Tesla had launched the Model Y last year in March, and they had based it on the Model 3, which was selling like hotcakes at the time. More than 70% of the components of the new vehicle were the same as its younger sibling, making it easy for them to manufacture both cars for mass production. One thing that backfired for Tesla, however, is that the Model Y has now started coming up with issues that had occurred in the Model 3 as well. The latest news saw the rear window of a Model Y shatter on its own while it was parked in the garage.
Tesla Model Y Glass Shatters On Its Own While Parked In Garage
Owner Michael Fischer reported this issue to a blog, along with the video footage from a CCTV camera that managed to capture this. The video footage managed to capture both video and audio footage of the incident occurring, which clearly happened at night, as there were background noises of a cricket chirping. Fischer mentioned that he had parked his car inside the garage for 24 hours, after which the glass shattered into small pieces. The video was posted on October 13th, and Fischer stated that the temperature at the time was 70°F (17.2°C) when it happened. This more or less rules out the possibility of thermal shock and pretty much makes stress the most probable cause for the shattering of glass. The man in the video also commented that there was some misalignment with the door, and it seems that it could be a reason as well. The door seems a little out of position in the video.
There has been another case where the left rear door was misaligned, the same one whose window got shattered in Fischer’s car. In this case, the door refused to open, which can be a big issue in case of an accident. The interesting fact is that the issue in Fischer’s car was not due to any wear or extensive use. He had bought his Model Y in March this year and had logged up just 1,500 miles (2,413.5 km). He ended the video saying “This is what you get when you buy a Tesla. Good luck to you.”
Other Model Y issues
Earlier this month, there was a strange report of the roof of a newly-delivered Model Y flying off while the owner was driving back home from the dealer. Upon investigation, it was found out that either the seal that Tesla had put on the roof of that particular Model Y was faulty, or that they had completely forgotten to seal the roof. This raised some serious doubts over the quality control issues of the Model Y, with many reports coming in. Some customers received cars with dents or paint issues, while one even had an incompletely attached back seat. Now with this rear window issue and misalignment complaints coming in as well, Tesla is set to face a lot of heat on the quality control front.
Even though many customers do get attracted to the Tesla brand because of their futuristic thinking and constant upgrades, these issues are certainly going to make rational people take notice. Yes, you can get these issues sorted under warranty without having to pay much, but wouldn’t it make the customers feel much more relaxed if these issues did not exist in the first place? Quality control is a very important part of manufacturing, and Tesla cannot afford to take this lightly.
The fact that this issue was also seen in Model 3 before means that Tesla is aware of this problem. But even with so many reports stating that Tesla is always quick to resolve issues, it seems that the company’s “continuous improvement” story may prove right only when it relates to what they want to perfect, such as the Octovalve. If these issues are recurring again and are getting resolved through warranty rather than on the production line, it means one of two things – either Tesla cannot fix them, or it is unwilling to.
