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Undercarriage plastic ripped off
- Thread starter Jamester2022
- Start date
I had one corner bolt pop off too. No impact marks of any kind, just looked like the bolt came off or wasn’t secured tight. I made a service appt and the estimate ~$250 at first to replace it. Then upon inspection, they secured the plate again with new bolts (on invoice) at no charge.
OP’s does look a lot more than 1 or 2 bolts coming loose though…
OP’s does look a lot more than 1 or 2 bolts coming loose though…
I bought these and threw the plastic ones away.
Bolted everything down tight myself.
If Tesla service is going to charge you, might want to consider going this route. Weigh the costs and if you can do the job yourself.
It really is just getting the car on stands, and then removing a hand full of bolts, and putting on the new ones with the bolts, and knowing for a fact your bolts are tight.
model-y-road-noise-axle-protecting-skid-plates
Bolted everything down tight myself.
If Tesla service is going to charge you, might want to consider going this route. Weigh the costs and if you can do the job yourself.
It really is just getting the car on stands, and then removing a hand full of bolts, and putting on the new ones with the bolts, and knowing for a fact your bolts are tight.
model-y-road-noise-axle-protecting-skid-plates
Clark_Kent
Member
Interesting this has happened to a few people. The same happened to me a couple weeks back. I didn't hit anything nor did anything impact the vehicle. I believe the bolt or whatever is fastening the tray to the car failed. I have an appointment at the Service Center on July 7.
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PACEMD
Active Member
Mike_TV
Active Member
Deep snow banks, road debris and going straight up steep inclines are all hazards for breaking these things. Aero shield, under covers, lower shields and acoustic covers are terms different manufacturers use.
I think Tesla uses aero shield.
I think Tesla uses aero shield.
They actually make a purple Loctite for vibration issues and it won’t stop the bolts from coming out like blue or red Loctite well…. But they definitely won’t vibrate loose
Clark_Kent
Member
This isn't helpful. I've owned several cars, many of which were lower than my MYP, and never took on damage from road debris. As others have mentioned in this thread, no signs of or recall of impacting anything yet the undertray comes loose.
They do. I have them installed. No photos as it's basically impossible to take photos to show the full scope 2 inches from the surface when under the car on jack stands lol.
But they cover the areas the plastic ones did completely. Zero gaps or missing areas. Complete coverage. They may even extend a bit further, I should have taken photos or checked the aluminum ones on top of the plastic ones to see. RPM Tesla claims they protect the axels, which makes me think the "wings" may extend a bit further.
That being said, while aluminum certainly will hold up better to general road debris than the plastic ones will, it's definitely not thick enough, nor strong enough to straight up block underbody massive impacts like running over a tire on the freeway, massive rock, what have you.
They definitely won't get torn up by regular old gravel, rocks, regular road debris, etc, but they are definitely not off-roading level grade.
I have inspected my panels after putting a few thousand miles on them, and they have some minor scratch marks here and there, only digging into the powder coating. As aluminum won't rust, this is not an issue and is only cosmetic. No dents or anything, just minor scratching.
I chose this route due to my plastic ones being a bit torn up after not putting a ton of miles on them, and figured they would get torn up real good sooner than later, so I went with those RPM Tesla aluminum ones.
After taking off the plastic ones, it became obvious they are pathetically flimsy and weak and absolutely will get shredded long term. I'd almost consider them a wear part if you drive over bad roads with debris regularly.
I went with the Mountain Pass Performance front unit because it is twice the thickness of the RPM Tesla unit. It does not have the acoustic foam, or nice black powder coat, but looks a lot more durable. I added my own sound dampening to avoid the large aluminum plate acting like a drum head... just installed it today so I don't have any real impressions of its durability
Interesting data point on the stock plastic under tray... the two recessed nuts that screw onto threaded studs (back outside corners) were both loose! I was able to take them off with the socket and extension without using the ratchet.
Keith
Oh vey nice. Did you happen to lay the MPP plate over the stock plastic one to see if they were any difference in size? After looking at photos on MPP's website I can't help but think that my RPM ones cover more of the area, a bit of the control arms if I remember correctly, but I honestly can't remember.I went with the Mountain Pass Performance front unit because it is twice the thickness of the RPM Tesla unit. It does not have the acoustic foam, or nice black powder coat, but looks a lot more durable. I added my own sound dampening to avoid the large aluminum plate acting like a drum head... just installed it today so I don't have any real impressions of its durability
Interesting data point on the stock plastic under tray... the two recessed nuts that screw onto threaded studs (back outside corners) were both loose! I was able to take them off with the socket and extension without using the ratchet.
Keith
EDIT: Actually I take it back. It doesn't, but it does seem like the RPM Tesla variant does cover more, not to mention having a rear cover available as well.
Was having trouble with the image uploader, but here are photos of them both installed:
Imgur
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You found you own answer on size, lets get into weight! The stock plastic panel is 10 lbs lighter than the MPP skid plate with a full covering of "kilmat" sound deadener. From everything I have read, I could have gotten almost as much sound prevention just by slapping on a couple sheets of the kilmat, but since I have a whole box of the stuff I went ahead and covered the whole panel.
Later,
Keith
PS: I will do an installation thread for the skid plate with some pictures later.
Looks like RPMT claims "9 Pounds for Front and 10 Pounds for rear". Installing them, I'd say that's about on point. They also say "Stock Model 3 OEM fabric weighs 3 to 4 pounds" - I'm assuming this is the weight of the plastic for the front and rear *combined* as I still have mine and they weigh basically nothing.
So around 15-16 pounds added.
Not particularly worried about it as I removed a lot of unsprung mass from my MYP by going from the Uberheavies to TSportline 19's, and all that extra weight is literally as low as it can get in the center of gravity on the car.
"They are made from 1/8" thick powder-coated aluminum along with 1/8" sound dampening urethane foam" - I'll bet your setup will provide way better protection (I mean MPP literally calls it the "smash me" panel lmao) and you are using a higher quality noise dampening product... so I think you have your front end better covered.
I wonder if they will come out with a rear panel as well at some point.
Looks like the MPP panel is 1/8" as well, so I wonder how much they would differ in terms of impact, if any.
I guess that means it's time for both of us to run over some logs and boulders in our cars and take one for the community. Whoever's front drive unit rips off the car first...
Lol
If you watch the video on RPM Tesla web site, at the beginning he says that the skid plate is 1.5mm stamped aluminum... that is 1/16 of an inch, and during the installation part of the video you can watch him bend and then straiten it with his fingers... not sure why they list it as 1/8" in the description. You can see by the ease with which he handles it that it is very light weight... the MPP front skid plate is a beast, and a pain in the butt to install by yourself due to the weight. I propped the center up with a jack stand while I was trying to get the bolts started. My stock front plastic piece is between 1 and 2 pounds as measured on a bathroom scale, the MPP plate with my sound deadening mats is 12 to 13 lbs.
Keith
