The _way_ this was discovered is more interesting than the bodge itself, really. This was discovered due to the owner feeling that they needed to personally disassemble and reassemble their entire car to fix other, obvious manufacturing defects, _after_ the dealer damaged the vehicle while trying to fix them!
I think I'm also quite surprised that the strap holding the condenser has persisted in spite of its obvious manufacturing inefficiency / manual process overhead (albeit sometimes with less improvised edge protection) - it seems like a workaround for an inadequately designed retention system for the condenser to begin with.
The whole thread is interesting... As you said the mis-aligned panels, but also the variety of different materials used in the production patch job (faux wood, white plastic, clear plastic), like Tesla grabbed whatever they could find. Then some customers unwavering faith that Tesla can do no wrong despite evidence staring them in face.
> unwavering faith that Tesla can do no wrong despite evidence staring them in face.
This has disturbing analogs to all aspects of life in the last few years - what you believe has become more important than whether what you believe is right - even with evidence.
Were this found on a production model from one of the big 3 I'm guessing there would be calls for a massive recall, but because it's just part of the fluid/continuous-updates manufacturing process that Tesla has maintained, it certainly won't.
Personally, I am amazed that their factory process is this innovative/flexible - though I'd be pissed to find Home Depot material holding the insides of my car together like some last-minute-quick-fix!
Can someone explain the panel gap issue mentioned in the linked article, and often referred to somewhere. Are the panel gaps defective (noisy, leaky or unsafe etc.) or just don't look very nice?
All cars have them. If you want to stare, you can find them in a brand new BMW or other well regarded brand. Just a little more common in Tesla I guess. (I have one that bothers me. I got Tesla to 75% fix it. Doesn’t really bother me now)
1) it’s on my trunk which is a moving part. I suspect the perfectly aligned setup doesn’t close or scrapes. I would rather have a trunk that closes perfect and looks a tad off, vs a trunk that doesn’t close right and looks perfect. I am a form over function guy
2) the car is far and away the best car I have ever owned or driven. If someone sitting behind me at a stoplight sees my trunk is 1mm off perfectly centered? Sorry not going to take my car back for that. At this point I don’t see myself buying a non-tesla again.
3) what car do you drive? Have you measured panel gaps with a caliper? If so, why haven’t you gotten them all adjusted to perfect?
1) Trunks with even panel gaps that are well aligned are very much a thing.
Your use of perfect seems to be a slight deflection, even "ok" would have been a fine goal.
But that photo is worse than anything I've ever seen on a car, period. I've seen overblown complaints about panel gaps on Teslas, but most manufacturers would not let that out into a dealership.
2) That's great for you, but it's hardly a defense against general complaints about a car. After all the Model 3 is not the best car others have driven. My most driven car these days is my new S4, a car with less interior noise despite an ICE, comparable performance (I'll trade the .7 second difference in the quarter mile for driving a car not put together with scraps)
3) None of my gaps are so horribly misaligned I ever had the inclination to!
There are two common complaints about panel gaps in general: too big, or misaligned.
I can forgive too big, I really don't care. But seriously misaligned like that picture? It looks like a bad body repair job, and it's right out if the realm of what can be ignored. Not for the sake of others, but for the sake of knowing I paid for a precision instrument and am getting a bodge job.
Thanks for the good explanation. It befuddles me that someone can willingly pay $55k for a car and just do a Tesla Shrug about the fact that it looks like it was built in a high school shop class. I wish I could come up with a business plan who had fans that loyal.
No on #3, but nothing on my car is obviously misaligned. If it's to that point for yours too then of course don't worry about it. But you are far from the only person to have these issues in a Tesla, and panel alignment issues simple don't exist in large numbers for other car makers.
What a lame excuse. No vehicle should ship with laminate edge detailing from a DIY store to be used as a brace to hold a component in place. That's just poor design and a lazy fix to hit your numbers, plain and simple.
That strap overall is a really manual labor intensive installation step, fairly risky in terms of failure, and mandates several additional (read: $$$) edge protection parts even without the bodged ones. I don't think it was intentional. I feel that while the wooden edging is a sign that production technicians were rushed and couldn't wait for a new batch of the specified part, the overall strap-supported condenser design is a sign that the engineering organization overall was also time crunched and couldn't respin the assembly.
The idea that they made a home depot run seems silly, if I had to guess, if you look at the breakroom in the telsa factor, you'll probably find some missing molding.
I think I'm also quite surprised that the strap holding the condenser has persisted in spite of its obvious manufacturing inefficiency / manual process overhead (albeit sometimes with less improvised edge protection) - it seems like a workaround for an inadequately designed retention system for the condenser to begin with.