My trunk lid is a bit misaligned with the gap on one side noticeably bigger than the other. I don't want to take it to the SC since it's super busy where I live, it would take weeks to get an appointment and days to get anything done. Anyone know which bolts on the trunk lid/hinge to turn to do this adjustment? I did a search online but couldn't find any instruction specifically for the Model 3. Thanks in advance!
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How to adjust trunk lid alignment
- Thread starter reheat
- Start date
When Tesla did my paint correction (rather Accurate Auto Body) they addressed my 2.5mm misalignment on my trunk by literally pushing against it while it was wide open from the passenger side to the drivers side. I'd say probably 100lbs of force.
I cringed when I saw him do it, but this shop has a good reputation and it worked perfectly. No more misaligned trunk.
I cringed when I saw him do it, but this shop has a good reputation and it worked perfectly. No more misaligned trunk.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
Resurrection of this as I just noticed I have a huge gap on the passenger side of the trunk lid compared to the driver side which is aligned properly.
I’ve had my car for six months so am well out of the window for getting the SC to address it.
Will post pictures momentarily.
I’ve had my car for six months so am well out of the window for getting the SC to address it.
Will post pictures momentarily.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
I will also comment that I never observed this gap before so it is possible that the hardware on this side is loose and allowed for the gap to occur.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
Eno Deb
Active Member
Wow, the passenger side looks really bad. Nothing like that on my car. If you tell them that this developed just recently they should hopefully help you even though the 6 months have passed.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
The two bolts are shown in the photo below.
Remove the gas strut and loosen the bolts. The original paint marks where it was painted so you can always put it back to the original location if that becomes necessary.
Very small movements are needed. Then you will need to snug the bolts and check the alignment. If you go too far you will potentially ruin the figment with the latch or the other side.
This would be easier with a helper.
With these bolts just slightly loosened you can move the hatch forward and back, up and down at least a few millimeters.
It’s better now. I would need a helper and more patience/time to get it better.
Thanks for the info. The service center would not fix it for me, said it was within specs. I'm going to try to DIY it.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
That's not too surprising, they will try to get out of fixing anything they can get out of.
Make sure you have a helper as I had to prop the kind of heavy hatch on my head while I was making adjustments. It would be preferable to remove the gas strut on the side you are working with, then have someone hold the weight of the hatch while you very slightly adjust the fitment and then re-snug the bolts and check the alignment.
Also be very very careful with your socket when you are loosening the bolts or tightening them. You are working right near the rear glass and a slip with a tool could be quite expensive.
As you can see from the paint marks in my photo of where the bolts are, only the slightest movement was needed to improve the fit. If you move it too much then you could hit body panels against each other (trunk won't close and you damage paint) or you could make it so that the latch and striker don't line up.
I was able to improve mine to where it is no longer annoying me even if it's not perfect.
Good luck.
Excellent! Thanks for posting. Just adjusted mine and it looks much better. I managed to do it without removing the strut and didn’t need a second body to hold the lid. The socket did scrape some paint off the bolts though. Is this an issue with road salt? They are black bolts so I’m hoping they are rust resistant even without paint.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
The reason I recommended removing the gas strut is that when I loosened the bolts with the gas strut attached the force of the gas strut was affecting my ability to reposition the part.
As always YMMV.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
I would be surprised if corrosion is a problem based on where they are located. I'm in a very dry climate so it's not much of a concern of mine.
If concerned I would just slap some rust bullet paint on there.
Please consider making a video on this I’m sure it will help hundreds if not thousands Model 3 owners. I’ve taken it to the SC twice, Mobile Service once, and recently from a body shop that Tesla sent it to. And still misaligned.
thor_2019
Member
Mine was badly misaligned, had a Mobile Service tech try to fix it but he only made it worse. Ended up Idoing it myself. I removed all the interior panels from the trunk to access the 3 nuts on each hinge, I also removed the trunk seal to help perfect alignment. Closed the trunk and loosed all 6 nuts just a hair looser than hand tight so the trunk can easily be moved left to right and front to back. Took my time centering and tighten the 6 nuts back up. Just had to make final small adjustments on the up down on the 2 hinge bolts. No more alignment problems. Should have left the factory like this.
I did this fix myself as well. Just loosened to the nuts and played with the trunk lid, had to do this a few times to get it right. I did not remove the gas strut, I've heard lots of stories about broken rear glass by removing those struts so be extra careful if you do. I too got the stripping of the paint off my nuts, so I'm not sure if that will be an issue, shouldn't be.
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