When a car presents a serious issue, it is worth writing about it even if it has apparently affected only one car. Making people aware of it is the best way to learn about other situations. That’s what happened when we wrote about Tesla Model 3 units in which their rear door glasses self-destructed. On October 15, Michael Fisher got in touch to report the same problem, but now with a Model Y, as the video above shows.
Fisher read our articles telling the stories of Jayakrishna Balaji Simma, Fernando Khounphithach, and Ameya Amritwar. Looking back, Amritwar’s situation is more closely related to that of Nathaniel Chien and the flying roof of his family’s Model Y than to these glasses that shatter spontaneously.
Unfortunately, the issue has not been solved so far. Considering our first article on the problem was written on March 22, 2020, that shows the theory that Tesla fixes these problems quickly after they emerge is not true. In other words, the “continuous improvement” story may only prove right when it relates to what Tesla wants to perfect, such as the Octovalve.
These other consumer issues repeat in a concerning way. As Tesla does not reply to press inquiries, it is possible it also ignores the news, even if Elon Musk was disappointed by the media coverage given to the Tesla Battery Day.
The issue is that the consumers that tell InsideEVs their stories also contact the company. Some of them even get them fixed under warranty, as should always be the case. If these quality control problems are not being addressed at the production lines, there are only two answers for that: either Tesla is unable to fix them, or it is unwilling to do so.
Back to Fisher’s case, his Model Y was parked for 24 hours in his garage when the glass decided to break into pieces. The video was posted on October 13, and the surveillance camera that recorded it also records sounds. That allowed us to listen to crickets – which suggests it happened at night – and the glass shattering.
Fisher said the garage was at 70ºF (17.2ºC) when it all happened. That excludes the possibility of a thermal shock and makes stress the most probable cause for the glass shattering. As a comment in the video says, it seems that misalignment caused the situation. The door that lost its glass seems a little off.
The guys at TFL Car are experiencing an issue with their Model Y that also seems to be caused by misalignment: the left rear door refuses to open, which can be a real problem in case of an accident.
Fisher said the car was bought in March and had only 1,500 miles on it. He ends up the video by saying that “this is what you get when you buy a Tesla. Good luck to you.” We’ll try to learn if he has contacted the company to get it repaired under warranty. More than that, if it makes any difference to his experience with the car so far.
Source: Michael Fisher