Too many fender benders

[Ron95030]

And this, folks, is why they offered that adjustable ride height which comes with the air suspension option. But you all knew that! :biggrin:

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Russell, try coming out of the western exit of Moscone Center garage some time. With our long wheelbase you'll really need to boost the height or endure a long painful scrape....

 

[William13]

I misjudged when preoccupied and scratched a little area against my garage door frame. In any other car I would ignore this blemish but when people are taking pictures of my car on a nearly daily basis coupled with the incredible high price I paid for my "happy place," pushes me to replace rather than repair the little scratch in the plastic. The unpainted plastic costs $850 from Tesla. Paint and installation is extra.

 

[Richard_B]

Yes, I suspect people driving with the air suspension set too low.

Richard

 

[HHHH]

Most of the cars I've owned have had low front ends. As a result, I have always chosen the option to raise the height of the car and only made the decision to buy the Tesla when I became aware of the air suspension option. At superchargers and elsewhere I have seen Teslas pulled in until their tires hit the curb, even though the front bumper scrapes over the curb. Since I live in San Francisco with hills and also have a steep driveway, I slow to a crawl, raise the car and go forward on a diagonal; all to protect the bumper. My remaining fear is traveling at a high speed, with the car in "low" position, and a sudden change in surface that will cause the car to scrape the nose. So far, hasn't happened but still of concern.

I can relate, my last few cars have been sports cars with low front ends, I do the same thing, I slow to the lowest possible speed and go in at an angle. I used to live in SF so I know what you mean with all the hills, plus the road quality isn't great. I'm hoping I don't have any similar issues here in Vegas where most of the roads are flat and I don't have many parking curbs that I pull up to.

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I misjudged when preoccupied and scratched a little area against my garage door frame. In any other car I would ignore this blemish but when people are taking pictures of my car on a nearly daily basis coupled with the incredible high price I paid for my "happy place," pushes me to replace rather than repair the little scratch in the plastic. The unpainted plastic costs $850 from Tesla. Paint and installation is extra.

I couldn't live like that, it would drive me nuts. I would have to replace the part. I've had my last few cars covered in clear bra film and I'm skipping it on this one, partially as an experiment. I once had a Techart rim replaced on my 2006 Porsche Carrera S because I nicked a curb and the repaired finish didn't match the others and drove me mad.

 

[Patsax]

Most of the cars I've owned have had low front ends. As a result, I have always chosen the option to raise the height of the car and only made the decision to buy the Tesla when I became aware of the air suspension option. At superchargers and elsewhere I have seen Teslas pulled in until their tires hit the curb, even though the front bumper scrapes over the curb. Since I live in San Francisco with hills and also have a steep driveway, I slow to a crawl, raise the car and go forward on a diagonal; all to protect the bumper. My remaining fear is traveling at a high speed, with the car in "low" position, and a sudden change in surface that will cause the car to scrape the nose. So far, hasn't happened but still of concern.

Speaking of superchargers why in the world does Tesla not install them on the side so you can pull up to them like a gas station instead of having to back into them??? The charging port needs to be in the front... but wait then the fender would hit the superchargers so I guess side is best.

 

[Discoducky]

Maybe a bunch of TMC members were reading that drafting thread:tongue:

Or hitting refresh on TSLA stock :love:

 

[tokuro]

Which body shop is this, btw???

 

[Odenator]

The plot thickens. I did stop by the body shop to find out what was going on. They told me that "all these cars keep getting hit" and getting the replacement parts take a long time so they have them sitting in the shop. Apparently the front bumper is low and people hit curbs and even on steep inclines (there a lot of those in the Seattle area) the nose rubs the ground if they brake too hard or hit the slope at a high speed.

The initial hypothesis is correct, Model S is prone to front fender damage - drive with caution!

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The damage is identical the body shop just verified it. They all hit the front fender and damaged it. Please drive carefully.

Hey that's my car! And no, I did not hit anything.

 

[Denarius]

Maybe a bunch of TMC members were reading that drafting thread:tongue:

ROFL, you win the Internet today!

 

[Odenator]

Which body shop is this, btw???

Bel-Red Auto Rebuild

 

[tokuro]

ah, thought it looked familiar... (no, I have not used their service (yet)).

i'll pass by & look also. I'd be heading that way later today.

 

[ipdamages]

When I did a test drive at the Santa Monica (California) store the Tesla rep accompanying me in the car said that people bottom out the front of the car all the time on test drives (and drive over the curb at the back of the store) because they don't realize that the long front end sticks out a lot and brushes far forward and low, and they can't see down there as well as in a smaller car. The proportions of the car look right, but because it is so long the car hangs out there pretty far and it takes getting used to. And yes, that is exactly why they offer Active Air, and *strongly* recommend it.

When I was in the LA service center I heard a lot of the same. They were shocked at how many oopsies the Model S owners have - especially in comparison to the Roadster. But it really isn't so strange for a car of that size.

 

[MikeC]

Hey that's my car! And no, I did not hit anything.

Well, here we go. Can you tell us why they took off the bumper?

 

[Patsax]

When I did a test drive at the Santa Monica (California) store the Tesla rep accompanying me in the car said that people bottom out the front of the car all the time on test drives (and drive over the curb at the back of the store) because they don't realize that the long front end sticks out a lot and brushes far forward and low, and they can't see down there as well as in a smaller car. The proportions of the car look right, but because it is so long the car hangs out there pretty far and it takes getting used to. And yes, that is exactly why they offer Active Air, and *strongly* recommend it.

When I was in the LA service center I heard a lot of the same. They were shocked at how many oopsies the Model S owners have - especially in comparison to the Roadster. But it really isn't so strange for a car of that size.

I fully agree with your analysis. The nose sticks out much farther than other cars and hence pivots more sharply around the wheels than what you would expect. Ironically, after starting this thread I scraped the front today! I was turning into a parking lot that had a short 4-5 inch incline basically to connect the curb to the main road. I was going very slow as I was not sure if that was the right location. As soon as the front wheels went into the slight depression for the water channel there was a loud scraping sound and the nose made contact with the incline! Fortunately the scratch is on the plastic underbelly and not visible from the front. But looking at the spot I would never expect that it would touch the car yet it did. I'll post pictures if I go there again. Clearly the nose is too long and hence makes contact with the ground easily. This should be addressed somehow...

 

[HHHH]

I fully agree with your analysis. The nose sticks out much farther than other cars and hence pivots more sharply around the wheels than what you would expect. Ironically, after starting this thread I scraped the front today! I was turning into a parking lot that had a short 4-5 inch incline basically to connect the curb to the main road. I was going very slow as I was not sure if that was the right location. As soon as the front wheels went into the slight depression for the water channel there was a loud scraping sound and the nose made contact with the incline! Fortunately the scratch is on the plastic underbelly and not visible from the front. But looking at the spot I would never expect that it would touch the car yet it did. I'll post pictures if I go there again. Clearly the nose is too long and hence makes contact with the ground easily. This should be addressed somehow...

Wow that sucks man. Perhaps one potential solution is to raise the suspension whenever entering a parking lot with any elevation change whatsoever

 

[jerry33]

Yes, I suspect people driving with the air suspension set too low.

You don't really have much choice because the suspension setting changes with speed regardless of what you set it to and won't change if you are not at the right speed. Also it's not quick to access.

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Wow that sucks man. Perhaps one potential solution is to raise the suspension whenever entering a parking lot with any elevation change whatsoever

But it needs to be quick to do, not hidden in a sub-menu. There should be a steering wheel button or combination (like the two lower buttons) to raise suspension.

 

[HHHH]

But it needs to be quick to do, not hidden in a sub-menu. There should be a steering wheel button or combination (like the two lower buttons) to raise suspension.

Agreed. There should be programmable shortcuts.