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:
Tesla owners generally prefer to believe no maintenance is required so you’re probably talking to yourself.
Did you check out around the radiators at the front where leaves and rubbish can collect? The air filters might need a clean too, The hepa filter on our MS when we had it benefitted from a good clean without actually replacing it as it can be expensive to buy. The smaller cabin filters you can buy better carbon ones than Tesla sell and are cheap but fiddly to replace on a RHD car as the pedals get in the way.
Did you check out around the radiators at the front where leaves and rubbish can collect? The air filters might need a clean too, The hepa filter on our MS when we had it benefitted from a good clean without actually replacing it as it can be expensive to buy. The smaller cabin filters you can buy better carbon ones than Tesla sell and are cheap but fiddly to replace on a RHD car as the pedals get in the way.
Gone fishing said:
Tesla owners generally prefer to believe no maintenance is required so you re probably talking to yourself.
Did you check out around the radiators at the front where leaves and rubbish can collect? The air filters might need a clean too, The hepa filter on our MS when we had it benefitted from a good clean without actually replacing it as it can be expensive to buy. The smaller cabin filters you can buy better carbon ones than Tesla sell and are cheap but fiddly to replace on a RHD car as the pedals get in the way.
I remember asking Tesla about maintenance schedules before I bought my car. I clearly remember them saying: 'In the nicest possible sense, once we've sold the car to you, we never want to see you again'. They also said that 'the car will tell you if there's a problem'. I liked that. So Tesla are clear about there being no requirement for scheduled maintenance but of course, every car requires some checks at some point. What about oil and filter changes for example? Who knew a Tesla might need an oil change at some point? Did you check out around the radiators at the front where leaves and rubbish can collect? The air filters might need a clean too, The hepa filter on our MS when we had it benefitted from a good clean without actually replacing it as it can be expensive to buy. The smaller cabin filters you can buy better carbon ones than Tesla sell and are cheap but fiddly to replace on a RHD car as the pedals get in the way.
Having said that, I doubt that checking the under trays on any car would be part of 'normal' maintenance. And I was really surprised to see how much c**p had collected which is why I shared my experience.
To answer your question. Yes, I did check around the radiators at the front. Fortunately there was nothing much to report there. I've also replaced the filters in the past. My car is LHD and I still found it difficult to access the cabin filters. Not impossible but unnecessarily awkward IMO. I'm sure Tesla (and indeed other car manufacturers) could find a better solution. I've had cars in the past with cabin filters located in the glovebox which makes life much easier.
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