Consistent driver side rattle at speed

[Digital Dragon]

I had this same exact noise and it was driving me crazy. I'd taken it to Tesla Service 2-3 times and they couldn't figure it out. At one point, they even took apart the A-pillar on the driver's side and claimed to have 'found' the culprit there said that they fixed the noise. But the problem still persisted.

I just wanted to chime in that I followed what firebat above said that was it! I installed some sticky foam and the problem is now gone completely! it wasn't hard to find. just tap lightly on different areas of the wheel well and you'll be able to pinpoint exactly where the lining is hitting the fender.

Thanks, firebat!

 

[djroberts]

Hope this isn't too late, but try pressing on the wheel well liners. I had a very similar-sounding rattle for the past 10 months, and I finally traced them to the wheel well last week. My sound only happens at higher speeds (40-50 mph) and also seemed wind dependent.

My fix ended up being super simple: got a piece of insulating foam tape and added a piece to the liner that caused it to bend just slightly enough to no longer make contact with the metal.

The Service Center fixed mine which appears to be the same as yours. Wheel well bumping against the fender. Was only happening on the passenger side. He said he sees it on either side depending on the car. If that doesn't work then it's a wire harness in the pillar but I think that's less likely.

 

[Dan84]

I had the exact same problem. Fixed it with Firebat tip, thanks!

 

[aspec818]

My newer 3 started rattling in that area as well at speeds and I immediately knew what it was thanks to firebat. Applied some foam tape in the area and it’s gone. This should be stickied in a common rattles thread.

 

[Half_Ghost]

I know this is an older thread, But just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone in here leading me on to the fender liner. Hours spent trying to figure out the rattle I thought was coming from doors.. ended up just being the fender liner rubbing the fender! Some felt tape / double sided tape did the trick! Awesome! My my sanity is now restored! This needs to be a stocked tip to check as my car is a 2021..

 

[Jeepxj]

whew thanks

 

[samarth_g]

Firebat, I cannot thank you enough for this! For me it was the passenger side.
Sanity has been restored in my household!

 

[DimaCA]

This seems to be present on model Y too. Will try the fix suggested.

 

[esmathis]

See attached. This is the front right wheel well. I cut out a small rectangular piece of foam tape (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004J64OOO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1), then wrapped it around the wheel well liner in that circled green area.

Note that my rattle actually came from the top of the liner (near the frunk), but adding the tape there didn't help. Adding the tape in the area that I marked seems to have caused the liner to bend slightly and no longer strike the top body panel.

I highly recommend playing with the area. You should be able to cause the rattling noise by merely pressing on the liner, and that will help you identify the exact source of the sound and where the tape may help.

Hope this helps. I still can't believe how annoying that sound was, and how incredibly easy it was to fix.

I came here to say that Firebat's fix works.

I have a 2022 Model 3, so this rattle still hasn't been fixed by Tesla. I grabbed some MD Sponge Window Seal from Ace Hardware, cut out a 1" square piece, and placed it at about the same area as Firebat's. I simply placed it so that it is between the liner and the fender lip (sticky side to the liner). This puts just a little stress on the liner to bend the top of the liner away from the metal that it rattles against. Note you'll need at least a 1/4" thickness. Also, you'll need to press in on the liner in that area while looking at the top of the liner to ensure the top bends toward the tire or ground in order to determine where to place it.

 

[gtg465x]

I have a 2023 and had the same rattle. I was able to reproduce it easily by tapping on the back of my wheel well liner, and was able to fix it with a piece of foam as others have noted, but after doing that, I accidentally felt a notch and hole in the liner on the bottom part that wraps under the car. When I looked under there, it was obvious that a plastic push pin was supposed to go there. Luckily, I had a spare that I found in my trunk upon delivery, and putting it in pulled the liner much tighter. I didn’t take the foam off, but I suspect the foam isn’t even needed now. Those who have had this issue and fixed it with foam, check to see if you have a pin here:

 

[beachsideev]

Thank you! I believe this is the source of the annoying rattle(s) in my car. I tapped the wheel well liner and sure enough, it sounds like the rattle I have been chasing.

I am also missing the push rivets on the underside of my belly pan on both sides. I relocated a push rivet from the wheel well to the missing bally pan as a test, but I don't think it fixed the rattle. I need to do more testing though before I try the foam trick. I suspect that will be the real fix.

Thanks so much for this thread! I'm sure it saved me multiple trips to the sc.

 

[beachsideev]

I did some more testing and I believe the rattle I was hearing was due to the missing rivets on the underside of the car. I removed one of the rivets and the rattle came back. I haven't done the sticky foam yet.

Thanks again for posting these findings!

 

[crainger]

Had M3 5 days. Heard faint rattle at 80km+ googled a bit and so glad I did. This was the fix. I had some foam I cut into strips and lined the edge of the arches. Seems to have done the trick.

 

[BSparx]

Hope this isn't too late, but try pressing on the wheel well liners. I had a very similar-sounding rattle for the past 10 months, and I finally traced them to the wheel well last week. My sound only happens at higher speeds (40-50 mph) and also seemed wind dependent.

My fix ended up being super simple: got a piece of insulating foam tape and added a piece to the liner that caused it to bend just slightly enough to no longer make contact with the metal.

This solution worked for me. Thanks for the idea.

I had an annoying rattle coming from near or forward of the drivers side forward pillar. The rattle was only at speed, and very annoying. SC could not figure it out ( actually did not care enough to seriously look).

I went tapping around the frunk liner looking for the noise. When I started tapping on the wheel well cover I was fairly sure I had found the cause.

I removed the clips holding the bottom edge of the wheel well cover, then gently lifted the cover enough to reach behind it. There I added 5/16” thick adhesive foam tape to the inside edge of the fender right where the well cover bore against the inside of the fender. Put it all back together and totally solved the rattle.

 

[ev_go123]

I have a 2023 and had the same rattle. I was able to reproduce it easily by tapping on the back of my wheel well liner, and was able to fix it with a piece of foam as others have noted, but after doing that, I accidentally felt a notch and hole in the liner on the bottom part that wraps under the car. When I looked under there, it was obvious that a plastic push pin was supposed to go there. Luckily, I had a spare that I found in my trunk upon delivery, and putting it in pulled the liner much tighter. I didn’t take the foam off, but I suspect the foam isn’t even needed now. Those who have had this issue and fixed it with foam, check to see if you have a pin here:
View attachment 926470

This was definitely the cause of a rattle on my passenger side. I actually just shoved a little piece of foam in the hole and it fully quieted the problem. Funny enough, Sandy Munro actually raved about how smart Tesla was for removing this exact snap and saving 20 cents