How I Eliminated A Rattle and Squeak

[ArtInCT]

Since new, my Model S had a hard-to-find rattle and a squeak. At first, when driving alone, I thought the rattle was caused by something up high in the cabin. Perhaps the cross member shroud of the Pano Roof or the Pano Roof itself. The rattle appeared when the passenger side of the car went over a good sized seam or small divot in the road, usually at 35 MPH or more.

One day, my son was in the car with me, and I asked him to try and identify the location of the rattle. After we drove over a good problematic road a few times.... he said.... "it is coming from inside the glove box". I said, "Come On Dude you are S%$^&ting Me". "Nope he replied"... He removed my small metal spray bottle of Oilzum car interior spray and an LED flashlight with metal body. Sure enough, no more rattle. These two objects were causing the rattle. I ensconced both in a micro fibre towel and that seemed to have cured the rattle.

Now for the squeak.... I have the Next Gen seats. At certain times if I am rightward leaning in the seat, the outside bolster of the seat will rub against the center console arm rests and plastic surface of the console. This can cause a rubbing squeak. What to do? What to do? At first I inserted a folded micro fibre towel between two surfaces and this worked well but did not look good. Then I recalled the miracle juice of the century... pure silicone lubricant. I had some in a can for the last quarter century. After finding it in my vast library of ointments, salves, balms, lubricants and other topical treatments for the automobile... I sparingly rubbed the leather of the Next Gen seat that was rubbing against the arm rests.... problem solved... no more squeak at all. I do not know if the silicone will have a negative effect on the leather but the plastic is impervious to it.

So Rattle and Squeak are gone.... Wow....

Never under estimate the assistance of your offspring and keep some Silicone Lube handy.... that's how I roll....

ARTinCT

 

[BozieBeMe2]

Great! Glad you were able to solve them, now, can you fix mine?

I recently had the 12,000 mile check up and ask the SC members to located a troublesome rattle in my driver's side 'B' pillar.
Naturally, the rattle would not cooperate and they weren't able to find it.
It is still there and shows up very readily when traveling over rough roads.
It isn't worth heading to the SC again if I can wait till the next appointment, or if I can fix it,,
but if someone else had found and fixed this??
(doesn't seem to be connected to the seat belt mechanism).

 

[ArtInCT]

Well, as I mentioned, I would get the help of a passenger with good ears.
Find a road that produces the rattle consistently and have your passenger try to locate the exact location as you traverse this road.
From the driver's seat, these rattles appear to be located in one place but the willing passenger my find the location to be
emanating from a totally different location.
Good Luck and report back...

 

[St Charles]

Now for the squeak.... I have the Next Gen seats. At certain times if I am rightward leaning in the seat, the outside bolster of the seat will rub against the center console arm rests and plastic surface of the console. This can cause a rubbing squeak. What to do? What to do? At first I inserted a folded micro fibre towel between two surfaces and this worked well but did not look good. Then I recalled the miracle juice of the century... pure silicone lubricant. I had some in a can for the last quarter century. After finding it in my vast library of ointments, salves, balms, lubricants and other topical treatments for the automobile... I sparingly rubbed the leather of the Next Gen seat that was rubbing against the arm rests.... problem solved... no more squeak at all. I do not know if the silicone will have a negative effect on the leather but the plastic is impervious to it.

Interesting. I have the same problem and I am currently jamming a piece of felt between the seat and console. I've thought about using some slide powder from my bowling bag as a dry lubricant. No idea how long something like that would last. I've also considered getting a strip of soft Velcro and attaching to the seat like Moleskine. Let me know how your Silicone stuff works out.

 

[ArtInCT]

When I was a lad, I used to "condition" my baseball glove with Neatsfoot oil. I wonder if instead of silicone, a good leather oil or balm such as Neatsfoot would work better as it is intended to be a leather conditioner.

Neatsfoot oil - Wikipedia

 

[Muzzman1]

This is the stuff the SC's use to resolve the seat-on-console squeak. I had to pry it out of the service manager's brain. For some reason they want to keep this a secret. (maybe the price)
They wanted me to make a service appt to resolve it on my passenger seat, while they had done it months prior to my driver's.
I ended up getting it myself and sparingly applied it to the seat where it makes contact with the console. Squeak has never been back.
The lube has no odor and does not fade with time.
Silicone, in my case, made it worse. (probably the stuff I used)
In any case here's the good stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MWLDALQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[EV-lutioin]

More on Model X vibrations and rattles at this link:

Annoying Vibration, Passenger Door... I think

 

[Texas]

I used plumbers silicone lube, which has a consistency similar to dense wax, to stop the upholstery squeak. No more squeaks and no marks on the upholstery. You can buy this stuff in a small tin container at hardware stores.

 

[ArtInCT]

I used plumbers silicone lube, which has a consistency similar to dense wax, to stop the upholstery squeak. No more squeaks and no marks on the upholstery. You can buy this stuff in a small tin container at hardware stores.

The silicon lube I used was a very old 3M product that a friend gave me well over 35 years ago. He was an electric utility lineman and they used the lube for pulling wires thru conduit. It is in a small screw top glass jar about the size of facial cream. Totally clear and the consistancy of vaseline.

Muzzman1: wow that stuff is EXPENSIVE.... but I guess it works.

 

[Sharky]

I have the same problem - I thought it was coming from the drivers side B Pillar but in fact it is coming from the rear offside interior door handle - try touching it or lightly pulling it and see if the rattle stops. I haven't fixed it yet - if only I could get AP2.0 retrofitted I could travel in the back and permanently hold the handle.

 

[D.E.]

There are silicone lubricant formulations that will damage plastic. If the one you have has a very strong solvent smell, I'd avoid it. There are food grade silicone lubricants that should be OK. If unsure, you can apply some to a cheap clear plastic. If it damages the surface of the plastic, then I'd avoid that product.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

I've also considered getting a strip of soft Velcro and attaching to the seat like Moleskine. Let me know how your Silicone stuff works out.

I applied the soft side (non hook side) of Velcro to the arm rest/console side and solved the problem.

 

[Muzzman1]

I applied the soft side (non hook side) of Velcro to the arm rest/console side and solved the problem.

The problem with this is eventually the heat of the summer will get to the glue in the velcro and break it down to make it gooey (at least here in Los Angeles) Ultimately making it unsightly. Also the glue can permanently damage the leather.

 

[theaxe]

I have a rattle/buzzing noise that I thought was coming from within the b-pillar but which seems to go away if I lower the rear window. Maybe it's somehow related to the door handle, I'll certainly experiment further as I'd like to give the SC the best possible chance of fixing it.

 

[Thesaint]

nice story

 

[outie]

Wish it was that simple for me. My Model X has had this weird rattling noise even just from backing up from the garage. It was from passenger side but I couldn't figure it out where. It always makes the noise on the first ~10min of a drive. One day I was pushing the fender / A pillar window trims a bit and feel that's the kind of noise I hear. I ended up spraying WD40 around the fender / trim and I think the noise is now gone for good.

 

[Hd172]

I had a squeak coming from the front center of my pano roof. I found that using a rubber protectant on the seals around the pano did the trick. Make sure you get the seal in front of the wind deflector too. Just press it down and you'll see it. No more squeak from glass and rubber.

 

[dhcp]

This is the stuff the SC's use to resolve the seat-on-console squeak. I had to pry it out of the service manager's brain. For some reason they want to keep this a secret. (maybe the price)
They wanted me to make a service appt to resolve it on my passenger seat, while they had done it months prior to my driver's.
I ended up getting it myself and sparingly applied it to the seat where it makes contact with the console. Squeak has never been back.
The lube has no odor and does not fade with time.
Silicone, in my case, made it worse. (probably the stuff I used)
In any case here's the good stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MWLDALQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you for this! This is something that has been maddening and I was just about to go the soft-side of the velcro idea. $22 is money well spent if it does indeed fix the seat-to-console squeek. How much should I be using? Just a dab? Do you rub it on the seat side or on the console side? I'm a doe in the woods when it comes to any of this stuff!

 

[Muzzman1]

Thank you for this! This is something that has been maddening and I was just about to go the soft-side of the velcro idea. $22 is money well spent if it does indeed fix the seat-to-console squeek. How much should I be using? Just a dab? Do you rub it on the seat side or on the console side? I'm a doe in the woods when it comes to any of this stuff!

Less is more, I rubbed it on the seat where it makes contact. The seat can move so you want the lube on the seat. If "less" wasn't enough then apply again. I only had to apply once, months ago, it has not returned.

 

[dhcp]

Less is more, I rubbed it on the seat where it makes contact. The seat can move so you want the lube on the seat. If "less" wasn't enough then apply again. I only had to apply once, months ago, it has not returned.

Thanks again for the tips - ordered it on amazon and it arrives friday, can't wait to apply it!