Tesla Model Y Teardown By Sandy Munro: Fit & Finish

The Tesla Model Y will be going through a teardown by auto veteran Sandy Munro, like its predecessor the Model 3. On an official website for Munro & Associates, the expert auto consultant explained how the teardown would work. 

Model Y Pre-Teardown

Sandy Munro already released a few videos about his firm's Model Y teardown. The first explained how the entire process would work. Based on his first video, the founder of Munro & Associates will be taking precautions given the global pandemic. 

In his pre-teardown video, Sandy Munro clarified that he would be inspecting the Model Y alone—except for his cameraman, of course. It seems that no physical contact between human-to-human will take place during his Model Y teardown, at least for now.

He plans to strip the interior and have people inspect them from the safety of their own homes. Munro listed four areas that his company would take a specific interest in and will carefully examine in the Tesla Model Y, including electric motors, batteries, inverter/converter, and the vehicle's wiring harness.

Model Y Teardown: Initial Review

Tesla delivered a red Model Y Performance with 21’’ Überturbine wheels to Sandy Munro for the teardown. Based on his second video, the expert auto advisor started his in-depth inspection immediately after the Model Y handover. 

In his first dry run-through of the Model Y, Munro said that Tesla’s SUV crossover looked to be in pretty good shape. He noted that the wheels of the Performance model looked nicer than the ones fitted to the Model 3 he stripped. 

He also commented on the similar door handles between the Model Y and Model 3. Munro admitting he was a big fan of Tesla’s door handles on both vehicles but also recognized that others seemed to like them. 

As for the Model Y’s posterior and trunk, Munro said he liked the bustle better on Tesla’s SUV than on the Model 3. He also said that the Model Y’s trunk was similar to a Bentley’s because it was relatively low to the ground.

Once the Model Y Performance was cleaned, Munro got down to business. He started with the panel gaps, wasting no time on the inspection. Tesla had been criticized in the past for the Model 3’s panel gaps during initial production. At the time, Tesla was still figuring out the best and most efficient way to assemble its first affordable vehicle, which was expected to be in much higher demand than its previous electric cars. 

Here's what Sandy Munro had to say after tearing down an early 2017 Model 3 😂 pic.twitter.com/PaevXEBXHd

— Third Row Tesla Podcast (@thirdrowtesla) April 1, 2020

Munro wasn’t too pleased with the Model 3’s panel gaps. When asked what he would rate the Model 3 from a scale of 1 to 5, Munro gave Tesla’s affordable sedan the lowest score for its exterior design. But he gave the Model 3’s tech a top rating. 

With the Model Y, it seems the Tesla did a much better job. However, there were still some misaligned and incongruent panel gaps. With his trusty gap gage, Munro measured the crevices of the Model Y’s exterior. 

Most of the gaps were not too bad. Some hit the right dimensions and were symmetrical, like the front doors and the liftgate, where the lamps were placed. Some panel gaps were only a few millimeters off from each other. 

Unfortunately, there were still a couple of gaps that were undeniably off by a significant margin. Munro specifically pointed to the top of the liftgate’s roof and the tail lamps attached to the body. The gaps around the tail lamps were quite different, with 31/2mm on one side and 6mm on the other. 

In general, Munro was a bit lenient with Tesla during his Fit and Finish inspection. “I’m sure that [Tesla] will start tuning things in just as I was certain that the Model 3 would start tuning things in. Again, all-in-all not bad. Still not as good as what I’d like to see. We would normally ding a car—a North American car—but for an early-stage product, this is pretty good.”

Featured Image Credit: Sandy Munro

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