Weird rain damage

[AlanSubie4Life]

Tesla should not have said that, since there is evidence on their Twitter feed (as I recall...they did offer a public statement in any case) that they HAVE heard of this issue. They responded to a couple owners who lost their bumper covers & diffusers just like you!

Do follow up with Tesla; they will treat you right. You're armed with the appropriate information now. They particularly need to explain why the welds failed, that's what I would focus on. I believe that could have started the whole process, if you didn't drive through deep water (and actually even if you did).

That being said, I wouldn't drive my vehicle through any sort of puddle (has been my policy for a while now since seeing these failures months ago!). I know all my bolts are tight and present, but I see an example here of that alone possibly not being sufficient. Again, I have to believe what someone said on the internet, but to me those weld failures are a red flag and I don't actually have to believe what anyone says to draw conclusions.

Link to above statement from Tesla (included in the article), for completeness:

Tesla investigates why bumper broke off two Model 3 vehicles after ‘heavy rain’

EDIT: Note that the rear brackets are gone in both of these other cases. I maintain that should not happen. If a bracket is supposed to be a way to attach a bolt, the welds should be stronger than the bolt attachment/metal that the bracket is made of. Otherwise you are limited by weld strength. That's a problem.

 

[seancarmen]

If it's already been repaired it might be trickier with Tesla. But you still have the pictures, seems like enough as they are pretty detailed. I would definitely have them send someone to look at it, if it has not yet been repaired.

We had to use the body shop they recommended.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Just for the record, here is what the bracket looks like before it is ripped off the car. (Note the crash bar is removed in this picture.) I maintain that this weld should hold until the bolt rips free of the plastic bumper cover.

And if the welds fail, there will be significant torque on the entire rear bumper cover/diffuser assembly and IF the top clips then give way, the cover/diffuser will definitely just fall off. I think these top clips (and I think there may be a bolt near the rear light as well - I didn't do that part of the disassembly so don't remember) would give way only if there were significant water in the rear cover - but notably the water weight is first and foremost supported by these brackets and welds. They're quite far back so have some mechanical advantage over the other attachment points.

I wonder how these welds will perform long term? It may be time for some rivnuts along with some sealant! Just have to make sure there are no dissimilar metals involved.


However, I'm happy to report that the welds seem to hold up fine for autocrossing in the rain, at least on some vehicles.

 

[ricohman]

The bumper cover fell off in the rain?
Seriously, what kind of testing did these cars go through? What if it fills with water and freezes?
I am in the process of ordering and I see that early buyers are doing R&D for Tesla. I may delay a few more months.
I'd rather wait than have to deal with this.

 

[seancarmen]

The bumper cover fell off in the rain?
Seriously, what kind of testing did these cars go through? What if it fills with water and freezes?
I am in the process of ordering and I see that early buyers are doing R&D for Tesla. I may delay a few more months.
I'd rather wait than have to deal with this.

Don't buy one!!! Run from TESLA! They are now saying it will be the end of Feb hopefully before they can get the parts in to fix it. Keep in mind we are paying for a rental at our expense/

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Don't buy one!!! Run from TESLA! They are now saying it will be the end of Feb hopefully before they can get the parts in to fix it. Keep in mind we are paying for a rental at our expense/

What did they say about the pictures in this thread? It's pretty clear to me that the bolt should rip out of the plastic bumper cover before that weld (see the picture immediately above for an intact bracket!) fails. If 3 spot welds are not enough, maybe they should do more welding.

 

[seancarmen]

UPDATE- No one from Tesla will get back to us. The body shop that they recommended can't get the parts.They sent us an email they got from Tesla saying they are backlogged weeks. Our car insurance only allowed a rental for 30 days, so we are now paying out of pocket for at least a month for the rental. We have called, emailed and even texted Tesla with no reply!!!

 

[seancarmen]

What did they say about the pictures in this thread? It's pretty clear to me that the bolt should rip out of the plastic bumper cover before that weld (see the picture immediately above for an intact bracket!) fails. If 3 spot welds are not enough, maybe they should do more welding.

They will not get back to us!!! We have called, emailed, and even texted! When we did get someone on the phone they said they would have someone reach out to us. It never happened!!

 

[ricohman]

UPDATE- No one from Tesla will get back to us. The body shop that they recommended can't get the parts.They sent us an email they got from Tesla saying they are backlogged weeks. Our car insurance only allowed a rental for 30 days, so we are now paying out of pocket for at least a month for the rental. We have called, emailed and even texted Tesla with no reply!!!

Why did you have to use your insurance for a warranty claim?

 

[MP3Mike]

Why did you have to use your insurance for a warranty claim?

Message because it isn't warranty claim? (Damage while fording water is not covered.)

 

[seancarmen]

Why did you have to use your insurance for a warranty claim?

Because Tesla would not respond!!!! They contacted Tesla and they were to have an inspector come to their register body shop. No one came or even contacted them on it!!! We called the local Tesla and no one calls back. We called and emailed Tesla and I got a text saying to contact the body shop support to check on parts status. Our insurance said we could go after Tesla, but they don't reply or respond. We had to file a comprehensive claim.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Because Tesla would not respond!!!! They contacted Tesla and they were to have an inspector come to their register body shop. No one came or even contacted them on it!!! We called the local Tesla and no one calls back. We called and emailed Tesla and I got a text saying to contact the body shop support to check on parts status. Our insurance said we could go after Tesla, but they don't reply or respond. We had to file a comprehensive claim.

Rather than posting here, I really would just take the images and information provided here, print them out, point out to Tesla what you think failed, and why you think this is not due to negligence. Try the online route (escalate for executive review), and you may well just need to drive the car to a service center (as far as I can tell, it is perfectly safe to drive as long as you remove the wheel well pieces), to show them the weld failures and whatever else you need to show them. Or just bring them a bunch of pictures, in person, to the Service Center or a retail location, if you're really not getting a response.

None of us here know the exact conditions you drove through. You will encounter a lot of doubters here about the conditions you encountered; they will say that you went through a LOT of water and that negligence is what caused the failure. There's absolutely no way for any of us to adjudicate that situation or determine what actually happened. That is between you and Tesla.

This does not appear to be a very common issue (I have seen three reports including this one). So it's entirely possible that on some cars the welds are too weak.

Report back when the issue is resolved, if you feel like it.