Buzz/rattle in either dashboard or mirror housing

[TeeEmCee]

I do know that the most obnoxious rattle in the car was somehow introduced after the windshield was replaced. Looking at the parts schematics the dashboard is a single piece that then has the vents, trim, glovebox and other parts installed onto it.

When I took the lead tech on the test drive he was able to get the buzzing to stop by pushing down on the dashboard. He claimed the "dash pad" needed replacement but my research shows that there is no dash pad, there is just a single monolithic structure that the other pieces screw or snap into.

The tech who addressed this problem didn't say anything about replacing the dash pad (at the time I didn't know the dashboard was one part) instead he said he removed the vents, the front trim piece, checked fasteners, etc.

And I found some felt strips on the floor of the car so I imagine he tried to felt line some of these parts to make them more resistant to buzzing causing noise.

It is definitely much better than it had been but the problem is still there, and does not go away when I push on things so it's possible at this point that the problem is between the dash structure and the car's body and only shows up in certain situations.

I will have to do more research on what could be causing it. Replacing the entire dashboard may or may not fix it, plus of course Tesla's reputation for introducing new problems when they "fix" things.

Le Sigh.

Yep. The same type of buzz can be heard from the headliner all around. It’s a lot softer and less annoying, but it points to the respective material having been trimmed such that it rubs a bit against the body.

 

[BlueCarNut]

Very rarely, I'll get a sequence of light "pop" noises from somewhere in the dash's speaker bar that initially fooled me into thinking it was a rattle. But it's only happened maybe twice (that I've noticed), and I can't identify any triggering conditions when it does. It's one of those things that won't get fixed unless it gets much worse in intensity and frequency.

 

[voip-ninja]

Yep. The same type of buzz can be heard from the headliner all around. It’s a lot softer and less annoying, but it points to the respective material having been trimmed such that it rubs a bit against the body.

On the bright side, Tesla fans are fanatical enough that there are people out there actually taking these cars apart in an effort to find better ways to soundproof them.

At some point you'll probably be able to spend $500 on a Model 3 soundproofing kit and if you're willing to spend a weekend fixing all of Tesla's poor design decisions you'll have a pretty quiet ride.

 

[TeeEmCee]

On the bright side, Tesla fans are fanatical enough that there are people out there actually taking these cars apart in an effort to find better ways to soundproof them.

At some point you'll probably be able to spend $500 on a Model 3 soundproofing kit and if you're willing to spend a weekend fixing all of Tesla's poor design decisions you'll have a pretty quiet ride.

I was getting ready to do just that. I spoke to a Tesla-authorized body shop and was going to hire one of their techs to take everything apart, soundproof the crap out of everything and then put it back together, one panel at a time, and listen for buzzes. That surely would have been an entertaining project. Then I had my last we-can't-be-bothered-to-fix-your-suspension incident and I sent it back.

Now that I think about it, this type of "take it apart and fix it" effort should be reserved for something less mundane than a mass-market sedan. Maybe an old Citroen DS or Caterham 7 ... someday!

 

[voip-ninja]

I was getting ready to do just that. I spoke to a Tesla-authorized body shop and was going to hire one of their techs to take everything apart, soundproof the crap out of everything and then put it back together, one panel at a time, and listen for buzzes. That surely would have been an entertaining project. Then I had my last we-can't-be-bothered-to-fix-your-suspension incident and I sent it back.

Now that I think about it, this type of "take it apart and fix it" effort should be reserved for something less mundane than a mass-market sedan. Maybe an old Citroen DS or Caterham 7 ... someday!

What happened with the suspension and how were you able to get Tesla to buy the vehicle back?