Front hood adjustment, wind noise and vibration

[Bubba9]

I have a 2020 MS LR+. I have been trouble shooting various rattles and vibrations since I got the car. I was FINALLY able to get the service center to replace two of the tires since they were horribly out of round and could not be balanced at the SC or an independent shop. There is still some high speed vibration (70+ mph) and I am concerned it might be related to the hood.

When I first got the car one of the adjustment screws on the underside of the hood was screwed out all the way. The other 3 contact points were not touching. I adjusted the opposite side screw (the one in the front) down so that it made contact and I felt that this made the vibration a little better.

In this position I am noticing that with hard acceleration there is more audible wind noise and vibration from air flow and turbulence.

I tried adjusting all four points to have contact and that seemed to make it worse.

So, I guess the question is... what is the correct way to adjust these four contact points under the front hood? Are these just designed to shim the hood into the right cosmetic position or is there a stabilizing effect?

I have searched all over the forum and youtube. I have found a lot of discussion of the rear lift gate adjustment, but very little about the front hood.

Any insight would be much appreciateed.

 

[beatle]

I think it's a little of both. "Shim" the hood to meet the body panels using the adjustments, then increase the tension on the hood by continuing to back them out a bit at a time until the hood is stable.

Not quoting a service guide or anything here - just thinking of what to try.

 

[JimBob 909]

beatle is probably correct, but it may be worth paying a body shop a few bucks to adjust the hood, if there's a body shop in town you have a relationship with for touch-up items.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

No, don't be paying a body shop to fix Tesla's issues--that's what a warranty is for.

Yes, do take it to another Service Center and ask to take a tech or the manager out for a ride. Can they see and feel your issue? If so, then ask them to fix it, and to keep replacing things until they do.

Good luck, but your car seems like it's an anomaly.

 

[Bubba9]

I have had it in the SC 3 times and they keep claiming that they feel nothing, but they keep rebalancing the tires (or trying), redid the alignment, and then replaced 2 tires... all for free. Seems a little strange to me that they would do all that if they didn't think there was a problem.

So without getting them to admit that they feel anything, there's nothing more that they want or are willing to do.

They have not mentioned that there is anything wrong with the hood. It looks perfect. I was more curious if that was contributing after I found the 4 point adjusters. They have to serve some purpose. I just can't find any documentation for what that purpose is.

And I don't really think this is much of an anomoly. There are dozens of threads about steering wheel vibrations and tire issues. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of my specific issue.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Disagree.

After nine MS's thus far, some of the older ones had vibration issues. In each case, they were solved only after the techs rode with us to document this specific issue.

You need to see about getting them to go for a ride with you, and then also drive a service loaner for comparison, if possible, assuming any of this is allowed in the era of COVID-19.

If it's not, you may have to wait until the vaccine is distributed widely and then try again.

Being on exactly the same page with your SC techs is key to getting this resolved, and if they're not feeling what you, WHEN YOU ARE, then it'll likely never be fixed.

As for the hood alignment, I would be surprised if this was a factor as one usually has to be at very, very high speeds for hood flutter to be an issue. AFAIK, those hood bumpers are just there to help align the hood with the surrounding body panels, and also to provide some force to prevent flutter. Best to leave them where they were/are.

Keep us posted, and certainly try another SC as well.

 

[KalJoMoS]

Is it really vibration that comes from front wheels, might it be just wind noise as your speed is increasing? If so ask the SvC to adjust that small glass triangle attached to the side mirror (on both side of the doors). This glass might only need to be lifted app. 3mm upwards as to make good contact with the body seal.
I had to change both mirrors and LH one started to make (wind)noise as you drive and noticed this small glass had not as good contact as on the other side.