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How would you rate the initial build quality of your Model 3?

  • Total lemon; refused delivery of vehicle.

    Votes: 7 10.3%
  • Significant mechanical/software/build problems that Tesla needed/needs to address

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Minor to moderate mechanical/software/build issues

    Votes: 11 16.2%
  • Minimal, cosmetic issues only. Not perfect but close enough for horseshoes & hand grenades.

    Votes: 24 35.3%
  • Perfect. No issues. 10/10.

    Votes: 26 38.2%
21 - 40 of 43 Posts
Went to pick mine up finally today. Everything went great except there was a red smudge on the plastic panel under the passenger window. They tried to clean it off but it turned out to be a permanent paint stain. The delivery guy said getting it fixed at a later date was not possible, it had to be done prior to delivery, because all Model 3s "must be delivered perfect." Walked home because my wife had dropped me off. Very sad, but I think they handled it correctly. My new appointment is in 5 days...
I wish they would've done this on mine! I found a bunch of things wrong, which they actually said would be very easy fixes, but turned out to be weeks at the body shop. There's still a lot of things they need to fix, some of which they caused when it was at the service center.
 
I finally did my first "all day" detail clean of my car (the recommended Opti-Coat cure period is finally over).

I didn't appreciate all the nuances to the body details until this exercise.

Two observations (and this is after intense, all day nit-picking in my garage that's set up for car detailing):

1. The left front fender is not original to the build. The match is perfect and the job was done beautifully, but I found a few "tells" that can only be found with intense scrutiny.

2. There is evidence that the trunk lip will come into contact with the top of the rear bumper (near the passenger side corner). When closed, the clearance is perfect. I simply extended the rubber bump stop on the passenger side of the trunk lid one half turn.

These are the only observations I have with my car. The build quality is way better than expected.
 
Ours is pretty much perfect. We have the bulges in all 4 door seals and a small rattle in the steering column (only on rougher surfaces). All research suggests easy fixes for both. I will admit the rattle is driving me half insane, hopefully mobile service gets back to me soon and they can fix it.
 
I took delivery of 26xxx on 6/15. 5 minutes into my drive home I could tell the AC was blowing uncooled air.

I returned to the dealer, told them, and after some hassle they started servicing it immediately. Their test showed their wasn’t a leak, but the car was way short on refrigerant (is it still called Freon now that they changed the chemical used?) They filled it up and it’s worked fine ever since. The whole thing took 90 minutes or so.

Precooling the interior at the end of a round of golf on a hot sunny day, the car cooled from 117 to 67 in 12 minutes with the system set to LO.

Hopefully I don’t have a very small leak and end up needing it serviced again in the future. It would be a pain to convince them not to simply add more refrigerant in that case. Eventually I’d be out of warranty and footing the bill to fill up
a leaking AC system.

Overall, I’m very happy with the car.
 
Update on my situation: After noticing a small red paint stain in the interior under the window during delivery, and with Tesla unable to remove it, my delivery was rescheduled for a week later. There is a new policy prevents Tesla from delivering cars "that are not perfect." The part was further delayed, but after speaking to the Baltimore delivery HQ rep, I was able to get delivery immediately. I think the policy makes sense, and Tesla went out of their way to take care of me, so I'm very happy. Just be prepared to leave your car if you notice issues during delivery.

BTW, the car is amazing.
 
Update on my situation: After noticing a small red paint stain in the interior under the window during delivery, and with Tesla unable to remove it, my delivery was rescheduled for a week later. There is a new policy prevents Tesla from delivering cars "that are not perfect." The part was further delayed, but after speaking to the Baltimore delivery HQ rep, I was able to get delivery immediately. I think the policy makes sense, and Tesla went out of their way to take care of me, so I'm very happy. Just be prepared to leave your car if you notice issues during delivery.

BTW, the car is amazing.
Very glad to hear they are trying to prevent customers from taking delivery on less than perfect cars... but looks like they still need to work on their QA during/after the build process.

You're going to love the car more and more all the time. :) Always feels like something new to find or discover.
 
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Update on my situation: After noticing a small red paint stain in the interior under the window during delivery, and with Tesla unable to remove it, my delivery was rescheduled for a week later. There is a new policy prevents Tesla from delivering cars "that are not perfect." The part was further delayed, but after speaking to the Baltimore delivery HQ rep, I was able to get delivery immediately. I think the policy makes sense, and Tesla went out of their way to take care of me, so I'm very happy. Just be prepared to leave your car if you notice issues during delivery.

BTW, the car is amazing.
Glad they took care of it. That is a new policy. I picked up there a few weeks ago and still waiting on a new windshield to come in.
I have a couple very minor scratches on the windshield that many people would never notice. Also a tiny but deep chip in the paint along the windshield. They didn't have my paperwork ready when I showed up, but that nicely gave me two hours to go over the car in detail. Despite that I later found a spot along the passenger footwell where the door seal doesn't meet the plastic along outside of footwell. There is a definite gap there so I have asked they address that as well. Plus one more extremely minor thing that I won't even mention and if they don't fix it, I'm sure I can take care of on my own and if so will document for others.
 
I was prepared for a few bugs, but after 3 days (and plenty of intense use/testing) I have yet to find a single blemish, quirk, squeak, bulge, or uneven gap.

I have never received a new car from any manufacturer that has been so perfect and pleasurable in the first week of ownership.

FYI, VIN is in the 21600 series and I have 2nd gen seats, which are very nice.
 
Interested in your opinions...

I am a model X 100D owner. I picked up my Model 3 yesterday and because of gap issues on the model X I checked around the car. I was super happy as it had seemed that Tesla had solved the gap issues that they had on their more hand build cars. I found only one flaw. Where the rear bumper abuts the rear quarter panel there is a standard gap but only on one side. on the drivers side of the car the bumper actually touches the rear quarter panel. When my deliver rep about this they brought a person out from service and he used a mm gap tool to show that the gaps were within the factory tolerance of 5mm. I tried to explain that on the side where the panels touch there could rubbing during body roll and that would eventually cause paint chipping etc. they held firm that this was "within specification". I again explained that because there was no gap at all using a gap tool is an apples and oranges test because there is zero gap. its just wrong. eventually they agreed to fix the lack of gap but adjusting the bumper to include a gap. however they also stated that this could cause the gap on the other side of the vehicle to be up to 5mm off. I accepted that and we picked up the car. while waiting outside I noticed about 8 other M3 waiting for delivery. I went over and did a quick inspection and every one of them had the same issue. Gap on the passenger side rear quarter panel where it meets the bumper and no gap / touching on the drivers side. i Askes our delivery person to check her model 3 at home and she sent me an e-mail today saying "This is not an accident, Tesla has decided to keep this gap closed." and continued with, "You are welcome to come in and have your car adjusted using your due bill, but this is the Tesla standard on all Model 3s. I hope this provides some insight into the specifications on our cars." I am having a hard time believing that this is supposed to be this way. I have attached two pictures showing the gap. Also I am not one of those people that like measure everything and it has to be exactly the same on both sides, etc.. I just don't think parts should touch as that is why there are gaps in the first place.

Thoughts? Does your M3 have a gap?

Thanks,

Rob View attachment 6756 View attachment 6757
Just took delivery on Friday and I have the exact same gap where bumper meets rear quarter panel on passenger side, but on drivers side there is no gap. I actually thought there should be no gap on either side, but sounds like you're saying there should be a gap. I will go out and measure again. The passenger side gap felt large. My Vin # is low 4XXXX and production date says June 2018. Not sure how concerned I should be about it, but I made an SC appointment. Just don't know whether to push them on this. I had a few other smaller gaps I want to get checked out
 
Small dent in Model 3 kickplate on passenger door, left front turn signal and cameral loose, bottom of headlights sticking out about 1/4 to 1/2 inch on the bottom, and the biggest issue would be too large a gap between the glass panels in the centre of the car, I could see right into the roof as the seal only covered about half the gap. I siliconed between the glass to stop the rain from getting in as it would most likely rust the roof very quickly.
 
The front trunk latch system was giving us issues. In the heat of the day in direct sunlight, the intrusion alarm would go off and send me a message that someone was breaking into the car. It has since been replaced, so I hope the issue has been resolved, although I have not had the opportunity to leave it parked in the sun and heat since. The temperatures here have moderated.
 
No defects, blemishes, or problems with any part of this amazing car. This thread has made me more aware of the details folks are looking for, and as I’ve examined the car, I too have to say this has been the best fit and finish I’ve ever had on any of my 23 vehicles (over decades, not all at once). I find it interesting that my #2 best in these areas is my 2012 Japan-produced Nissan LEAF. Both the LEAF and the M3 are far better than Caddies, Lexi (plural of Lexus I assume), Acurae (plural of Acura?), Hondae, and so on that I’ve owned.
 
Picked up VIN 488XX last Saturday. Getting the windshield washer fluid error and parking brake warnings, but from my understanding a software update should fix those. Other than that the only things I saw were some very minor paint defects, but nothing I could not live with. However today the sun was just right and I found a half dollar sized spot on the rear bumper with no clearcoat. Exchanged email with the executive care team, have to make an appointment to get it fixed.
 
After a month of ownership I just noticed that around the passenger door there was very little paint and some bare metal showing at the edge where the outside metal meets the inside metal. Water can easily get in here and I bet its going to corrode really quickly. My Toyota cars always had a nice seal at the joints to prevent water entry. I noticed the trunk was good, but the doors are not properly sealed.
 
Exchanged email with the executive care team, have to make an appointment to get it fixed.
Executive care team did not tell the entire story. The service center wants a due bill from the delivery center or else they charge me. A couple hours driving so someone can spend 5 minutes filling out a form? Found two more problems in the rear - one chip on the bumper and one on the trunk on the lip above the taillight that is down to bare metal.

Bottom line - I went against my desire to inspect before handing over the check (my fault should not have done this), now this is going to turn into a typical dealer type experience to fight to get something fixed.
 
After a month of ownership I just noticed that around the passenger door there was very little paint and some bare metal showing at the edge where the outside metal meets the inside metal. Water can easily get in here and I bet its going to corrode really quickly. My Toyota cars always had a nice seal at the joints to prevent water entry. I noticed the trunk was good, but the doors are not properly sealed.
Jan, we'll have to meet up as you suggested and compare issues like this.....
 
Just an update on my paint issues. The service advisor I spoke with chastised me for not finding the defect during my 15 minute delivery appointment (again, my fault for not completely inspecting the car but whatever) and generally attempted to tell me it was my fault. Then she wanted to have the detailing team look at it to see if the spot would buff out (feeling the spot without clearcoat it was very clear that there was a divot and no amount of buffing would restore the clearcoat). After several minutes of having none of that, she finally accepted that Tesla would need to fix the defects and the car would need to come back to go into the body shop. Then she continued to tell me that she could only write the due bill for one of the the two closest service centers to the delivery location. My problem is that these are ~2 hours away in traffic, and she could not help me by getting me an appointment at the service center 15 minutes from my home. So I accepted the offer of a fix and potentially 8 hours driving/service center time. Oh, no guaranteed loaner either - even though they may take the car for up to 2 weeks.

Happily, the next day I called the service center where I had the appointment and spoke to a very helpful advisor who was more than happy to move my appointment to the service center closest to my house.

Not sure if that first advisor was having a bad day, trying to punish me for not finding the defect during delivery, or just poorly trained. She did certainly make my experience feel like a typical dealer experience.

Still love the car though. The paint issues will be resolved, and I should never encounter that particular service advisor again so all is well.
 
Not sure if that first advisor was having a bad day, trying to punish me for not finding the defect during delivery, or just poorly trained. She did certainly make my experience feel like a typical dealer experience.
Sorry you had to put up with that. Dealing with those kind of people sucks.
 
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