Anyone know of a fix for the rattle caused by rear seat middle head support/ headrest?

[nyev]

Rattle noise was diagnosed by the service center and commented as "Center headrest noise is a characteristic of model Y and Tesla has no known rectification at this time"

Did anyone encounter the same issue? If so, what was the resolution? Replacing the headrest itself or some temporary solution?

Thank you,
Santhosh

 

[gundarx]

If you remove the back panel from the middle seat with your hands (the yellow clips), you'll be able to inspect whatever is making contact by pounding the headrest. To fully remove the panel, you'll also need to separate the top handle with a plastic trim removal tool which actuates the seat folding mechanism and then unplug the wire.

Mine did not make as much noise but it would present itself on harder bumps. You should be able to address the noise just with felt tape (in red circles). For me, I did additional noise treatment with hushmat quiet tape (cuts down noise and vibration, and sticks to almost any surface, but prohibits sliding movement) which I placed at the bottom of the 2 shafts so there is no noise or movement made when headrest is fully seated. Also used that to secure the wires in the seat, which is the original purpose of the quiet tape, to eliminate additional noise. There's additional NOICO sound deadening foam in my photo because I wanted more silence, but not needed to address your issue.

trim removal tool: https://amzn.to/3winG69
felt tape: https://amzn.to/2Qx5jLE
HushMat quiet tape: https://amzn.to/3v7m3bA

 

[SvenG]

Also implemented the above fixes. There are two additional ones that will help to eliminate the noise:

1. Remove the headrests and place to small strips of felt tape on each side of the of inside the top of the shaft trim. These should go from the inside over the edge to the outside (top of the trim). One of them should be long enough to go over the metal part that actually holds the headrest at the two positions. Do this on both sides.

2. Most noise on our MY came from the fake leather rubbing between the two seat halves and from the middle seat armrest. Order some Krytox by Chemours GPL 205 Grease and apply a little on the side parts of both the head rest and the adjacent seat. Also treat the top section (top when folded up) of the middle seat arm rest. This made the biggest difference in terms of noise.

One important warning when removing the switch from the middle seat back: Only use the trim removal tool on the top of the switch. Using it on the bottom can damage the switch. It is held by two metal clips that go directly into the seat frame and not snapped into the actual back cover of the seat.

With the fixes implemented, I am happy to report that all noise is gone.

 

[nyev]

Thank you gundarx & SvenG for the detailed fix information.

 

[nyev]

Here is the view of the back of the seat opened. Tesla mobile tech came and explained that the tape part is already there. It feels like the rattle comes from the area of the posts, most probably the right post where the button is.

 

[Kelr316]

Here is the view of the back of the seat opened. Tesla mobile tech came and explained that the tape part is already there. It feels like the rattle comes from the area of the posts, most probably the right post where the button is.
View attachment 664284

Is it hard to take off both panels? SC didn’t fix the rattles figured I would try to add some foam between the panel and seat frame.

 

[nyev]

Is it hard to take off both panels? SC didn’t fix the rattles figured I would try to add some foam between the panel and seat frame.

Did you isolate the location of the rattle? Before you do anything try reclining the rear seats and see if it reduces the rattle. In regards to the rear seat panels, you need to apply a bit of pressure to pull it off and it comes off. Use a pry bar if it helps. They are held using that plastic latches or screws (I don't know the actual term). See the image. I did not try it myself. It was done by the Mobile tech.

 

[Kelr316]

Did you isolate the location of the rattle? Before you do anything try reclining the rear seats and see if it reduces the rattle. In regards to the rear seat panels, you need to apply a bit of pressure to pull it off and it comes off. Use a pry bar if it helps. They are held using that plastic latches or screws (I don't know the actual term). See the image. I did not try it myself. It was done by the Mobile tech.

Tried that. If I fold the middle section down all the rattles go away.

 

[C-Bus Y]

One important warning when removing the switch from the middle seat back: Only use the trim removal tool on the top of the switch. Using it on the bottom can damage the switch. It is held by two metal clips that go directly into the seat frame and not snapped into the actual back cover of the seat.

This! Guess who is buying a replacement on eBay for $30 plus shipping right now? Me . Those metal clips are in there tight!!!!

Rattle is gone!