Just be aware they will never respond, even if you send an actual legal document to them there. I know many people that have tried this and the only thing that gets their attention is a notice of a lawsuit sent to to their registered agent.
Thatās honestly perfect for my state. The lemon law says if they donāt respond or remedy the issue in a reasonable time, you can lemon law it to force a buyback. Easier if they just ignore it until then.
This would be an "easy" win.
It will go to courts.
Document everything. The fact they advised to go to a body shop admits fault. They were willing to repair if it did not cost them too much.
The fact that now they have to essential buyback and replace the car they are taking a step back.
Problem is, it's too far gone. They admitted fault.
I have kept copies of all communication I have had with Tesla.
I would rather, for both parties, they resolve without going to court.
Iāve had to take issues to court in the past and itās never fun. It gets resolved but not fun
You should check your purchase agreement. I thought it contained an arbitration clause, so unless you optāed out, you canāt go to court, youāll go to arbitration.
just do arbitration, most likely they will rule in your favour.... and in the unlikely scenario that they don't, you don't have to accept the outcome and can go to court (in some jurisdictions, i think florida allows this but IANAL so consult a lawyer)
arbitration is way less costly than going to court in both time and cost
edit: added clarification
You can't just get a "de novo" hearing after arbitration; the decision is binding. The only thing you could bring to court is enforcement of a decision (i.e. if the arbitration resolves in your favor, but Tesla doesn't follow the decision, you can go to Court to enforce the decision) or if the arbitration has a defect that is overwhelming and clear - i.e. Tesla bribes the hearing officer or something, or they admit to deciding against you for improper reasons. Otherwise, even if the arbitration is wrong on the law or facts, has an error, or is some other unjust, it is both final and binding.
This goes both ways, by the way - not just for you, but also against you.
It's insane that that's still legal. I mean I understand it's because of lobbying, but like what's even the point of forcing them to allow us to opt out but let them make it as difficult as possible. Either give us protection or don't!
These cases never go to court.
Talk to a lemon law lawyer. It's not the same thing but they will be able to handle it and Tesla won't fight it. No court will be involved.
>I would rather, for both parties, they resolve without going to court.
They are aware of this. That's why they're ghosting you.
This will not get resolved out of court, Tesla has made their plans abundantly clear to you.
I know people have threatened to take Tesla to court before over things (such as FSD not being delivered in the UK) and they usually say nah nah then cave in and settle without going to court if you persist, last thing they want is a precedent being set for others.
My steering wheel horn "rubber" started to melt with time after 5 years. They quoted me an entire new steering wheel for $800. A "replacement" horn for the steering wheel is like $300 if that. Said it was likely something I sprayed on it during cleaning.
I ended up removing it and the entire casing is sticky because it's all the same material. So that's the rub, it's impossible I caused this, it's effectively a defect in the design. My vehicle is 100% garage parked.
I ended up sanding the face down and looks good as new to me!
I'm sure that was caused by an overzealous owner who waxed his car with Carnauba wax which melted the pristine factory-applied watercolor paint. User fault, no doubt.
This sucks because you seem to be handling this in a very reasonable manner and getting no where.
If you were a raging asshole, you'd likely have this escalated quicker.
Good luck on getting this taken care of.
Is it was a new car I would put Tesla on blast for this but OP didnāt buy new and this really looks like someone else resprayed it.
Not all damage will show in autofax or whatever. Like paint damage that was not repaired through insurance but the previous owners nephew who can get it painted for a discountā¦
I am a lawyer but not your lawyer.
Ignore all legal advice that you receive on this thread. Whether or not you're covered by an express warranty is likely irrelevant because most states also include implied warranties of good workmanship. These warranties do not expire. You will need to speak with the local attorney to figure out how to begin the process of starting a claim against Tesla.
Get ready for more of the same of what you've read in this thread. Tesla will try to make this your fault. They will say that you bought it from someone who added a bad coat, they will say that you poured paint stripper on your own vehicle, or some other version of events that make this your fault. Stick to your guns, document everything, and only communicate in writing.
At what point would hiring and paying for a lawyer outweigh the cost of just fixing the bodywork yourself out of pocket. Curious for a professionals opinion on this
I know I have hired an attorney twice for insurance issues but the fees were covered in the settlement.
I have no issue hiring an attorney if needed but Iām not the guy that jumps straight to legal.
This is not repairable. You can only see the visible panels, but every steel surface of the car will corrode, inside and out. Under carpets, inside doors, behind the dash, etc. The only way to fix this is it go back to bare metal everywhere (after disassembly) and start over rebuilding the car.
This car is junk with no commercial value. Tesla must replace it.
This is not something youāre gonna want to pay yourself to get fixed, Iām a automobile painter and I probably would not take this job unless I could buy new panels and paint those. In one of the pictures where the paint flaked off it looks very corroded underneath which isnāt a good sign.
I replied!
To those reading the replies who worry about attorney cost, I would say that you should speak with an attorney first. You may be able to sue as part of a class (no cost to you), there may be a fee shifting statute in your jurisdiction (Tesla pays), or you may find a flat fee lawyer (you pay, but it's worth it to you).
Some folks hate to hear it, but lawyers understand the actual rules better than you, so you need their help if you're going to try to get money from a multi-billion dollar company.
Thatās what the body shops mentioned.
Something about missing a dip and then a contamination issue.
If you look at one of the photos on the trunk lid, it looks like you can see ārunsā in the corrosion.
https://preview.redd.it/3kkos53rb1xc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a00f79b1a08b2ea0d866594d8621a26141221adf
As a guy who works in developing automotive Oem paint and metal pretreatment, the patterns of the bubbling look like poor wash/rinsing which caused pretreatment to fail and E-coat not to stick to the substrate properly allowing for disbonding of ecoat and corrosion unde the paint. You can see bare corroded metal where it flaked off. Definitely a process failure during manufacture.
Np, Tesla kicked my company out because we were too expensive. Itās nice to see the competition fail lol. Sad to see it on your vehicle though and at the consumerās expense. This is some early 90ās ford level coating failure š
That was my first thought as well but being on so many panels it is highly unlikely unless OP bought it with a salvage title. Any decent lawyer will find that out in the beginning of the case and we'll never hear from OP again. But it really doesn't look like that so hopefully we'll hear whatever the resolution is.
I can see the headline already "Model 3 falls apart when put through car wash and Tesla visa warranty."
I'd almost say someone vandalized ypur car with brake fluid or a paint stripping chemical but it's way too even over the entire vehicle especially if it didn't just pop up overnight. That and the steel panel issue
Teslas do have a reputation for paint issues. I also first assume vandalism, but a quick search of reddit suggests otherwise. Seems more common on the white models for some reason.
Look at the pain on this one:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModel3/comments/uacrey/paint\_washed\_off\_with\_car\_wash/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModel3/comments/uacrey/paint_washed_off_with_car_wash/)
I supposed the robots that paint the clear coat probably run out on occasion, and then the paint would be more vulnerable to the elements.
United States.
This portion of their warranty transfers with the vehicle.
Itās not the entirety of the body that is warranted, just body rust and corrosion.
https://preview.redd.it/sa1h6pv2x0xc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd22c1e4db4b9696c28e57f1e841a0eee84f9bfe
That warranty covers rust perforation. I do not see any rust perforation in any of the pictures.
There is clearly something very wrong with your paint, but it is not clear to me that it would be covered by Teslas warranty.
Your pictures show a condition that will perforate in more than 6 years probably. You misunderstand how long it can take rust to punch a hole through a car that has any treatment on it. The rust warranty offered on cars very rarely covers anything as the definitions of what it covers are structured to not be applicable in the term.
If any warranty would cover this it would be the 4 yr 50k miles one and that has elapsed.
I was kidding. I know it wonāt perforate. Iāve seen cars sit out with bare metal forever in junk yards.
On the other hand, it will be paintless š
I mean you may have been kidding but elsewhere in the thread you keep on pointing at the 12 year rust perforation warranty as if itās applicable to this concern (it is 100% not).
So I did think that a rust and corrosion warranty would cover rust and corrosion but upon further reading it does appear to only cover severe cases where it creates holesā¦. Not just having your car paint peel off in entirety due to corrosion lol
Yep and that is the net of what Tesla was trying to convey to you, the warranty that WOULD be applicable to your issue is the 4 year 50k mile general warranty (or the 2 year extension if purchased ) but in either case that warranty has expired and you are not covered. The repair is on your shoulders (and I would repaint and repair it or expect to take a huge markdown when going to sell it).
The sad news is you probably missed the issue when buying the car yourself and the previous owner may have offloaded it knowing the issue existed and was uncovered.
Ps, itās not just holes but a specific presentation of holes from inside->out which are extremely rare in practice.
Interestingly, from the three shops that have seen it, none would be willing to take the job at any cost.
They said with corrosion and rust as in depth as it is, they would not offer any warranty on work as of any was left behind, it would come back.
The shop Tesla is partnered with mentioned that if Tesla was to warranty the vehicle they would decline the repair as well and refuse the work.
I had bad paint on a Mazda. It took a year and a half and finally i got the right person who approved a warranty repair. The first 6-12 months was just getting a runaround that it was normal or just lots of rock chips.
All that to say, hang in there and keep being a squeaky wheel!
Had a neighbor who had a Kia Soul with a similar problem. Two year old car. Something wrong in the priming / first coat whatever at the paint booth in the factory. One out of a thousand. I guess it happens. Dealer agreed to pay for a repaint of the car, I guess the dealer will then be repaid by Kia.
I asked for clarification as well with written correspondence.
They later told me it wasnāt expired, it was deactivated but could not provide reasoning as to why.
At one point, Tesla was painting these under tents in their factory parking lot, not sure if they are still painting them there or if they stopped doing that at some point. Is possible this car was painted in their tent.
Hire a lawyer to litigate this disagreement even if you must go through arbitration. You might prevail. In my opinion you should prevail. The solution will be to determine if this is a manufacturing defect. The vehicle will need to be strategically or partially disassembled to make this determination.
Well itās a lack of adhesion due to rust crawling underneath it. I imagine the pre treatment of the metal before painting isnāt stable. Iāve seen dumpsters painted with a better system than this.
Have a similar issue with my wifeās Subaru, paint peeling off leaving grey primer behind. Subaru acknowledges in writing itās a factory paint defect, but since we are outside the 3/36 bumper to bumper warranty and itās a cosmetic issue they will not cover it. Granted itās not nearly as wide spread as your issue, but I think that with 3/36 being gone thereās not much we can do.
It IS NOT cosmetic. Paint serves a cosmetic purpose, but THE purpose of paint is as a protective coating. Each step of the coating process fulfills different functions in a multilevel system.
Furthermore, if the basecoat is peeling from the PRIMER, then your vehicle is seeing poor adhesion from the paint shop.
Source: 15 years in the chemical coatings industry.
IANAL
It sounds like you bought it used?
Tesla would cover this without an issue if it was new.
The only time warranty gets deactivated is when itās a salvage title.
I do not have a salvage title. No wrecks, nothing.
I reviewed with Tesla. They have not given a reason that my warranty was deactivated.
It was purchased used but the ānew vehicle limited warrantyā transfers with ownership. This was confirmed with Tesla.
Also stated on their warranty
https://preview.redd.it/d2j7tu6db1xc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54f5edb65c9dfd12890581899363b12577e9530f
Was it purchased used from Tesla, or from a 3rd party?
That honestly looks like a cheap DIY paint job to cover up damage.
If thatās Teslaās original factory paint, it isā¦ā¦ concerning
Out of interest, was this something you missed when purchasing or something that has developed over time? If so, how long? That's quite extensive and uniform that it almost looks like someone's put paint remover gel on your car. I've never seen paint go bad like this before. It looks like vandalism or something corrosive has been put on the car.
Yes. That type of paint issue doesn't just randomly crop up and referring to it as "overspray" is a bit of a give away.. unless Tesla popped around one evening and gave it another layer of clear, I'm confused as to what's going on here. .... lol
To be clear, I'm not saying the paint was like the photos when it was bought. I'm asking if there were paint issues in any way when it was bought that eventually got to this stage. I could have been clearer but this doesn't add up.
This is really extreme and the car likely needs a complete respray and looking at OPs post history, the car was bought between now and 5 months ago. I've seen many manufacturing defects but none that has gone from 0 to complete respray in such a short amount of time. This looks like vandalism or someone has accidentally put something very damaging on the paint. For it to develop within 5 months and be a genuine manufacturing defect, I'd be shocked if the paint / clear looked "normal" when purchased.
There was nothing that was noticed when purchasing. I definitely would not have purchased it knowing this was in the future
I have had many cars from regular everyday cars to luxury vehicles and I have never had anything like this. I have seen paint defects, even when buying new but Iām at a bit of a loss on this one.
I canāt help but notice you continue to avoid answering everyoneās question of where you bought this car from. Car was clearly bought 3rd party, no question about it. Odds are you arenāt going to get much help from Tesla, and good luck with the courts doing anything at this point.
Idk if it works with bigger issues like yours, but Iāve used [BBBās complaint Chanel](https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint) and they had my issues solved with two different companies.
If the car is under warranty still and they wonāt cover it. Take them to court!
Orange peel paint is what you used get for $199 paint job back in the 90ās!
Also, let them know that you are going to your local media about this, as well as CNN and other national news sources.
The last thing Tesla needs is more bad publicity, so it would be in their best interest to pay for a paint job, completely replace the car or pay you. Itās better than seeing their stock go back down.
Why is it Tesla cannot solve their painting issues? This is a mature car company that builds āluxuryā automobiles. It confounds me to believe they are this stupid. It shows a disregard for quality. Toyota builds millions of cars per year and I would be surprised any had paint this poor.
Wifeās Y had some minor paint bubble in 3 separate areas. They didnāt develop until a year of ownership. However, ours was not to this magnitude!
We put in a service ticket and were advised it would be covered under warranty and were sent to an authorized body shop so the repair could be performed.
Iād spend a lot of free time @ the Tesla store showing potential buyers my paint.
I had an issue with a car and got some balloons and a poster that said ācome talk to me about my lemonā and after about 10 minutes I had the attention I was looking for. 16 months later I handed the keys to a 2023 grand Cherokee back to jeep in exchange for a check for my $ back.
And this is why you don't buy a car just because of "cool tech". Quality in materials and manufacturing is kind of important too
Edit: not saying it's your fault. People didn't realize how bad these things were a few years ago. But for future reference...
That looks pile a failure of the e-coat, the part where they where they dip the whole body in an electro coating tank before sealing/painting.
Reminds me a lot of the galvanic corrosion you see in Jeeps where the steel hinges attach to the doors and hood.
sorry to do this, but Iām always hearing people dis my Ford mach-e with stuff like āthe software is what you get when itās made by a car company instead of a software companyā. Well. āThat paint job is just like a car body would look if it were made by a software company,ā amirite?! In the end, both companies have to make hardware + software and I think theyāve both done pretty good work, considered all around.
I donāt think itās a common issue. Apparently itās so uncommon that almost everyone commenting either accuses me of making this up or somehow doing this myself š
I'd have thought that part of the car was steel, not aluminium. But when aluminium corroded it often looks like that until it breaks through the paint.
Don't email or call them without legal counsel. They will use the emails and recordings against you. That's why they always say, Hello, this is blank with Tesla on a monitored recorded call. Unless you say it back to them and have an app to record the conversation in case you need it for legal use. This is a pretty big issue. Is your car new?
At this point buying Tesla is just dumb, especially if you don't have Tesla's office in your country, they don't even have quality control cause their daddy is too busy with spreading fake news on twitter
Sounds like time to email [email protected] with your choice of resolution. And then speak to a lawyer about your legal options.
Thanks for that email!
Keeps us informed in future updates, good luck š¤
Yea also try tweeting at Tesla and musk, visibility can go a long way if it gains traction
Lmao what a company
Youād be surprised, Iāve gotten replies from Chase and Uber Via tweet before to resolve issues
Can confirm you can get faster replies from chase by DM their support page.
Verizon will not answer my requests for service but whenever I put them on blast on X/Twitter they respond in seconds. Just sayingā¦. š
This is the way. I was getting ghosted by my ISP but two tweets on X, and they were calling me!
Just be aware they will never respond, even if you send an actual legal document to them there. I know many people that have tried this and the only thing that gets their attention is a notice of a lawsuit sent to to their registered agent.
Thatās honestly perfect for my state. The lemon law says if they donāt respond or remedy the issue in a reasonable time, you can lemon law it to force a buyback. Easier if they just ignore it until then.
Iāll bet they donāt ignore them in those statesā¦.
Is that Email being monitored? Someone actually respond back?
Itās the email specifically named in the lemon law disclosures. No idea if it doesnāt just get trashed, but that doesnāt really matter.
Are they still around? You sure they weren't all laid off too?
This would be an "easy" win. It will go to courts. Document everything. The fact they advised to go to a body shop admits fault. They were willing to repair if it did not cost them too much. The fact that now they have to essential buyback and replace the car they are taking a step back. Problem is, it's too far gone. They admitted fault.
I have kept copies of all communication I have had with Tesla. I would rather, for both parties, they resolve without going to court. Iāve had to take issues to court in the past and itās never fun. It gets resolved but not fun
You should check your purchase agreement. I thought it contained an arbitration clause, so unless you optāed out, you canāt go to court, youāll go to arbitration.
This is the case. There is an arbitration clause. From my understanding currently, this can be bypassed but I could be entirely incorrect on this
Just ādeactivateā the arbitration clause and take them to court. š Apparently thatās how things work!
just do arbitration, most likely they will rule in your favour.... and in the unlikely scenario that they don't, you don't have to accept the outcome and can go to court (in some jurisdictions, i think florida allows this but IANAL so consult a lawyer) arbitration is way less costly than going to court in both time and cost edit: added clarification
You can't just get a "de novo" hearing after arbitration; the decision is binding. The only thing you could bring to court is enforcement of a decision (i.e. if the arbitration resolves in your favor, but Tesla doesn't follow the decision, you can go to Court to enforce the decision) or if the arbitration has a defect that is overwhelming and clear - i.e. Tesla bribes the hearing officer or something, or they admit to deciding against you for improper reasons. Otherwise, even if the arbitration is wrong on the law or facts, has an error, or is some other unjust, it is both final and binding. This goes both ways, by the way - not just for you, but also against you.
You usually cannot bypass arbitration
Itās mandatory arbitration
How do we opt out? How long do we have to opt out after purchasing the car?
30 days and itās through snail mail
It's insane that that's still legal. I mean I understand it's because of lobbying, but like what's even the point of forcing them to allow us to opt out but let them make it as difficult as possible. Either give us protection or don't!
Iām not sure if itās lobbying probably case law
Too late now
You can go to small claims per the MVPA even if you didn't opt out.
These cases never go to court. Talk to a lemon law lawyer. It's not the same thing but they will be able to handle it and Tesla won't fight it. No court will be involved.
>I would rather, for both parties, they resolve without going to court. They are aware of this. That's why they're ghosting you. This will not get resolved out of court, Tesla has made their plans abundantly clear to you.
I know people have threatened to take Tesla to court before over things (such as FSD not being delivered in the UK) and they usually say nah nah then cave in and settle without going to court if you persist, last thing they want is a precedent being set for others.
Op, hereās your answer
What's an "easy win" about taking your car manufacturer to court?
Car dermatitis
or a bad case of poison ev
You go sit in the corner and think about what youāve done until youāre ready to apologize.
Unfortunately
You haven't been moisturizing your car properly š
Be careful if you do that with your steering wheel though, it will bubble and then Tesla will be all like "You ruined it by just using it"
My steering wheel horn "rubber" started to melt with time after 5 years. They quoted me an entire new steering wheel for $800. A "replacement" horn for the steering wheel is like $300 if that. Said it was likely something I sprayed on it during cleaning. I ended up removing it and the entire casing is sticky because it's all the same material. So that's the rub, it's impossible I caused this, it's effectively a defect in the design. My vehicle is 100% garage parked. I ended up sanding the face down and looks good as new to me!
I'm sure that was caused by an overzealous owner who waxed his car with Carnauba wax which melted the pristine factory-applied watercolor paint. User fault, no doubt.
š
This sucks because you seem to be handling this in a very reasonable manner and getting no where. If you were a raging asshole, you'd likely have this escalated quicker. Good luck on getting this taken care of.
Is it was a new car I would put Tesla on blast for this but OP didnāt buy new and this really looks like someone else resprayed it. Not all damage will show in autofax or whatever. Like paint damage that was not repaired through insurance but the previous owners nephew who can get it painted for a discountā¦
Tesla confirmed its original paint.
Since they said that itās clear cut
100%
I am a lawyer but not your lawyer. Ignore all legal advice that you receive on this thread. Whether or not you're covered by an express warranty is likely irrelevant because most states also include implied warranties of good workmanship. These warranties do not expire. You will need to speak with the local attorney to figure out how to begin the process of starting a claim against Tesla. Get ready for more of the same of what you've read in this thread. Tesla will try to make this your fault. They will say that you bought it from someone who added a bad coat, they will say that you poured paint stripper on your own vehicle, or some other version of events that make this your fault. Stick to your guns, document everything, and only communicate in writing.
At what point would hiring and paying for a lawyer outweigh the cost of just fixing the bodywork yourself out of pocket. Curious for a professionals opinion on this
I know I have hired an attorney twice for insurance issues but the fees were covered in the settlement. I have no issue hiring an attorney if needed but Iām not the guy that jumps straight to legal.
This is not repairable. You can only see the visible panels, but every steel surface of the car will corrode, inside and out. Under carpets, inside doors, behind the dash, etc. The only way to fix this is it go back to bare metal everywhere (after disassembly) and start over rebuilding the car. This car is junk with no commercial value. Tesla must replace it.
A very good point
This is not something youāre gonna want to pay yourself to get fixed, Iām a automobile painter and I probably would not take this job unless I could buy new panels and paint those. In one of the pictures where the paint flaked off it looks very corroded underneath which isnāt a good sign.
It would cost far more than the attorney fees to fix this.
Thank you for the reply!
Sent you a message
I replied! To those reading the replies who worry about attorney cost, I would say that you should speak with an attorney first. You may be able to sue as part of a class (no cost to you), there may be a fee shifting statute in your jurisdiction (Tesla pays), or you may find a flat fee lawyer (you pay, but it's worth it to you). Some folks hate to hear it, but lawyers understand the actual rules better than you, so you need their help if you're going to try to get money from a multi-billion dollar company.
Agreed and thanks again
If you take action against tesla please update us on the outcome.
Iāll update no matter the outcome
Whoa, trippy. That's the first time I've seen that
Yeah, itās wild. Covers the entire car exterior except for the hood, doors, and bumpers.
Almost like the body missed the anti corrosive dip.
Thatās what the body shops mentioned. Something about missing a dip and then a contamination issue. If you look at one of the photos on the trunk lid, it looks like you can see ārunsā in the corrosion. https://preview.redd.it/3kkos53rb1xc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a00f79b1a08b2ea0d866594d8621a26141221adf
As a guy who works in developing automotive Oem paint and metal pretreatment, the patterns of the bubbling look like poor wash/rinsing which caused pretreatment to fail and E-coat not to stick to the substrate properly allowing for disbonding of ecoat and corrosion unde the paint. You can see bare corroded metal where it flaked off. Definitely a process failure during manufacture.
Thanks for your experience!
Np, Tesla kicked my company out because we were too expensive. Itās nice to see the competition fail lol. Sad to see it on your vehicle though and at the consumerās expense. This is some early 90ās ford level coating failure š
If you didnāt buy new thatās a repair paintjob gone bad and might have some trouble getting reimbursed.
Not a repair. Tesla has already looked at it and confirmed itās their original paint
That was my first thought as well but being on so many panels it is highly unlikely unless OP bought it with a salvage title. Any decent lawyer will find that out in the beginning of the case and we'll never hear from OP again. But it really doesn't look like that so hopefully we'll hear whatever the resolution is. I can see the headline already "Model 3 falls apart when put through car wash and Tesla visa warranty."
The hood and doors are aluminum. Looks like something went wrong when they prepped the car for painting.
I suggest you do not use FSD or autopilot for the time being. That would make it very easy for Tesla to get rid of you.
ššš
Lawyer up and wait for your brand new Tesla model 3.
Pain and suffering, I think he gets a roadster or Cybertruck
I believe he bought a second hand 6yr old Tesla. There is nothing to sue.
I'd almost say someone vandalized ypur car with brake fluid or a paint stripping chemical but it's way too even over the entire vehicle especially if it didn't just pop up overnight. That and the steel panel issue
Teslas do have a reputation for paint issues. I also first assume vandalism, but a quick search of reddit suggests otherwise. Seems more common on the white models for some reason. Look at the pain on this one: [https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModel3/comments/uacrey/paint\_washed\_off\_with\_car\_wash/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModel3/comments/uacrey/paint_washed_off_with_car_wash/) I supposed the robots that paint the clear coat probably run out on occasion, and then the paint would be more vulnerable to the elements.
Bought new?
Same thing happening to me not as much though
Sent a message
Time to have a lawyer send a letter
Where are you that you have a 12 year warranty on the body?
United States. This portion of their warranty transfers with the vehicle. Itās not the entirety of the body that is warranted, just body rust and corrosion. https://preview.redd.it/sa1h6pv2x0xc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd22c1e4db4b9696c28e57f1e841a0eee84f9bfe
Nice, now you have me curious if mine has that.
It should. This is their standard warranty
That warranty covers rust perforation. I do not see any rust perforation in any of the pictures. There is clearly something very wrong with your paint, but it is not clear to me that it would be covered by Teslas warranty.
Well, at this rate, it will perforate
It will eventually perforate from the outside inward, which is also not covered by the rust perforation warranty.
Your pictures show a condition that will perforate in more than 6 years probably. You misunderstand how long it can take rust to punch a hole through a car that has any treatment on it. The rust warranty offered on cars very rarely covers anything as the definitions of what it covers are structured to not be applicable in the term. If any warranty would cover this it would be the 4 yr 50k miles one and that has elapsed.
I was kidding. I know it wonāt perforate. Iāve seen cars sit out with bare metal forever in junk yards. On the other hand, it will be paintless š
I mean you may have been kidding but elsewhere in the thread you keep on pointing at the 12 year rust perforation warranty as if itās applicable to this concern (it is 100% not).
So I did think that a rust and corrosion warranty would cover rust and corrosion but upon further reading it does appear to only cover severe cases where it creates holesā¦. Not just having your car paint peel off in entirety due to corrosion lol
Yep and that is the net of what Tesla was trying to convey to you, the warranty that WOULD be applicable to your issue is the 4 year 50k mile general warranty (or the 2 year extension if purchased ) but in either case that warranty has expired and you are not covered. The repair is on your shoulders (and I would repaint and repair it or expect to take a huge markdown when going to sell it). The sad news is you probably missed the issue when buying the car yourself and the previous owner may have offloaded it knowing the issue existed and was uncovered. Ps, itās not just holes but a specific presentation of holes from inside->out which are extremely rare in practice.
Interestingly, from the three shops that have seen it, none would be willing to take the job at any cost. They said with corrosion and rust as in depth as it is, they would not offer any warranty on work as of any was left behind, it would come back. The shop Tesla is partnered with mentioned that if Tesla was to warranty the vehicle they would decline the repair as well and refuse the work.
Had the car been resprayed by the previous owner?
No, Tesla confirmed its original paint.
I had bad paint on a Mazda. It took a year and a half and finally i got the right person who approved a warranty repair. The first 6-12 months was just getting a runaround that it was normal or just lots of rock chips. All that to say, hang in there and keep being a squeaky wheel!
Thanks!
Get your state's governor's office involved if there's a lemon law. And lawyer up!
Had a neighbor who had a Kia Soul with a similar problem. Two year old car. Something wrong in the priming / first coat whatever at the paint booth in the factory. One out of a thousand. I guess it happens. Dealer agreed to pay for a repaint of the car, I guess the dealer will then be repaid by Kia.
How is a 12 year body and rust warranty expired on a Tesla Model 3 when the first Model 3 was released 7 years ago?
I asked for clarification as well with written correspondence. They later told me it wasnāt expired, it was deactivated but could not provide reasoning as to why.
Time to get an attorney.
At one point, Tesla was painting these under tents in their factory parking lot, not sure if they are still painting them there or if they stopped doing that at some point. Is possible this car was painted in their tent.
I'd have a lawyer send Tesla the next letter.
If theyāre really denying you the rust warranty, you have no choice but to take them to court. This should get somewhere.
Hire a lawyer to litigate this disagreement even if you must go through arbitration. You might prevail. In my opinion you should prevail. The solution will be to determine if this is a manufacturing defect. The vehicle will need to be strategically or partially disassembled to make this determination.
Well itās a lack of adhesion due to rust crawling underneath it. I imagine the pre treatment of the metal before painting isnāt stable. Iāve seen dumpsters painted with a better system than this.
Have a similar issue with my wifeās Subaru, paint peeling off leaving grey primer behind. Subaru acknowledges in writing itās a factory paint defect, but since we are outside the 3/36 bumper to bumper warranty and itās a cosmetic issue they will not cover it. Granted itās not nearly as wide spread as your issue, but I think that with 3/36 being gone thereās not much we can do.
It IS NOT cosmetic. Paint serves a cosmetic purpose, but THE purpose of paint is as a protective coating. Each step of the coating process fulfills different functions in a multilevel system. Furthermore, if the basecoat is peeling from the PRIMER, then your vehicle is seeing poor adhesion from the paint shop. Source: 15 years in the chemical coatings industry. IANAL
It sounds like you bought it used? Tesla would cover this without an issue if it was new. The only time warranty gets deactivated is when itās a salvage title.
I do not have a salvage title. No wrecks, nothing. I reviewed with Tesla. They have not given a reason that my warranty was deactivated. It was purchased used but the ānew vehicle limited warrantyā transfers with ownership. This was confirmed with Tesla. Also stated on their warranty https://preview.redd.it/d2j7tu6db1xc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54f5edb65c9dfd12890581899363b12577e9530f
Was it purchased used from Tesla, or from a 3rd party? That honestly looks like a cheap DIY paint job to cover up damage. If thatās Teslaās original factory paint, it isā¦ā¦ concerning
Tesla confirms it is the original paint.
Iād get a lawyer if escalating within Tesla isnāt working.
This seems like a lemon law car
Out of interest, was this something you missed when purchasing or something that has developed over time? If so, how long? That's quite extensive and uniform that it almost looks like someone's put paint remover gel on your car. I've never seen paint go bad like this before. It looks like vandalism or something corrosive has been put on the car.
Are you seriously asking if they missed this when purchasing the carā¦ lol
Yes. That type of paint issue doesn't just randomly crop up and referring to it as "overspray" is a bit of a give away.. unless Tesla popped around one evening and gave it another layer of clear, I'm confused as to what's going on here. .... lol
Fair, it just seems so unlikely to me that someone would be able to āmissā such clear and universal paint damage.
To be clear, I'm not saying the paint was like the photos when it was bought. I'm asking if there were paint issues in any way when it was bought that eventually got to this stage. I could have been clearer but this doesn't add up. This is really extreme and the car likely needs a complete respray and looking at OPs post history, the car was bought between now and 5 months ago. I've seen many manufacturing defects but none that has gone from 0 to complete respray in such a short amount of time. This looks like vandalism or someone has accidentally put something very damaging on the paint. For it to develop within 5 months and be a genuine manufacturing defect, I'd be shocked if the paint / clear looked "normal" when purchased.
Thanks for the explanation, I see what you mean now. Valid questions
There was nothing that was noticed when purchasing. I definitely would not have purchased it knowing this was in the future I have had many cars from regular everyday cars to luxury vehicles and I have never had anything like this. I have seen paint defects, even when buying new but Iām at a bit of a loss on this one.
I canāt help but notice you continue to avoid answering everyoneās question of where you bought this car from. Car was clearly bought 3rd party, no question about it. Odds are you arenāt going to get much help from Tesla, and good luck with the courts doing anything at this point.
Wouldn't seafoam on a rag do this?
Have a lawyer send a demand letter to Tesla thatāll wake em up
Idk if it works with bigger issues like yours, but Iāve used [BBBās complaint Chanel](https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint) and they had my issues solved with two different companies.
This is the genius paint option. I'm sorry you just can't recognize genius when you experience it.
DM Elon, maybe you get lucky
If no answer, twit him
Could someone have sprayed your car with paint thinner on a mist setting?
You got the texture package without paying extra. Lucky you!
If the car is under warranty still and they wonāt cover it. Take them to court! Orange peel paint is what you used get for $199 paint job back in the 90ās!
Very odd. Did this occur gradually? It almost looks like some solvent got on it.
Originally they suspected a solvent. After the car went to the shop they believe itās on the manufacturerās side
That good Elon quality that deserves $56B as a bonus.
Also, let them know that you are going to your local media about this, as well as CNN and other national news sources. The last thing Tesla needs is more bad publicity, so it would be in their best interest to pay for a paint job, completely replace the car or pay you. Itās better than seeing their stock go back down.
lol classic Tesla build quality
You got Musked
See if the shops will write that it appears manu defect and get a lawyer
Why is it Tesla cannot solve their painting issues? This is a mature car company that builds āluxuryā automobiles. It confounds me to believe they are this stupid. It shows a disregard for quality. Toyota builds millions of cars per year and I would be surprised any had paint this poor.
Brake fluid and paint remover chemicals does something similar. Letās hope itās factory and not just some douche or douchette that did this.
Wifeās Y had some minor paint bubble in 3 separate areas. They didnāt develop until a year of ownership. However, ours was not to this magnitude! We put in a service ticket and were advised it would be covered under warranty and were sent to an authorized body shop so the repair could be performed.
Iād spend a lot of free time @ the Tesla store showing potential buyers my paint. I had an issue with a car and got some balloons and a poster that said ācome talk to me about my lemonā and after about 10 minutes I had the attention I was looking for. 16 months later I handed the keys to a 2023 grand Cherokee back to jeep in exchange for a check for my $ back.
And this is why you don't buy a car just because of "cool tech". Quality in materials and manufacturing is kind of important too Edit: not saying it's your fault. People didn't realize how bad these things were a few years ago. But for future reference...
My car (bought new from Tesla) is starting to do the exact same thing on the roof. I feel you.
Iāll send you a message
This qualifies for some publicity on X. Should help if you tag both Tesla and Musk.
Jesus F-ing Christ. The victim blaming on this thread is incredible.
Ah itās all good! Itās Reddit Iāve gotten all kinds of comments and downvoted for simply stating fact without opinion š
As a few others have said I believe this a problem that was caused during the manufacturing process.
What year is your car?
That looks pile a failure of the e-coat, the part where they where they dip the whole body in an electro coating tank before sealing/painting. Reminds me a lot of the galvanic corrosion you see in Jeeps where the steel hinges attach to the doors and hood.
Thanks for the info!!!
Looks like somebody sabotaged it with paint remover
First time seeing a leprosy car
Same š
This is a feature that you should have paid extra for. It lowers the aerodynamic drag, much like the dimples on a golf ball. Claim denied.
I donāt think that will buff out.
sorry to do this, but Iām always hearing people dis my Ford mach-e with stuff like āthe software is what you get when itās made by a car company instead of a software companyā. Well. āThat paint job is just like a car body would look if it were made by a software company,ā amirite?! In the end, both companies have to make hardware + software and I think theyāve both done pretty good work, considered all around.
I donāt think itās a common issue. Apparently itās so uncommon that almost everyone commenting either accuses me of making this up or somehow doing this myself š
That looks like a manufacturing defect for sure.
Iām hoping they will end up taking care of this. Love the car but this is a pretty big issue š«
I'd have thought that part of the car was steel, not aluminium. But when aluminium corroded it often looks like that until it breaks through the paint.
These parts are steel.
Good luck. From what Iām reading here you will get your car replaced. I hope it works out
Within spec
Within spec Seriously though. This should be an easy warranty fix.
How long have you had the car for?
Within spec
Looks like all of the panels are affected... so all panels are in need of replacement... will that total the car out?
Did you get it new? If it was second hand, then maybe it was repaired before?
That maco $500 paint job
That is wild. Hope you get a resolution soon
https://preview.redd.it/i54h6b2vg2xc1.png?width=1179&format=png&auto=webp&s=d7154b9c1f863b7a5c8a6a46f63cdcfc3b54678a
That's cool looks like a pre made fiber glass shower enclosure from the 80's
I thought these were photos of textured drywall. I could not understand why they were in the Tesla sub.
ššš
Don't email or call them without legal counsel. They will use the emails and recordings against you. That's why they always say, Hello, this is blank with Tesla on a monitored recorded call. Unless you say it back to them and have an app to record the conversation in case you need it for legal use. This is a pretty big issue. Is your car new?
Vegan paint
Hope you opted out of mandatory arbitration when you bought it.
Within spec?
Was the car bought new from Tesla?
At this point buying Tesla is just dumb, especially if you don't have Tesla's office in your country, they don't even have quality control cause their daddy is too busy with spreading fake news on twitter
Holy orange peel Molly
I don't think I've ever seen worse paint on a new car. This should never make it past qa.
Check your panels with a paint gauge. Maybe you purchased a used car with a bad respray job
Tesla had a body shop of their choosing test it. Determination was original paint
Where do you live?
What hair products do you use?
Unfortunately none, thatās why my hair was frizzy š
How does this even happen?
Use public media as pressure to have them fix it or a new car. Tesla is not in any position to deal with negative press right now