Car Frame twisting when going up driveways?

[mobilesuit818]

Got my Tesla in March right when things were starting to get shutdown from Covid.

Notice that rear windows/doors creak when I turn into a driveway, no matter the speed, does anyone else experience this??

Notice that my Model 3 previously didn't experience this issue

I been waiting til things calm down before I make a service appt to get some paint and body panels alignment addressed..and will bring this up as well..

Best...

 

[BreatheEasier]

All car bodies flex when put into this situation. And with frameless door glass you will hear this noise, and it will vary based on weather. I've owned other vehicles over the years with frameless doors, and this is quite normal, however on higher-end vehicles, the manufacturer usually tries to mitigate this issue by using higher-quality rubber compounds for the door seals, and they layer on a "fuzziness" coating on the areas where the glass and rubber meet. Tesla could have gone either route, but assume because of costs, they did not. I've been experimenting with treating the rubber seals and glass with different types of waxes to see if I can cut down or eliminate the noises.

I've also wondered if this is also amplified by having a full glass roof, and no crossmember/center support like every other Tesla.

 

[Mike_TV]

I've been experimenting with treating the rubber seals and glass with different types of waxes to see if I can cut down or eliminate the noises.

I've used silicon spray, the kind you find in the camping supplies section, to treat the rubber seals on my other cars. You want to spray it on a cloth, away from the car and then wipe down the seals.

 

[BreatheEasier]

Been trying fancier stuff...moving on to silicone spray today and see how that goes. Now that it has gotten colder, my seals have become much more noisy that before, and it is getting annoying.

 

[angus[Y]oung]

Been trying fancier stuff...moving on to silicone spray today and see how that goes. Now that it has gotten colder, my seals have become much more noisy that before, and it is getting annoying.

@BreatheEasier looking forward to your update

 

[BreatheEasier]

Just applied some to each seal and also a little on the mating surface of the door glass. Letting it sit and once I'm done work for the day, I'll drive later and see how it worked out.

 

[BreatheEasier]

Update - the silicone spray helped a little, but still there. Better than it was.

 

[gundarx]

@BreatheEasier have you tried 303 Rubber Seal Conditioner? I posted about it here Model Y Buffeting .. agree with OP about flexing on this car especially compared to Model 3 which is also frameless but does not exhibit this issue

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Apart from the bump stops, I found conditioning the rubber seals throughout the hatch, and all the doors for that matter significantly lessened the amount of noise for this car. Much less traffic noise and eliminated noise from body movement, especially on driver’s door which otherwise sounds like it flexes from the body on bumps (probably consequence of stretching the Model 3 platform). And because the cabin is much more sealed the buffeting effect appears to be completely gone. 303 Aerospace protectant works but this particular one works the best: 303 Rubber Seal Protectant and Conditioner for Weather Seals - 3.4 fl. oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T44D1R2

 

[BreatheEasier]

@BreatheEasier have you tried 303 Rubber Seal Conditioner? I posted about it here Model Y Buffeting .. agree with OP about flexing on this car especially compared to Model 3 which is also frameless but does not exhibit this issue

—-

Apart from the bump stops, I found conditioning the rubber seals throughout the hatch, and all the doors for that matter significantly lessened the amount of noise for this car. Much less traffic noise and eliminated noise from body movement, especially on driver’s door which otherwise sounds like it flexes from the body on bumps (probably consequence of stretching the Model 3 platform). And because the cabin is much more sealed the buffeting effect appears to be completely gone. 303 Aerospace protectant works but this particular one works the best: 303 Rubber Seal Protectant and Conditioner for Weather Seals - 3.4 fl. oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T44D1R2

Wow, haven't tried this stuff, but based on your results, I am ordering a bottle right now to try it out. Not too surprised to hear that the M3 doesn't have as many issues as I'm convinced that the roof crossbar, plus the shorter body structure simply has less ability to flex.

 

[BreatheEasier]

Wow, haven't tried this stuff, but based on your results, I am ordering a bottle right now to try it out. Not too surprised to hear that the M3 doesn't have as many issues as I'm convinced that the roof crossbar, plus the shorter body structure simply has less ability to flex.

Applied your recommendation to use 303 Rubber Seal Protectant and Conditioner for Weather Seals, and it made a huge difference. Not only pulling into my driveway, but overall driving, going over any bumps, etc., is significantly more quiet. In many scenarios now, I hear no noise at all. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Koolio46]

Applied your recommendation to use 303 Rubber Seal Protectant and Conditioner for Weather Seals, and it made a huge difference. Not only pulling into my driveway, but overall driving, going over any bumps, etc., is significantly more quiet. In many scenarios now, I hear no noise at all. Thanks for the recommendation!

Great to hear it worked. I now have this saved in my Amazon list for future purchase.

 

[rcv06]

Applied your recommendation to use 303 Rubber Seal Protectant and Conditioner for Weather Seals, and it made a huge difference. Not only pulling into my driveway, but overall driving, going over any bumps, etc., is significantly more quiet. In many scenarios now, I hear no noise at all. Thanks for the recommendation!

I’m having this creaking sound issue when going on driveways in my new 2023 model 3 and it’s quite concerning. You guys saying it’s normal for a frameless window car puts me at ease a little bit still don’t like the sound.

I don’t know much about cars so is there a video showing how you guys fixed it exactly? Or are there more direct steps us noobs can follow