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Are you able to pull the envelope out with fairly low force, or does it really stick in place?
Man, spot on. I had messed with the stoppers and experimented a bunch and I think my stoppers are backed out a bit too much now.
I'm going to do EXACTLY what you just mentioned and restart and make sure everything is balanced. I think our pressure issue is a lot better than when I got the car, but I need to follow the steps you outlined.
Question: when your hatch closes and latches...does it sound like it's struggling to latch? or does it make a more "confident" sound?
ryanjeffords: Mine is tight (hatch doesn't move when closed when I push down/lift up. The motor that pulls it closed? It sounds the same as any other car that I've heard.
The first time I adjusted the pads (a few weeks ago), I didn't get it right. Now I'm confident the hatch is stable.
IMO, the buffeting is much lower in frequency (mostly subsonic). The low frequency boominess is easily picked up on my cell phone mic, and is around 25-45 Hz. I find the boominess suboptimal, and the buffetting unbearable. I'm glad I fixed the buffeting right away.
...I did some poking around and I was shocked to see how much vertical movement there is in the tailgate at the top hinges. I could push the tailgate up from the inside and down from the outside more than expected. Just considering the physics of the tailgate; it has the heavy glass of an SUV tailgate, but the disadvantage of being partly horizontal. When I get some time I plan to test some rubber stops for the tailgate at the top.
If I’m taking the car to service center tomorrow what’s the best advice on what to say? I feel like they won’t hear it and will just send me away. This is really bugging my ears.
If I’m taking the car to service center tomorrow what’s the best advice on what to say? I feel like they won’t hear it and will just send me away. This is really bugging my ears.
Test drove a Mach-E today. It also had hatch buffeting, though no body boom. At least, I didn’t hear it on the nice roads near the dealer.
What is so hard about properly adjusting a hatch at the factory..!?
So they said 3 total employees drove it and “could not reproduce it”Please?
Seriously, If they express any disdain for "internet" advice that you're bringing them, I'm afraid you'd be better of making the adjustments yourself. I wouldn't want anyone "practicing" on my car!
So now my options are to keep fussing with the hatch stops or just give up. I can’t imagine I’ll get anywhere with service but it is bothering my ears a lot and don’t feel like losing money on getting rid of the car. I doubt it qualifies for lemon since they can’t reproduce the issue.
It's hard to see but based on the size of the hinge knuckle at the pin I don't think there's a soft bushing in it. It seems like there's less movement near the hinge compared to the left/right most part of the upper tailgate. There is still some movement at the hinge and I think it's due to the elongated U-shaped geometry of the hinge arm, which is needed to avoid hitting the top glass.Dan888, you may be on to something. I don't have mine yet so I'll ask you: do you think the hinges are mounted via rubber supports or bushings of some kind? If so, these would be candidates for an aftermarket replacement part in polyurethane or a similar upgrade/fix. Such products are very common for automotive suspension bushings, sway bar mounts & links, strut & engine mounts etc. Perhaps something like that could be made to stiffen up and mitigate low-frequency resonance at the top of the hatch. I think all of the discussion about optimal adjustment of the latch and seal still applies, but that's only half the story if the hinge side is resonating.
..
I placed some 5 min epoxy putty on the frame and closed the tailgate to imprint the tailgate frame into the putty, then let it harden. (See pic) It definitely stiffened the tailgate, I couldn't push it down at all in that area...
I’ve seen videos on removing the trunk liner for model 3. Can someone point to the same mode the MY. I am considering a diy with that sound deadening listed above.
I second what @MY-Y says about the buffeting, at least for my car, making sure the catch is lowered (mine was already low but was able to adjust for a few more mm) and adjusting the 4 stops.
What was harder to address was the booming coming from the back. I ordered sheets of Noico from Amazon some time ago, and got to do this today:
Butyl sheets: https://amzn.to/2NH3sCK
PE foam sound deadener: https://amzn.to/3sC6qqY
roller: https://amzn.to/3q43IZA
I had been experimenting by putting very heavy books in the rear subtrunk area and noticed how weighing down that area reduced unwanted noise. I suspect that repeated contact with the foam board and the bottom of the semi-rigid subtrunk liner was producing a pounding noise. Weighing down the subtrunk likely reduced movement and unwanted banging and the additional mass also reduced noise.
This is the first time I've applied sound deadener to a car, but after repeatedly driving our Model 3 and the Y, it was clear that the Y produced too much noise from the back, even though I've already changed tires and to MPP comfort coilovers. I also have used the butyl sheets for my home theater to reduce vibrations in some aluminum shelves and window roller shade facia covers that would become distracting on loud movies, and have noticed the big improvements from using these sheets. I'll probably use extra sheets for my washer/dryer.
This is just DIY, so it's an amateur application, though I did my best to roll each sheet with multiple passes as well as I could; it's going to be a workout and would cost about $130 in amazon supplies. It took me about 3 hours to do all of these today.
First applying the thinner, but heavy butyl sheets. Need to use a roller with this. Wear gloves, otherwise butyl will stick to your fingers. Used scissors to cut the sheets, but you can also use a knife.
To determine what needed application and how much, I knocked each surface and listened for resonating noise. The metal portions I left alone for the butyl sheets were either sufficiently solid (ex. the diecast structures) or needed to be left exposed for fasteners or potentially ventilation (would not want to introduce further ear pressure issues). I also applied under the smaller sub trunk area (butyl + PE foam), which already has 2 strips of sound material from the factory, but there was still plenty of resonating noise; pretty sure Tesla did not want to expend too much material, time and add weight to the car (and get less range) for comfort improvements.
Afterwards I topped it with the PE foam which can simply be stuck on like a sticker; no roller involved. I made sure to especially apply this thoroughly in the subtrunk area as I suspect that's where most of the booming sound is coming from. As I was applying this and continued pounding the panels, I noticed less and less resonating noise, and the metal pieces were sounding much more substantial and solid.
After I took these photos I made a few incisions in the PE foam corners in the subtrunk area to relieve some pressure and allow the subtrunk to be inserted more flush. I probably over-applied and had overlapping PE foam which caused the subtrunk liner to crease a bit after I was done; might revisit that and cut out the overlapping foam another day.
Applying just 2 sheets of butyl to the frame made a surprising sound difference on what is a very rigid metal frame; made this short video clip:
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After a good drive and deliberately driving over rough patches (potholes, rutted portions of road, road reflectors), there's a significant improvement in reduced noise from the back. I'm very happy with the outcome. Can focus more on driving and driving fast than always minding the large increase in noise that usually comes with it.
Prior to readjusting the 4 pads the last (and I hope FINAL) time, I exposed the catch (removed trunk gasket, popped out the plastic trim/cover) and attempted to adjust the catch. It was already in the lowest possible position, so I couldn't make any adjustment at all. So, I was limited to adjusting the pads.
My wife and I just returned from a 110 mile shopping trip, almost all DFW highway, with it's notorious uneven concrete. She was surprised when I asked her, "How are your ears?" Her reply? "I had completely forgotten there was an issue until you mentioned it. I guess it's gone."
I'd call that a success. We truly LOVE the car (especially 150kW Supercharging: 15 minutes to go from 28 miles to 192 miles range!!!) Looking forward to our first real road trip.