Drivers door seal

[rincewind]

The top of the drivers door seal seems to have degraded in so far as it's 'squashed up' where the centre of the window sits. The result is increased windnoise. So, I'm thinking of booking a service visit. 17 months and 16k miles in to ownership - any thoughts on whether this will be warrantied?

 

[kelvin 660]

Had my door seal replaced under warranty. Didn't make any difference to the wind noise though, Still making a faf,faf,faf noise when driving over 60 mph...

 

[Dilly]

The top of the drivers door seal seems to have degraded in so far as it's 'squashed up' where the centre of the window sits. The result is increased windnoise. So, I'm thinking of booking a service visit. 17 months and 16k miles in to ownership - any thoughts on whether this will be warrantied?

I see no reason why it shouldn’t be. Has potential to allow water ingress.

 

[MrBadger]

The top of the drivers door seal seems to have degraded in so far as it's 'squashed up' where the centre of the window sits. The result is increased windnoise. So, I'm thinking of booking a service visit. 17 months and 16k miles in to ownership - any thoughts on whether this will be warrantied?

I'll be interested in how you get on. I have a similar, but less important circumstance that I was going to bundle into a future service visit.

Fairly early into the ownership of the car, my teenage son noticed a little rubber cap on top leading edge of of rear passenger door was hanging off. I fitted it back on thinking job done but subsequently learned that it wasn't actually properly fitted and should have been partially tucked under some brightwork. Not a problem until the winter weather when it was spotted hanging off again - I suspect the rubber gets less compliant and hardens off. I put it back in place again but I see it being a regular problem that is not immediately obvious. Its highly unlikely to have been damaged as its on the hinge side of the door, but I can see Tesla dismissing it as wear and tear even though its clearly not fitted as I believe it should be based upon visual inspection of other side and a previous post on TMC.

As for wind noise, as per @kelvin 660 we had both front door rubbers replaced but it made no difference - not helped by Tesla not road testing cars due to Covid so not able to optimise window adjustment which I suspect has greater influence on wind noise. Unfortunately it sounds like poor initial adjustment has damaged your seal which as dilly says, could cause other issues. So definitely needs looking at and I hope Tesla take the pragmatic approach and appreciate that the seal is damaged due to poor fitment rather than the door being opened incorrectly by not allowing the window to drop - likely to have impacted the brightwork too if that was the case.

 

[rincewind]

As for wind noise, as per @kelvin 660 we had both front door rubbers replaced but it made no difference - not helped by Tesla not road testing cars due to Covid so not able to optimise window adjustment which I suspect has greater influence on wind noise. Unfortunately it sounds like poor initial adjustment has damaged your seal which as dilly says, could cause other issues. So definitely needs looking at and I hope Tesla take the pragmatic approach and appreciate that the seal is damaged due to poor fitment rather than the door being opened incorrectly by not allowing the window to drop - likely to have impacted the brightwork too if that was the case.

Thanks for the response. I've never opened the drivers door with the manual release, not even to test it. Ironically, that has been the case with passengers not realising/forgetting, but the passenger side is fine. I suspect that it may also be due to the rubber becoming less compliant over time/window adjustment. I'll book a service center visit.

 

[Jason71]

I treat mine with gummi Pflege once or twice a year. Not to prevent degradation but because when the seals dry out then as the car flexes the glass moves against the seals and it makes a really annoying sound. Oddly its more like a rattle than a rubbing sound but its annoying either way. Treating the seals 100% fixes it and maybe as a side benefit its good for longevity as well. Silicone would do the same job but allegedly its bad for the seals long term.

 

[m3p_uk]

Wind noise might be from the side mirror seal.
Managed to get mine changed under warranty from mobile service and it massively reduced wind noise

 

[rincewind]

I treat mine with gummi Pflege once or twice a year. Not to prevent degradation but because when the seals dry out then as the car flexes the glass moves against the seals and it makes a really annoying sound. Oddly its more like a rattle than a rubbing sound but its annoying either way. Treating the seals 100% fixes it and maybe as a side benefit its good for longevity as well. Silicone would do the same job but allegedly its bad for the seals long term.

Indeed. I do the same for the front and rear.

 

[rincewind]

I'll be interested in how you get on.

Had the drivers door seal changed under warranty - they said they also adjusted the window. Very little difference - wind noise now starts at 55 instead of 45, and is much the same level as before after that. I've concluded that the seal is poorly designed at the top. I have to say, I'm finding it really quite annoying. I had a Model S loaner while the work was carried out, and that's silent on the door seal.

 

[LukeUK]

The wind noise in the Model 3 is the biggest let down, in terms of driving experience, in my opinion.

Road noise is a close second.

And I also have an annoying squeak/rattle from the driver's seatbelt top adjustment - right next to my ear!

 

[Durzel]

There is a lot of adjustment available in the door glass, in all 4 directions as well as inward and outwards. It looks easy to do (I haven't done it myself, but have witnessed a ranger taking my door apart), there are adjustment screws.

Unfortunately this range of adjustment coupled with the fact that the design of the car allows for imprecision (e.g. look at the gaps between the B-pillar glass and the front and rear window glass) can result in poor seals, etc.

Not what you want to hear - but there are ways of eliminating the noise, but it does require trial and error. The fact not everyone gets wind noise at 55 (or whatever) proves that. Unfortunately having to adjust the glass and then find somewhere to drive at 55mph does make fixing the problem that much harder.

 

[MrBadger]

The fact not everyone gets wind noise at 55 (or whatever) proves that.

I got mine quite a bit younger. Possibly around 12.

 

[rincewind]

SC stated that they adjusted the window as well as replacing the seal. I'm going to have a really close look at it this weekend to see if I can spot the area causing the problem. Not hopeful though. Tbh it's really annoying, and coupled with the level of road noise, has the potential to push me to look at other options when my lease expires.