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Some Cybertruck Owners Say Their Trucks Are Shedding Body Panels; One Thinks He Knows Why
(www.roadandtrack.com)
this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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As someone who isn’t a car guy, this is a legit question: Do other manufacturers also glue panels onto plastic parts?
That doesn’t seem like something that would be the norm but maybe I’m clueless.
Work for a somewhat expensive automotive brand and yes it is very common. We have cars from $60k to over $400k and beyond, and they all are glued together everywhere you look, that or plastic clips, very little is actually bolted on. Sometimes because in a crash it is better that a piece breaks and fly's off then to stay mounted to the car, and in (most) other cases, probably for cost reasons. But it is a common thing, and has been for a long while, and if executed right, it is tried and true, however if you don't have good quality control and workers who don't care, they're not gonna mount pieces right, and create a hazard
Yes, and many planes and jets are glued together too. This isn't your cheap school glue. That said, Tesla's good at fucking up, so who knows what they did wrong. Probably everything.
They used Elmers because Xelon saw it and thought it said Elons Glue... and then he ate some. I say 'some' but I really meant a few gallons, and that's why he carries around a chainsaw.
People are saying yes, but that seems bonkers to me. I've done some extensive repairs for the last two cars I've owned (a Honda and a Toyota), as well as for my mom's Volvo, and I've certainly never encountered adhesives to attach any parts. In my experience it's always hex bolts or plastic clips. I'll admit I don't love those plastic clips, they probably break 1/4 of the time when you remove them, but they seem perfectly reliable when they're in.
But hey, like I said, I haven't been servicing any American cars, so who knows, maybe it's used all the time. Maybe yesterday's bad ideas are today's tried and true best practices.
The rear spoiler thing on my hatchback trunk is starting to peel and I thought it would be easy to remove and repaint myself. But I was surprised to learn it’s just glued on. But it’s just a trim piece of plastic with a brake light and a fluid nozzle in it. Not a body panel per se.
Yeah it's pretty common for mostly or entirely adhesive to be used for attaching plastic trim panels. Just needs proper engineering and construction that can be verified to withstand the needed stress after endless temperature and humidity cycles. My first guess as to the issue here is either it just wasn't manufactured well because they're all made by underpaid, undertrained and overworked non-union workers or because the engineers didn't properly account for thermal cycling given how unbearably hot I'm sure stainless steel gets in the sun. (I'm sure the steel parts and the plastic parts also expand and contract significantly different amounts due to heat as well, further stressing the adhesive joints)