Rear Hatch Misalignment - Will Tesla Cover it?

[Mark-YSR]

I was cleaning the inside of my 2021 vintage Model Y VIN 11x xxx yesterday. It was the first time I really gave the inside of the rear hatch a clean, so that ledge is usually dirty.

When I was doing so, I noticed that there was a black mark that wouldn't come off. Upon further inspection, I notice it was damage from the hatch touching the bumper. As much as that's annoying, it's the damage on the hatch that has me concerned because I know it will rust.

This vehicle already had misalignment problems on the passenger door - it visibly stuck out when the door was closed. They fixed that problem (mostly, still not perfect), but there is now a small chip on that front door and the back door so I wonder how well it was fixed (I need touch up paint to fix it).

The vehicle is still under warranty (67k km of the 80k km warranty). Has anyone else had this problem and did Tesla fix it for a cost or under warranty? At this point I just want the hatch aligned and repaired and will ultimately pay for it if I have to. If anyone has had that done at a Tesla Collision Centre (there's one less than 10 km from my house), if it does come with a cost, what might I expect to pay?

 

[brkaus]

Your just going to have to ask.

 

[zoomer0056]

You definitely don't take care of your car to not clean it in two years ... tsk tsk tsk. Shaking a pointing finger at you like a mom. Ok, that's out of my system. They may align it under warenty. Because it could've been fixed a year or more ago to prevent that damage, they might not repair the missing paint. But I don't know, you gotta ask them, it's a waranty item. Definitely detail your car before bringing it in. Worst case ... they will align and you will apply touch up paint.

 

[Goobers]

This kind of alignment is controlled by the bump stops.

In the picture of the open hatch, you can just barely see a bit of it in the lower left, just above the tail light, that round thing. For the MY, it's a hard cap, but on the opposite side (on underside of the hatch itself) is an adjustable one. You adjust it by turning it and it is what controls just how close the trunk gets to the bumper. There should be four in total on the hatch, One above each tail light and one to each side of the latch... where those weird flat spots are in the plastic when you open the hatch.

This is not a warranty item and especially since the car is already a few years old, Tesla won't cover it... aside from possibly adjusting it for you. But, you should save yourself the time and hassle of an appointment, by adjusting it yourself.

 

[Mark-YSR]

This kind of alignment is controlled by the bump stops.

In the picture of the open hatch, you can just barely see a bit of it in the lower left, just above the tail light, that round thing. For the MY, it's a hard cap, but on the opposite side (on underside of the hatch itself) is an adjustable one. You adjust it by turning it and it is what controls just how close the trunk gets to the bumper. There should be four in total on the hatch, One above each tail light and one to each side of the latch... where those weird flat spots are in the plastic when you open the hatch.

This is not a warranty item and especially since the car is already a few years old, Tesla won't cover it... aside from possibly adjusting it for you. But, you should save yourself the time and hassle of an appointment, by adjusting it yourself.

I'll have a look at that.

Thanks

 

[Mark-YSR]

This kind of alignment is controlled by the bump stops.

In the picture of the open hatch, you can just barely see a bit of it in the lower left, just above the tail light, that round thing. For the MY, it's a hard cap, but on the opposite side (on underside of the hatch itself) is an adjustable one. You adjust it by turning it and it is what controls just how close the trunk gets to the bumper. There should be four in total on the hatch, One above each tail light and one to each side of the latch... where those weird flat spots are in the plastic when you open the hatch.

This is not a warranty item and especially since the car is already a few years old, Tesla won't cover it... aside from possibly adjusting it for you. But, you should save yourself the time and hassle of an appointment, by adjusting it yourself.

I went to the local Service Centre to ask about this problem and they told me the same thing. They also told me to take it to a body shop to get a quote for possible warranty repair.

I went to the local Tesla Collision Centre and with in a second of describing it, the guy working there told me that it was "an assembly error" and he's seen it a bunch. He said the bump stops won't fix it, hatch needs to be realigned. Could have been caused at the assembly of the vehicle or when they put my trailer hitch on (Tesla but at the Service Centre and not from factory). The Tesla Collision Centre doesn't do warranty work, so they sent me to another body shop.

My car was out of inventory and the passenger front door was visibly sticking out when I bought the car. Tesla aligned it, but according to the body shop it's still too far out (it's definitely not flush), so if the warranty claim is approved and I bring it there, they'll fix that too for me. They told me to take it back to Tesla to have the body problems documented too. When I did that the Tesla Service Advisor said that it looked like warranty items. I have to wait a few days for it all to be processed, but it all might get fixed under warranty which would be great (even though these are problems that shouldn't exist when a vehicle is assembled).

 

[dzajic]

I have water leakage past the hatch seal, and finally did the 3-hour drive to a service center and Tesla couldn't reproduce it. But now I'm realizing what the real issue seems to be: the hatch is misaligned, sticking out too far on the left, and not far enough on the right. This can't be fixed via bumper adjustment, they were already max'd out in opposite extremes from the factory; this is a body/assembly problem.

My heart sank when I realized this. Can and will Tesla fix this? My car is 8 months old, and this was an issue from the beginning, but it took this long to realize. I'm 3 hours from service and they don't do mobile, which also contributed to why it took this long.

In my case it's not just aesthetics, water gets beyond the seal, and I already know they're going to adjust the bumpers and call it good, but that won't fix it.

Any suggestions?

 

[antair]

I have water leakage past the hatch seal, and finally did the 3-hour drive to a service center and Tesla couldn't reproduce it. But now I'm realizing what the real issue seems to be: the hatch is misaligned, sticking out too far on the left, and not far enough on the right. This can't be fixed via bumper adjustment, they were already max'd out in opposite extremes from the factory; this is a body/assembly problem.

My heart sank when I realized this. Can and will Tesla fix this? My car is 8 months old, and this was an issue from the beginning, but it took this long to realize. I'm 3 hours from service and they don't do mobile, which also contributed to why it took this long.

In my case it's not just aesthetics, water gets beyond the seal, and I already know they're going to adjust the bumpers and call it good, but that won't fix it.

Any suggestions?

Usually the root cause is not a misalignment. Liftgate seams are not sealed, it’s a known issue and they have a service bulletin.

 

[dzajic]

Usually the root cause is not a misalignment. Liftgate seams are not sealed, it’s a known issue and they have a service bulletin.

Maybe usually not, but I think it might be in my case. This misalignment is noticeable worse than any other Model Y I've seen so far.
I've already taken it in once, so if it was the service bulletin issue why didn't they fix it?

 

[antair]

Maybe usually not, but I think it might be in my case. This misalignment is noticeable worse than any other Model Y I've seen so far.
I've already taken it in once, so if it was the service bulletin issue why didn't they fix it?

You’ll be surprised but SC technicians don’t give a *sugar* about your issues and your car. Sealing requires a lot of thorough work and disassembly.
Can you make a photo of the spot where you see water?

 

[dzajic]

You’ll be surprised but SC technicians don’t give a *sugar* about your issues and your car. Sealing requires a lot of thorough work and disassembly.
Can you make a photo of the spot where you see water?

 

[dzajic]

Here you go.