There’s dirt, then there’s this amount of dirt.
Have dirt, will travel. Will travel for gravel. Or something like that.
There have been a few reported cases of the Tesla Model 3 accumulating quite a load of dirt in its undercarriage, but this one is quite extreme.
This Tesla Model 3 owner, while conducting an examination of his car at 15,000 miles, found a not-so-pleasant surprise.
It seems some 15 pounds of dirt found its way into the panels under the Model 3 and was trapped inside. This range-reducing (mostly a joke) dirt had likely accumulated over time, but regardless the car was carrying the weight of a bowling ball in dirt in its undercarriage.
It’s not unusual to find dirt in the various plastic panels underneath a car. However, 15 pounds is excessive. Our advice would be to periodically remove those panels on your Tesla to let the filth out.
Grab a look at the video to see the so-called dirt avalanche.
Video description via Dirty Tesla on YouTube:
0:00 Teaser
0:16 – Overview and a little background on my driving habits
1:01 – Jack pads needed to lift the car
1:43 – Bottom looks good at first inspection
1:56 – Lifting the car
3:21 – Suspension is basic
4:26 – Removing some plastic piece
6:26 – Looking at the aero shield and deciding what bolts to remove
7:04 – The opening where dirt can enter
7:22 – removing bolts
8:55 – Sticking the camera into the aeroshield…uh oh
9:30 – Looking into the aeroshield from the tire
9:55 – Finally releasing the aeroshield…dirt avalanche
11:18 – Looking into the exposed aeroshield
11:43 – The pile and talking about other cars with the same issue
13:05 – Checking tire tread
14:06 – Checking the shocks
14:54 – The brakes are brand new
15:35 – Putting the plastic thing back on
15:46 – A lot of torque for the lug nuts
15:54 – Summary and my thoughts
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