Model 3 - Maintenance?
Discussion
For those who don't know. Tesla Model 3's have a completely flat bottom 
under the car. There is one huge cover (I think it's aluminium) in the middle of the car protecting the battery and a further three plastic covers, one at the front and two at the rear.
So, I just changed my winter wheels/tyres over to my summer wheels/tyres and whilst doing that, I thought I'd have a little clean up, mainly around the inner wheel arches. This prompted me to give a quick wipe over with a damp cloth to the various suspension components. I've owned the car from new and have only done approx 15K miles since I bought the car nearly four years ago. I look after it well and it's always garaged so it didn't need much cleaning.
However, as is often the way, my little cleaning job turned into a much bigger job than planned. I decided to remove the three plastic covers just to check the general condition of what the covers might be hiding. The front cover just had collected a few small stones and dirt so not a surprise and not a problem. The cover at the rear, just behind the battery just needed a wipe over with a damp cloth. The third plastic cover at the very back of the car was a slightly different story though. I couldn't believe how much c**p had collected there. See pics.
Most of the c**p was directly behind the rear wheels which I guess makes sense. I don't know how to take that cover completely off the car. I assume you have to take the bumper off and then separate them. I noticed there were some sort of push fit clips holding the cover onto the bumper but I wasn't going to risk breaking them by forcing the clips apart (we've all done it). And I wasn't going to bother taking the bumper off so I just undid all the bolts that hold the cover to the underneath of the car and with a little fiddling, I sort of lowered the cover from the bumper like it was on a hinge. Tip: remove the cover directly behind the battery first. It makes it easier to drop the rear cover.
Next time, I might try to remove the rear wheel arch covers as I think access to that rear cover will be possible. Certainly enough to give it a quick clean. Most of what I found could probably be removed using a vacuum cleaner. And who knows what might be hiding behind the arch covers?
The point of this post? If you have a Model 3 (or indeed any Tesla), it might be worth doing this little bit of maintenance. I dread to think how much c**p will collect on older/higher mileage Tesla's.
Front cover:
C**p from the rear cover:
under the car. There is one huge cover (I think it's aluminium) in the middle of the car protecting the battery and a further three plastic covers, one at the front and two at the rear. So, I just changed my winter wheels/tyres over to my summer wheels/tyres and whilst doing that, I thought I'd have a little clean up, mainly around the inner wheel arches. This prompted me to give a quick wipe over with a damp cloth to the various suspension components. I've owned the car from new and have only done approx 15K miles since I bought the car nearly four years ago. I look after it well and it's always garaged so it didn't need much cleaning.
However, as is often the way, my little cleaning job turned into a much bigger job than planned. I decided to remove the three plastic covers just to check the general condition of what the covers might be hiding. The front cover just had collected a few small stones and dirt so not a surprise and not a problem. The cover at the rear, just behind the battery just needed a wipe over with a damp cloth. The third plastic cover at the very back of the car was a slightly different story though. I couldn't believe how much c**p had collected there. See pics.
Most of the c**p was directly behind the rear wheels which I guess makes sense. I don't know how to take that cover completely off the car. I assume you have to take the bumper off and then separate them. I noticed there were some sort of push fit clips holding the cover onto the bumper but I wasn't going to risk breaking them by forcing the clips apart (we've all done it). And I wasn't going to bother taking the bumper off so I just undid all the bolts that hold the cover to the underneath of the car and with a little fiddling, I sort of lowered the cover from the bumper like it was on a hinge. Tip: remove the cover directly behind the battery first. It makes it easier to drop the rear cover.
Next time, I might try to remove the rear wheel arch covers as I think access to that rear cover will be possible. Certainly enough to give it a quick clean. Most of what I found could probably be removed using a vacuum cleaner. And who knows what might be hiding behind the arch covers?
The point of this post? If you have a Model 3 (or indeed any Tesla), it might be worth doing this little bit of maintenance. I dread to think how much c**p will collect on older/higher mileage Tesla's.
Front cover:
C**p from the rear cover:
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