Fixed Passenger Door Rattle

[dgstan]

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.

 

[Koolio46]

Wow, awesome job in finding the root cause and finding it! Thanks for the pics.

 

[Gau17]

I wonder if silicone might be a better solution. Thanks for posting.

 

[dgstan]

I wonder if silicone might be a better solution. Thanks for posting.

Yeah, it probably would be. But, at the time, I wasn't 100% sure this was the real problem and didn't want to caulk things up unless I was positive. Next time I'm in there, I'll see how hard it would be to run a bead of clear silicone in those areas.

 

[mark95476]

Excellent post! We need more of these so fellow owners are capable of diagnosing and fixing problems, when we have to.

 

[Gau17]

Maybe the moderators can start a DIY section.

 

[Ldub22]

Maybe the moderators can start a DIY section.

Yeah, sad that we have brand new cars that are so great, yet still need DIY squeak control. You always hear about Elon being so harsh with engineers, yet he can't bring his attention into focus well enough to deal with this crap, or hire competent people to make this happen.

Seems like someone out there in manufacturing could really make a name for themselves by taking over Fremont and fixing this junk once and for all.

 

[LV1972]

Yeah, sad that we have brand new cars that are so great, yet still need DIY squeak control. You always hear about Elon being so harsh with engineers, yet he can't bring his attention into focus well enough to deal with this crap, or hire competent people to make this happen.

Seems like someone out there in manufacturing could really make a name for themselves by taking over Fremont and fixing this junk once and for all.

Because this is not profit, this is not Tesla stock, this is just a customer saying "there is rattle somewhere". And you know what Tesla answer is in this situation

 

[mark95476]

Nah. Everyone has their own tolerance for things.

I'd rather wrench on my on own stuff, car included. Similarly, I'd rather fix things around my house myself like minor electrical and plumbing, landscaping, painting, ...etc... Fortunately, a car is a car so a lot of skill and knowledge translates along with most of my tools. I've asked the SC guys to show me how to do stuff so I could do it myself, but they encouraged me to bring my car in since it's brand new. Personally, I don't like the feeling of being completely dependent on others.

Yeah, sad that we have brand new cars that are so great, yet still need DIY squeak control. You always hear about Elon being so harsh with engineers, yet he can't bring his attention into focus well enough to deal with this crap, or hire competent people to make this happen.

Seems like someone out there in manufacturing could really make a name for themselves by taking over Fremont and fixing this junk once and for all.

 

[mark95476]

This is a great idea!

Maybe the moderators can start a DIY section.

 

[bozer]

Taking off the panel seems scary to me. How hard was it to remove and get back on? Do you need specific tools? I have the same plastic creaking sound when I go over bumps in my drivers side door. If I press the door in, it goes away. It's not that bad but annoying.

 

[TNIrish]

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.


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These pictures are great! Thanks so much!!

 

[dgstan]

Update: After a few months, the noise returned, so I took it apart again and replaced the shims with a liberal application of silicon sealant. Noise has not returned since doing this and it's been quite a while now.

To answer another person's question: The panels are extremely simple to remove, provided you have torx drivers. I got some at Harbor Freight for a few dollars. There are three bolts to remove and then a few snaps. After that, the panel lifts straight up. Be careful of the small speaker housing near the front corner of the panel.

 

[ItsMeCarlos]

I’m going to check this section out. I’ve had an ongoing issue with a rattle in my rear passenger side door. I’ve taken off the panel and added felt tape to some of the wires that I thought was the issue and it hasn’t resolved the issue. Now I’ve also developed a separation of the pocket and trim. Any ideas how to fix this?

 

[Psionic001]

I’m going to check this section out. I’ve had an ongoing issue with a rattle in my rear passenger side door. I’ve taken off the panel and added felt tape to some of the wires that I thought was the issue and it hasn’t resolved the issue. Now I’ve also developed a separation of the pocket and trim. Any ideas how to fix this?
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We have also developed pocket separation just like yours. If I pull it back a little I see there's a couple of tabs that were never fully seated. Being plastic welded into place, I think it will be difficult to snap the inner pocket lining back into place. Did you have any luck?