- 2 days ago
This Tesla Model X Looked Totaled… Inside the Celette Repair Process
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00:00Hey everyone, it's John from Evolve. We want to take a look at a Model X structural repair
00:05and kind of walk you through some of the challenging things with Model X
00:08as well as some tips and tricks when it comes repairing many of the components of the vehicle.
00:15So as you can see in our pictures here, this one's hit pretty hard in the front and we're
00:22going to bring this thing in and start to do a disassembly on the vehicle so that we can go
00:26further into what's actually wrong with it. As you can see, magically we've got our front end
00:32disassembled partially. We've got a little more work to do here on this vehicle. But a few things
00:36that I want to point out while we're looking here is, again, we've got a front gigacasting assembly
00:43back here and then forward of that we've got things like frame rails. Pretty interesting once
00:48you remove the very simple sheet metal on this vehicle, kind of what's left. We're looking at
00:53the thermal management system in a Model X here. We're also looking at components of the air
00:59suspension system up in here. But pretty astonishing to see what's actually not here once you take the
01:06front end of the vehicle apart. But one of the main things on this Model X that we'll take a
01:10look at is
01:11these front frame rails here and here. Now they're both bent and they're out of spec. We're going to
01:18actually replace these rails on this vehicle, which is a pretty extensive repair. But I want to walk
01:24you through that process and what it actually looks like. One thing to note, and we'll get again
01:30some close-ups here, it actually doesn't look like it's very bad. In many cases, you may find a repair
01:37that might actually fix this vehicle without addressing these frame rails because they look
01:43pretty straightforward on the vehicle. Now, in a little bit here, we're going to put this up on a
01:48select bench, which is one of the required tools for repairing structural work on Model X. And it's a
01:55jig system. And we'll look at it in a minute. And we'll set this on this bench and you'll see
01:59exactly
01:59what I'm talking about, how these rails are out of spec. So just a quick view of the vehicle partially
02:05disassembled. And we're going to walk you through the rest of this in our series. We're getting ready to pull
02:09the battery out of this Model X. So this is the one we looked at prior. And we're about to
02:15put this
02:16up on the bench. We've measured it this morning. And we know we've got some structural damage in the
02:20front. So we're gonna drop the battery, show you what that looks like, show you what the battery looks
02:24like. And then we're going to bench this on a jig system, and then take you through the process of
02:29structural repair on a Model X. Here we go. So as you notice, really, the battery sits still on the
02:35battery table. And we'll raise the vehicle. Now this, this piece of equipment here is a Tesla built
02:45table. We also have some other pieces of equipment for battery removal for other makes and models.
02:52But as we take a look at the bottom of the vehicle, we can see the floorboards, battery mounting points,
03:01you can see the high voltage cables, the rear cross member of the vehicle. Same thing on the front side.
03:08If we look this way, high voltage connection, we're looking at the front drive unit here. We're looking
03:15at the gigacasting attachment here on the front. That's pretty much it. Now let's slide this battery out.
03:25Okay, Rich, you ready? Let's just take this out this way. Yeah, we'll go straight. This battery
03:36is a couple thousand pounds, maybe 1600 pound battery. Fairly simple. You have the right tools.
03:46So there's Model X battery removed. So next steps for us is we're going to bench this vehicle,
03:53and we'll walk you through that process. We've measured the vehicle and we found some structural damage on this
03:58vehicle. So we talked a little bit about the jig system and in this case select benches and what actually
04:04has to
04:04happen to be able to jig this car. So what you're looking at is a select bench. And we've got
04:11a team here
04:11going through assembling the different components to build this jig. So for example, we're in the process of building
04:19one stanchion here. And this stanchion will go on the front end of the frame rack. Some very detailed
04:28instructions about what the position of these stanchions or jigs are and how to assemble them.
04:34And frankly, it's a few hours worth of work to be able to build these things. We can take a
04:39look over here.
04:40We've got the front end going together right now. So each position is critical. So on the X axis of
04:48the vehicle, on the Y axis of the vehicle, and on the Z axis of the vehicle. What we're trying
04:55to do is
04:55identify exactly where in space the vehicle is so that we can make any corrections we need to. I know
05:02we've talked about this in the past. One thing that's important to know about Tesla's, for example,
05:06a lot of other multi or mixed material constructed vehicles are that you can't pull them. So with an
05:15internal combustion engine vehicle or something that's welded together in a lot of cases, you can
05:20put that vehicle on this bench, measure it, and then grab some equipment and pull the frame back into
05:25spec. You can't do that with these because of the construction, meaning glue and rivets in many cases.
05:32If you start to pull that vehicle, you may bust glue somewhere and you won't really know until you have
05:38another accident and something fails. So most of this, in fact, all of this we're doing here, is to be
05:46able to
05:47set this Model X on this jig, which is simulating the jig that it was assembled on in the factory,
05:53so that we know
05:55exactly in space where this vehicle is. And when it comes time to replace the damaged structural components, they'll sit
06:03exactly where they need to sit based on the design specifications and engineering specifications of the vehicle.
06:11So again, very different with electric vehicles. The expense here is frankly enormous, and we can go through
06:19that later, but just the cost of this equipment and the hours of time to be able to build this
06:25frame
06:25rack here. So we're in the process of putting this together. We'll show you some pictures of what it looks
06:30like.
06:30And then in a minute, well, in an hour or two, we'll slide this under the vehicle and we'll set
06:37this on the jig
06:37and we'll go from there. So there's a quick look at assembling the jig for this Model X. So more
06:44to come.
06:44All right, we had to make a quick adjustment to a few fixtures and now we're going to try again.
06:49So let's bring it back down. All right, Rich. Yeah, come on down.
07:08Okay, hold on a sec.
07:15Okay. All right, hold on one sec. Let's take a peek.
07:20Okay, we're good in the back. I'm super close here.
07:25All right, so we're now sitting in our jig assembly.
07:32And what we know is that we do have some dimensional issues with the vehicle.
07:40Yeah, we look across the car.
07:44We can see that all control points that we've set up in this diagnostic mode
07:49are good. So our control points here backward are in good shape. But these front control points
07:56closest to the accident are not good. So when we take a look at this side,
08:01for example, we can see that on the Y axis, we should be about 44 millimeters is the right position
08:10and I'm about 37. So we're looking at about a seven millimeter issue, which means that this
08:19area of the vehicle of this frame rail has moved that way.
08:23If we look at the other side, we should see something similar.
08:29Here, we're at about 49. And the Y axis on this side would like us to be at 45 or
08:3944.8.
08:41So we're about six, six or seven millimeters this way. So what we have is some sway in the front
08:47end of
08:47this vehicle. And both of these frame rails are this way a little bit. So these rails, we can't pull
08:54them.
08:54If it was an internal combustion engine vehicle or welded together vehicle,
08:57we might put a post on here and just grab them with a frame chain and move them. But we
09:03can't do that
09:03because of the construction of the vehicle. So these rail assemblies are attached right here
09:10and they are attached with essentially glue and bolts. So a lot easier to replace than a traditional
09:16frame rail assembly itself. Probably the hardest part about this is clearing things out of the way
09:22and removing the glue. But what we're going to do is replace both of these front sections of frame
09:28rails. We can see there's a noticeable sort of deflection on this front rail. This one looks fine,
09:35but this appears to be moved a little bit. Here's the interesting thing. If you don't have this
09:40equipment, if you don't measure this way, especially on a mixed material construction vehicle, you could
09:47probably put this car back together and make the panels fit and you'd never know that there was
09:55structural damage to this vehicle or it was out of spec. So it's important to make sure that you have
10:03the right equipment and the right people fixing these vehicles. So this one looks great, but it's
10:09dimensionally off a bit. And so we'll take you through the process. We're going to now, once it's fixtured like
10:14this,
10:15we're going to take it off of, we're going to remove these and and replace these. So some more to
10:20come,
10:20we'll show you what that looks like in replacing these front frame rails. Okay, so here we are with the
10:25Model X.
10:26We initially had measured it with our 3D measuring system. We found some damage. Then we fixtured the vehicle
10:31on our bench through the jig system. We verified that damage and we essentially had some rail damage where the
10:37front rails were
10:38over about seven millimeters out of spec. So as we said before, you can't pull these vehicles and you
10:43have to replace these structural components. So that's where we are right now in the process of
10:47replacing structural components. And for example, I'll show you the frame rail. This was the more damaged
10:54frame rail and this now has been removed from the left side or driver's side of the vehicle. And
11:02what's left is the gigacasting or the node where this was fixtured or mounted. You can see the remnants
11:10of the factory structural adhesive. What they use at the factory is orange in color. And this component
11:19is glued and actually bolded through these components. So it's out. And same thing on this side. We've got just
11:27the cast aluminum or the gigacasting structure for this side of the vehicle. And it's actually still a
11:34little warm. And we can see the structural adhesive. So what we now have to do next is we're going
11:40to
11:40replace and I'm holding the right side passenger side frame rail for this vehicle. And this is going
11:45to mount in here. And ultimately we'll take this fixturing system and expand it. So it'll tell us the exact
11:54control points as to where this belongs in space. So we know a little bit already about this fixture
12:03being in here. But we'll put the maximum number of fixtures on this rail as we attach it. So again,
12:11the idea of the fixture is that it will hold this component exactly on the x-axis, the y-axis,
12:20and the z exactly in space according to the engineering spec. So once this is replaced,
12:27this will be returned to exactly the engineering specification. And for us, we'll probably return
12:33it to even closer to the engineering spec that sometimes may happen at the factory. So in a lot
12:38of cases, I think a three millimeter tolerance is acceptable. We're going to put it at zero millimeter
12:44tolerance. So this will be right on the money. So more to come on our Model X structural repair and
12:50replacement. Next step is to put these in fixture, make sure we're in the right space and then we'll
12:56go forward from there. So more to come. So rails went in last night and the structural adhesive has
13:02cured and we've refinished these. And so it's important when you're refinishing to replicate as
13:07close as you can the factory in look. So clearly at the factory, they don't intentionally paint the
13:15inner structure and it's mostly overspray that falls. And so we do our best. And you can see on this
13:20side
13:20to leave that eco primer look showing through the white overspray on it. In any case, we've started
13:28to pull the jigs apart or the fixtures and now we're going to take this thing off of the rack
13:34and we'll put the battery back in and it's going to start to go forward through the body repair
13:38process and get painted. So we're structurally returned to factory specs. So let's pull it up
13:44and we'll detach it from our rack. So go ahead, Rich. We can pull it up. Just keep an eye.
13:53Clear. I'm clear. You clear. All right. So there's the separation of the body from the fixturing system
14:01and we're going to slide this out of the way and we will slide the battery table underneath and get
14:06it get our battery back in and bring this car back to life. Okay. So let's take a look at
14:10the Model X.
14:12We are now into the up build stage. We've replaced the frame rails and what we're doing essentially
14:20now is putting the vehicle back together before we go into the paint shop for refinishing,
14:25which is prior to the final assembly and testing of the vehicle. So what we're doing basically is
14:32getting all the new sheet metal on the vehicle and confirming that we have no other issues that we
14:38need to correct prior to going to paint. Obviously the last thing we want to do is get it painted
14:43and then get it reassembled and complete all the calibrations and testing. So just a quick shot of
14:49the up build process and we'll probably have this thing on its way over to the paint line and then
14:56forward
14:56to reassembly within an hour or two. And so more to come, but a quick look at the pre-assembly
15:04process to
15:04confirm everything's in good shape. So we're out of paint now. We're getting ready to install this
15:09glass and we're going to need to do that before we complete the assembly of the vehicle. So
15:14you can use a gantry crane to install these. And as you can see here, we've got quite a few
15:20people,
15:20both on the inside and on the outside. I'm not sure the exact weight of the Model X glass, but
15:25it's
15:26easily the heaviest and largest piece of glass in any production vehicle. So
15:30the trick to this is to get it exactly right on the first attempt. We only have one shot to
15:36position
15:36this thing. You might have some movement once it's in a little, a few millimeters, one or two up, down,
15:41left, right. But you've got to get this exactly right because you can see that big bead of your
15:47thing there is sitting and waiting to accept this windshield. And if you mess that up, especially on
15:51a white vehicle, you're going to be in a world of trouble. Okay, so we've got our Model X out
15:56of paint
15:56and we're in the reassembly process. So we're we're going back together on this right now.
16:02This one's been super challenging and a lot of communications problems with the vehicle
16:08after we brought it out and put it back into reassembly, starting to put the pieces back
16:12together to see what works and what doesn't. So we've cleared a few major obstacles. Some of that was
16:18around high voltage and charging systems that were inoperable. And so quite a bit of work. We'll spend a
16:25lot of time with engineering to try to sort out what the issues are. So it can be in some
16:32some
16:32cases weeks of work to work closely with firmware engineers to try to understand what's happening
16:38here. So the good news is we've got this one nearly ready. I think we're still dealing with a passive
16:45restraint system issue that we're trying to get corrected. But we're now just sort of approaching
16:50the end of the reassembly process. We're going to have to do a bunch of calibration on this vehicle.
16:54We had all the glass out and airbags out and doors off and lots of things. But just a quick
16:58view
16:59in reassembly now getting close to wrapping this up. I think the important thing to understand
17:06on some of these very advanced vehicles is that it's really hard to tell from a sort of an estimating
17:13perspective up front what's wrong with the vehicle because of the interdependency of the systems in
17:19these digital EVs, you really don't know until you put things back together. And this is a perfect
17:23example. We could see that there was structural damage and we measured for that and we repaired
17:28it. But only until we start to connect all of these systems do we understand what's going wrong.
17:35So, for example, on this we could look at the logs on the MCU and read hundreds and hundreds of
17:43different codes. That could scare the hell out of you, frankly, to say, dear God, there's a million
17:48things wrong with it. The reality is it could be one thing. When one system goes wrong, it in many
17:56cases sets into effect a series of events that are all sort of related to the parent or grandparent
18:03problem. And they start having children. And if you can find the root cause problem and correct it,
18:09then all the other problems go away. That's always been a challenge for digital EVs because of that
18:14interdependency. And the big challenge we have is when customers come in, their first two questions
18:19are how much and how long. In general, the answer is we're not sure. We don't really have a way
18:26to
18:26know because systems are so interdependent in these things that they have to come up and start to talk
18:32to each other before we understand what works and what doesn't work. So more to come on this. We're going
18:37to wrap up the final assembly, show you a little bit about calibration, and then we'll kind of review the
18:42whole vehicle from there. Hey everyone, it's John at Evolve. Hey, we're here in our delivery row,
18:47and we're going to take a look at our Model X repair here as we finish it up. So this
18:53is typically
18:54the end of a day here as things are getting ready to go home. And here we are ready to
19:00go home to the
19:02customer. So if you recall, this was quite an extensive repair. We had the windshield out,
19:08all of the airbags out, the entire front end of this car was replaced, as well as the front frame
19:14rails to be installed on the vehicle. But we can take a look and see that it's perfect. Back together
19:20a hundred percent, all of our body gaps are just perfect on the vehicle. If we look at the color
19:26of
19:26the paint and the pearl effect, it's just perfect. So a lot of work in this one, as we have
19:34shown you,
19:34but just another example of the work done here at Evolve. So if we can help you with any EV
19:42issues,
19:43questions, service, collision repair, anything, please feel free to reach out and leave comments
19:49below. But a final look at our Model X front end and frame rail replacement job. Thanks everybody for
19:56watching the channel.
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