- A small but vocal set of Tesla drivers have taken to social media to complain about water damage.
- They claim that, when they hit a puddle or go through a carwash, water has flowed into their vehicles.
- On the other hand, a Tesla owner in Shanghai—whose own car was a victim of this kind of water damage—posted a video on Twitter showing the company apparently putting a Model 3 through deep water testing.
For years Tesla has been the center of controversy concerning its build quality. From panel gaps to our own long-term Model 3 requiring the rear drive unit be replaced, the company has encountered issues while scaling up production of its vehicles. The latest to take Twitter by storm is a number of people posting videos showing Teslas leaking water into the cabin and sustaining water damage.
Twitter user Caleb posted a short video of his 2020 Model 3 leaking water into the passenger footwell while at the carwash. The sudsy liquid just streams in from under the dash. After talking with a Tesla service tech, he said, he learned that the part to fix the issue isn’t in inventory yet; it has replaced an older part that’s also not in inventory.
Meanwhile, a video of a Model X’s windshield leaking after driving through a puddle appeared earlier this month. The vehicle was purchased in June of 2019.
Meanwhile in China, back in October 2019, according to Twitter user @jayinshanghai, his Model S broke down. He claims the service center hasn’t fixed the vehicle, which is still under warranty, because the rear drive unit is suffering from water damage. Considering that cars routinely drive through puddles and in the rain, that seems like a weird issue to befall a vehicle and even more strange is that it’s not covered under warranty.
As of January 26, the Model S is still not fixed, Jay says, reporting that he’s still without his car, which is technically under warranty even though the service center says the issue isn’t covered. The irony is that this Twitter user is a huge Tesla evangelist. Jay even posted a video of a Model 3 in China being driven in deep water during testing.
Automakers both new and established run into manufacturing issues. Building hardware at scale is tough, and there are always missteps, errors, and issues with parts. But what’s weird about the water-related issues is that recently CEO Elon Musk tweeted that “A Tesla works as a boat for short periods of time as an electric car has no air intake or exhaust to block & battery/motor/electronics are water-sealed.”
Any car that lands in a large body of water is extremely likely to be ruined by the experience. But, maybe don’t tout how well sealed a vehicle is while customers are being denied warranty service and can’t get the parts needed to drive in the rain because their cars aren’t well sealed enough.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
