Buzz/rattle in either dashboard or mirror housing

[TeeEmCee]

My new 3 has this annoying buzz at certain speeds. It seems to come from the front of the cabin, either inside the dashboard or the rearview mirror housing.

It sounds like a some part is vibrating and hitting a plastic panel, perhaps a cable or trim piece. It’s triggered by rolling over less-than-smooth road surfaces and does not seem to correlate with speed, acceleration etc. (doesn’t feel like it’s drivetrain related).

Does this sound familiar to any of you? If yes, what was your fix?

I’m asking in hopes that this is a known issue with some easy “stick a piece of felt in that spot” solution rather than have to make a service appointment.

 

[jkirkwood001]

Day 3, and everything very good. Except day 1, driving back from Toronto to Ottawa, I noticed - when the awesome audio system wasn't projecting crystalline wonder - a slight but solid buzz above the driver's seat. Not much up there, so I'm guessing a seam between one of the rook glass panels, or possibly the passenger seat restraint (I didn't notice it above a few of my friends oooh-ing and aaah-ing and gasp-ing on their Tesla AWD launch inaugurations). It's not there this morning, which suggests ambient temperature may influence the materials. It's not a show-stopper, although personally I'm more fussy about inside clicks and buzzes than miniscule paint imperfections.

I will include this before my 3 day probation period ends. BTW, what / who / how do we advise Tesla about issues? No longer IDA I don't imagine?

 

[voip-ninja]

My new 3 has this annoying buzz at certain speeds. It seems to come from the front of the cabin, either inside the dashboard or the rearview mirror housing.

It sounds like a some part is vibrating and hitting a plastic panel, perhaps a cable or trim piece. It’s triggered by rolling over less-than-smooth road surfaces and does not seem to correlate with speed, acceleration etc. (doesn’t feel like it’s drivetrain related).

Does this sound familiar to any of you? If yes, what was your fix?

I’m asking in hopes that this is a known issue with some easy “stick a piece of felt in that spot” solution rather than have to make a service appointment.

I've observed something similar but really haven't had time to diagnose it.

I figure I will give it a few months and let Tesla debug these problems on other owners cars... then when I finally bring mine in for service they will have a pretty good idea of what remediations can be done.

Another for sure source of noise in my car is the height adjustable seatbelt anchors at the B pillars.

 

[pipplo]

I have the same problem. It comes and goes so it's very hard to reproduce and veryvery anno. There are a few threads about this around the different forums but nobody has posted and concrete solutions.

I need to go in for a service appointment soon and I'll bring it up then. Good luck and let us know if you find a solution!

 

[EfficientWatts]

This may or may not be the same issue. For me there was some rattle that would happen when driving over a more bumpy surface, but it didn't always happen; drove me a little nuts. Eventually I found that if I put my arm on the center compartment lid the rattles would stop. I figured out that perhaps the lid (or something in that area) is vibrating.

I got some weatherstrip foam (used for doors cracks) and stuck some in the front of the lid. This causes the lid to be stiff when latched close.

After forcing it closed the first time to allow the foam to compress, I can open and close with no issues. This has fixed the rattles for me.

You probably can use other material there; I just used what I had laying around. I did try 1/4" at first but it was too thin as the rattles eventually came back, 7/16" is what I have on there right now and it is working for me so far.

 

[TeeEmCee]

I have the same problem. It comes and goes so it's very hard to reproduce and veryvery anno. There are a few threads about this around the different forums but nobody has posted and concrete solutions.

I need to go in for a service appointment soon and I'll bring it up then. Good luck and let us know if you find a solution!

What I can tell you so far is that I found some greasy hand prints on both sun visors, which leaves me to believe that somebody tried to address this before. These are the typical mechanic grease marks I sometime get on the inside door handle in my other car when they're in for service, so I'm pretty certain some technician has left them there.

If my assumption is correct, then either they couldn't fix it or the buzzing is not from the overhead area. I'll keep listening for it and will let the SC know today. If they give me anything along the lines of "yeah, known issue", I'll post the resolution here.

 

[Skateboardgolf]

This thread might help you:
Trick to find all rattles in Model 3

 

[TeeEmCee]

This thread might help you:
Trick to find all rattles in Model 3

Thank you, will try.

 

[jkirkwood001]

This may or may not be the same issue. For me there was some rattle that would happen when driving over a more bumpy surface, but it didn't always happen; drove me a little nuts. Eventually I found that if I put my arm on the center compartment lid the rattles would stop. I figured out that perhaps the lid (or something in that area) is vibrating.

I got some weatherstrip foam (used for doors cracks) and stuck some in the front of the lid. This causes the lid to be stiff when latched close.
View attachment 337719
After forcing it closed the first time to allow the foam to compress, I can open and close with no issues. This has fixed the rattles for me.

You probably can use other material there; I just used what I had laying around. I did try 1/4" at first but it was too thin as the rattles eventually came back, 7/16" is what I have on there right now and it is working for me so far.

Good proactive and industrious solution, @quantumslip!

 

[MosquitoFloss]

I thought my driver's side window was rattling when I was driving over rough freeway at higher speeds. Today I was isolate it to the seatbelt mechanism, somewhere where the shoulder part of the seatbelt meets it's housing. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[No42]

Yes, same issue here: rattle from left b Piller. Also a terrible rattle from glovebox area on a rough freeways.

Listen to the recordings below:

20180923_194756.mp4
20180923_122234.mp4

 

[voip-ninja]

I thought my driver's side window was rattling when I was driving over rough freeway at higher speeds. Today I was isolate it to the seatbelt mechanism, somewhere where the shoulder part of the seatbelt meets it's housing. Anyone else experiencing this?

Yes, there is an entire thread about that specific noise.

 

[TeeEmCee]

Yes, same issue here: rattle from left b Piller. Also a terrible rattle from glovebox area on a rough freeways.

Listen to the recordings below:

20180923_194756.mp4
20180923_122234.mp4

This sounds pretty similar to what I'm hearing. I drove the car a bit more today in rather hot weather and couldn't hear it at all until late in the evening. It seems to be temperature-dependent; whatever this is, it probably dilates enough to stop buzzing in hot weather.

I'll go do a drive tonight and will check the glovebox area. With closing mechanisms and touching edges, it should be a good candidate. Hopefully I can pinpoint it.

Thanks!

 

[Toke_Holledig]

Day 3, and everything very good. Except day 1, driving back from Toronto to Ottawa, I noticed - when the awesome audio system wasn't projecting crystalline wonder - a slight but solid buzz above the driver's seat. Not much up there, so I'm guessing a seam between one of the rook glass panels, or possibly the passenger seat restraint (I didn't notice it above a few of my friends oooh-ing and aaah-ing and gasp-ing on their Tesla AWD launch inaugurations). It's not there this morning, which suggests ambient temperature may influence the materials. It's not a show-stopper, although personally I'm more fussy about inside clicks and buzzes than miniscule paint imperfections.

I will include this before my 3 day probation period ends. BTW, what / who / how do we advise Tesla about issues? No longer IDA I don't imagine?

Hey

Hope you still like the car. I am having the same issues as you. Did you find a fix?

Best regards

 

[voip-ninja]

This sounds pretty similar to what I'm hearing. I drove the car a bit more today in rather hot weather and couldn't hear it at all until late in the evening. It seems to be temperature-dependent; whatever this is, it probably dilates enough to stop buzzing in hot weather.

I'll go do a drive tonight and will check the glovebox area. With closing mechanisms and touching edges, it should be a good candidate. Hopefully I can pinpoint it.

Thanks!

@TeeEmCee did you ever identify the cause of this noise or get it addressed

 

[Gpa9504]

I’ve had this noise (or similar) on rough roads since I received the car a few weeks ago. Today I discovered the angled “pad” that holds the phones was the culprit. When I held it firmly while driving, the sound went away. I will figure out a solution soon.

Not sure this is your issue- but it definitely is mine.

 

[TeeEmCee]

@TeeEmCee did you ever identify the cause of this noise or get it addressed

Nah, the service center couldn’t be bothered, so I threw in the towel and the car’s in the process of being bought back. I still can’t fathom why they wouldn’t fix something that trivial, I guess they just got sick of me.

Some (but definitely not all) of the noise came from that wide flap at the top of the glove box (look for it in my older posts). The rest may have come either from within the dashboard or from outside.

I din not take the dashboard apart, but I found a few outside rattle candidates:

There’s a piece of really flimsy plastic under the corner of the hood, it’s clipped onto the hood hinge (also pictured in one of my older posts). It moves around a lot and makes quite the racket when you poke it. Perhaps there’s enough airflow and body movement at speed to make it rattle.

The second one is the wheel well liner. Tap it with your finger and you’ll see it moves quite a bit. At the bottom it bangs against the fender and it could rattle at speed. Try to put a thin rubber gasket or bitumen tape between the fender/rocker lip and the liner, it should help.
This is also pictured in one of my older posts: I checked how the liner meets the fender and rocker panel on my Audis. The liner has a suede-like lip where it’s supposed to tuck under the panel, which leads me to believe that the respective contact points are typical rattle sources. The Tesla, does not have that lip, it’s hard plastic on plastic or sheetmetal, likely to rattle from rolling vibrations.

A third outside candidate would be the black plastic triangle on the side mirror. It’s shaped poorly and its edges arch up (I saw this condition on many Model 3s). I taped mine and, while it eliminated some wind noise, it was not the source of the rattle.

It could have also been clips on the firewall or under the frunk, no idea.

Hope some of this helps ...

 

[voip-ninja]

Nah, the service center couldn’t be bothered, so I threw in the towel and the car’s in the process of being bought back. I still can’t fathom why they wouldn’t fix something that trivial, I guess they just got sick of me.

Some (but definitely not all) of the noise came from that wide flap at the top of the glove box (look for it in my older posts). The rest may have come either from within the dashboard or from outside.

I din not take the dashboard apart, but I found a few outside rattle candidates:

There’s a piece of really flimsy plastic under the corner of the hood, it’s clipped onto the hood hinge (also pictured in one of my older posts). It moves around a lot and makes quite the racket when you poke it. Perhaps there’s enough airflow and body movement at speed to make it rattle.

The second one is the wheel well liner. Tap it with your finger and you’ll see it moves quite a bit. At the bottom it bangs against the fender and it could rattle at speed. Try to put a thin rubber gasket or bitumen tape between the fender/rocker lip and the liner, it should help.
This is also pictured in one of my older posts: I checked how the liner meets the fender and rocker panel on my Audis. The liner has a suede-like lip where it’s supposed to tuck under the panel, which leads me to believe that the respective contact points are typical rattle sources. The Tesla, does not have that lip, it’s hard plastic on plastic or sheetmetal, likely to rattle from rolling vibrations.

A third outside candidate would be the black plastic triangle on the side mirror. It’s shaped poorly and its edges arch up (I saw this condition on many Model 3s). I taped mine and, while it eliminated some wind noise, it was not the source of the rattle.

It could have also been clips on the firewall or under the frunk, no idea.

Hope some of this helps ...

Okay some of this is coming back to me.

Local SC went on a test ride with me and diagnosed one of my (many) noise problems as being something in the dash. If the tech pressed on a spot on the dash the noise stopped.

This was a month or so ago.

After getting the car back the buzzing has been returning slowly but does not reproduce often enough that I am confident I could give them something to fix.

When it is occurring now it does not subside if I press on the dash, or on the front trim or open the glovebox and press areas inside.

I’m becoming concerned it could be coming from the vents or something in the dash assembly itself rubbing against the frame.

 

[TeeEmCee]

Okay some of this is coming back to me.

Local SC went on a test ride with me and diagnosed one of my (many) noise problems as being something in the dash. If the tech pressed on a spot on the dash the noise stopped.

This was a month or so ago.

After getting the car back the buzzing has been returning slowly but does not reproduce often enough that I am confident I could give them something to fix.

When it is occurring now it does not subside if I press on the dash, or on the front trim or open the glovebox and press areas inside.

I’m becoming concerned it could be coming from the vents or something in the dash assembly itself rubbing against the frame.

I’m afraid you are correct. I had plenty of come-and-go rattles in the dashboard, some obviously from the vents, some from plastic dashboard parts that were either not tight enough (from the beginning or they worked themselves loose over time) or they lacked screws altogether.

The problem is systemic with most of the interior trim, Tesla simply have not done much to design rattles and buzzes out of the Model 3. I no longer think these issues arise from hurried assembly, rather I think they’re mostly caused by a poor blend of design and materials.

While I accept that there’s a reasonable level of variance, I don’t buy the fact that some cars, like yours or mine, just happen to be a lot worse than others. I think there’s a lot more variance in the owners’ tolerance of NVH issues than in the interior quality.

Take this thread for example:
High pitched bubbling noise from passenger footwell

Aside from the rolling rumble and the under-the-dashboard noise the OP references, there’s a constant (likely dashboard) rattle that can be heard throughout his recording, but nobody on the respective thread mentions it.


With the level of tolerance you’re displaying toward these noises, I’m afraid it will be a long and frustrating quest to quell some of them. I hope you’re successful!

 

[voip-ninja]

I’m afraid you are correct. I had plenty of come-and-go rattles in the dashboard, some obviously from the vents, some from plastic dashboard parts that were either not tight enough or they lacked screws altogether.

The problem is systemic, with most of the interior trim. They simply have not done much to design rattles and buzzes out. I no longer think these issues arise from hurried assembly, rather I think they’re mostly caused by a poor blend of design and materials.
With the level of tolerance you’re displaying toward these noises, I’m afraid it will be a long and frustrating quest to quell some of them.

While I accept that there’s a reasonable level of variance, I don’t buy the fact that some cars, like yours or mine, just happen to be a lot worse than others. I think there’s a lot more variance in the owners’ tolerance of NVH issues than in the interior quality.

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.