Tesla Model 3 Rear-Ended

[PogoShee]

Our model 3 (Chappie) was rear ended earlier this week. Yesterday marked 3 months since Chappie was delivered.
I got our initial quote for repairs today. $12k without any disassembly to see additional damage. Not too sure what to expect when they start taking him apart. Our battery pyro-fuse was activated, and it sounded like the back motor continued to run. Our car was undriveable and all electronics shot, even with the 12v still connected.
To make everything better, the person that rear-ended us reported to insurance but has yet to make a statement. This is preventing her insurance from being able to determine liability and we cant get a loaner yet.
Honestly still trying to comprehend the fact that chappie is now 6 hours away from home trying to get repaired.

 

[SJC3]

Sorry to hear. Nice wrap job too! If they keep dragging, check with your insurance on what state law requires before you take action. Tesla parts are slow enough, you don’t want additional delays.

 

[SMAlset]

Cool wrap, love the color and god I hate reading threads like this. Sorry about your car. Did you have a USB drive in place and using TeslaCam? Kind of late to mention now but if so and you had saved off the footage it could have been helpful in providing insurance with evidence of what happened. Others who have been rear-ended found it helpful with the side repeater cameras despite not having a rear camera recording. And if you were stopped and thrown forward by impact the front camera would indicate that as well. Let us know how you make out.

 

[vjason]

You didn’t call the cops? That would have solved the liability issue since assured clear distance is a no brainer almost anytime someone rear ends you.

 

[silentsnow31802]

My car was in a very similar accident a while back. Rear ended, pyro blew, 12V stayed intact until of course it died from not being topped up by the HV system.

The person that hit me provided insurance information that had a valid date. Turns out it was not valid. I also did not have police show up. Big mistake there.

Parts took a good 5-6 months to arrive so the car sat with a blow pyro that entire time. When I got the car back the battery was WAY out of balance and still is to this date. Car has 270 something miles on a full charge. LR RWD.

Point here is it is never a bad idea to have the police involved. Also try and get the pyro fuse replaced ASAP. Even if they cannot repair the body damage soon. The longer the car sits with that fuse blown the worse off itll be when you get it back.

 

[R1Fast]

@PogoShee Very, very sorry to hear about your bad luck. If you had full coverage you can at least rest assured at some point Chappie will be back on the road.. albeit maybe a long one (hopefully not).

When I was younger I was backed into by a nice looking old man in a bowling alley parking lot. He immediately admitted fault and gave me a valid (looking) insurance card, and since he seemed so genuine I took him at his word. Long story short his insurance was expired and he fought me all the way to small claims court. I won but I never saw a dime in compensation as he skipped judgement. From that point on I have always insisted that the cops be brought to the scene regardless of who's at fault or who's driving (my wife, friends, etc). If for nothing more than additional documentation in case a liability battle ensues.

Did you have TeslaCam active and did you pull the USB from the car to check the indicator cameras to see if they give proof? You might also want to contact Tesla is it's been previously stated (though might just be rumor) that video clips are often uploaded to Tesla directly esp when a collision is detected or airbag goes off. If so they might be willing to investigate given the situation.

 

[PogoShee]

Cool wrap, love the color and god I hate reading threads like this. Sorry about your car. Did you have a USB drive in place and using TeslaCam? Kind of late to mention now but if so and you had saved off the footage it could have been helpful in providing insurance with evidence of what happened. Others who have been rear-ended found it helpful with the side repeater cameras despite not having a rear camera recording. And if you were stopped and thrown forward by impact the front camera would indicate that as well. Let us know how you make out.

Our USB actually corrupted a couple weeks back and we never got around to fixing it...

 

[PogoShee]

You didn’t call the cops? That would have solved the liability issue since assured clear distance is a no brainer almost anytime someone rear ends you.

Cops were called but insurance comes up with their own liability based on the police report and statements.

 

[PogoShee]

@PogoShee Very, very sorry to hear about your bad luck. If you had full coverage you can at least rest assured at some point Chappie will be back on the road.. albeit maybe a long one (hopefully not).

When I was younger I was backed into by a nice looking old man in a bowling alley parking lot. He immediately admitted fault and gave me a valid (looking) insurance card, and since he seemed so genuine I took him at his word. Long story short his insurance was expired and he fought me all the way to small claims court. I won but I never saw a dime in compensation as he skipped judgement. From that point on I have always insisted that the cops be brought to the scene regardless of who's at fault or who's driving (my wife, friends, etc). If for nothing more than additional documentation in case a liability battle ensues.

Did you have TeslaCam active and did you pull the USB from the car to check the indicator cameras to see if they give proof? You might also want to contact Tesla is it's been previously stated (though might just be rumor) that video clips are often uploaded to Tesla directly esp when a collision is detected or airbag goes off. If so they might be willing to investigate given the situation.

We have contacted Tesla. IF she tries do deny liability and it goes to court, they will release video with a court subpoena.

 

[-DA3]

Call me crazy- I always thought-- if you get rear ended it's the other persons fault-no questions. (failure to control vehicle is the ticket the person behind you would have received) was told by the law if a guy in front slams on his brakes to let a frog cross the road you better be ready to stop.

 

[PogoShee]

Call me crazy- I always thought-- if you get rear ended it's the other persons fault-no questions. (failure to control vehicle is the ticket the person behind you would have received) was told by the law if a guy in front slams on his brakes to let a frog cross the road you better be ready to stop.

The person rear-ended is never at fault.. the other driver can try to get fault placed on someone else but that doesn't seem plausible to me. But with that being an option, her insurance won't pay for anything yet. We do have full-coverage so the repair process can be completed when all estimates are completed. A rental car, however is out of the question until her insurance claims liability. So here we are driving an old Chevy pickup with horrid gas mileage.

 

[TampaRich]

Doesn’t your insurance cover a rental?

 

[Jefla]

Nice wrap! Do you add your wrap as a custom part to your insurance so it is covered as well?

 

[VT_EE]

I had a similar accident. Guy had no insurance card with him. I am using my insurance to get everything fixed and Geico will go after his insurance and refund me the deductible once they pay up. I have the video so there is no question who’s at fault. Like others said here, you will be the no-fault party in this case. Btw-parts seems to be coming in faster these days. The long pole for me is the actual work on the car. Replacing rear quarter panels is painful.

 

[R1Fast]

We have contacted Tesla. IF she tries do deny liability and it goes to court, they will release video with a court subpoena.

That is good news at least!

 

[SJC3]

That is good news at least!

How does this work when he wasn’t using a usb for TeslaCam? A certain length of video must be stored locally or sent to the cloud by default?

 

[SMAlset]

Our USB actually corrupted a couple weeks back and we never got around to fixing it...

I pulled mine the other day to check for something I had seen while driving (actually Tesla car carriers loaded with Model 3s) and realized when I got in the car to run errands in the afternoon that I hadn't replace it. Almost ran back upstairs to get it but was in a time crunch to get something done so didn't. The whole trip out I kept thinking why aren't you carrying your spare card reader with microSD card with you or in the car to prevent this from happening. Of course also was a bit paranoid every time I parked too. While sitting with traffic also stopped with me in the right lane, I witnessed a car fly past all of us in the left lane and straight through a long red light. Could have been a really bad situation given his speed. Was going to hit my save button on TeslaCam but of course remembered no USB device in it. Put it back in the car once I got home. You just never know when it will come in handy.

 

[PogoShee]

How does this work when he wasn’t using a usb for TeslaCam? A certain length of video must be stored locally or sent to the cloud by default?

Tesla is constantly collecting video but it is encrypted for privacy. If needed, they have someone go in and get that video.

 

[Rojer Lockless]

Not true. Sometimes when you rear end someone it's the other drivers fault. There was a dashcam here a few weeks back of a car slamming on their breaks and cutting across 3 lanes of traffic from an exit ramp to the other side ramp on a freeway and the M3 rear ended the other car. The dashcam clearly showed the car in front was completely at fault.

 

[happydad]

I had a similar accident. Guy had no insurance card with him. I am using my insurance to get everything fixed and Geico will go after his insurance and refund me the deductible once they pay up. I have the video so there is no question who’s at fault. Like others said here, you will be the no-fault party in this case. Btw-parts seems to be coming in faster these days. The long pole for me is the actual work on the car. Replacing rear quarter panels is painful.

Same for me where my insurance paid first while going after theirs. Parts was the longest wait for me, about 3 weeks, while actual repair took 2-3 days.