Fix for loose overhead console assembly (where magnetic sunvisors attach)

[DeanSirovica]

Thanks for sharing - I was thinking of using a couple of black screws (trying to avoid any wires/electronics!). Every time we put the sunshade you have to yank the strong magnets off - so it takes a bit of force - I fear your method is going to fail after a while... But if all Tesla does is use sticky tape and even a new windshield - it still wont last until they change the design...

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[Bridgeboy69]

I was thinking of using a couple of black screws (trying to avoid any wires/electronics!).

Yes, I thought of that first as well. I was about to get the dremel out to drill small holes and get some small black screws but then this heat gun fix dawned on me (thank god ).

I fear your method is going to fail after a while...

I highly doubt it. The connection is super solid and did you see how concaved I made that female receptacle? The plastic has been heated and reformed and allowed to cool in that new shape. It wasn't just cold yielded where it wants to gradually go back to its original shape. That's it's permanent new shape now.

However, if I'm wrong and it does open up again over time and get loose, I'll just repeat the process. But I'd put money on it that I'll never have to do that again. It's not going anywhere without heavy force force pulling down on it....I'm guessing it would take maybe 25 lbs+ of downward force to get that clip to flex that receptacle plastic open enough to pop out now. Big difference from the measely ~1 ounce of force previously needed for it to fall open...

 

[mongo]

Yes, I thought of that first as well. I was about to get the dremel out to drill small holes and get some small black screws but then this heat gun fix dawned on me (thank god ).



I highly doubt it. The connection is super solid and did you see how concaved I made that female receptacle? The plastic has been heated and reformed and allowed to cool in that new shape. It wasn't just cold yielded where it wants to gradually go back to its original shape. That's it's permanent new shape now.

However, if I'm wrong and it does open up again over time and get loose, I'll just repeat the process. But I'd put money on it that I'll never have to do that again. It's not going anywhere without heavy force force pulling down on it....I'm guessing it would take maybe 25 lbs+ of downward force to get that clip to flex that receptacle plastic open enough to pop out now. Big difference from the measely ~1 ounce of force previously needed for it to fall open...

Indeed, the bracket is made of thermoplastic, not thermoset material, so heat plus manipulation is similar to manufacturing (though the rest of the nearby parts might not like the normal temps, so use caution).

Also, be careful of making the connection too good, still needs to be removable without something else letting loose.

 

[mahdir35]

I have had this issue since I bought the truck almost a year ago. I have brought it to the service center twice for a fix. The first time they simply stuck double sided tape on it, which did not work at all, and it literally fell back down as soon as I picked my truck up from them. I have just been dealing with it hanging down until I got fed up and recently brought it back in again. This time, they updated my service ticket to bring it back in a third time after they ordered a new windshield replacement since that assembly is permanently attached to the windshield and that was all they could come up with to fix it. Well, both me and the service advisor thought that was stupid as hell to fix a 1-cent plastic clip's failure to hold, but they didn't know what else to do. So, I put some thought into it, especially since my windshield is also tinted with high-quality cermic tint, and Tesla does not reimburse for that.

And I figured it out. I simply heated the female receptical where the clip connects with a heat gun, squeezed it with some pliers, and now the connection is solid as a rock. I notified the service team to cancel the new windshield. See below pics.

The problem:

The service center's 1st attempted "OEM" double sided tape fix :

What the white plastic male clips look like with console removed:

What the overhead female recptacles looked like on the overhead console:

Heating the bottom receptacle with heatgun:

Squeeze with pliers (I used channel-locks) and allowed to cool:

New, tighter, receptacle. I left the top one alone since that was not causing the problem:

It is now snapped back into place and solid as a rock.

Windshield repacement diverted.

EDIT: For anyone doing this, you don't have to heat that plastic too much. Don't go melting things with all those wires and electronics nearby. I set my heat gun to a moderate temperature that I could feel on my hand without scorching me, and I used that narrow attachment to blow the air mostly inside the female component. It's the inside walls of the receptacle that you want to be mallable so they "stretch" when you squeeze with the pliers.

And for anyone who doesn't have a heat gun, this one on Amazon is cheap and is what I used:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078S5QMFG?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3

I originally bought it to fix a ding in my bumper where the approved Tesla Collision Center wanted to replace the whole bumper for like $2K. You can't even tell it was dinged anymore.

Schedule service appointment. It’s under warranty. No need to fix yourself. Ijs

 

[Bridgeboy69]

Also, be careful of making the connection too good, still needs to be removable without something else letting loose.

Uhhhhhh...good point. When I first did this the console popped right back in with a moderate push with the palm of my hand and I was so happy that it felt solid as a rock, after being so limp and constantly falling down for so long, that I didn't want to jinx it by trying to really pull it off again.

But after reading your comment here, I went and tried to pull it off......and....it ain't coming back off by simply pulling on it. It will take way more than my 25 lbs of force guess. I think I made the female clip too concaved. It's pretty well stuck on there now without some other method of breaking it loose, like maybe prying it with something.

Honestly, I am still happy that it's stuck on there rather than the alternative of hanging down all the time, so I'm not going to attempt to get it off by other methods just for the sake of getting it off. It only ever needs to come off if there is a need to get in there, and right now there is no need for that. This will be a potential problem for another day should the need arise.

That said I will update my main post to warn people to not reshape the clip as drastically as I did. Honestly, when I did it I didn't squeeze very hard, and I wasn't sure how well the clip would react to the heat and squeezing pressue, and this is just what I ended up with on my first try. I was the guinea pig in this experiment. But I'll warn others to heat and squeeze lightly to only make it slightly tighter than it is. If you look at them, they are convex the way they are stock. Perhaps making it straight, with no curve, could be the sweet spot of not too loose, and not too tight. That should be enough to solve the issue without creating a new issue of having a tough time to get it back off.

(EDIT 2: don't squeeze too hard and don't make it quite as concaved as I did here on my first try. My console is now stuck on there really, really well, and would not pop back off with me squeezing on it with my fingers and pulling is hard as I can. If I ever need to get this thing off again it may taking prying it with a tool to get back off (and possibly breaking some plastic if not careful). But I'm leaving it alone for now since there is no need for it to come off at the moment.)

 

[Bridgeboy69]

Schedule service appointment. It’s under warranty. No need to fix yourself.

Did you even read my post?

There was every need to fix myself. I already brought it to the SC, twice, and they wanted me to come back a third time to replace the entire windshield.

 

[mongo]

Uhhhhhh...good point. When I first did this the console popped right back in with a moderate push with the palm of my hand and I was so happy that it felt solid as a rock, after being so limp and constantly falling down for so long, that I didn't want to jinx it by trying to really pull it off again.

But after reading your comment here, I went and tried to pul it ioff......and....it ain't coming back off by simply pulling on it. It will take way more than my 25 lbs of force guess. I think I made the female clip too concaved. It's pretty well stuck on there now without some other method of breaking it loose, like maybe prying it with something.

Honestly, I am still happy that it's stuck on there rather than teh alternative of hanging down all the time, so I'm not going to attempt to get it off by other methids just for the sake of getting it off. It only ever needs to come off if there is a need to get in there, and right now there is no need for that. This will be a potential problem for another day should the need arise.

That said I willl update my main post to warn people to not reshape the clip as drastically as I did. Honetsly, when I did it I didn't squeeze very hard, and I wasn't sure how well the clip would react to the heat and squeezing pressue, and this is just what I ended up with on my first try. I was the guinea pig in this experiemnt. But I'll warn others to heat and squeeze lightly to only slightly make it concaved. That should be enough to solve the issue without creating a new issue of having a tough time to get it back off.

Yeah, too much of a good thing. The original condition is flat.

 

[Bridgeboy69]

The original condition is flat.

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Yeah, well mine were definitely convex, and that seems to be the problem, I guess:

Since you mentioned this is thermoplastic, those of us who live in hotter climates (I'm in California) are probably the ones experiencing this problem as the sun heats these up enough to allow them to deform open to a convex shape which is too loose.

Perhaps mine will loosen up a bit again as the sun heats them up over time (to @DeanSirovica's point ) . Heck, maybe even using the heat gun outside the truck on the windshield above this console could do the trick if I really need to pop this console back off again one day.

 

[mongo]

Yeah, well mine were definitely convex, and that seems to be the problem, I guess:

Since you mentioned this is thermoplastic, those of us who live in hotter climates (I'm in California) are probably the ones experiencing this problem as the sun heats these up enough to allow them to deform open to a convex shape which is too loose.

Perhaps mine will loosen up a bit again as the sun heats them up over time (to @DeanSirovica's point ) . Heck, maybe even using the heat gun outside the truck on the windshield above this console could do the trick if I really need to pop this console back off again one day.

Yeah, longbterm strength temperature depends on the type of plastic. That area gets a lot of sun load.

https://www.specialchem.com/plastics/guide/max-continuous-service-temperature

The console itself is $105, so if pull comes to cut, you could sacrifice it rather than risk breaking the carrier bracket.

 

[cypherbeat]

I brought mine into my Orlando SC and they either were playing dumb after i described it in the messages or they didnt want to do anything about it but they said they just pushed it up and wouldnt charge me for it....ok. When i picked up the truck i checked it and slightly pulled down and of course it dropped so i went back in to show them in person and they took the truck back in to replace the bracket after they did i checked it and it looked and felt good but then the following day i noticed it dropped again this time far enough to obstruct the view of the camera to cause multiple nags one after the other while using FSD. Such a simple fix but seems effective! Thanks a lot!!

 

[mongo]

Your bracket is also broken, might be fixable with plastic repair systems.

If doing the resqueeze, probably remove their filler tape:

 

[hemiarch]

Your bracket is also broken, might be fixable with plastic repair systems.

If doing the resqueeze, probably remove their filler tape:

@mongo , anonymity may kind of be your thing but I’d like to propose a new avatar pic.
wont hurt my feelings if you don’t use it, but I think it kind of captures you.

 

[BrockN]

Did you even read my post?

There was every need to fix myself. I already brought it to the SC, twice, and they wanted me to come back a third time to replace the entire windshield.

Mine was loose right from purchase. They attempted a fix on the piece that falls down, failed and decided the problem was with the plastic on the windshield. They ended up replacing the piece on the glass side of the problem. They didn't replace the windshield and I haven't had it fall loose since. If it was a part of the windshield, then it would presumably be supplied with a replacement windshield. I haven't heard of that being the case though...

 

[hemiarch]

I still never understand why people cite the ignorance of SC employees as anything other than ignorance.
Let me be crystal clear about this, they are not the authority on ANY of this. With very few exceptions , if you’re a member of this forum you know more about your truck than service center employees. Sometimes including managers and people who are supposed to be the supervising adults. Genuinely.
The art form is getting them to do what you need them to do without much resistance.

 

[DeanSirovica]

Yes, I thought of that first as well. I was about to get the dremel out to drill small holes and get some small black screws but then this heat gun fix dawned on me (thank god ).



I highly doubt it. The connection is super solid and did you see how concaved I made that female receptacle? The plastic has been heated and reformed and allowed to cool in that new shape. It wasn't just cold yielded where it wants to gradually go back to its original shape. That's it's permanent new shape now.

However, if I'm wrong and it does open up again over time and get loose, I'll just repeat the process. But I'd put money on it that I'll never have to do that again. It's not going anywhere without heavy force force pulling down on it....I'm guessing it would take maybe 25 lbs+ of downward force to get that clip to flex that receptacle plastic open enough to pop out now. Big difference from the measely ~1 ounce of force previously needed for it to fall open...

Ok, I'll dig out my heat gun, or may be quicker to order yours on Amazon and give it a try, probably not worth trying to get Tesla to fix it ! -Thanks!

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