How well do Teslas handle parking lot door dings?

[timk225]

Just wondering if Tesla did or didn't go all cheap ass on using door skins of adequate thickness to resist most parking lot door dings.

My '11 Challenger R/T is nice, but the body is some pretty damn thin metal, because of corporate greed and cheapness, and doing anything they can to lighten the car to save gas mileage. It's 4500 lbs with me in it and 1/4 tank of gas, taking a few thousandths out of the metal thickness didn't do much.

Walk into a Best Buy and look at an HP Desktop computer, one of those super light ones that uses a laptop computer power supply. THAT is some damn thin, cheap, metal. My car's body is a little better than that, but not by much.

 

[FlatSix911]

The aluminum panels seems to be a decent gauge and dent resistant so far ... just be careful closing the hood

 

[HankLloydRight]

I just noticed a 1/3" door ding on the drivers door... And my car is Autoflex dipped adding extra protection. It's small but I now see it there mocking me everyday.

 

[steve841]

Park far away from the morons ....

 

[Plug Life]

Park far away from the morons ....

Morons are everywhere so you can't...

 

[HankLloydRight]

Park far away from the morons ....

1. Sometimes you can't no matter how hard you try.
2. Sometimes the morons park next to you when you do park far away.

Or what @Plug Life said.

 

[ChadS]

Maybe I have just been lucky, but after 7 years and three cars, I have had zero dings.

 

[psgabin]

really.......have you checked your eyes recently? buy a lottery ticket

 

[Vrrooom]

No matter how far out I park, someone comes and parks right next to me. It's unavoidable.

 

[jcaspar]

This has much more to do on how you park than the thickness of the door panel. I never park between two cars, ever.

 

[steve841]

Ive had one ding in the last 5 cars I've owned....

So while it may be impossible, effort to park strategically certainly makes a difference.

 

[HankLloydRight]

This has much more to do on how you park than the thickness of the door panel. I never park between two cars, ever.

Unless you live in the boonies, sometimes you can't avoid parking between two other cars. Or parking where someone else will soon park next to you.

When I had my Delorean, I'd park out in the furthest, uninhabited, desolate parts of the parking lot. There would be no cars for "miles". But actually 9 times out of 10, I'd come back out and some jackwad in a chevy beater would park RIGHT NEXT TO ME. Sure, I get it, you want to go see the cool car.. but really, you have to park 8" away?

 

[EarlyAdopter]

I remember reading a materials science article a few years ago comparing the strength of aluminum to steel. Basically, the takeaway was aluminum sheet metal could be used in automotive applications at twice the thickness of steel sheet metal, yet still weigh half as much, be equal in tensile strength, and be twice as dent resistant due to the double thickness.

Hopefully there's some of this at play with Model S and X.

 

[Canuck]

No door dings from other vehicles in 2.5 years (knock wood) plus I've lost weight from parking so far away from everything and walking more.

However, I did drop the charger and it landed on the driver's door and created a ding. No scratch but a nice little dent that drove me nuts since my eyes always went right to it. So I took the car here:

Vancouver Paintless Dent Repair - Kensington-Cedar Cottage - Vancouver, BC

I spent about an hour in a close by coffee shop, and $150 later, it was completely gone. I was really impressed.

 

[MitchMitch]

 

[f-stop]

That reminds me... I was visiting Seoul earlier this year, and I noticed a lot of the cars there (including high-end luxury models!) seemed to have these goofy-looking rectangular blue blocks of foam stuck to their doors. I thought it pretty odd at the time, especially since putting these on your own car doesn't mean the other guy next to you won't ding your car...

Maybe if somehow everybody else was required by law to stick these on their cars, we'd be safe?

(btw @Canuck thx for the recommendation for VPDR - bookmarked, but hopefully I won't ever need it)

 

[P85DBeast]

No MATTER how hard you try some dingus will still think its OK. To park next to you after you put your car at the far end of the parking lot
That's why my wife's S has 2 dings on it One on the Driver Side rear quarter panel, and another one on the passenger door.
And my Car has 0 dings just one weird scratch under the driver side mirror!

That's why when our P100D arrives it will be parked as far out as it can be to keep it free of door dings. I could use the exercise any way. but ill have to drop my wife off at the entrance. But by that time hopefully the S will be able to drive all the way to the back of the parking lot by AUTONOMOUSLY and put me off at the entrance too!

 

[cwerdna]

Park far away from the morons ....

After getting some really terrible dings on one of my new cars ages ago (that got my quite angry) and a few on another, I now try to park further away, if I can.

My logic is that there is less chance of in/out traffic (other comes coming and going). I also avoid parking between two cars, if possible. And, if there are choices, I try not to park to piece of crap cars where the occupants/driver may not care.

So far, on the 2 cars I have, it's worked. I have no dents and minimal paint damage from door dings.

 

[K Fay]

Speaking of dings...Tesla allows the powered hatch to open to a maximum when the car is delivered. If not careful, the hatch will slam up against an opened overhead garage door at a height of about 7ft. This could be the first time the car has been driven into the garage without your realising there is a setting for this and that it will contact the garage door, in particular the metal hinges hanging 2 to 3" lower than the door.
I sent this problem to Tesla. Got no reply, so likely nothing has been done to eliminate this for unsuspecting new owners. The solution would seem to be easily remedied.

 

[Drucifer]

When I got my new Chevy Volt in 2012, I got 3 bits of damage. 2 dings and a runaway shopping cart. Ding 1 was at a daycare center. Mom's at daycare dropping off their kids before their first cup of coffee, fling their SUV doors open giving zero $h!ts about anything around them. Ding 2 was at WalMart...because WalMart. Runaway shopping cart was at Costco.

Now my child is 8 and I have a Model S. I don't go to daycare. I don't go to WalMart (at least in my car - maybe my wife's ). and when going to Costco, I don't park downhill without there being a barrier near my car. I also avoid bars, bowling alleys, amusement parks and movie theaters. So far - so good (fingers crossed)