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Tesla adds Titanium Underbody Shield to Model S
- Thread starter Jgdixon
- Start date
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
Brett
Member
My car is in today at the new Los Angeles Service Center on Centinella. Vince told me I'm the first one to have the underbody shield installed there. Getting the car back later today also with Software v5.9 update.
In theory I wonder what the incentive is to install this thing. If I hit something on the road which causes the car to burn down I get a new car from Tesla. If I install this I run the risk of damaging something and not get a new car. So why install it.
I expect at some point the fire replacement warranty will end if you refuse the free retrofit.
I doubt it. The small cost to Tesla of providing a new car is peanuts compared to the good will and peace of mind that it will give people.
SamGarber
S85 "Whale Shark"
Getting my underbody shield installed this Friday at the Norristown PA service center!!! Yay Tesla Tank!
If people want peace of mind, they should add the armor. The good will should come from the armor being free.
I don't see why Tesla should replace a car that has a battery fire from road debris, if the driver chooses drive at the lowest setting and refuses to install the armor.
Uhhh, probably because Mr. Musk said they would. He is so confident in his engineering that he wants the whole world to feel the same. If it takes a titanium shield--he gives them a titanium shield. If others are content driving the world's safest car without the shield...well, he has accomplished his purpose either way.
bareyb
Active Member
I'm not in any big hurry to add it. I think raising the car slightly has been pretty effective all by itself. We haven't had another impalement since. I'm going to wait and see how others like the retrofit and see if it has any adverse effects. If not, I'll probably go for it the next time I'm in for service.
Plus this retrofit is not actually guaranteed to protect against everything. It sounds great, but it's not a panacea. Or I've watched too many Speed Racer cartoons and can imagine too many things that can hurt cars....
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Given how few there were before, IMHO the lack since then doesn't prove much.
He said they would, but that does not mean he will not change that to "we'll cover any fires in cars that did not refuse protection". It would be completely reasonable to do so.
He gave the titanium shield for free. He should not have to replace cars for people who choose not to take the protection.
bareyb
Active Member
In reality it's probably either/or/both. Either they were vulnerable before and aren't now, or it was just a wild coincidence that we had two in two months. I'm guessing a bit of both. Raising the height a bit made it just slightly higher than BMW and Audi, and other low vehicles so those now become the crash test dummies and clear the road for the rest of the higher cars out there. It's kind of like the old tale about the two guys running from a Tiger. The one guy says, "you can't outrun a Tiger!" and the other one says, "I don't have to, I only need to outrun YOU".
My feeling is that if a battery fire happens and you have had the retrofit done they will stand behind it. If you are in for service and will not allow them to install it then don't count on them replacing the car for free. (I personally feel they are going to do the retrofit automatically moving forward (like the software updates) once sufficient stock is on hand. I can't imagine them doing all of the other service updates they are known to do when you go in for anything and ignore doing something that could cause bad press and a major liability if another fire were to occur.
Mayhemm
Model S P85+ "Lola"
Also recall that we had no impalements for ~18 months before the first incident, either. And this was with the original, lower low mode. Personally, I think it was a stroke of bad luck and had nothing to do with ride height. There are hundreds of low-riding vehicles on the road everyday.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Since he said it's optional, not mandatory, and since he said the car is safe without it, I'd say he needs to stick with his original statement, and I expect he will. Especially since it's unlikely it will ever be much of an issue.
Kraken
Member
So, anyone actually want to weight their car before and after the update? I for one am curious.
The car being "safe" means people will not get hurt, not that the pack will not catch fire and destroy the car.
The Models S is arguably the safest car ever built. I have not fear driving my family in it. That does not mean occasional debris on the road will not do significant damage to the pack (especially at low height setting) that can be prevented with the additional armor.
The warranty against any battery fire was made to reduce any concerns people might have had. The upgrade is available now reduces those concerns and the warranty only applying if you do not refuse the upgrade, is still in the original spirt and intent of the fire replacement warranty.
Refusing the upgraded protection makes little sense. There is no downside, unless you count the 0.1% range reduction (which it less than a very slight head wind). Refusing it does mean you have an increased chance of a car fire, however small, completely unnecessarily.
If you decide to do that, that's fine, but I do not see why you would expect a free replacement car if you hit something that causes a fire. It's almost like you want a fire (and the replacement car), which is not what the generous warranty was intended for in the first place.
Ultimately, every Model S fire really hurts Tesla and there mission. I plan to get the upgrade for that reason alone. I do not want to be the person who hit something and causes the 3rd fire.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
That's fine. However, irrelevant to the topic at hand, i.e. if Tesla will still cover the car if it catches fire if the optional upgrade is not in place. The original guarantee did not come with a caveat that future optional changes must be applied. Mind you, even with the new upgrade there is no guarantee that the car could still not catch fire under different circumstances, it just, hopefully, reduced the likelihood, which was already remote.
There is NO reason to drive in LOW position in downtown areas where debris on roadways is common. Choose STANDARD height instead.
There is NO reason to drive with seat in LOW position (pinhead style) in such a heavy car. Raise seat as near to max as your body height (or Stetson) allows. Then you can more easily see ahead for any road debris.
Roadster offers neither of the above; all you can do is pray.
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There is NO reason to drive with seat in LOW position (pinhead style) in such a heavy car. Raise seat as near to max as your body height (or Stetson) allows. Then you can more easily see ahead for any road debris.
Roadster offers neither of the above; all you can do is pray.
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