Rear Roof Glass Defect

[groovyd]

To my disappointment today I wiped off a rain stain on the rear glass roof to reveal a significant electrical burn and glass cracking along one section of the rear window defrost circuit. Damage that will surely require the entire glass to be replaced. Just got my car a month ago and the weather hasn't even been that bad here in ATL. Ugggg!

The big problem is I had the windows tinted and c-bonded so after replacing it does that leave me to cover the replacement cost of those services or is that something Tesla would need to recover for me? Anyone else have to replace their rear glass or have rear defrost glass burns or damage?

 

[groovyd]

... so far all the issues my m3 has had

1. front bumper corner bad paint finish - splattering of clearcoat bad enough the wrap guy wouldn't wrap the car with it. instead of replacing the bumper tesla wet sanded it down to acceptable though not perfect.
2. epoxy-like smudge on rear view mirror - tesla managed to polish out somehow even though i tried every chemical and buffer in the toolbox and nothing was able to fix it, somehow they got it off without leaving scratches.
3. left turn signal issues - same issues everyone is having have appt in a month for them to replace it, hopefully... drives me nuts
4. front windshield half dozen 2"x2" sticker squares on inside of glass that again won't be rubbed off. they plan to try removing these during the turn signal appt. and will replace the windshield if they can't or they scratch the window.
5. rear glass defrost trace burning of tint and glass itself has splintered where the burning occurred will require full roof replacement... the issue above.
6. another semi-issue is braking rasping and poor braking performance. requires an excessive force to brake vehicle no matter the regen setting. can hear rasping sound while braking at low speeds, the kind of sound you hear when brake pads are worn and the rotor is being scratched by the pad backing. haven't driven other m3's so this might be normal? tesla tech said it was.
7. dashcam corrupts the flash drive regardless of format settings.

 

[groovyd]

dropped the car off to have the rear glass replaced and the steering turn signal replaced. they will see about removing the sticker marks from the windshield but may also need to replace that too. dashcam still useless. brakes still not very strong and a bit raspy.

 

[flashflooder]

The dashcam issue was resolved by a software update, in my case.
I also have the weird sticker marks (and what look like big suction cups, as well) on the windshield, I've been meaning to try 00 steel wool on it.

 

[ecarfan]

front windshield half dozen 2"x2" sticker squares on inside of glass that again won't be rubbed off.

I had a few of those, isopropyl alcohol on a clean cloth solved the issue.

 

[R1Fast]

I had a few of those, isopropyl alcohol on a clean cloth solved the issue.

Mr Clean Magic Eraser also works wonders.

 

[groovyd]

The dashcam issue was resolved by a software update, in my case.
I also have the weird sticker marks (and what look like big suction cups, as well) on the windshield, I've been meaning to try 00 steel wool on it.

they recommended clay at the Tesla shop but that didn't work and the pure alcohol didn't work either. It seems to be some sort of laminate coating but the size of stickers. do they normally coat the glass with some form of polymer or something and maybe this just didn't get coated properly? They said they would probably try using shop hand cleaner like that orange stuff but my fear is it would scratch the glass since i think it has pumice in it? I just don't get why people have to always put stickers on everything and especially delicate surfaces like glass that you plan to see through.

 

[groovyd]

picked up the car this afternoon and they seem to have done a decent job replacing the rear glass though now I need to have it re-tinted and re-c-bonded, after-market mods they don't cover the replacement value on even though they don't offer window tinting as an option (which they really should since more people do that then replace their brake pedal with aluminum). Hoping it doesn't leak or develop another crack. Thinking to give it a month before having it re-tinted just incase. They also seem to have fixed the turn signal properly and both repairs look oem with nothing noticeably damaged in the process which is actually quite rare in the world of auto repairs, usually trading one issue for another but we'll see how it continues. Unfortunately they were not able to remove the front windshield marks and will need to bring me back to replace that whenever they get one in. That's another c-bond replacement.

Also upgraded to 44.2 but I have not noticed any differences in the UI? When I asked about the dashcam he mentioned he thought it was still something they have yet to fix in firmware.

 

[groovyd]

... another note of interest is they gave me a model S 75 as a loaner which in comparison felt like driving a boat... though I did prefer the S air suspension and wish the 3 had that. Otherwise I am much happier with my 3 then I was with the S. The 3 is just so much more responsive and agile. It feels literally as an extension of my brain for driving. I might also prefer the seats in the S, just something about them feels more solid and plush and refined.

 

[duy.duck]

So what is happening with the tint? Are you going to pay for the replacement out of your own pocket?

 

[Dan123]

What are the left-turn signal issues?

 

[Trips]

I would be happy that they replaced the glass under warranty. I would guess the window tinter messed hit something that caused the issue.

 

[groovyd]

So what is happening with the tint? Are you going to pay for the replacement out of your own pocket?

Well Tesla won't pay and I am not sure what the installer will cover of it, so not sure yet but incidentally the new rear roof glass has a different defect in that along the bottom edge of the glass on the right side it appears mis-molded and the surface has a good 3mm wave or indent in it right where it meets the frame of the car, actually right where the old glass had the crack. So it looks like they will need to replace it again.

 

[groovyd]

What are the left-turn signal issues?

Light left turn touch becomes a hard left turn always. Replacement steering column appears to have mostly fixed it but it is still very sensitive on the left to creating a hard turn from a soft one (ie. press down to the first stop and the left signals until the full turn is complete). It is my understanding and the way the right turn works is that the first stop means 3 sec signal and you have to pull down past that stop to get the full turn. To be honest even the replacement is slightly dodgy about this but better then the original.

 

[groovyd]

I would be happy that they replaced the glass under warranty. I would guess the window tinter messed hit something that caused the issue.

I don't think the tinter did anything but you never know. I don't remember the crack when he finished tinting it and the defrost line burned a hole through the tint and cracked the glass under it from the heat. It looks like the defrost line had a short in it.

 

[groovyd]

ok so new problem today on my way home the car suddenly announced 'Car Needs Service - battery charging is unavailable'. however when i got home i plugged it in to charge and it took the charge so not sure what is that all about. They upgraded me to 44.2 during the service visit but my car does seem to get terrible efficiency on average above 350wh/m efficiencies of around 50% on TeslaFi and was consuming 450wh/m on my way home so I am a little skeptical that this is not a real issue somewhere in the battery.

 

[groovyd]

Car is back at Tesla for 2nd replacement of rear glass due to the warp defect and stickers. This time they didn't have a loaner since they said they sold them all even though the lot was full of hundreds of empty teslas. Sent me to a dodgy local Hertz took an hour to get a garbage ICE rental. Reminded me of why the Tesla is such a great car regardless of defects.

 

[R1Fast]

I took my P3D back to the tint shop i use to re-tint my back glass after I noticed flaws in the rear glass affecting the final tint quality. Several small bubbles and deformations made it look like an amateur install.

At first, he was sure it was defective glass since hed seen a dozen or so with similar defects, but when he pulled the tint we noticed it was actually the adhesive used to mount the glass. It took no more than a fingernail and some IPA to remove. He replaced the tint for free since he missed the glue the first time (nice of him, but I'd expect no less from a professional).

Anyway, for anyone with a similar issue, if the flaws in your glass are dark in color it may be glue vs the actual glass. Something to confirm before asking your SA to replace under warranty.

 

[groovyd]

Tesla really needs to properly clean glass before installation and manufacture... no one wants gobs of stickers and *sugar* on their 70k car right off the lot.

 

[groovyd]

new rear glass looks good but it isnt the red tint variety like the original was. they recalibrated the cameras and autopilot seems a lot more stable.