Help: Door not closing properly

[Jhcannn]

Hi Everyone,

I've lurked on this website for quite some time, and now finally joined.

Picked up my Tesla M/S 70D ~4wk ago and I am truly loving the car. From the immediate power to the handling, it's a dream. I seem to be having an issue with the front drivers door. When I close it, unless I slam it with the force of an angry gorilla the door does not close. This has resulted in me leaving my car running, unlocked, etc. all while I thought the car was closed/locked/powered off.

I had tesla pick the car up, showed the tech he agreed it was an issue. They returned it the same day saying that's normal. None of the other doors have this issue, just this one door. Today I drove down to the WPB service center and met with the manager, Byron. I explained my concern, showed him how all of the other doors act and then showed him this door. He said that is normal and refuses to do anything about it.

This is quite absurd. The door should not have to be slammed like I'm leaving a room in a tirade to have it function properly. I've never had this issue with any other vehicle, nor have I been told by any other service manager that an obvious defect is "normal."

I come to you all seeking assistance/guidance. I am going to call Tesla HQ in a bit and see what they say, but I was wondering if anyone else had this issue/what was their resolution.

Thanks,
J

 

[cgiGuy]

Not a "real" fix, but a workaround.

Under that door, there are two little "caps" that plug holes that are about 1/2" in diameter. If you pop one out, it makes closing the door easier. I, however, do no know if there are risks to having this hole unplugged. It's on the inside of the weather strip, so water shouldn't be an issue while the door is closed.

I had to do this on my 2013 because the passenger door would never close on the first try (without slamming much harder than any other door). It seemed to have worked.

 

[Jhcannn]

Thanks for the reply. I'll look into that work-around. Just astonishing that Tesla wouldn't own up to it being an issue.

 

[WMAC]

My rear-deck lid required more force than normal for the first couple of weeks. Now, I guess the rubber stops softened up and seated more and it isn't so bad.

 

[CHG-ON]

Slamming the door is not normal. I'd call HQ and raise hell. That's a completely unacceptable answer. Sorry you're having that kind of service.

 

[AMPUP]

I have had my door adjusted by the SC several times due to a misalignment and not closing as smooth as the others. They have never gotten it correct so I just ended up taking spanners to it this past weekend.There are Four ways to adjust it, two ways on the door hinge (bolts on the door and bolts on the vehicle where the door attaches, by loosening them you can adjust the door. The other two ways are the latch on the main body (two star bolts) and the Door Lock (two star bolts). If you have perfect alignment I would suggest adjusting the Main body latch only and take a small rubber hammer once loosening the bolts a little to adjust alignment ever so slightly. If your door doesn't align (chrome or seem) then you will need to loosen the 8 bolts on the hinges. be patient and be careful.

Note* before you do any of this I would suggest you just ready out to ownership and tell them you are unhappy and try to get them to fix it.

 

[AWDtsla]

Same problem here. Although maybe not gorilla strength. Usually I know the door didn't close because I walk away and the radio and headlights stay on. Will probably take a wrench to it soon.

 

[dmd2005]

I had that same problem on out first blue MS we picked up in Sept 2015. Had the SC realign the door and it was much better. You should not have to slam a door to close it properly and insist on realigning the hinge or latch like AMPUP suggested.

 

[daled]

This happened to me too. My local SC did not say it was normal. They made adjustments to the door and now my driver side door closes just as easily as all of my other doors.

 

[SanCarlos]

Agree that this is not normal. I had this happen as well. I didn't notice it at delivery and took it back in a few days later and they adjusted it and it has been perfect ever since. I have the luxury of living within 15 miles of two service centers, so I would first try taking it to the other one in your situation. I don't know if that is an option where you are.

 

[Jhcannn]

This is why I love this forum. You all truly provide awesome info. Since HQ hasn't called me back, I'm assuming they are closed for the holiday, I will call and raise hell Tuesday AM. I'll keep the thread updated.

 

[stevezzzz]

Many of the very early Sig S cars had a similar issue with the front passenger door. Maybe not to the same degree as yours, but it was never resolved so far as I know; on mine it's harder to close than the other doors, to this day.

Also, be aware that many of the Tesla folks who work the ServiceHelpNA desk are very junior with the company and may not know as much about this issue as most TMC members. So be gentle; it generally gets better results.

 

[.andrew]

My front driver door has this issue. We have a 2014 S85 that I drove for a year, just recently upgraded to a 2015 P90DL and I frequently find that I have to make a second attempt to get the door to close all the way. Never was an issue in the 2014.

I'm interested in hearing how they fix your issue.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Had the same issue with the driver door in the early days of my late-Dec-2014 P85D. The good folks at Burlingame adjusted the door without a complaint; it did leave a slight misalignment in the chrome but, I haven't had them touch it afterwards.

 

[Jhcannn]

Agree that this is not normal. I had this happen as well. I didn't notice it at delivery and took it back in a few days later and they adjusted it and it has been perfect ever since. I have the luxury of living within 15 miles of two service centers, so I would first try taking it to the other one in your situation. I don't know if that is an option where you are.

Great idea. I'm about 20mi from either, but the one I didn't try is closer to my office. I'll give that a shot this week.

 

[Cowby]

i too see this on my car (driver's side door)....sure wished they'd implemented the soft close feature like my lexus had.:crying: