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Tesla Orlando claiming front license plate mounts can no longer be removed?!?

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Hi All - I've been a multi-Tesla owner since the original Roadster... feeling the decline of Tesla service since 2009!

The latest absurdity: Our brand-new Plaid Model S was delivered with a front license plate holder. Front license plates are not used in Florida.

We made it clear at pick-up we would not take delivery unless the front plate holder was removed. They said they couldn't do it that day, so they create a service due-list item to remove it.

Now today at the service appointment they are trying to claim it is "against the law" for them to remove it, saying it "invalidates crash test results".

LOL. A stick-on plastic license plate holder invalidates crash test results.

Has anyone heard anything like this from anywhere else?

I'm still shaking my head.
 
Wow. I can’t believe that response, sounds very lazy. The good news is it should be easy to remove with fishing line and a heat gun/hair dryer, though if there is any superficial damage to the car under the plate and you remove it, they likely wouldn’t cover fixing if you removed it. Tough.
 
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Wow. I can’t believe that response, sounds very lazy. The good news is it should be easy to remove with fishing line and a heat gun/hair dryer, though if there is any superficial damage to the car under the plate and you remove it, they likely wouldn’t cover fixing if you removed it. Tough.

Yep that's exactly why I wanted them to remove it.

As absurd as it is, a service rep just showed us the internal memo / email:

As of January 12, 2022 is Tesla corporate policy that dealerships shall no longer remove front license plate mounts.

The race between tesla-car-improvements and tesla-service-decline is meme worthy.
 
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Hi All - I've been a multi-Tesla owner since the original Roadster... feeling the decline of Tesla service since 2009!

The latest absurdity: Our brand-new Plaid Model S was delivered with a front license plate holder. Front license plates are not used in Florida.

We made it clear at pick-up we would not take delivery unless the front plate holder was removed. They said they couldn't do it that day, so they create a service due-list item to remove it.

Now today at the service appointment they are trying to claim it is "against the law" for them to remove it, saying it "invalidates crash test results".

LOL. A stick-on plastic license plate holder invalidates crash test results.

Has anyone heard anything like this from anywhere else?

I'm still shaking my head.
What they said is accurate. You can blame the government for that, not Tesla. That’s why all Model S ship with the plate holder.

Why can’t you just remove it yourself?
 
Now today at the service appointment they are trying to claim it is "against the law" for them to remove it, saying it "invalidates crash test results".
As of January 12, 2022 is Tesla corporate policy that dealerships shall no longer remove front license plate mounts.

This actually is not new. It was that situation in mid-2016 when I took delivery of my MS90D when they first went away from the 'classic' oval front fascia. The issue is that any manufacturer cannot delivery a car for sale that does not confirm to the configuration which was used for certification testing, whether that be emissions, fuel economy, or crash results.

Now Tesla could run two sets of frontal crash tests, one with the front license plate holder and one without, but that is not an inexpensive proposition. I'm not saying the results would be different, but impact testing is not a small expense.

Before you ask "so why can a detail shop remove it when they do PPF and Tesla will not remove for me after delivery", this again gets into a case where Tesla, as the manufacturer, has different compliance liability issues than you or any other person removing it for you.
 
They told me the same back in March 2020. I went ahead and removed it anyway. I would be really surprised if the front plate holder would change the crash test. I believe it is more of a checklist type thing that they would have to do a complete new test if anything is removed. Would like to hear a Tesla Official put on it.

M
 
Tesla could save a bunch of money by not installing the front plate holder to states where it is not required.
They are claiming that because the car was crash tested with the front plate holder, they must deliver the cars with it installed. But when I received my Model 3 in May of 2020, the front plate holder was in the trunk and not installed. Is this only a Model S issue?
 
I thought that the refresh S front license plates was double stick only, no security bolts on bottom? On Raven the plate holder had 2 security bolts on bottom. This lead me to believe they were covered if plate was removed. Interesting. Would like to know the "Real" story here...

M
 
Refresh has no screws attaching it to the bumper cover however the secondary painted part is screwed into the stuck on part which needs to be removed in order to heat the stuck on part. Make sense?

Pretty sure since it is installed at the factory there is no option having it delivered without. May just be a convenient excuse as to why it must be delivered with it on.
 
Refresh has no screws attaching it to the bumper cover however the secondary painted part is screwed into the stuck on part which needs to be removed in order to heat the stuck on part. Make sense?

Pretty sure since it is installed at the factory there is no option having it delivered without. May just be a convenient excuse as to why it must be delivered with it on.

Did they not need to re-run crash tests with the refresh S? I wonder why they wouldn't take the opportunity to do the test without the front plate at that point.
Was it an oversight to have the plate holder installed for the 2016 facelift? Or is there some other reason they have chosen to have the front plate holder on the S, but not on the others?
 
The home page and web pages for ordering a Tesla Model S never show a front license plate. Front license plates don't exactly enhance the appearance, nor the aerodynamics, of the car. On the other hand, the Tesla website could use some work, it shows three different mileage estimates for the same Model S LR: 375, 396, and 405.
 
This is nothing new people - it has been well documented that the front plate on the S has to do with adherence to the original "crash test configuration" requirements. This was not the case for the X...or the 3/Y to my understanding - but definitely was for the S.

It's just on with sticky tape - it comes off with a hair dryer and some alcohol to remove the adhesive. I removed it from my Plaid last week in 10minutes so nothing has changed with the refreshed S. Be thankful its not screwed into the front bumper like most other vehicles!
 
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