Tesla publishes its collision manuals, so any repair can be checked against them
The most useful fact for a Tesla owner is that the rules are public. Tesla posts a collision repair procedures manual for each model on its service website, for example the 2020–2024 Model Y Collision Repair Procedures Manual. You can ask any shop which procedure it is following and expect a specific answer, not a general reassurance.
The two cars are not repaired the same way at the back. The Model Y rear underbody is one large die-cast aluminum part that takes the place of roughly 70 stamped pieces used in the Model 3. A hard reversing hit on a condo-garage bollard that would mean a stamped panel on a Model 3 can, on a Model Y, land on the casting, and that changes the assessment, the parts and possibly who does the work. This page is about what the repair has to include; whether an independent shop may take the car is covered on our separate Tesla answer.
Welding waits until both the 12V and high-voltage systems are isolated
Tesla says not to weld on the vehicle until its Vehicle Electrical Isolation Procedure has been completed, and the recommended practice is to disconnect both the 12V battery and the high-voltage service disconnect. Welding current wandering through a live electronic network is how modules, sensors and wiring get damaged by a repair rather than by the crash.
There is a trap in the low-voltage side. On the Model Y, cutting the first responder loop removes 12V power from the airbag circuit and from the high-voltage contactors, which opens them. Tesla still notes that disabling the 12V system does not prove high voltage is gone, so its full high-voltage disablement procedure is required before anyone services high-voltage parts. A Model Y that arrives on a flatbed after a 401 hit sits isolated, verified and labelled before the body work plan goes further, even if the damage looks like bolt-on panels.
No pulling on the structure, and the Model Y casting is its own decision
Tesla’s operating standards for its Approved Collision Centers ban structural pulling. Structural repairs are done on a frame bench or rack with specified measuring and dedicated fixtures, except where Tesla’s repair documents say otherwise. The same standards require separate hand tools for aluminum that never touch steel, so steel particles are not carried onto aluminum, where they can start corrosion.
The rear casting used to be a simple story: damaged meant replaced, and replaced meant a very large part. Tesla now publishes repairs for portions of the Model Y castings, such as sectioning the rear rail ends, so a damaged casting no longer automatically means a whole new one. Welding a casting, however, demands specific qualifications and equipment.
That is where we draw a clear line. Crash Consultant does not perform structural or casting welding on Teslas and is not a Tesla Approved Collision Center. When the measurements or teardown point to the casting or another structural section, we say so on the estimate and tell you that portion belongs with a Tesla-approved collision centre, instead of leaving you to discover it mid-claim.
Tesla caps the paint bake at 45 minutes and sets temperatures for the battery
Tesla’s post-repair guidance allows a paint-booth bake with the high-voltage battery left in the car, within limits: no more than 45 minutes in the bake, the vehicle below 35°C before baking starts, and the battery no hotter than 60°C during the cycle. Refinish on a Tesla is planned around those three numbers rather than around the clear coat alone.
In a GTA summer the middle number deserves attention. A dark Model 3 that has sat in an open lot through a hot July afternoon can come into the shop warmer than the starting limit, so it waits before the booth cycle begins. In January it is rarely an issue, but the 45-minute cap still applies to every bake, so the cure schedule for the clear coat is planned to fit inside it.
The glass roof is bonded in urethane, and the cameras are checked once the work is done
The fixed roof glass on these cars is held in by a urethane bead, not bolts. Tesla’s service procedure describes cutting through the old urethane around the panel, trimming the leftover adhesive on the body to a thin, even layer, priming any paint, e-coat or bare metal the new bead will touch, priming the urethane path on the glass, then laying a fresh bead before the replacement glass goes on. A rushed bead or a skipped primer step is how roof glass ends up leaking or creaking months later.
How a cracked roof is claimed depends on the cause. Ice sliding off a balcony or a branch landing on it is a falling object, which falls under comprehensive coverage with your deductible; a roof damaged in contact with another vehicle or in a rollover belongs to collision. Either way, any post-repair check that Tesla’s procedure calls for after the operations performed, including on the driver-assistance cameras, is looked up for your car and listed on the estimate rather than assumed.
Questions people ask
Why will the shop not pull the structure straight on my Model Y?
Tesla’s standards ban structural pulling. Structural work is done on a bench or rack with specified measuring or dedicated fixtures, following the model’s repair documents, and damaged sections are repaired or replaced as those documents direct.
How warm can a Tesla be when it goes into the paint booth?
Tesla’s guidance says the vehicle should be below 35°C before a bake, the bake should last no more than 45 minutes, and the battery should stay at or under 60°C throughout.
Ice fell from my building onto the glass roof. Is that a collision claim?
Usually not. Falling ice or a falling branch is a comprehensive loss with your deductible. Collision applies when the roof was damaged in contact with another vehicle or in a rollover.
Is the rear of a Model 3 repaired the same way as a Model Y?
No. The Model 3 rear is built from many stamped pieces, while the Model Y uses one large aluminum casting in their place. Damage there means a different assessment and sometimes a different repair route.