$600 for a Tesla Model Y Repair? In This Economy?
We tore our Long-Term Model Y’s aero shield; do we shell out for the fix or go the DIY route?
As you know, years ago we purchased a brand-new 2023 Tesla Model Y for purposes of our standard long-term vehicle testing, as well as extended testing of one of Tesla’s most controversial features, Full Self Driving (Supervised). Scott Evans shepherded the Y from late 2022 to roughly the end of 2023, then Alex Leanse took over from 2024 to near the end of 2025. I inherited the Y with just over 30,000 miles on the odometer and have been driving it around the last 10 months, missing update deadlines (sorry) and accidentally doing more damage to the vehicle than all our other staffers combined. But let’s start with the damage that’s not my fault.
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The vehicle came to me with a piece of the plastic undercarriage hanging down and occasionally dragging on the road. Not sure who did it; nobody on staff fessed up to it, and I wouldn’t have even noticed it had Buyer’s Guide director Zach Gale not given me a heads-up.
I never felt or heard anything different during my trips around town. It was only when I got on the freeway and accelerated over 50 mph that I heard this terrible scraping and thwacking noise. Clearly, air was catching whatever was hanging down and forcing it down onto the roadway.
The sound is apparently much worse for those outside the vehicle, so bad that a lady in a car next to, driving with her windows down, waved her hands and mouthed, “You have to pull over” while pointing at the bottom of my car, eyes big as hubcaps.
I’m sure she thought I was crazy when I mimed back a knowing nod and the “A-OK” hand sign. How could she know I already knew what the problem was and was merely procrastinating? I had no other issues with the car (no warning lights or trouble with the acceleration, braking, or steering) but used my embarrassment at being called out to finally address the issue.
Around the corner from my house, I used the curb to get Model Y elevated high enough that I could slide under it to examine the damage. Tesla vehicles have flat plastic covers that run the length of the undercarriage to improve aerodynamics and protect cables and chassis components from the elements. Tesla calls them “aero shields,” and in our case, the leading edge of the center shield had been torn from its retaining screws.
When parked, it wasn’t particularly noticeable, but when pulled down by hand (or the force of air rushing by at 50 mph), the plastic would touch the roadway and, when driving, make very loud and disturbing scraping noises. I took some photos of the damage for reference and used some extra-strong duct tape to tape up the torn shield so that it wouldn’t drag on the ground. Then I went through a few screens in the Tesla mobile app to see how the repair would be handled.
The process is very straightforward. In the app, you scroll down to Service and click through. Then, in the Request tab, you can select 14 different areas, things like exterior, interior, tires & wheels, battery & charging, etc. I clicked to Exterior and then clicked through several illustrations of a Model Y, from the front, side, top, and finally bottom, where I could select from five different parts that comprise the undertray of the vehicle—including the front aero tray. After selecting that part, I was given three different options to choose from (loose, missing, or other), to describe the problem. I selected Other and then described the situation in a dialog box. Afterwards, I received an estimate for the work, which was alarmingly high at nearly $600.
The estimate was so high, I googled around for some DIY solutions. Replacement aero shields cost between $114 and $130 online from various suppliers or under $50 on eBay. Directions were straightforward, too. Per YouTube, all I needed to do was remove seven 10mm bolts and two 15mm bolts to get the ripped-up aero shield off and then replace it with the new one.
I decided to go with Tesla service for a couple of reasons: In the estimate, they also said they would check on the condition of some suspension bushings as well as examine for any other damage that might have occurred when this thick piece of plastic was torn from its position. The service also comes with a limited warranty. Also, I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to cost $600 or take the estimated six hours.
As we’ve detailed before, Tesla service appointments are handled very well. In the Tesla app, I was able to schedule the appointment at my convenience, choosing to drive farther away than the two closer service centers for an appointment nearly two weeks earlier.
On the day of the appointment, I FSD’ed to 11163 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, which just happens to be America’s first Tesla service center—in operation since 2008 when the first Tesla Roadsters made it to customer hands. I’ve lived in Los Angeles since 1994 and have driven past the red Tesla sign of this center, which sits right off the 405 freeway, for many years but had never set foot inside.
I arrived six minutes before my 12:30 pm appointment and was out—amazingly—40 minutes later. As there was no damage to the front suspension bushings, or anything else, all that needed to be replaced was the aero shield. The service writer who received me gave me frequent updates, and the total for the service was $273.29, which included:
- Parts: Front Aero Shield: $205.55
- Labor: $47.80
- Tax: $20.04
- Windshield wiper fluid top-off: Free
- Tire pressure check/fill: Free
As the service came out to less than half the originally estimated cost and was done while I waited, I was exceptionally pleased. So much so, I proceeded to do a bunch of damage to the Model Y over the next few weeks. Not really, but stayed tuned for further updates.
More on Our Long-Term 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range:
- We Bought a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range for a Yearlong Test
- The Supercharger Difference
- How Far Can You Tow With a Tesla?
- What Changed After the Tesla Autosteer Recall? Not Much.
- Are the Tesla Model Y’s Third-Row Seats Worth It?
- What Happens When the Model Y’s Cameras Can’t See?
- Secrets and Surprises of the Tesla Model Y
- How Was Tesla Service When We Needed a Window Replaced?
- Tesla ASS: Gimmick or Game Changer?
- How Does Tesla FSD Work?
- What It’s Like Driving a Tesla in Elon Musk’s Political Era
- Why I Had to Quit Using Tesla FSD
- PSA: You Probably Don’t Need Tesla’s Brake Burnishing Service
- Tesla Autopilot Review: Better Than FSD? Sure, But...
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I used to go kick tires with my dad at local car dealerships. I was the kid quizzing the sales guys on horsepower and 0-60 times, while Dad wandered around undisturbed. When the salesmen finally cornered him, I'd grab as much of the glossy product literature as I could carry. One that still stands out to this day: the beautiful booklet on the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX that favorably compared it to the Porsches of the era. I would pore over the prose, pictures, specs, trim levels, even the fine print, never once thinking that I might someday be responsible for the asterisked figures "*as tested by Motor Trend magazine." My parents, immigrants from Hong Kong, worked their way from St. Louis, Missouri (where I was born) to sunny Camarillo, California, in the early 1970s. Along the way, Dad managed to get us into some interesting, iconic family vehicles, including a 1973 Super Beetle (first year of the curved windshield!), 1976 Volvo 240, the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon, and 1984 VW Vanagon. Dad imbued a love of sports cars and fast sedans as well. I remember sitting on the package shelf of his 1981 Mazda RX-7, listening to him explain to my Mom - for Nth time - what made the rotary engine so special. I remember bracing myself for the laggy whoosh of his turbo diesel Mercedes-Benz 300D, and later, his '87 Porsche Turbo. We were a Toyota family in my coming-of-age years. At 15 years and 6 months, I scored 100 percent on my driving license test, behind the wheel of Mom's 1991 Toyota Previa. As a reward, I was handed the keys to my brother's 1986 Celica GT-S. Six months and three speeding tickets later, I was booted off the family insurance policy and into a 1983 Toyota 4x4 (Hilux, baby). It took me through the rest of college and most of my time at USC, where I worked for the Daily Trojan newspaper and graduated with a biology degree and business minor. Cars took a back seat during my stint as a science teacher for Teach for America. I considered a third year of teaching high school science, coaching volleyball, and helping out with the newspaper and yearbook, but after two years of telling teenagers to follow their dreams, when I wasn't following mine, I decided to pursue a career in freelance photography. After starving for 6 months, I was picked up by a tiny tuning magazine in Orange County that was covering "The Fast and the Furious" subculture years before it went mainstream. I went from photographer-for-hire to editor-in-chief in three years, and rewarded myself with a clapped-out 1989 Nissan 240SX. I subsequently picked up a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser (FJ60) to haul parts and camera gear. Both vehicles took me to a more mainstream car magazine, where I first sipped from the firehose of press cars. Soon after, the Land Cruiser was abandoned. After a short stint there, I became editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Sport Compact Car just after turning 30. My editorial director at the time was some long-haired dude with a funny accent named Angus MacKenzie. After 18 months learning from the best, Angus asked me to join Motor Trend as senior editor. That was in 2007, and I've loved every second ever since.
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