Clunking noise from the rear of the car finally fixed!

[Habu]

I am posting this in case someone in the future may have the same problem. I searched for the source of this rattle/clunk for months with no luck.

I had a rattle/clunking noise that sounded like it was coming from inside the rear of the car around the back seats. It only happened on rough roads or when going over uneven pavement such as driving up onto my driveway or going over potholes.

It turns out the trunk itself was moving when the car flexed. There are adjustment bolts on each trunk hinge that are supposed to support the forward part of the trunk. The bolts on my 2021 M3 were run completely in. You could push down on each side of the forward trunk and get it to move. I slowly adjusted the bolt heads outward and repeatedly closed the trunk to make sure I was not going too far. I couldn't find any documentation on proper trunk hinge adjustment but I made sure the trunk was not preloaded on the hinge.

I have attached pictures to help.

This noise drove me crazy for a while and Tesla service couldn’t find it. It would be nice if the moderators pinned a thread for confirmed rattle and noise fixes.

 

[medphys3]

Interesting find. I doubt that it’s actually designed for this purpose because it’s only painted with no rubber/plastic protection so eventually it’ll be metal on metal.

However, I adjusted mine too because I’m searching for a similar rumble from back there.

I put some electrical tape on it temporarily to see if this helps.

 

[Stewart]

I have a 2021 MY and have been having a clunking noise as well. If I open the hatch and move it up and down, the left hinge rattles. I had service look at it. There’s a note indicating a seam issue and was adjusted. But the issue remains, anyone would like to open their rear hatch and see if they get movement on the left hinge?

 

[Coreyviper]

I’m gonna have to check this out on my ‘22 M3. Every time I pull into my work parking lot and drive through the rain gutter I get rumble or something back there. Thanks for the tip!

 

[drewshady]

Hello everyone I would just like to add that i had the same rear clanking metal on metal sound when going over some bumps and this was exactly the issue so thank you Habu! I just added some electrical tape around the bolt head shown in the second pic there and noise gone. vehicle is a 2021 model 3 sr plus. Thanks for helping us fix this most annoying rattle!

 

[JRBFS]

I am posting this in case someone in the future may have the same problem. I searched for the source of this rattle/clunk for months with no luck.

I had a rattle/clunking noise that sounded like it was coming from inside the rear of the car around the back seats. It only happened on rough roads or when going over uneven pavement such as driving up onto my driveway or going over potholes.

It turns out the trunk itself was moving when the car flexed. There are adjustment bolts on each trunk hinge that are supposed to support the forward part of the trunk. The bolts on my 2021 M3 were run completely in. You could push down on each side of the forward trunk and get it to move. I slowly adjusted the bolt heads outward and repeatedly closed the trunk to make sure I was not going too far. I couldn't find any documentation on proper trunk hinge adjustment but I made sure the trunk was not preloaded on the hinge.

I have attached pictures to help.

This noise drove me crazy for a while and Tesla service couldn’t find it. It would be nice if the moderators pinned a thread for confirmed rattle and noise fixes.

A quick note to say THANK YOU... This clunk has been driving me nuts.

 

[kevmclane]

You’re a life saver @Habu ! Same car, same year, same color, same issue. It definitely sounded like it was coming from behind the rear right seats, but it ended up being the trunk bolt on the left side. I went as far as letting my fiancé drive the car on a bumpy road while I laid in the trunk with the seats down lol. It still sounded like it was coming from a totally different spot. I really appreciate it!

 

[Andy7]

Good thing no one saw you-they might have thought she was abducting you!

 

[Vamp71]

I have a 2021 MY and have been having a clunking noise as well. If I open the hatch and move it up and down, the left hinge rattles. I had service look at it. There’s a note indicating a seam issue and was adjusted. But the issue remains, anyone would like to open their rear hatch and see if they get movement on the left hinge?

Mine makes a weird creaking sound

 

[edyee]

Habu, thank you so much for posting this info. I'm so glad I found this thread! I was hearing clunking and rattle which sounded like it was coming from the rear suspension, especially on the passenger side. Found this thread Pressed on the trunk, and driver side had a little give but the passenger side had a lot of give. After I made the adjustments on the 2 bolts, the rattle and clunking is gone! Thank you!

 

[theslimshadyist]

I am posting this in case someone in the future may have the same problem. I searched for the source of this rattle/clunk for months with no luck.

I had a rattle/clunking noise that sounded like it was coming from inside the rear of the car around the back seats. It only happened on rough roads or when going over uneven pavement such as driving up onto my driveway or going over potholes.

It turns out the trunk itself was moving when the car flexed. There are adjustment bolts on each trunk hinge that are supposed to support the forward part of the trunk. The bolts on my 2021 M3 were run completely in. You could push down on each side of the forward trunk and get it to move. I slowly adjusted the bolt heads outward and repeatedly closed the trunk to make sure I was not going too far. I couldn't find any documentation on proper trunk hinge adjustment but I made sure the trunk was not preloaded on the hinge.

I have attached pictures to help.

This noise drove me crazy for a while and Tesla service couldn’t find it. It would be nice if the moderators pinned a thread for confirmed rattle and noise fixes.

To be clear... loosen the bolt just a tad, close the trunk and repeat step 1, rinse and repeat until resolved?

 

[Habu]

To be clear... loosen the bolt just a tad, close the trunk and repeat step 1, rinse and repeat until resolved?

That’s correct. Sorry for the late response.

 

[Yonki]

It turns out the trunk itself was moving when the car flexed. There are adjustment bolts on each trunk hinge that are supposed to support the forward part of the trunk. The bolts on my 2021 M3 were run completely in. You could push down on each side of the forward trunk and get it to move. I slowly adjusted the bolt heads outward and repeatedly closed the trunk to make sure I was not going too far. I couldn't find any documentation on proper trunk hinge adjustment but I made sure the trunk was not preloaded on the hinge.

Well here's another big thank-you from another satisfied ex-clunker. I had the problem on my March 2018 Model 3. My bolts had clearly never been adjusted - they were many turns off. I used the trick where you put a piece of paper on top of the nut, close the trunk, and try to slide the paper out. Then turn the bolt a quarter turn counter clockwise and repeat until you can't slide the paper out. Then back it off a bit. Clunking is gone.

Weird that I hadn't noticed it much until the last few months. Don't know if I'd just tuned it out before or if maybe the big trunk seal is hardening up and not working as well as it used to.

I doubt that it’s actually designed for this purpose because it’s only painted with no rubber/plastic protection so eventually it’ll be metal on metal.

I can't think of any other reason for the bolt to exist except for this adjustment (and if you look at where the bolta makes contact, it's the edge of the hinge, taking the stress off the trunk body). It seems to be designed so that the flange the bolt is on will bend down a bit if the bolt is too high.

But I agree with you that metal-on-metal is not a great design. Maybe they intended to put a rubber cap on top of the bolt? I may do exactly that (or at least take a page from your book and use a few layers of electrical tape.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

I found that a significant rattle was *created* by positioning these bolts "properly", as one might expect with metal-on-metal contact like that. I suspect this may be the reason Tesla leaves them screwed all the way in instead of finishing them with rubber heads and properly adjusting them. I plan to try again someday with rubber tips on the bolts, as soon as I can find/make some.

 

[JC949]

For me after some troubleshooting I figured out for my M3 there was no rattle with the L (larger) seat down. 3” of black electrical tape around the black metal hook did the trick and is not unsightly as it is black as well. Hope this helps.

 

[Japerz]

I had the same problem, these solutions seems promising, I'll give it a try and see if the problem still exist.

 

[jawnly211]

gonna follow this thread and bring it up at a service appt

i get a weird "clunk" sound when pulling up slight inclines like driveways or canyon rounds

like i run over a rock....pretty loud pound

 

[Heckraiser]

I just found this thread and gave it a try. Definitely made an improvement. I also replaced one of my busted trunk cover clips (I knew at least one was broken, but I suspect there are more). I backed the bolt out until it barely made contact with the hinge bracket and then covered in electrical tape. I also notice the trunk makes a more solid sound when closing.

The hunt continues for the rest of my interior rattles, but glad to be making progress. Thanks for posting!

 

[Scubadoo]

Mine makes a weird creaking sound

Hi - I just posted about a creaking sound from the rear. Mine was rear seat centre pivot. Push on back of rear seats from boot, see if creak is there. Can remove seats and grease pivots, might help.

 

[Hamburglar815]

THANK YOU this has been bothering me for months. This fixed it immediately