Fixed my squeaky seat (issue I haven't seen on the forums)

[HSATD]

OMG, I've been listening to that da** squeak for weeks now. For whatever reason, I couldn't find this thread but I knew I had seen something like it. Finally found a video on how to remove the seat back, found the loose grommet and reinstalled it a few minutes ago. Took pics so I could share...and then found this thread. LOL.

Y'all have done an awesome job of documenting this. Thanks to all who have done so!

 

[tinybotx]

Just wanted to say that this also helped me. In my case, it was the left grommet, but for the life of me, I couldn't pop it back into position by myself. I took it to a service center and they were able to get it properly re-installed in a few mins. Big thanks to the OP.

 

[T061]

My grommet fell out again after about a week causing the problem to return, so I added a touch of superglue to help keep it in place.

 

[kiotee72]

Still light years better than the Oldsmobile diesel I had in 1978!

My dad had that car. We had less then 6 months

 

[sanriopurin]

I am borrowing someone else's pic for this, thanks in advance.

My driver's seat squeak every now and then too... it wasn't too bad, but it was still annoying. Thanks to this thread I was able to pop off the back seat cover.

To my surprise, all grommets were NOT loose. However I did notice the right steel bar (marked by red arrow) was the one making the squeaking noise. If I tugged on it, the noise appeared. Nothing at all on the left side steel bar.

After some trial and error the solution turned out to be quite silly and simple: I inserted a little bit of paper towel in between the yellow lumbar support device and the actual seat foam (marked by green arrow). That did the trick for me.

I think the logic is: the steel bar squeaked if enough weight is pressed onto the back seat foam, passing that pressure onto the steel bar and hence the squeak. By inserting the paper towel, it creates just enough gap such that when the same weight is pressed onto the back seat foam, it is not enough to disturb the steel bar.

It's still only Day 2 of the fix, but fingers crossed it holds up. I hope this helps!

PS: I also sprayed some WD40 upwards into the bar... I genuinely don't think it helps, but full disclaimer just in case.

PPS: I have tested the lumbar support function and it still works as normal.

 

[Charly Jazz]

View attachment 909072
I am borrowing someone else's pic for this, thanks in advance.

My driver's seat squeak every now and then too... it wasn't too bad, but it was still annoying. Thanks to this thread I was able to pop off the back seat cover.

To my surprise, all grommets were NOT loose. However I did notice the right steel bar (marked by red arrow) was the one making the squeaking noise. If I tugged on it, the noise appeared. Nothing at all on the left side steel bar.

After some trial and error the solution turned out to be quite silly and simple: I inserted a little bit of paper towel in between the yellow lumbar support device and the actual seat foam (marked by green arrow). That did the trick for me.

I think the logic is: the steel bar squeaked if enough weight is pressed onto the back seat foam, passing that pressure onto the steel bar and hence the squeak. By inserting the paper towel, it creates just enough gap such that when the same weight is pressed onto the back seat foam, it is not enough to disturb the steel bar.

It's still only Day 2 of the fix, but fingers crossed it holds up. I hope this helps!

PS: I also sprayed some WD40 upwards into the bar... I genuinely don't think it helps, but full disclaimer just in case.

PPS: I have tested the lumbar support function and it still works as normal.

Thank you! I tried fixing mine but also the grommets were ok, so I've been putting up with that squeaky noise. I'll try your solution.

 

[sanriopurin]

Thank you! I tried fixing mine but also the grommets were ok, so I've been putting up with that squeaky noise. I'll try your solution.

Good luck, I hope you'll find a fix too!

For me, I stumbled on the solution and was able to test it while stationary: with the back seat cover still off, at first I stuffed a tiny bit of paper towel in the location I described, hopped onto the driver's seat, and rocked (using my upper back and shoulders, pushed repeatedly against) the back seat cushion like crazy.

It immediately was noticably better, so I had an inkling I was on the right track. I put some more paper towel, repeated the rocking test, and the squeak disappeared completely. That was when I closed up the back seat.

Day 4 of the "fix" now and it is still holding up for me!

 

[MOWDEL3]

View attachment 909072
I am borrowing someone else's pic for this, thanks in advance.

My driver's seat squeak every now and then too... it wasn't too bad, but it was still annoying. Thanks to this thread I was able to pop off the back seat cover.

To my surprise, all grommets were NOT loose. However I did notice the right steel bar (marked by red arrow) was the one making the squeaking noise. If I tugged on it, the noise appeared. Nothing at all on the left side steel bar.

After some trial and error the solution turned out to be quite silly and simple: I inserted a little bit of paper towel in between the yellow lumbar support device and the actual seat foam (marked by green arrow). That did the trick for me.

I think the logic is: the steel bar squeaked if enough weight is pressed onto the back seat foam, passing that pressure onto the steel bar and hence the squeak. By inserting the paper towel, it creates just enough gap such that when the same weight is pressed onto the back seat foam, it is not enough to disturb the steel bar.

It's still only Day 2 of the fix, but fingers crossed it holds up. I hope this helps!

PS: I also sprayed some WD40 upwards into the bar... I genuinely don't think it helps, but full disclaimer just in case.

PPS: I have tested the lumbar support function and it still works as normal.

I hope this works for me too. I was about to fork out 122$ to have this fixed by Tesla. I cancelled my appointment and will try this first

 

[MOWDEL3]

Good luck, I hope you'll find a fix too!

For me, I stumbled on the solution and was able to test it while stationary: with the back seat cover still off, at first I stuffed a tiny bit of paper towel in the location I described, hopped onto the driver's seat, and rocked (using my upper back and shoulders, pushed repeatedly against) the back seat cushion like crazy.

What do you mean by a tiny bit of paper towel exactly?

 

[RickCRNA]

That dark metal clip situated on the very top middle was making my passenger seat squeak and I taped it so it was immobile and that cured the squeak in my case. Hope this is helpful.

 

[cr3_uk]

That dark metal clip situated on the very top middle was making my passenger seat squeak and I taped it so it was immobile and that cured the squeak in my case. Hope this is helpful.

I wasn't happy with that clip when I "rocked" it to check for squeaks. I padded it with some fabric, but same effect.

And like many others: just a note to say thank you all for this thread. I have this noise, and the headrest is so easy to remove and it's such a simple access to the internals. My grommets were in place but with a tweak it seems fine now, and I have a wealth of options going forward.

Wonderful stuff.

 

[DrHoon]

To add another data point, I have a MY2022 AWD LR M3 with a squeaky drivers seat because of this metal rod issue. Both plastic gaskets were in place. I rotated them around by hand and it seems as though it has mitigated some of the squeak noise for now. Just be aware the metal frame part of the seat has very sharp edges.

@Ernest H do you have some more info on what you did? It looks as though the yellow plastic skeleton structure will need to be removed to affix tubing on top of the metal rods. I was going to try with heat shrink which seems as though it should work.

If it does work then it is very frustrating that Tesla has not introduced a comparable design fix.

 

[Ernest H]

To add another data point, I have a MY2022 AWD LR M3 with a squeaky drivers seat because of this metal rod issue. Both plastic gaskets were in place. I rotated them around by hand and it seems as though it has mitigated some of the squeak noise for now. Just be aware the metal frame part of the seat has very sharp edges.

@Ernest H do you have some more info on what you did? It looks as though the yellow plastic skeleton structure will need to be removed to affix tubing on top of the metal rods. I was going to try with heat shrink which seems as though it should work.

If it does work then it is very frustrating that Tesla has not introduced a comparable design fix.

@DrHoon that was some months ago I did that but from memory I didn't have to remove the entire lumbar support. see attached diagram, you will see the rod going through the grommet isn't a lot, if I remembered correctly I managed to ease the lumbar suport all the way, then was able to pull down/out towards myself while sitting on the back seat. Now the nylon tube I had in my garage came off one of these self-expanding foam (Expanding Foam | Poly) and just fitted quite snuggly. yeah, heat shrink may work too but i just had a spare nylon tube on hand at that point.

 

[MOWDEL3]

So the paper towel fix did not work for me. The left metal rod was the one making most of the noise but the right one also does sometimes. I tried self sealing silicone tape and pushed it in to the hole where the metal rod goes but I couldn't get it all the way in. It reduced the noise level a lot but has not eliminated it. I am going to try these moldable silicone earplugs
Moldable ear plugs

I also have some spare poly tubing for a sprinkler system I can try.

 

[DrHoon]

@DrHoon that was some months ago I did that but from memory I didn't have to remove the entire lumbar support. see attached diagram, you will see the rod going through the grommet isn't a lot, if I remembered correctly I managed to ease the lumbar suport all the way, then was able to pull down/out towards myself while sitting on the back seat. Now the nylon tube I had in my garage came off one of these self-expanding foam (Expanding Foam | Poly) and just fitted quite snuggly. yeah, heat shrink may work too but i just had a spare nylon tube on hand at that point.

View attachment 916260

Nice, thanks. I will investigate and report back regarding heatshrink if need be. Simply rotating the black plastic inserts seemed to have helped mine.

 

[MOWDEL3]

I finally resolved my problem. What I noticed is that even if the grommet was in place, it still moved around. That movement was what was causing the problem. I pushed the grommets in using a plastic trim remover tool that is wider than the grommet and wont break it or cut into it. Just tap it lightly until the grommets stop moving in the hole. I then wrapped some silicone tape on the metal rods and pushed it in the grommet to stop it from moving again.

It has worked so far. Now I'm hearing other noises coming from the B pillar near the seatbealt. One more problem to solve.

 

[Jeff Brown]

Nailed it! What a super quick fix! I joined TMC just to say thanks.

 

[Steflex]

I traced it to the seat side rubbing against the centre console. Had lots of noise when seated in drivers seat and when I noticed the noise and placed a cloth between side of seat and centre console, the noise stopped. Going into Tesla to see what can be done as don't want a cloth stuck in my interior

 

[mstatkus]

Thanks for posting this. I hurt my quads on my left leg and kept adjusting my rear end in the seat. I guess thru doing that my back popped the one on the left side free then squeaked.
It’s also interesting seeing people complain about the seat bolsters. My exp. has been if it hurts you have a knot in your quads or a IT Band that needs some attention lol. Get a trigger roller and some other toys and fix that hah.