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Defrost mesh grille update

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brianman

Burrito Founder
Nov 10, 2011
17,620
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I had a chat with Seattle Service Center about scheduling my tire rotation, and asked for an email list of what other recommended services my car should have done. The list was 8 items in addition to my two original requests (tire rotation & floor mat upgrade).

Of that list, this one makes me pause:
Defrost mesh grille update (improves the functionality of your defroster, however does change the appearance of the front part of the dash. There are slits in the improved grille)

I was leaning toward not getting the update. Generally the fogging up happens for me rarely and is easily addressable. I don't want a new squeak in my dash (paranoia?). Also, it might be nice to keep the original look.


For anybody who has had the update (either before getting the vehicle or as an upgrade), any regrets and/or recommendation?

Thanks.



Update:

The list of upgrades due:
  1. OCS re-zero calibration (calibration of the airbag sensing mat on the passenger seat)
  2. Defrost mesh grille update (improves the functionality of your defroster, however does change the appearance of the front part of the dash. There are slits in the improved grille)
  3. Lift gate water ingress update
  4. A/C compressor bracket adjustment and harness re-routing
  5. TPMS low pressure warning adjustment
  6. PSRCM calibration update
  7. J1772 adapter update
  8. DCDC boot loader update
 
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I was leaning toward not getting the update. Generally the fogging up happens for me rarely and is easily addressable. I don't want a new squeak in my dash (paranoia?). Also, it might be nice to keep the original look.

I'm torn on this too. I only got my car in March and so have not experienced the fogging problem to any great extent. From those who went through the winter it does sound like it was pretty bad... enough to drive Tesla to create a retrofit. I'm afraid, though, if I wait and see, they may run out of parts by next winter. Anyone know if new cars off the line are coming with the new grille factory-installed?
 
I'm torn on this too. I only got my car in March and so have not experienced the fogging problem to any great extent. From those who went through the winter it does sound like it was pretty bad... enough to drive Tesla to create a retrofit. I'm afraid, though, if I wait and see, they may run out of parts by next winter. Anyone know if new cars off the line are coming with the new grille factory-installed?



Not sure about US cars but all EU cars will have the new grille by default.
 
There are pictures of the new grille somewhere on the forum. I forget where, unfortunately.

Did they say what's involved in doing the swap? I share your worry about creating new squeaks and rattles if they have to do a lot of disassembly. OTOH, I have a couple of squeaks and rattles in the dash now, so perhaps that would be an opportunity for them to fix those...
 
I'm torn on this too. I only got my car in March and so have not experienced the fogging problem to any great extent. From those who went through the winter it does sound like it was pretty bad... enough to drive Tesla to create a retrofit. I'm afraid, though, if I wait and see, they may run out of parts by next winter. Anyone know if new cars off the line are coming with the new grille factory-installed?

No, new cars have the original grille. Canadian service is now installing the modified grilles in every car that arrives here.

Trust me, the fogging isn't a trivial problem. I did an Ottawa - Toronto road trip last winter in a snowstorm. It got so bad I couldn't see anything through the side window. The frost was so thick I couldn't even see the side rear view mirror. I had to stop at a gas station to buy a small scraper. I spent the rest of the trip scraping off the window every ten minutes.
 
Hmm... I'd like to see a picture of the revised vent. I picked up my 85 today and asked the Rockville MD service center about this specifically.They couldn't tell me if I had the revised vent, but suggested that the factory was incorporating revisions and TSBs in to the latest cars.

From what I'm reading here that's likely not the case.
Off to search for that picture...
 
I had the vent retrofit installed awhile ago. It has caused more rattles in my car, but Tesla has said they will work on eliminating them for me. I haven't taken it in to get it fixed yet (I'm waiting for the P85 loaner cars to make it to Seattle). The revised vents do solve the fogging problem. I have told Tesla HQ about the rattle issues and I would believe that they are working on the issue. I think all they need to do to solve it is to secure the vents to the mesh grill better, put a bit of foam rubber around the vents where it contacts the plastic mesh and make sure that the rest of the mesh grill is secure to it's fastening points on the dash. I personally resorted to putting a shim made up of paper napkins under the dash between the mesh grill and the dash to help reduce the amount of rattling that was coming from the revised grill.

The vent retrofit does take away from the clean look of the dash, but you don't really notice it after a bit. When the sun is hitting the front windshield, you do see the reflection of the vents in the windshield, but it's not unique to the Model S. Every car that has the vents has the same issue if you look.

I would recommend if you don't have the vent retrofit yet to hold off getting it until you really need it (probably around the fall or winter timeframe depending on what the climate is where you live). Enjoy the car as is for the next couple of months and let Tesla refine the vents and how it connects to the grill and dash. If I had to do it over, I would not get the vents installed until the summer driving season was over.
 
I would suggest that different cars were variably affected. Don't get rattles if yours is as good as mine. I noticed the issue but would not get a fix for my car. I like the mesh and 5 to 60 seconds of defrost fixes my minor frost issues. I live in 70 inches of snow yearly.
 
I've posted these before... but since you asked:

IMG_1561.JPG

Before

IMG_1560.JPG

After

Just about every other car on the market looks like "After", so it's not something you'll really think is out of place.