Anyone replace their own rear bumper cover? How difficult?

[canyoncarver]

I need to replace the rear bumper cover on my truck. Tesla collision is a long distance from me and I assume they will check the truck in for a period of days while they get the part.

Has anyone done it themselves and if so how hard was it? It's hard to tell from the technical parts diagram other than that it looks like it is primarily secured by six bolts.

If it's not that difficult of a job I'd prefer to get the part from Tesla and do the repair myself.

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[Mikec3399]

im in the same boat, my GF backed into the Brick wall while backing into the garage, yep, with waring lights cameras and all. she decided not to use the mirrors , pass side 10 inches of scratch

 

[canyoncarver]

I found the technical manual and it's not overly complicated but might be hair raising for anyone who doesn't do this stuff regularly.

You have to pull the trim plate out in the frunk and disconnect two of the 48V wiring harnesses, then you have to remove some trim pieces from the bumper/fender interface, remove a bunch of clips and some bolts and then take it out, put the new one in and put it all back together.

Also have to disconnect a wiring harness in the bumper skin since there's a couple of things powered in there like the backup speaker.

I imagine it would take someone who has done it before only an hour or so to do it but could take me 2-3 since I'd be paranoid of breaking clips and stuff so I'm probably better off just having them do it.

I booked time at a Tesla corporate SC that does body repairs but I need to wait while they do it since I live 60 miles away. Have to see if they have the part and can work on it while I wait before I take it up there.

 

[REM]

I found the technical manual and it's not overly complicated but might be hair raising for anyone who doesn't do this stuff regularly.

You have to pull the trim plate out in the frunk and disconnect two of the 48V wiring harnesses, then you have to remove some trim pieces from the bumper/fender interface, remove a bunch of clips and some bolts and then take it out, put the new one in and put it all back together.

Also have to disconnect a wiring harness in the bumper skin since there's a couple of things powered in there like the backup speaker.

I imagine it would take someone who has done it before only an hour or so to do it but could take me 2-3 since I'd be paranoid of breaking clips and stuff so I'm probably better off just having them do it.

I booked time at a Tesla corporate SC that does body repairs but I need to wait while they do it since I live 60 miles away. Have to see if they have the part and can work on it while I wait before I take it up there.

You would be better off replacing the bumper with a steel one tbh. If you are going through the trouble, just upgrade it.

 

[EWELON]

if youre brave enough to even ask youre probably brave enough to give it a shot, haha. there are step by step vids of how to do it at the places that sell the upgraded bumpers that people are suggesting! you def need help, especially when reattaching the new bumper good luck!

 

[Anthonyarizona]

I caught the rt side of my rear bumper also.
I ordered the cover from Tesla on the app.
You pick it up from Tesla service and I think it was $560 .
I installed it at home and it was not difficult at all.
While the damaged cover was off, I repaired it and sold it.
Tesla parts are very reasonable.

 

[gtgarner]

I need to replace the rear bumper cover on my truck. Tesla collision is a long distance from me and I assume they will check the truck in for a period of days while they get the part.

Has anyone done it themselves and if so how hard was it? It's hard to tell from the technical parts diagram other than that it looks like it is primarily secured by six bolts.

If it's not that difficult of a job I'd prefer to get the part from Tesla and do the repair myself.

I replaced mine with a steel one.

 

[canyoncarver]

I caught the rt side of my rear bumper also.
I ordered the cover from Tesla on the app.
You pick it up from Tesla service and I think it was $560 .
I installed it at home and it was not difficult at all.
While the damaged cover was off, I repaired it and sold it.
Tesla parts are very reasonable.

yeah other than popping the cover off of the tabs it doesn't look too bad. How hard was it to transplant the reflectors, wiring harnesses, etc. from the old cover to the new one?

 

[Homero]

Hi, I live in Florida. Someone rear ended mine. Would you mind telling who did the job and how much did it cost?
Thank you very much

[/QUOTE]

 

[canyoncarver]

So I called the Tesla collision local to me this morning, this collision center is 60 miles away. They said there's no way they can do the repair while I wait, that they will take the vehicle, put it in the repair queue then when it comes up for eval they will look at it, figure out parts/labor, then get my approval, then order parts, then repair it. Typically 1-2 weeks.

Absurd.

So I prepared to order the bumper skin so I could do this myself. Does not look particularly hard. The shipping for the bumper skin was going to be $160, so I drove to the close to me SC to see if I had to pay shipping if I order the part through the SC and pick it up there.

The answer was that no, there would be no shipping cost if I picked it up.

However, they also said they could replace it there, with a labor rate of $85 and an estimated completion time of two hours, so I elected to let them do it.

Keep in mind that I wasn't able to do this through the app, it kept sending me to a collision center. I had to go talk to the SC in person, show them a photo of the damage and they agreed it would be simple enough for them to swap it.

They will also do the contrail recall while they have it and address a rattle I have in it, so overall I think it's a win win for me.

 

[Tallgeese179]

I think many folks underestimate themselves when it comes to DIY repair. Remember the motto they have printed on a bunch of their accessories: made on earth by humans. There is nothing special about repair, it's just following procedure and having the right tools. Sure, there's tricks and best practices you pick up along the way, but it's not an "art". Start small and accept mistakes will be made.

I've been living in BMW-land for over 10 years where everything is overcomplicated, uses special fasteners, and service documents are paywalled. I was shocked to see Tesla had full service manuals published with not even an account required (not to mention the super useful service mode in the touchscreen). My main feedback when picking up my CT this month was "you guys need to make people aware of your service manuals and service mode". The other hardcore DIYers out there don't know what they're missing out on.

 

[canyoncarver]

I think many folks underestimate themselves when it comes to DIY repair. Remember the motto they have printed on a bunch of their accessories: made on earth by humans. There is nothing special about repair, it's just following procedure and having the right tools. Sure, there's tricks and best practices you pick up along the way, but it's not an "art". Start small and accept mistakes will be made.

I've been living in BMW-land for over 10 years where everything is overcomplicated, uses special fasteners, and service documents are paywalled. I was shocked to see Tesla had full service manuals published with not even an account required (not to mention the super useful service mode in the touchscreen). My main feedback when picking up my CT this month was "you guys need to make people aware of your service manuals and service mode". The other hardcore DIYers out there don't know what they're missing out on.

I agree. Tesla probably builds the easiest to work on vehicles from a DIY perspective, the vehicles are built with a straight forward approach to repair.

The risk for someone not experienced is the "tricks of the trade" that one picks up doing this stuff for a few years IRL.

Like a lot of DIYers I've snapped off trim clips, etc. in the process of fixing or addressing something and that's where maybe you just decide to let Tesla service do some of it.

 

[Tallgeese179]

I agree. Tesla probably builds the easiest to work on vehicles from a DIY perspective, the vehicles are built with a straight forward approach to repair.

The risk for someone not experienced is the "tricks of the trade" that one picks up doing this stuff for a few years IRL.

Like a lot of DIYers I've snapped off trim clips, etc. in the process of fixing or addressing something and that's where maybe you just decide to let Tesla service do some of it.

Yeah, it can be annoying to snap clips. Especially the permanent portions molded into something like a bumper or trim piece. However if they're the replaceable firtree ones it's not a big deal and they often snap even when done by experts. Their only trick is that they have a tray full of new ones. Though I do understand having a line past which you just outsource the work, because sometimes you just don't have the time.

 

[canyoncarver]

Yeah, it can be annoying to snap clips. Especially the permanent portions molded into something like a bumper or trim piece. However if they're the replaceable firtree ones it's not a big deal and they often snap even when done by experts. Their only trick is that they have a tray full of new ones. Though I do understand having a line past which you just outsource the work, because sometimes you just don't have the time.

Honestly considering it would probably take me a couple of hours to do, what they are charging me to take care of is pretty reasonable.

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