Prevent wheel abrasion from core wheel covers by using liquid rubber padding or wire harness tape

[GaryS]

I was inspecting my Cybertruck wheels before the winter snowfall.
And, I noticed the core wheel covers making these 7 abrasion marks around the rim:

This is where the core wheel covers made of hard plastic contact the rim.
(Images show before and after the rim was cleaned)

After some thought, I came up with an idea to add rubber padding to the core wheel covers.

STEP 1: Use a file to smooth out the contact surface (7X) and remove any sharp edges.

STEP 2: At you local hardware store, buy a can of FLEX SEAL (black),
and a syringe with a small needle.

STEP 3: Fill the pocket with FLEX SEAL as shown.

FLEX SEAL is thin enough to suck up into the syringe for re-filling.

Important, over-fill the pocket to create a rubber pad (7X).

I ended up with a .030" to .040" bead above the surface.

You can wipe up any excess if necessary.

STEP 4: Allow the FLEX SEAL to cure 24 hours.

FLEX SEAL does not shrink much at all, and I was happy with the results.

Hopefully, this will at least slow down any further abrasion.
This took around 2 hours from start to finish.

Happy Holidays!

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[CyberT]

Seriously! Where were you and your big brain 13 months ago?

 

[dpoll995]

My wheel covers were also scratching the spokes as well. After Tesla replaced my wheel under warranty I stopped using the wheels covers.

 

[Pops]

My wheel covers were also scratching the spokes as well. After Tesla replaced my wheel under warranty I stopped using the wheels covers.

Are you implying Tesla replaced the wheels because of the damage caused by the covers? I am pretty sure 100% of people using the covers have this damage.

I like the covers a lot, I don't mind the wheel looking like Freddy Krueger under them.

 

[dpoll995]

Are you implying Tesla replaced the wheels because of the damage caused by the covers? I am pretty sure 100% of people using the covers have this damage.

I like the covers a lot, I don't mind the wheel looking like Freddy Krueger under them.

Not implying anything. They 100% replaced my wheels under warranty. I read about some others getting theirs replaced and others that were denied. I tried and was successful. They told me that it was a design flaw and as long as I agreed to stop using the covers they would replace my wheels.

 

[JCERRN]

I was inspecting my Cybertruck wheels before the winter snowfall.
And, I noticed the core wheel covers making these 7 abrasion marks around the rim:

This is where the core wheel covers made of hard plastic contact the rim.
(Images show before and after the rim was cleaned)

After some thought, I came up with an idea to add rubber padding to the core wheel covers.

STEP 1: Use a file to smooth out the contact surface (7X) and remove any sharp edges.

STEP 2: At you local hardware store, buy a can of FLEX SEAL (black),
and a syringe with a small needle.

STEP 3: Fill the pocket with FLEX SEAL as shown.

FLEX SEAL is thin enough to suck up into the syringe for re-filling.

Important, over-fill the pocket to create a rubber pad (7X).

I ended up with a .030" to .040" bead above the surface.

You can wipe up any excess if necessary.

STEP 4: Allow the FLEX SEAL to cure 24 hours.

FLEX SEAL does not shrink much at all, and I was happy with the results.

Hopefully, this will at least slow down any further abrasion.
This took around 2 hours from start to finish.

Happy Holidays!

Tesla ultimately replaced all 4 of my wheels under warranty due to this damage. They acknowledged that this is kind of damage is a known issue with these wheel covers.

 

[JCERRN]

Not implying anything. They 100% replaced my wheels under warranty. I read about some others getting theirs replaced and others that were denied. I tried and was successful. They told me that it was a design flaw and as long as I agreed to stop using the covers they would replace my wheels.

I had to push back. At first they tried “buffing” the wheels. They said “this kind of damage is not covered by warranty and can be caused by “improper removal”. Then they acknowledged that this was a “known issue” with the wheel covers and replaced my wheels after i spoke to the manager.

honestly pisses me off so much how they throw in statements like that to make it seem like its something the customer did that caused the issue.

 

[GaryS]

My wheel covers were also scratching the spokes as well. After Tesla replaced my wheel under warranty I stopped using the wheels covers.

I did not realize the spokes are going to get scratches too. Bummer. Not a good design. Thanks for posting....

 

[Mini2nut]

The Tesla engineers were successful at the complex SBW, RWS, etc. but they definitely struggled with the wheel cover design.

 

[HaulingAss]

Tesla ultimately replaced all 4 of my wheels under warranty due to this damage. They acknowledged that this is kind of damage is a known issue with these wheel covers.

I don't think the Core Wheels were ever stated to be compatible with the same wheel covers used on the Cyberwheels.

That said, I'm sure some local Service Centers implied they were compatible by installing the Cyberwheel covers on the Core wheels.

The challenges of being early adopters!

 

[CyberT]

I had to push back. At first they tried “buffing” the wheels. They said “this kind of damage is not covered by warranty and can be caused by “improper removal”. Then they acknowledged that this was a “known issue” with the wheel covers and replaced my wheels after i spoke to the manager.

honestly pisses me off so much how they throw in statements like that to make it seem like its something the customer did that caused the issue.

I pushed back at 3 different service centers and was denied each time. I personally like the look of the core wheel covers, but I have had one of the tabs break off, and I was driving around for 3 weeks with a nasty rattling sound that I couldn't hear with the windows up, but EVERYONE could hear me driving up. Tesla replaced the broken wheel cover for free, but it's likely to happen again.

If my wheels were ever repaired or replaced, I'd ditch the covers.

 

[jimbaum]

This is good info -
btw - Discount Tire broke the center clips of my plastic wheel covers when replacing my tires. Didn't realize for several days that the wheel covers were making a rattling noise when going at slow speeds. This had scratched up various places on my wheel. I need this to repair those bright scratch marks. Not to mention, I had to chuck my wheel covers and get some fancier plates ordered to cover the lug nuts.
As my kid told me, why do I have plastic covers on a metal truck?

 

[GaryS]

This is good info -
btw - Discount Tire broke the center clips of my plastic wheel covers when replacing my tires. Didn't realize for several days that the wheel covers were making a rattling noise when going at slow speeds. This had scratched up various places on my wheel. I need this to repair those bright scratch marks. Not to mention, I had to chuck my wheel covers and get some fancier plates ordered to cover the lug nuts.
As my kid told me, why do I have plastic covers on a metal truck?

Good to know, I like Discount Tire but when it is time I will remove the wheel covers myself. If I am still using them.

 

[JCERRN]

I don't think the Core Wheels were ever stated to be compatible with the same wheel covers used on the Cyberwheels.

That said, I'm sure some local Service Centers implied they were compatible by installing the Cyberwheel covers on the Core wheels.

The challenges of being early adopters!

They were saying its an issue with the core wheel covers too. The cyber wheel covers are a different 2 piece design, the spoke are a little different between core and cyber wheels

 

[JCERRN]

I pushed back at 3 different service centers and was denied each time. I personally like the look of the core wheel covers, but I have had one of the tabs break off, and I was driving around for 3 weeks with a nasty rattling sound that I couldn't hear with the windows up, but EVERYONE could hear me driving up. Tesla replaced the broken wheel cover for free, but it's likely to happen again.

If my wheels were ever repaired or replaced, I'd ditch the covers.

Mine damaged all 4 wheels even with nothing broken. They did say that this type of damage isnt typically covered, but then they said its a known issue with the covers and that gave me leverage to push that an oem part functioning normally should not damage the truck. If it does its a defective design and warrants that the damaged parts be either repaired or replaced. They tried to repair it by buffing out the scratches, and couldn't so i pushed for replacement.

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