We've had a terrible creak/rattle develop lately. Anytime we drove over any kind of even slightly bumpy road, the noise was noticeable. It didn't necessarily sound like a distinct rattle, but kind of a creak. It went away if we pushed on the door panel in different areas.
After reading some Model 3 posts about door rattles, I decided to remove the door panel and take a look around. Some cables and wires looked like they might be the culprits, so I added some felt tape around them as I went through the inside of the panel. After pushing and prodding, I was able to recreate the sound manually. The issue had to deal with the plastic piece that is used to form the pocket/cubby area. It is a separate piece that gets spot welded to the main plastic panel. The plastic welds are certainly strong enough to hold everything together, but they don't prevent the two plastic pieces from slightly sliding against each other. As things bounce and move, the two plastic pieces make a loud creaking sound.
The solution was to wedge wooden pieces next to the spot welds to prevent the pieces from rubbing. I wrapped the wood in electrical tape. I added a few wedges as needed and the sound is gone. See pictures below.
Removal and replacement of the door panels was easy.
After reading some Model 3 posts about door rattles, I decided to remove the door panel and take a look around. Some cables and wires looked like they might be the culprits, so I added some felt tape around them as I went through the inside of the panel. After pushing and prodding, I was able to recreate the sound manually. The issue had to deal with the plastic piece that is used to form the pocket/cubby area. It is a separate piece that gets spot welded to the main plastic panel. The plastic welds are certainly strong enough to hold everything together, but they don't prevent the two plastic pieces from slightly sliding against each other. As things bounce and move, the two plastic pieces make a loud creaking sound.
The solution was to wedge wooden pieces next to the spot welds to prevent the pieces from rubbing. I wrapped the wood in electrical tape. I added a few wedges as needed and the sound is gone. See pictures below.
Removal and replacement of the door panels was easy.