Took delivery today but experience is less than stellar

[jkoya]

One area I didn't check very carefully is the glass, I looked more today and found few other issues.
First of all, my mid section roof seems to be shifted towards the driver's side more, as you can see from the pics on the driver's side it's lined up with the rear roof pane, but on the passenger side it's not, also the mid pane front edge on the driver side seems to be lifted up a little, not sure if it's related to the position. Can any of you take a look at your car and see if similar thing happened? For some reason you have to click on the file name to see the full image, thumbnails didn't show up.

My roof is like that also. Mine is lined up with the passenger's side, causing the gap on the driver's side to be larger. It's also angled toward the passenger side, so it's not sitting square. I got one of those roof noise reduction kits and the misaligned roof made the install more interesting. I spoke to Mobile Service and the Tesla Approved body shop about it, but eventually just left it. The body shop said the Tesla SC would have to fix it, but I have no confidence in Tesla Rocklin, CA, as they curbed one of my wheels.

The roof hasn't leaked and I didn't hear any wind noise prior to the install of the noise reduction kit, so I just left it (bought the kit for the door seals and the roof part was included, so I decided to install it). Incidentally, I saw several Model 3s with the front roof glass installed where there is no gap between it and the rear window piece. It was glass touching glass.

 

[ZappCatt]

Me personally, I'm a bit of an @$$ perfectionist. So I will 100% bring calipers to measure the panel gaps to the millimeters between each gap.

Wow, great idea. I am having a home delivery, so not sure how it is going to go....I'll ask for the keycards immediately to "check out the car" and then if I have issues, he will not be able to leave until he calls an uber, or takes the car back with him after I hand back the keys.

Since I probably have 2 more weeks of waiting, I will try to dig out my calipers..not sure if I will go spreadsheet, but will definitely be taking a ton of pictures.

My current lease, a Chevy Volt has the lower part of passenger door flared out incorrectly. I did not notice it until after leaving the lot, and hope they do not ding me on return.

 

[jnord]

So I did take delivery Sunday morning and Frank was my delivery guy. I had a chance to look the car over in the parking lot ahead of time (appointment was at 11am when they open and we got there at 10:45, car was in the lot waiting for delivery). Only thing that was even marginally an issue was the gap around the front right headlight was pretty tight where there was more spacing on the drivers side. I didn't really care as the rest of the car was immaculate. There were three other couples waiting to take delivery at 11am and all were taken care of by different delivery teams. Frank came out to talk to us and sign paperwork at about 11:15. We then went out to the car, I told him I had already looked it over, he asked if I had any questions or concerns which I told him no and we shook hands and he left. I sat in the car for about another 5 minutes adjusting some settings (this was my 2nd Model 3 so I was familiar with everything already) and then drove off. We were on the road by 11:40. I will say that Frank was nice but maybe a little smug/flippant but since I didn't have any concerns the process was quick and pleasant. The car was charged to 90% and came loaded with 40.2 software. After 24 hours, I still haven't seen anymore issues. Best car ever!

 

[waterbrain]

Tesla is able to sell luxury cars without checking post-assembly quality because there are schmos like us prepared to buy them. Don't like the paint chips? Take a hike!

Tesla will only be forced to deal with these systemic issues when main-stream car manufacturers are able to produce EVs with similar features. In two years maybe? Then, Tesla will have to deal with their business model or die in the process.

Which main-stream manufacturers are you referring to that deliver cars without blemishes?

 

[lkstaack]

Which main-stream manufacturers are you referring to that deliver cars without blemishes?

All of them.

 

[ZappCatt]

All of them.

My Chevy Volt and it's passenger door laugh...

 

[holmgang]

My Chevy Volt and it's passenger door laugh...

Chevrolet, the hallmark of quality

 

[waterbrain]

All of them.

That's pretty funny. Here are some examples:

Ford: 2019 build quality problems - Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans
Chevy: Peeling fascia paint still a big problem on 2019 Corvettes - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion
VW: Don't buy a new 2019 Jetta!
Audi: HLTV.org - The home of competitive Counter-Strike
Porsche: Multiple Quality Problems on 991 - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums
Mercedes: Mercedes - quality & reliability problems - MBWorld.org Forums
Subaru: Subaru quality problems extend to U.S.
Toyota: Disappointing Quality on 2018
Honda: Too many quality issues with 2018 Accord
BMW: BMW G05 X5 Bugs, Glitches & Teething Problems...

Shall I go on? There's a whole internet full of main-stream manufacturer problems.

At least with Tesla, the problems people are having have to do with things like:

A paint chip
Trim that doesn't line up
A door that needs to be adjusted
A scratch on the fender
Dust under the paint on the door

They might exist, but I don't hear hardly any complaints about drivetrain issues. The "problems" we have with our cars are almost always taken care of during delivery or by appointment or software update soon afterwards.

For the youngest car builder around, I'd say Tesla is doing an incredible job. Especially compared to the mainstream manufacturers.

 

[dmurphy]

Calipers and checklists? Oh my. It’s a car, not a Space Shuttle.

As for the roof glass, I haven’t seen one yet that was dead in perfectly even. They’re all offset to some degree.

Body panels align fairly easily. If the service center won’t do it, I’m sure any body shop would for a couple of beans.

Just drive the car and enjoy it. First time someone kicks a rock up on the highway, you’re going to be in worse shape than any of those delivery items ....

 

[Tomx17]

As for the roof glass, I haven’t seen one yet that was dead in perfectly even. They’re all offset to some degree.

This has been something I've noticed on every single model 3 that hardly anyone talks about. I get that it's a car, but what's so damn hard about putting things in alignment? Even if you take into consideration that things often move when they cure.

 

[dmurphy]

This has been something I've noticed on every single model 3 that hardly anyone talks about. I get that it's a car, but what's so damn hard about putting things in alignment? Even if you take into consideration that things often move when they cure.

I'm sure it has to do with the robotic assembly process. Since it's consistently off, I'm sure there's a very good reason. I'm sure after hundreds of thousands of them, it's not that nobody cares, or that they didn't notice... My guess is that re-engineering that piece of the process would be very time consuming and shut down the assembly line for too long. (and yes, the glass process is robotic. I saw it when I took the factory tour ... was looking to see if I could see any reason for it to be off!)

The real truth-teller will be to see glass alignment on Gigafactory 3 cars. That's the real story - if they are lined up, we know the process is fixed and will be corrected in GF1 once they can spare some downtime.

 

[jnord]

Well I

This has been something I've noticed on every single model 3 that hardly anyone talks about. I get that it's a car, but what's so damn hard about putting things in alignment? Even if you take into consideration that things often move when they cure.

Well I took delivery on Sunday and after a seeing a few posts about the roof glass being misaligned I checked mine and it's dam near perfect. Spacing is even on both sides front to back. The only even minor problem I've seen with the car is around the front passenger side headlight where the panel gap is pretty tight. I'm not worried about it. Otherwise the car is flawless. YMMV.

 

[coconutboy84]

All of them.

Lol ok bud.

 

[CyVolt]

It's a fitting beginning to what will be years of disappointments from Tesla. Enjoy.

 

[jnord]

It's a fitting beginning to what will be years of disappointments from Tesla. Enjoy.

Why haven't you sold your X yet? I read through your 22 posts and not a one of them is positive. You seem like an upbeat kind of guy. /s

I've owned a Model 3 for two years now and other than the two months I had to wait on a replacement when the first one was totaled (dumb kid, probably texting, read-ended me at a stop light doing 30mph) it's been the best car I've ever owned. I placed the second order before I even knew it was totaled so that I'd get it sooner rather than later. Fit and finish on both have been outstanding. One service issue when the frunk wouldn't unlatched that was resolved in 20 minutes.

Why are you so angry? And why are you posting on a Model 3 delivery thread when you don't even own one?

 

[Tomx17]

It's a fitting beginning to what will be years of disappointments from Tesla. Enjoy.

Jnord has a point. I am not one to gang up on someone, but you literally have done nothing but complain on this forum with all of your posts. What's your purpose here if not to spread your hatred for the brand of the car you own? That's very confusing.

 

[mswlogo]

The door I think is a trivial fix. Just need to bring striker in. They could have fixed that on the spot in 5 minutes. and looks like the worst issue.

The last photo, not sure where that is. I would not gripe at that. As long as it looks sound. Shouldn’t be that way but if that the only real defect I’d let it go. Could do more harm trying to fix it.

The chips on the hood are out of view but should not be there and Tesla should fix them. Hand the service center the touch up kit.

Tesla sales person was being a real ass. I think you made the right call. But I think I would have walked if they spoke to me like that and called their bluff. Even if the car looked acceptable.

Service Center might be more friendly at fixing you up.

If they don’t want fix stuff like that then they should compensate you in some way. Not a paint kit. Why should the next guy pay exactly the same and not have to put up with those issues.

I think some people go a little crazy on paint around door hinges etc. but your chips are plainly visible when you open the hood. They won’t rust but the paint might weaken over time and work its way into view (when closed)

might bring to a good detailer that does paint correction and wrapping and see what they suggest. I don’t think it’s worth the risk painting the whole hood. Touch up kit might be the right thing but you should not have to do it or be responsible for it. But I think they should be sealed up for longevity.

 

[hmmwv]

So I did take delivery Sunday morning and Frank was my delivery guy. I had a chance to look the car over in the parking lot ahead of time (appointment was at 11am when they open and we got there at 10:45, car was in the lot waiting for delivery). Only thing that was even marginally an issue was the gap around the front right headlight was pretty tight where there was more spacing on the drivers side. I didn't really care as the rest of the car was immaculate. There were three other couples waiting to take delivery at 11am and all were taken care of by different delivery teams. Frank came out to talk to us and sign paperwork at about 11:15. We then went out to the car, I told him I had already looked it over, he asked if I had any questions or concerns which I told him no and we shook hands and he left. I sat in the car for about another 5 minutes adjusting some settings (this was my 2nd Model 3 so I was familiar with everything already) and then drove off. We were on the road by 11:40. I will say that Frank was nice but maybe a little smug/flippant but since I didn't have any concerns the process was quick and pleasant. The car was charged to 90% and came loaded with 40.2 software. After 24 hours, I still haven't seen anymore issues. Best car ever!

Congrats, I'm glad your car is in much better shape. This just shows that Tesla is not incapable of producing high quality cars, it's just sometime some people simply don't care. This also applies to the delivery specialist, how you judge one is by how they handle situations when there are issues, everyone can be good when there is zero issues. I'm bring in my car tomorrow for my appointment and I'll see how things go.

 

[Kiwiadventure]

The worst thing with Tesla is all the paint issues. Tesla staff must be blind or they have been told to not say anything about all the paint issues and hope the customer will not find them. It's happening in every country including New Zealand.
My M3 is repaired by Tesla and took just on a week, but it should not have been up to me that find all these paint issues.

 

[jkoya]

The worst thing with Tesla is all the paint issues. Tesla staff must be blind or they have been told to not say anything about all the paint issues and hope the customer will not find them. It's happening in every country including New Zealand.
My M3 is repaired by Tesla and took just on a week, but it should not have been up to me that find all these paint issues.

I had several paint defects and two different mobile techs both said, my car should never have left the factory......