Swiped and wheel well trim pulled loose - while on FSDb

[Joe2765]

I was taking a turn on FSDb minding its own business and a truck pulling a trailer cut us off and clipped the front right corner of the car.

The only damage seems to be that the plastic wheel well trim has been pulled loose. I don't think that there was any actual contact with the car itself.

The trim is held on by some push pins on the rear part of the trim. On the front part of the trim there seem to be a guide in and then two clips that attach to a bolt like protrusion. I was able to push all the pins back in, but the to clips that attach to the protrusions seem to need to slide on from the front. I think that when the trim is installed, it is slid on from the front and then the push pins in the rear are pushed in.

I have contacted the Tesla certified body shop and sent them pictures. I am waiting to hear back. The receptionist on the phone told me that they would have to disassemble the area of contact to look for internal damage, but I don't think that this is necessary. But if I am paying out of pocket it will stick me with a bigger bill.

Is it possible to buy parts from Tesla like from the parts department of a normal dealership? Would a Tesla roving repair guy handle this?

I jerked the wheel just as the trailer was about to swipe the car. FSDb did not seem to make any alarm sounds or even acknowledge that the incident was happening. I don't think it was the fault of FSD since the guy just cut us off and swung the trailer against the car.

 

[fiehlsport]

I agree that it's not worth going through insurance. Unlikely that there is hidden damage underneath. You can order any part you like in the app. Make a service request and select "Other," then just say what part number you would like to buy.

The parts catalog is at epc.tesla.com so you can find the correct part. Maybe grab a few extra clips/push-pins just to be safe.

Mobile service should be able to do it, but they may not agree to since it's a "body" or "Collision" type of issue. Worth a shot.

 

[Chewy13]

Man. That the luckiest/least amount of damage I've ever seen on a side swipe. You could probably order a replacement grey plastic wheel trim if you wanted to get rid of the scuffs, with a new part - or check a junkyard.

Also, gently pop that trim off, and you should be able to tell if there's any damage to the fender or bumper, or where the clips seat into the bodywork. It looks like it's a one-piece, pop clip.

 

[Joe2765]

I watched a video on taking it on and off and the clips that I thought were attached to a bolt like thing are actually push clips that have come loose from the molding and remain in the fender. That happened to the same two clips in the video. The clips can be popped out and inserted back into the molding, however the molding is damaged where one of the clips fits. I think I could attach it minus the one clip and it would be OK.

I am close to wanting to rotate my tires, so I made an appointment for a Tesla Ranger using the Tesla app. I sent pictures of the molding and they seem willing to fix it for me. I asked to have it reattached or replaced if necessary. They said that they had to order the parts and pushed my appointment back to early November. So far no price quote. I saw one reproduction for $160 at some ev parts dot com place.

Indeed I am lucky to have so little damage. I thought for sure there would be a dent in the side.

I have been turning off FSD near any sort of construction, but this seemed a safe situation since it was just some sort of digging machine on the side of the road with a police officer. The car was doing fine on the left turn until that jerk with the truck rushed forward and slid into my space. He was going pretty fast and his trailer seems to have just swung over to nick me. I should have honked for dashcam video, but I did a few minutes later and this segment is not in the recording.

Well so much for polishing off every tiny bug splat and worrying about the one tiny paint chip I had so far.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[MY1stEV]

It's called the "Front Fender Garnish" and its part number 1494185-00-C for left side and 1494186-00-C for right side. I think you can get a price quote on the part thru the Service section the app. You'll have the option of picking it up from your local service center, or you can also request a mobile ranger install it -- but then you'll pay labor too.

 

[Joe2765]

Tesla Mobile Service came today and replaced the Front Fender Garnish. The part was $100 and $12 to snap it in for me. I also had the tires rotated for $65.

All told I was very happy with the service and am grateful to have been spared a much more extensive damage.