Tesla’s mud flaps are available free of charge as a DIY kit. News to you? I happened across an article on Electrek—that's the only reason I know. Tesla didn't reach out to tell me. (Just the facts, not implying anything.) Here's the finished product:
Apparently Tesla will install them for you if you prefer, but will charge for shop time. I chose to do it myself, and followed the service advisor’s suggestion to cut the rubber portion of the splash guards shorter, as they hang low. My dad helped me through the whole process, and an extra pair of hands definitely sped it up! Even so, it took about an hour and a half start to finish.
Before I get started, I'll clarify some nomenclature. There are two parts: the basic retrofit, which Tesla calls the “mud flap," which protects the paint. It's a robust moulded plastic part which bolts into the inside of the front wheel well (x2) and into the underside of the rocker panel (x1).The optional mud flap is a thick, flat piece of slightly flexible rubber, which adheres to the plastic portion with double-sided tape, and shares the same two bolts in the front wheel well. This part Tesla confusingly calls a “splash guard.” This is the terminology I’ll use, but remember, the mud flap doesn’t flap (it’s plastic) and the splash guard is rubber. Whatever.
Tesla provided instructions, two loose mud flaps, hardware in a sealed pouch, and a pair of splash guards in a ziplock bag.
Tools required:
First I stopped at a car wash and spent $2 on a high-pressure rinse to remove the majority of the road gunk from the front wheel wells. Then I borrowed a spot in a friend's underground parking garage because, well, it's cold, wet, and dirty outside.
Turn the wheels to the left lock—you’ll need all the space you can get.
Preparing the installation area
The push clips in the wheel arch liner are easy to remove. Insert a flathead screwdriver or similar pry tool into the slot in one side, wiggle (not much will happen), the opposite slot, wiggle, and the clip will make its way out with minimal trouble.
Open the access cover under the rocker panel and remove the bolt and its attached washer. Aside: the washer is captive on the bolt. Tesla provides an almost identical bolt in the kit, which is just a couple mm longer and has no washer. I surmised the only reason they provide a new bolt is due to the captive washer, which makes the head of the old bolt too large to fit into the mud flap.
Tesla recommends gloves for this step. I didn’t wear any and didn’t feel like I really needed them, but you didn’t hear that from me. Cut (yes, cut off a part on your >$45k car) the plastic door off the rocker panel. It’s all one plastic piece, and the moulded hinge is thin. I easily cut it with three strokes of minimal pressure.
Modifying the splash guards
As the unmodified splash guards hang quite close to the ground, I decided to bisect the hanging portion, removing about 1.25 inches of material.
After cutting, I used the discarded material as a guide to round the corners. It’s rough, but you can’t tell from the street, and it looks way better than right angles.
The mud flap fits inside the splash guard, which has fingers along the top to maintain alignment.
To adhere the splash guard to the mud flap, I first put the two pieces together, then flexed the mudflap upward, removed the release liners on the adhesive, and pressed the two parts together firmly.
This single unit I then bolted to the car in the following steps.
Installing the mud flaps
Installation differs between 1st and 2nd generation kits. 1st-gen kits have bolts for the wheel arch liners, whereas 2nd-gen kits have push clips instead. I have a 1st-gen kit.
The wheel arch liner is fitted inside the bodywork panels on the car. I pried it out using a cat’s-paw from the bottom, flexing it outward until the plastic wheel arch liner popped loose from the bottom. Once out, I was able to clip the U-nuts (which the bolts thread into) onto the plastic rocker panel inside. Be careful not to lose the U-nuts inside the car somewhere. It would be hard to fish them out again! (They're ferrous, so a magnet may assist retrieval.)
I verified the U-nuts were aligned with the holes in the rocker panel and wheel arch liner by threading a bolt into the U-nuts. Then I snapped the wheel arch liner back where it came from. This required flexing/arching it with the cat's-paw, as if I was trying to remove it, while pressing it back into place.
There is not much room to tighten the inboard bolt! I used a short Philips screwdriver bit and Vice-Grips as shown.
The finished product:
Apparently Tesla will install them for you if you prefer, but will charge for shop time. I chose to do it myself, and followed the service advisor’s suggestion to cut the rubber portion of the splash guards shorter, as they hang low. My dad helped me through the whole process, and an extra pair of hands definitely sped it up! Even so, it took about an hour and a half start to finish.
Before I get started, I'll clarify some nomenclature. There are two parts: the basic retrofit, which Tesla calls the “mud flap," which protects the paint. It's a robust moulded plastic part which bolts into the inside of the front wheel well (x2) and into the underside of the rocker panel (x1).The optional mud flap is a thick, flat piece of slightly flexible rubber, which adheres to the plastic portion with double-sided tape, and shares the same two bolts in the front wheel well. This part Tesla confusingly calls a “splash guard.” This is the terminology I’ll use, but remember, the mud flap doesn’t flap (it’s plastic) and the splash guard is rubber. Whatever.
Tesla provided instructions, two loose mud flaps, hardware in a sealed pouch, and a pair of splash guards in a ziplock bag.
Tools required:
- 10 mm hex socket (outer diameter must be small enough to fit in rearward hole in mud flap)
- Knife
- Philips screwdriver with a perfect fit and a blunt tip (the wrong size/shape will only make your job more difficult, which you don’t need while kneeling on grit trying to get the bolts to thread correctly)
- Flathead screwdriver (thin but wide blade ideal) or robust blade for prying
- Cat’s-paw
- Vice-Grips
- Light, lots of light (I used a plug-in trouble light, at least 800 lumens, 60W equivalent)
- Assistant, particularly if you need somebody to hold the light!
- Scrap foam or cardboard to kneel on and rest elbows on
- Bottle of water and a towel for light cleaning immediately before install
- Ruler/straightedge (only needed if cutting rubber mud flap)
- Sharp shears
First I stopped at a car wash and spent $2 on a high-pressure rinse to remove the majority of the road gunk from the front wheel wells. Then I borrowed a spot in a friend's underground parking garage because, well, it's cold, wet, and dirty outside.
Turn the wheels to the left lock—you’ll need all the space you can get.
Preparing the installation area
The push clips in the wheel arch liner are easy to remove. Insert a flathead screwdriver or similar pry tool into the slot in one side, wiggle (not much will happen), the opposite slot, wiggle, and the clip will make its way out with minimal trouble.
Open the access cover under the rocker panel and remove the bolt and its attached washer. Aside: the washer is captive on the bolt. Tesla provides an almost identical bolt in the kit, which is just a couple mm longer and has no washer. I surmised the only reason they provide a new bolt is due to the captive washer, which makes the head of the old bolt too large to fit into the mud flap.
Tesla recommends gloves for this step. I didn’t wear any and didn’t feel like I really needed them, but you didn’t hear that from me. Cut (yes, cut off a part on your >$45k car) the plastic door off the rocker panel. It’s all one plastic piece, and the moulded hinge is thin. I easily cut it with three strokes of minimal pressure.
Modifying the splash guards
As the unmodified splash guards hang quite close to the ground, I decided to bisect the hanging portion, removing about 1.25 inches of material.
After cutting, I used the discarded material as a guide to round the corners. It’s rough, but you can’t tell from the street, and it looks way better than right angles.
The mud flap fits inside the splash guard, which has fingers along the top to maintain alignment.
To adhere the splash guard to the mud flap, I first put the two pieces together, then flexed the mudflap upward, removed the release liners on the adhesive, and pressed the two parts together firmly.
This single unit I then bolted to the car in the following steps.
Installing the mud flaps
Installation differs between 1st and 2nd generation kits. 1st-gen kits have bolts for the wheel arch liners, whereas 2nd-gen kits have push clips instead. I have a 1st-gen kit.
The wheel arch liner is fitted inside the bodywork panels on the car. I pried it out using a cat’s-paw from the bottom, flexing it outward until the plastic wheel arch liner popped loose from the bottom. Once out, I was able to clip the U-nuts (which the bolts thread into) onto the plastic rocker panel inside. Be careful not to lose the U-nuts inside the car somewhere. It would be hard to fish them out again! (They're ferrous, so a magnet may assist retrieval.)
I verified the U-nuts were aligned with the holes in the rocker panel and wheel arch liner by threading a bolt into the U-nuts. Then I snapped the wheel arch liner back where it came from. This required flexing/arching it with the cat's-paw, as if I was trying to remove it, while pressing it back into place.
There is not much room to tighten the inboard bolt! I used a short Philips screwdriver bit and Vice-Grips as shown.
The finished product:
