my car!

[paulvinh]

I sped up to cross a light and suddenly heard a loud thump on the back right side of my car. Now theres a hole in the bottom right side of the car. Luckily, it is on the bottom and on the plastic part. But mannnn this sucks.

Picture attached.

Wonder how much it would cost to fix.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Totaled.
On a related note does anyone know where all the wrecked Model 3s are ending up? There should be plenty at junkyards by now but I don’t see them on car-part.com. Is there a site to order used parts?

 

[paulvinh]

Anyone know the name for that part of the car?

 

[Daniel in SD]

Anyone know the name for that part of the car?

Is this it?
2018 TESLA MODEL 3 REAR BUMPER SPLASH SHIELD UNDER PANEL COVER OEM | eBay
If not, whoever is selling this probably also has the part you need.

 

[paulvinh]

Is this it?
2018 TESLA MODEL 3 REAR BUMPER SPLASH SHIELD UNDER PANEL COVER OEM | eBay
If not, whoever is selling this probably also has the part you need.

Close but I dont think that is it. Will message seller to see if they have anything close to it. Thanks for looking this up!

 

[Jedi2155]

That looks like the rocker panel.

 

[paulvinh]

Bottom part of the highlighted circle

 

[ℬête Noire]

@Jedi2155 Was spot on with the common name, that's the rocker panel. Or maybe they'll call it a rocker panel cover or something.

Rocker Panels: What Are They And Where Are They?

Whether or not Tesla uses that name internally, anyone you talk to in Service should be able to understand it by that name.

-- -- --

I do have a question; How big was that rock and/or how fast were you traveling to make a puncture like that? Wow. It looks more like what I'd expect if you hit a largish chunk of concrete with a piece of the rebar sticking out.

 

[Daniel in SD]

For some reason I though that picture was from the back of the car.
I wonder if Tesla will ever have online parts ordering. To me, that's a huge advantage that the dealership sales model currently has.

 

[ℬête Noire]

For some reason I though that picture was from the back of the car.
I wonder if Tesla will ever have online parts ordering. To me, that's a huge advantage that the dealership sales model currently has.

First things first, being able to order the technical docs and parts to walk away with to DIY install/repair.

Tesla's got some serious growing up to do on this front.

 

[Daniel in SD]

First things first, being able to order the technical docs and parts to walk away with to DIY install/repair.

Tesla's got some serious growing up to do on this front.

My Toyota is incredible in this regard. I bought the service manual on eBay, got a knockoff interface cable, the Toyota service software, and now I can do everything a dealer can do on the truck. Every other car I've owned I've been able to get a copy of the service manual. Definitely my least favorite thing about Tesla. I guess I don't have to worry too much until it's out of warranty.

 

[MacGreiner]

In my best Obi Wan Kenobi voice: "That's no rock!"

 

[chinnam3]

I sped up to cross a light and suddenly heard a loud thump on the back right side of my car. Now theres a hole in the bottom right side of the car. Luckily, it is on the bottom and on the plastic part. But mannnn this sucks.

Picture attached.

Wonder how much it would cost to fix.

If I were you, I would use plastic/rubber epoxy/putty to fill it up nicely instead of replacing for that invisible portion. I repaired few items successfully, recent one include a rearview mirror for friends CRV and Definitive speaker housing. You cannot even tell it has been repaired.

BTW, is yours AWD? I am wondering if this rock was kicked by your front wheel.

 

[ℬête Noire]

I guess I don't have to worry too much until it's out of warranty.

The drivetrain will be covered for awhile but I don't expect I'll make even 3 full years before I'm outside the basic coverage's window. Clock's ticking, by end of 2020 I'll be looking for something resembling the 3rd party support you describe.

 

[lklundin]

On a related note does anyone know where all the wrecked Model 3s are ending up?

Good question.

For the longer term I would like to use a salvaged, serviceable Tesla battery as a buffer for a large solar installation on my house.

The Powerwall is a nice enough concept so I reserved one, but it is actually more sustainable to directly recycle a salvaged, serviceable battery.

 

[paulvinh]

If I were you, I would use plastic/rubber epoxy/putty to fill it up nicely instead of replacing for that invisible portion. I repaired few items successfully, recent one include a rearview mirror for friends CRV and Definitive speaker housing. You cannot even tell it has been repaired.

BTW, is yours AWD? I am wondering if this rock was kicked by your front wheel.

It is not AWD. I am actually not sure what it was. I dont remember seeing anything on the road and I have been very careful of watching the road now a days.

Will look into plastic/rubber/epoxy/putty. Where did you buy them? Any product you recommend?

 

[ℬête Noire]

It is not AWD. I am actually not sure what it was. I dont remember seeing anything on the road and I have been very careful of watching the road now a days.

Probably a long, flattish piece of metal then that unluckily for you your front tire kicked up, got caught on the bottom there, and jammed between the road and the bottom of the car.....and maybe a little lucky that it didn't damage anything more serious. If the metal had been driven over some by other vehicles it'd be really hard to spot laying on the pavement.

 

[chinnam3]

It is not AWD. I am actually not sure what it was. I dont remember seeing anything on the road and I have been very careful of watching the road now a days.

Will look into plastic/rubber/epoxy/putty. Where did you buy them? Any product you recommend?

Depending type of plastic/abs/pvc we need to pick. But in general something like this would work.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/J-B-Weld-8237-2-Oz-Epoxy-Adhesive/21589830

or

https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-84145-Permapoxy-Black-Plastic/dp/B00THUUVSU

You might want to warm that plastic part little and pull out folded plastic back as much as possible and join with this glue.(Not sure how hard that plastic/abs is) If it is problematic to pull that plastic back, you can use something like Sugru to mold into and fill the gap.

https://www.amazon.com/Sugru-Mouldable-Glue-Original-Formula/dp/B01BFE0KNQ

Anyways, best of luck!