Several owners of the Tesla Model Y posted photos of unusual details they found under the hood of their vehicles.
The author of the thread on the Tesla Motors Club forum had spent several hours correcting a poor panel fit when he came across a large block of metal secured with green tape and a small strap.
“Someone ran to Home Depot to do the Q2 numbers,” the user joked, as the trim appears to be synthetic wood from a home supply store.
The Tesla Model Y Has Bizarre Fake Wood On The Edges Of Its Condenser https://t.co/D6XS5ofDV9 pic.twitter.com/TeOqb5IMiL
— Flyin18T Motorsports (@Flyin18T) September 10, 2020
Soon after, other users posted photos of the same part, showing more wooden parts and some plain white frames as well.
It turned out that the metal part is the Model Y liquid-cooled condenser (LCC).
Its job is to exchange heat, passing the refrigerant through a large block where it transfers the thermal properties of the cryogen with other parts of the cooling system. It is part of Tesla’s cooling system and is responsible for conditioning the car’s cabin, battery, and drive unit simultaneously.
According to users, the tape and other details provide some relief from the tension of the strap that holds the LCC in place, perhaps to prevent the tension from putting unnecessary stress on the capacitor during vibration or bending, or to prevent it from any sharp corners cut the strap itself.
However, several videos on YouTube show vehicles fitted with a piece of clear plastic instead of the strange molding.
Tesla’s own parts catalog does not show the mounting solution found on various Model Y’s. It is unclear if the part is simply undocumented, or if it was a quick fix that has been in production for quite some time.
Model Y owners question how these details that appear to be from a hardware store somehow ended up under the factory plastics of a premium vehicle for about $ 55,000.