In April, the Tesla Model Y teardown carried over by Sandy Munro revealed Tesla used 3D printing to solve a problem with the HVAC airbox. We thought that would be the single example of jerry-rigging on the Model Y, but an owner found out another one: wood pieces and a plastic belt to hold the LCC (liquid-cooled condenser) in place. And he is not the only one.
The TMC Forums user Brown1428 started the thread to show other commenters the picture of his car. He started the discussion by making fun of the situation: "Someone made a run to Home Depot to make Q2 numbers." The title of his thread is even more revealing of how pleased he must have felt: "Found this little gem on my $55K Model Y."
A little after he started the discussion, user GeezerSquid posted a picture of his Model Y, VIN 19X, with precisely the same wood fixing on his car's LCC. Below his photograph, the user PJFW8 said his Model Y VIN 23XXX has the same MacGyver. The last user to report the same situation so far in that thread is TomServo.
A Sandy Munro video about the Octovalve shows Tesla had something less artisanal in that Model Y: polymers covered by green tape. Yet, user NY-Rob argues that the Tesla Parts Catalog presents the LCC without any sort of plastic belt, polymer, or wood piece. In other words, he believes that arrangement was a quick fix for a production issue.
The sad part of the story is that Brown1428 only discovered the "craftsmanship" in his Model Y after giving up to have it fixed by Tesla Service Centers. He complained about several panel gaps, and they were "within specs."
More Tesla Model Y Build Quality Concerns:
Brown1428 also says he does not recommend that anyone checks that in their Model Ys. He only removed the cowl cover and the frunk compartment "to tweak the fenders and headlights that were horribly misaligned."
Did those wood pieces come from Fremont, or was that something a Tesla Service Center did? That would be a relief, but the four cars that present that in a single thread make us consider the factory is in charge of the "solution." A small niche manufacturer could eventually be this creative, but is it acceptable in a $55,000 mass-production car?
Source: TMC Forums