Model S Refresh XPEL Quality Issues?

[21yokel]

Hello fellow Tesla members!

Curious if anyone has any feedback regarding XPEL Wrap on the refresh Model S. I paid about $8k for bumper, hood, fender impact area, along with ceramic coating in Albany NY. This was done 2 years ago, and had the bumper rewrapped 2x since then -

I actually complained to Telsa after the first bumper wrap on initial completion as I thought it was a TELSA issue; but then after Tesla replaced bumper for free and another XPEL Wrap (which I had to pay out of pocket for), the issue popped up again after a future wrap job when they had to replace bumper wrap again for seem issues. On this 2nd wrap attempt, the seems were pretty bad and the installer redid the front bumper again to correct seem issues at the lower lip. During this rewrap is when these paint chips occurred.

From photos, it looks like they trimmed around headlight and chipped paint in 2 spots. Anyone else have similar around their Model S headlamps when doing clear XPEL wrap?


The XPEL vendor/wrap is in Albany NY and has a pretty good reputation from what I can see, or at least is the biggest shop in the area.

They claim to use precut XPEL sheets, and when I mentioned this issue during annual inspection they said I must have caught some rock chips because they only use precut sheets and wouldn’t cut the film like that. Although It occurred during the installation, and you can see how they freehanded the trimming of the wrap Much farther up the headlight itself.

Anyone else run into similar issues on their Model S wrap job? Or am I just catching the unlucky end of the XPEL stick? I feel there are more paint chips caused from the wrap then I would have had without XPEL. Maybe they should have removed the headlights on install for better installation?

Photo shows 2 chips in the headlight area. I also had 4 tiny chips on the impact area from them peeling the original PPF film installed by tesla...they put a glob of unmatched white paint on the large chip, and left the 3 pin hole chips alone. I haven’t even complained about that, but the back PPF has been peeling off as well.

The front license plate also fell off < 1 year of wrapping the bumper, but I chalk that up to the ceramic coating

I have my follow up yearly annnual inspection at end of September in Albany, NY and will follow-up with how it goes! Just curious if anyone else had a similar issues around the headlights, and maybe what they are able to do to correct? If they are just gonna put a glob of unmatched paint, I may goto another XPEL shop to fix under warranty?

Thanks guys! A bit of venting here.

 

[vapor trail]

My car is fully wrapped in EXPEL (2019, not refresh). Have had zero issues with it.

 

[DayTrippin]

Your car is the shining example of why you don't want to use pre-cut sheets (aka templates). It is faster for them to install but you typically don't get the edges wrapped. So you end up with a fair amount of exposed edges.

TBH - it looks like a pretty shitty job and I'd never go back to them.

 

[Rascoe]

Sounds like The Works? I have 2 cars that they ceramic coated and put Xpel on the headlights on one. Did a nice job and the folks seem very nice. I did point out something missed on one car and they took care of it right away. I would be interested to hear what they say.

 

[21yokel]

Your car is the shining example of why you don't want to use pre-cut sheets (aka templates). It is faster for them to install but you typically don't get the edges wrapped. So you end up with a fair amount of exposed edges.

TBH - it looks like a pretty shitty job and I'd never go back to them.

Good point, As this is my first wrap job I didn’t even know about pre-cut sheets being a thing. About $7k for the partial wrap on front bumper, hood, fenders along with 7 year ceramic coating…figured it Would be

Your car is the shining example of why you don't want to use pre-cut sheets (aka templates). It is faster for them to install but you typically don't get the edges wrapped. So you end up with a fair amount of exposed edges.

TBH - it looks like a pretty shitty job and I'd never go back to them.

Thanks this was my first car and I’m new to the wrap game! Didn’t know difference of precut or other types of wrap products. You live and learn, but for about $7000 for partial front wrap and ceramic I figured I was good.. It’s just a bit ironic that wrapping my car has caused more damage than anything else .

I filed an insurance claim but only covers $3000 for accessories which won’t even cover the paint damage, rewrap, and ceramic coating. Going to likely have to bring to small claims court to get refunded after repair.

 

[DayTrippin]

An insurance claim will likely just jack up your premiums in the future and it sounds like much won't be covered anyway.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

"they said I must have caught some rock chips because they only use precut sheets and wouldn’t cut the film like that."

Did the dude manage to keep from laughing when he said this joke to you?? Looking at the pics, he seriously said that random rocks just managed to slice away some of the clear bra in that spot, but didn't affect the whole bumper??

I have done my own bulk install and pre-cut kit Xpel installations, and I can tell you that while that bumper piece may have started as a precut kit, they screwed up the install at those edges and then very poorly free-hand cut away the parts of the film they damaged instead of starting over with a new piece. With the complete lack of skill shown on those cuts, it's obvious why they don't do bulk installs.

In summary, it's an incredible crappy job coupled with a Tesla Service Center caliber lie to cover up their crappy work. Zero star rating for them!

 

[Speedr117]

Just to echo the same sentiment. Never had that happen on any PPF'd car. If there is a rock chip, it wouldn't be that big. I'd go to another PPF installer and get their opinion, and have them redo the area with the same PPF manufacturer.

 

[Propofoln]

$8000 for just the front and ceramic coat? Wow. I paid $3000 for that here in Dallas

 

[CleanDemon]

No offense, but you got taken to the cleaners with a $7K partial wrap + ceramic coating. Better luck next time!

 

[Seattle ClearBra]

I'm sorry to hear of the problems. Xpel installers are generally some of the best in the industry. They should defiantly fix the issues you've shown in the photo no questions asked. Wish we were local to help out but the Closest we would-be is in Nashville come November this year with our new shop there in Brentwood Tennessee. If you don't get resolve speaking directly with the installer, I'd urge to contact Xpel direct and I'm sure they'll be sure it gets sorted out for you.

 

[XPEL]

Hello fellow Tesla members!

Curious if anyone has any feedback regarding XPEL Wrap on the refresh Model S. I paid about $8k for bumper, hood, fender impact area, along with ceramic coating in Albany NY. This was done 2 years ago, and had the bumper rewrapped 2x since then -

I actually complained to Telsa after the first bumper wrap on initial completion as I thought it was a TELSA issue; but then after Tesla replaced bumper for free and another XPEL Wrap (which I had to pay out of pocket for), the issue popped up again after a future wrap job when they had to replace bumper wrap again for seem issues. On this 2nd wrap attempt, the seems were pretty bad and the installer redid the front bumper again to correct seem issues at the lower lip. During this rewrap is when these paint chips occurred.

From photos, it looks like they trimmed around headlight and chipped paint in 2 spots. Anyone else have similar around their Model S headlamps when doing clear XPEL wrap?


The XPEL vendor/wrap is in Albany NY and has a pretty good reputation from what I can see, or at least is the biggest shop in the area.

They claim to use precut XPEL sheets, and when I mentioned this issue during annual inspection they said I must have caught some rock chips because they only use precut sheets and wouldn’t cut the film like that. Although It occurred during the installation, and you can see how they freehanded the trimming of the wrap Much farther up the headlight itself.

Anyone else run into similar issues on their Model S wrap job? Or am I just catching the unlucky end of the XPEL stick? I feel there are more paint chips caused from the wrap then I would have had without XPEL. Maybe they should have removed the headlights on install for better installation?

Photo shows 2 chips in the headlight area. I also had 4 tiny chips on the impact area from them peeling the original PPF film installed by tesla...they put a glob of unmatched white paint on the large chip, and left the 3 pin hole chips alone. I haven’t even complained about that, but the back PPF has been peeling off as well.

The front license plate also fell off < 1 year of wrapping the bumper, but I chalk that up to the ceramic coating

I have my follow up yearly annnual inspection at end of September in Albany, NY and will follow-up with how it goes! Just curious if anyone else had a similar issues around the headlights, and maybe what they are able to do to correct? If they are just gonna put a glob of unmatched paint, I may goto another XPEL shop to fix under warranty?

Thanks guys! A bit of venting here.

21Yokel,

We're sorry to hear about your experience with your XPEL PPF. If your original installer isn't willing to fix the issues, please email us at [email protected] with those images you attached and a copy of your invoice/warranty card if you have it. We'll be more than happy to help you get this sorted.

To provide feedback on the pre-cut vs. bulk situation, we understand how a pre-cut kit may seem to offer less coverage than a bulk installation. However, being the originator of the PPF pre-cut pattern in 1997, we take pride in our patterns being the most accurate in the business. Even with that said, if an XPEL installer wants the bulk install look, they can modify the patterns in the XPEL pre-cut pattern software, the DAP, and extend any edge they want. That doesn't mean every edge can be wrapped, as some edges are too close to body panels, etc. But it does mean that an XPEL installer can add some personality to the pre-cut kit while still using it as a guide.

 

[CTruck_BMW]

21Yokel,

We're sorry to hear about your experience with your XPEL PPF. If your original installer isn't willing to fix the issues, please email us at [email protected] with those images you attached and a copy of your invoice/warranty card if you have it. We'll be more than happy to help you get this sorted.

To provide feedback on the pre-cut vs. bulk situation, we understand how a pre-cut kit may seem to offer less coverage than a bulk installation. However, being the originator of the PPF pre-cut pattern in 1997, we take pride in our patterns being the most accurate in the business. Even with that said, if an XPEL installer wants the bulk install look, they can modify the patterns in the XPEL pre-cut pattern software, the DAP, and extend any edge they want. That doesn't mean every edge can be wrapped, as some edges are too close to body panels, etc. But it does mean that an XPEL installer can add some personality to the pre-cut kit while still using it as a guide.

Huge respect for XPEL having presence on forums in general and looking after their customers. Even though I just got my car wrapped using another PPF brand, I really have huge respect for XPEL. This example above alone is one reason.