I found my dash rattle -- defroster diffuser

[Lex]

I've had an extremely cheapening plastic dash rattle / twang since Day 1 of ownership and it seems I've finally isolated it.

If I had to call it something out of a parts guide, I'd call it the
Dash Panel Defroster Diffuser - Passenger Side

Here are some from a Mitsubishi:

It's the little slot vent in the dash, angled towards the windshield. It's a piece of rigid plastic, affixed somehow. It does contact the Dash though which is made of a different material.

Soft taps to the top of my dashboard elicit various amounts of resonating plastic twang, apparently where the defroster diffuser contacts the dash.

I've tried to pry if off to have a look but it appears to be firmly affixed (to the dash ?). I've reduced the nuisance by working some material into the corners but it's not gone.

SC says the dash needs to be torn apart. Appointment in 2 weeks for the 2 hour ripdown... and I'd really like to avoid them doing this, so looking forward to any ideas here.

Surely I'm not the only one to have experienced this ? Or perhaps my car is missing a foam gasket, or something... too bad there's no Hayne's guide for the Model S yet... geez they even have on for NCC-1701 that covers all the way up to the D model...

 

[365gtb4]

I have the exact same rattle/buzz in my passenger side defroster vent. I've been trying to figure out if it's just pressed in or more securely mounted. I have my first SC appointment for Wednesday.

 

[ArtInCT]

Perhaps it is loose. Have you tried inserting something to kind tighten up the part? A toothpick point comes to mind or a sliver of old credit card? If something can apply pressure then the twang may abate? Just trying to think outside the box...

 

[Lex]

I have the exact same rattle/buzz in my passenger side defroster vent. I've been trying to figure out if it's just pressed in or more securely mounted. I have my first SC appointment for Wednesday.

Hey 365gtb4, yes passenger side for me as well, guess I forgot to mention that Finally, a dash noise buddy lol I was wondering if it was just something I'd have to live with alone haha.

As for fixing it, I really wanted to try such a trivial seeming fix myself as I've been advised by veterans here to not even bother going after rattles as you will just get another for every one you try to fix. This is why I don't want them to take apart the dash unless needed... and it's utterly ironic that the item is at the very top of the stack, right in our faces, but it needs a complete tear down to remove and...

Perhaps it is loose. Have you tried inserting something to kind tighten up the part? A toothpick point comes to mind or a sliver of old credit card? If something can apply pressure then the twang may abate? Just trying to think outside the box...

ArtInCT, it seems it is firmly in the box where you are thinking, as I mentioned doing just this in the OP I used black fabric in a couple of places, folded over so that it caused some new pressure and was also mostly invisible, and had no chance of falling in or out. And as I said it minimized it then and after it settling some more I had a twang free day today for the effort.

But I've had those before too, it's not every day it goes completely haywire with a plastic twang concert on the (crumbled Toronto) streets.

Unless I could get it off and slap on some adhesive felt or something, there's no permanent solution I can come up with, except to see what the Tesla store comes up with.

 

[sriramd10]

I have a Solid White 70D, mid-May 2015 build with the same exact problem. Had my SC appointment today, and drove around with the SC Foreman in the passenger seat trying to identify where the rattle is coming from. He thought it was coming from the corner where the passenger side windshield meets the dash, but will do a full rip-down.

On a loaner P85 now, until this is fixed...

 

[Lex]

He thought it was coming from the corner where the passenger side windshield meets the dash, but will do a full rip-down.

On a loaner P85 now, until this is fixed...

I'm in a loaner 85D, trying not to get used to the extra juice :love:

Same thing here, the Tech was mode focused on that dash corner vs. the defroster diffuser itself, and he suggested some clips appear not to be clipped (we didn't even need to take a drive). Maybe the diffuser is the symptom not the cause.

 

[Lex]

Well they got it. Service Advisor said they re-did the dash clips and covered them with the tape.

Such a delight to be rid of that cheapening twang that could disappear and re-appear at will but was there, most of the time. Gone !

Now that it's gone, I can now clearly hear the secondary sound, possibly a cable rattling in the passenger A pillar... it's a similar plastic twangy noise, far quieter, far less annoying, and I'll be the only one who it annoys :wink:

 

[jak]

Had the same problem with my older P85. Easy to reproduce the problem by hitting the steering feel with your fist. Annoying as hell, but easy to temporarily fix yourself by stuffing some insulation material in the right spot.

 

[Lex]

Had the same problem with my older P85. Easy to reproduce the problem by hitting the steering feel with your fist. Annoying as hell, but easy to temporarily fix yourself by stuffing some insulation material in the right spot.

Nice. I was able to replicate by "slamming" the glove compartment shut. At least that was enough for the Tech to say "yep".

Months later, and I can now swear I hear the ticky tacky of the tape they used ugh. Much quieter though. And the dash ticky tacky clicks match the ones coming from around the rear view mirror area of the windshield... oh well, at least the most cheap and noisy sound is gone.

 

[Spyder14]

Just my 2 cents but I would not start taking stuff apart as tempting as that might be. I would hate to run into a service tech or manager that says the repair is not under warranty since you tried to fix it yourself. Trouble shooting is one thing (that may help the SC guys) but removing parts may be another. Having been in the cockpit design & mfg biz, squeaks & rattles are tough but well known--at this point the service guys & gals should have service bulletins out the wazoo with all the issues. Keeps us in the loop!

Hey 365gtb4, yes passenger side for me as well, guess I forgot to mention that Finally, a dash noise buddy lol I was wondering if it was just something I'd have to live with alone haha.

As for fixing it, I really wanted to try such a trivial seeming fix myself as I've been advised by veterans here to not even bother going after rattles as you will just get another for every one you try to fix. This is why I don't want them to take apart the dash unless needed... and it's utterly ironic that the item is at the very top of the stack, right in our faces, but it needs a complete tear down to remove and...


ArtInCT, it seems it is firmly in the box where you are thinking, as I mentioned doing just this in the OP I used black fabric in a couple of places, folded over so that it caused some new pressure and was also mostly invisible, and had no chance of falling in or out. And as I said it minimized it then and after it settling some more I had a twang free day today for the effort.

But I've had those before too, it's not every day it goes completely haywire with a plastic twang concert on the (crumbled Toronto) streets.

Unless I could get it off and slap on some adhesive felt or something, there's no permanent solution I can come up with, except to see what the Tesla store comes up with.

 

[Slavas]

Hi guys!
Can anyone tell me how to solve the problem of the creaking of the outlet defroster self?
I really need help

 

[whitex]

Long time Tesla owner here. To love your Tesla is to learn to love its rattles. I used to take my Teslas into service for rattles, I even had rattling seats replaced - Tesla service has always been stellar for me, do what they can to help (of course now it takes weeks to even get an appointment, but that's a different story for another thread). Lesson is, the rattles come back, so after a while, it's just not worth while anymore to keep making SC visits. Learn to glue things down yourself or to muffle whatever noises drive you most crazy (like road noises coming from doors for me, just installed an additional rubber gasket for the windows) and either ignore or mask the other rattles with a slightly higher radio volume.