My wife was actually home with the car yesterday while it was pouring. Issues happened again so she drove it to Warwick RI service area and talked to service manager. He seems to think there are leaky seals but couldn't get a full appointment until 10/14. They told her they would replace the interior flooring for the trunk as well as fix issue. Really painful. I'll provide new update after next visit but you can see the pool in the trunk yesterday.
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2021 MYP Trunk Leak - bad service experiences
- Thread starter BSkando
- Start date
I have had no water in the trunk, just on the seal wear the lift gate touches down. Here is what they did early this week in Norwell as written in the invoice. Not sure what my next move is at the moment.
"Performed water test and water present in tailgate. Removed tailgate trim and performed test for leakage . Found seams behind tailgate lamps leaking. Sealed body seams and reinstalled tail lamps (inner) . Retested and no leakage detected. cleaned water from tailgate area. Verified Proper Sealing.
Correction: General Diagnosis
Correction: Clean Up Water Ingress
Correction: Exterior Component/Panel/Glass Adjustment - 0.6"
Here's a picture of the water leaking out when I removed the rubber stoppers
"Performed water test and water present in tailgate. Removed tailgate trim and performed test for leakage . Found seams behind tailgate lamps leaking. Sealed body seams and reinstalled tail lamps (inner) . Retested and no leakage detected. cleaned water from tailgate area. Verified Proper Sealing.
Correction: General Diagnosis
Correction: Clean Up Water Ingress
Correction: Exterior Component/Panel/Glass Adjustment - 0.6"
Here's a picture of the water leaking out when I removed the rubber stoppers
Took my car in on Friday to Warwick, RI service center. It was extremely helpful that it rained hard the night before and that morning. Had a much better experience with the CS rep, Brent. When we went out to the car, I was able to get this short video as we opened the trunk to see what is happening. I have shared it here:
After having the car for the day, this is what was done (per the invoice and the conversation:
After returning to CS on Saturday to pick up car and showing me what was done, the inside back panel on the trunk was not sitting in correctly and part of the paneling was not sticking. After the CS saw this, he said, "you've had so much trouble already, I'm just going to order you a new trunk interior rear panel to be installed via a mobile visit." I thanked him and look forward to this next fix on 10/31.
Fingers crossed this is the end of the problems, but won't be certain until it pours rain again. They said it was the right taillight, I just hope that is the only area!
- Observed water egress from liftgate adjusters and liftgate latch
- Removed right side taillight assembly and conducted water test, saw water coming in through taillight
- Removed factory body sealer and reapplied new sealer
- Replaced Trunk Seal.
- Replaced Rear Trunk Tub
After returning to CS on Saturday to pick up car and showing me what was done, the inside back panel on the trunk was not sitting in correctly and part of the paneling was not sticking. After the CS saw this, he said, "you've had so much trouble already, I'm just going to order you a new trunk interior rear panel to be installed via a mobile visit." I thanked him and look forward to this next fix on 10/31.
Fingers crossed this is the end of the problems, but won't be certain until it pours rain again. They said it was the right taillight, I just hope that is the only area!
ECCtechguy
Member
andrew01760
Member
Had a leak still. Brought the car in and they replaced the seal for the hatchback. This involved the body shop and it took 3 weeks to complete ( took 1 day to actually do it , but 3 weeks to work my way down the queue). I was given a loaner during the time. Got the car back one week ago, will update if I still see issues.
I have the same issue I opened my trunk today and it has 2 inches!!!! Of water in it.
Attachments
Yup, add me to the list. March '21 Fremont build. Got the same "water on the wrong side of the bottom seal" issue after a heavy rain my way. Haven't called for a service yet, but probably need to with the freeze/thaw cycle here in NY.
I'm going in for my second service visit on this topic (June 2022 MYP) on the 29th of November. First visit was RH side seam sealer near the passenger light, and was told the leak was fixed. For this upcoming visit, I can see they have ordered a seal on the estimate as a preemptive solution. I'm going to have a shop foreman involved, because the seal obviously will not fix the leak.
Will update the thread on what is found on the second visit.
Will update the thread on what is found on the second visit.
Attachments
Second visit on this issue completed today. They did not replace the seal, but adjusted the tailgate to fit symmetrical (had asymmetrical gaps between panels). They had one person inside the vehicle and another using a pressure washer to check for leaks before (found the leak) and after (verified no leak) the adjustment.
Will see during a next rain on what happens, hopeful it has been resolved.
I have a 2021 Model Y with the same problem. My build is September 2021 Fremont. I don't have a Tesla service near me but after reading this thread I asked the Tesla Mobile Technician to check inside the trim for a leak. He was skeptical but humored me and as soon as we removed the trim we could see evidence of the leak from all the winter grime that had come in. He traced it to a hairline crack coming from tail light toward the license plate for about an inch along the indentation. He is said he would order a new rear door and scheduled another appointment about a month out.
Attachments
I have same issue Fremont build, took delivery in Nov 2022
Attachments
I'm feeling your pain. Austin MYLR delivered 8/21/22. I've been dealing with this water leak issue since I discovered it in October and despite 3 trips to Tesla service, three back glass replacements, a completely NEW liftgate (had to be painted to match), and a total of 7 weeks in the shop so far, my liftgate is still filling up with water and ultimately leaking inside the back seal.
After hundreds of hours studying this and reading this thread in full and many others, I believe I know what's happening and I will confirm it when I bring my car back to the SC next week.
What's happening
How to prevent further damage (short term)
The drain hole will be revealed once the plug is removed:
Move the liftgate up and down slowly. Water will drain out at several different levels:
I hope this helps some of you.
RANT: It was really discouraging to read that others brought their cars to Tesla Norwell, MA as far back as October 2022 and were even told the issues was the seal behind the tail lights, and yet my Norwell Service Advisor never mentioned it and they could not fix my leak. I really felt like they were giving it the full effort to correct the situation. I'm not so sure any more... I still love my Model Y and believe it is the best car for me, but I am beginning to fear the service center folks think they work at a legacy automotive company and can ignore everything they have learned and is going on around them. My car was returned to be only partially assembled, with paint over-spray on my charge port cover, quarter panel, and trim, greasy hand stains on my headliner, and a badly mis-aligned (just replaced) liftgate after being in the shop from Nov. 21, 2022 - January 6, 2023. There was just no effort to quality check the outcome before asking me to pick it up - and now I discover it's still leaking after all this...
After hundreds of hours studying this and reading this thread in full and many others, I believe I know what's happening and I will confirm it when I bring my car back to the SC next week.
What's happening
- It rains
- Water gets in through seams in the liftgate sheet metal hidden behind the "rear fog/reverse lights" (as referenced in the shop manual)
- The water is leaking INSIDE the metal liftgate itself where there is room for around 16 ounces to collect before filling up enough to spill out through the adjustable rubber bumpers. NOTE: These rubber bumpers are adjusted to the best height to make your trunk lid (ie., liftgate) appear level and square when closed. They are not "stoppers" screwed in to seal the trunk. Adjust them with caution or not at all.
- If the water collecting in the liftgate is not drained, it will continue to fill up and seep out through the adjustable rubber bumpers, trunk close button, or even through the plastic interior panels. In time, the water will rust out your liftgate from the inside, ruin the electric wiring and button, and cause the inside of your windows and glass roof to look hazy just a few days after being washed.
How to prevent further damage (short term)
- Open the liftgate part of the way - enough that the lowest point on the liftgate is extended as far away from the rest of the car as possible.
- Remove the two small, round rubber plugs located toward the outer ends of the bottom of the liftgate. These are soft rubber and approximately 5/8" in diameter. They are there to cover holes used during manufacturing that allowed excess rust prevention sealer to drain from the metal parts after they went through the priming process. They prevent road contaminant from entering the liftgate through the holes.
- Slowly raise and lower your liftgate by hand finding the optimal height to let all the water drain out without it getting inside your car.
- Put the plugs back into the holes until after the next rain storm, then repeat until the source of the problem is resolved. If you're driving in heavy rain, you may need to stop and drain your liftgate several times on your trip. If you wait for the water to fill up in there, it will start leaking into your trunk and may cause additional damage.
The drain hole will be revealed once the plug is removed:
Move the liftgate up and down slowly. Water will drain out at several different levels:
I hope this helps some of you.
RANT: It was really discouraging to read that others brought their cars to Tesla Norwell, MA as far back as October 2022 and were even told the issues was the seal behind the tail lights, and yet my Norwell Service Advisor never mentioned it and they could not fix my leak. I really felt like they were giving it the full effort to correct the situation. I'm not so sure any more... I still love my Model Y and believe it is the best car for me, but I am beginning to fear the service center folks think they work at a legacy automotive company and can ignore everything they have learned and is going on around them. My car was returned to be only partially assembled, with paint over-spray on my charge port cover, quarter panel, and trim, greasy hand stains on my headliner, and a badly mis-aligned (just replaced) liftgate after being in the shop from Nov. 21, 2022 - January 6, 2023. There was just no effort to quality check the outcome before asking me to pick it up - and now I discover it's still leaking after all this...
JonnyWifi,
Did you try other SC locations? since we have peabody, watertown I assume the quality varies between locations.
Stupid Q: do you think adding a spoiler would help with water intrustion?
ECCtechguy
Member
I have an appointment in Watertown this week. They say I should expect the repair to be completed on the same day of the appointment. Maybe they already know about the leak behind the tail lights or maybe they're going to try to start at square 1 and replace the large seal that goes all the way around the door... Time will tell.
As for adding a spoiler, If it makes a difference, it's only because it may change how water runs over the real lights. It will not fix the leak. Best to focus on getting your liftgate water tight first... Just my 2 cents.
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