Clicking/Popping Door

[Hoowzer]

I have a front passenger door that makes a clicking/popping noise when the door is open and closed from the halfway position.

A mobile tech replaced the check strap and the noise persists. Went to the SC today and they just lubricated it and claimed it was "fixed". In less than 24hrs the door is making the exact same noise again.

Is this just a case of a faulty check strap replacement, or is there something else that I should be pushing the technician to search for.

 

[marines310]

I think I saw somewhere someone with a similar problem and in fact it was a couple of loose screws that made the popping noises from the door hinge & door.. trying to find the content as I think it was a YouTuber...

 

[marines310]

sorry I couldn't find the exact content yet on the tesla but I believe it was a problem & solution similar to this

as I recall, the YouTuber I have in memory had tightened and/or replaced the screws and the sound disappeared.

 

[Hoowzer]

Thanks @marines310

I saw this video on youtube as well. I have a mobile tech coming out on Thursday. Will have them take a look at the screws. The tech in the SC mentioned that he did evaluate the nuts, and they were correctly torqued, but I don't believe he actually took the door panel off while I was waiting, so not sure if he did a full diagnostic.

 

[marines310]

Thanks @marines310

I saw this video on youtube as well. I have a mobile tech coming out on Thursday. Will have them take a look at the screws. The tech in the SC mentioned that he did evaluate the nuts, and they were correctly torqued, but I don't believe he actually took the door panel off while I was waiting, so not sure if he did a full diagnostic.

Yeah the clip I saw also had a similar situation where the actual problem was inside the door frame itself and not the exposed hinge you see here. A replaced hinge did initially fix the problem but eventually it came back in no time and the actual problem was then located inside the door. It's a trickier operation so I think the mechanics wouldn't automatically open up the door.

Could you try pinpointing to where the noise is coming from precisely?

 

[Hoowzer]

Yeah the clip I saw also had a similar situation where the actual problem was inside the door frame itself and not the exposed hinge you see here. A replaced hinge did initially fix the problem but eventually it came back in no time and the actual problem was then located inside the door. It's a trickier operation so I think the mechanics wouldn't automatically open up the door.

Could you try pinpointing to where the noise is coming from precisely?

Gotcha, I'm 80-90% confident it's coming from the general area of the check strap. Seems like it's a clicking noise coming inside of the door panel. To your point, it may be coming from inside the door, but from what I know the check strap can be replaced in one of 2 ways: there may be an option to just pop off the speaker and replace the check strap, and the 2nd option which is to remove the entire door panel to see if anything else is the root cause.

My gut is there may be something catching onto the check strap, but who knows? I just let the mobile tech work solo last time due to trying to give the guy some space, but I may just hang out there with him on Thursday and watch as he works. The last guy finished the whole process and was gone in 15 mins....I don't think he actually did any troubleshooting and just replaced the check strap and left.

 

[marines310]

Good luck! Let us know how the repairs go!

 

[Hoowzer]

So mobile tech came out today. He claimed the check strap wasn't installed correctly and had some loose screws so reinstalled a new one.

Upon inspection, the noise it still present. The SC had to realign my door and in the process I think they may have caused the clicking noise I have now. The mobile tech did some troubleshooting and when pressure is applied onto the check strap the noise isn't present. Looks like by aligning the door they have have warped something related to the check strap and it now seems it actually may be rubbing a part of the door. Off to the SC I go again next week.

Will ask to have a master tech evaluate....the last SC visit I had a noob tech that just sprayed lubricant everywhere and made a mess. Lubricant unfortunately just hid the issue for a few hours and it just came right back

 

[Hoowzer]

After 4 mobile visits and 2 SC visits the issue was finally identified. Sharing for other MY owners.

When I first got my vehicle, the SC aligned the doors to make them flush. As a result of aligning the doors they caused a sleuth of other issues - tweeter clips broke and tweeter broke, speaker clips broke - both of which have been fixed. The clicking noise the techs have been trying to fix was not the check strap as originally thought.

Whoever re-aligned the door caused a bigger issue that made my door flex out of shape between the door and the door sill. Car is now being repaired at a partner body shop....fingers crossed this fixes all the issues.

 

[marines310]

Wow that is quite the adventure... All that time and even electric mileage put in.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, I hope this fix finally nails everything!

 

[Hoowzer]

Wow that is quite the adventure... All that time and even electric mileage put in.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, I hope this fix finally nails everything!

Just picked up the MY. Happy to report all issues seem to have been resolved.

The body shop left the itemized invoice in the car and they did 6 hrs worth of work to reinforce the side panel where the door connects to the body. SA mentioned this is the first time he's seen this issue where the stamped body was flexing and hence the door was not aligned causing the door to click.

For those other folks who have constant clicking or popping noises and you've replaced the check strap multiple times....it may not be the check strap and you may have flexing panels that need to be reinforced.