FastGTR
Member
Wow this is concerning. I have had doors freeze shut in the winter after a wash to remove the salt and stuff. This much water freezing would not only hold the door shut but also probably warp the door sill just based on expansion.
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Issue with water getting trapped in door
- Thread starter halfricanguy
- Start date
Sorry for the late reply Dave - I showed Tesla the video and they said that amount of water is definitely not normal. They determined the problem to be the missing drain holes (on the door side), and indeed it seems better after rain, but after car washes the amount is still about the same. I'm personally not going to pursue it any further and will just remember to dry that area off after car washes.
Was Tesla able to physically see the amount of water that came out from the door? If not maybe get a recording and show it to them or directly to the service center. And if the drain holes are physically missing from the door then that right there should be enough for them to replace it at minimum.
I don't have pics before the holes were missing unfortunately, because I didn't know that was a problem until after I took it in. To me, they now look like the rest of the door seals.
alseTrick
Active Member
@bradhs yeah if you could post some pics or maybe the product you used, that would be awesome. I'm now experiencing a creaking noise from this same door while driving, and I'm wondering if this would be a good all around solution.
dduffey
Member
My rear passenger side has the same problem. Visually the seals look similar with the same drain holes. I will try to isolate further what area of the door causes the water build up (lower/upper/right/left side) before taking it in.
My passenger rear door is also the only one that does this. Super odd. I forgot to list this on my service checklist for Tuesday. Will add it when I drop it off haha.
Do you notice this after rain or just car washes?
super20g
Member
Same here on my rear doors, driverside is the worst. I have had service look at it twice now and still same issue when it rains or the car is washed... Minor issue that over the life of the car will become a major issue at some point if not resolved...
I got my car in June, and I noticed this after washing the car in the summer. I had mobile service come out and they noticed that the seals at the bottom of the rear doors weren't in the right position, leading to the water getting collected. They ordered new seals, came back out and installed them, and the issue has gone away. He said there was a service bulletin for the issue.
dduffey
Member
Both, but it's not common that I use/open that door so most noticeable after washing when I am drying everything down. Once I opened it at least a day after it had rained and water came out, so it is just sitting there.
I told the SC about this when I took the car in and they didn’t even look at it lol.
Sw0rdf1sh
Member
My driver side front door does exactly same as this. How did you get this solved at the end?
super20g
Member
My rear doors still do this after multiple service visits for this. I was told in writing from the senior service advisor at my usual service center that this is a characteristic of the model 3.
SOLVED, IT'S A MIRACLE! I made an account just to post this. I don't usually post on forums, but I couldn't find any solutions on the internet on this issue.
My issue:
Model 3 Right Rear door was trapping water after I'd hand wash the car or a heavy rain downpour. The water would stay in the door jam for days until I opened the door, and then a big puddle would splatter out.
Solution Details:
Dallas Tesla Service Center solved this issue on the 3rd attempt. (1st attempt was just trying to restick the loose door seal. 2nd attempt was changing out the door seal.)
So on the 3rd attempt, Tesla had the idea to examine the left rear door since that one was working. (Seems straightforward, but actually quite genius. Sometimes the simple things are the smartest things.) Tesla noticed that the drainage holes on the door seal did not match or align with the right side that was having the issue. So they changed out the door seal again on the right side. They also said they had to angle the holes to try and match the left side.
When I picked up my car the next day (I got a nice Model S loaner), they said they had made it better, but couldn't fix it all the way. Well, the next time I washed my car, it was fixed! No water splattered out of the right rear door jam.
My guess is the way the holes are angled, it must not be easy to install properly since the door seal currently on that door is now the 3rd one.
Tips for other owners:
Share this with Tesla if you go to the service center to try and fix this issue because Tesla did not know what to do initially. They had to have some time to think and get creative on diagnosing the issue and thinking outside the box because this is not documented anywhere on the internet or within their company yet (but I did tell them to spread the word on their good job).
Official Tesla Statement on my Invoice:
Upon further inspection, technician found door seal was not installed properly, Replaced RH rear door seal and water tested. Compared to the other side, both sides appear to be draining water at the same rate. Also inspected by lead technician for verification. Also compared to like vehicle and found this concern to be within acceptable parameters.
(To take out any confusion, the door seal I always referred to in this post, was the door seal that is on the actual door itself.)
My issue:
Model 3 Right Rear door was trapping water after I'd hand wash the car or a heavy rain downpour. The water would stay in the door jam for days until I opened the door, and then a big puddle would splatter out.
Solution Details:
Dallas Tesla Service Center solved this issue on the 3rd attempt. (1st attempt was just trying to restick the loose door seal. 2nd attempt was changing out the door seal.)
So on the 3rd attempt, Tesla had the idea to examine the left rear door since that one was working. (Seems straightforward, but actually quite genius. Sometimes the simple things are the smartest things.) Tesla noticed that the drainage holes on the door seal did not match or align with the right side that was having the issue. So they changed out the door seal again on the right side. They also said they had to angle the holes to try and match the left side.
When I picked up my car the next day (I got a nice Model S loaner), they said they had made it better, but couldn't fix it all the way. Well, the next time I washed my car, it was fixed! No water splattered out of the right rear door jam.
My guess is the way the holes are angled, it must not be easy to install properly since the door seal currently on that door is now the 3rd one.
Tips for other owners:
Share this with Tesla if you go to the service center to try and fix this issue because Tesla did not know what to do initially. They had to have some time to think and get creative on diagnosing the issue and thinking outside the box because this is not documented anywhere on the internet or within their company yet (but I did tell them to spread the word on their good job).
Official Tesla Statement on my Invoice:
Upon further inspection, technician found door seal was not installed properly, Replaced RH rear door seal and water tested. Compared to the other side, both sides appear to be draining water at the same rate. Also inspected by lead technician for verification. Also compared to like vehicle and found this concern to be within acceptable parameters.
(To take out any confusion, the door seal I always referred to in this post, was the door seal that is on the actual door itself.)
nice. My LR RWD has this issue. I just always open the door after washing it to dry the interior door frame areas.
Glad you got it fixed and kudos to your service center for sticking with it rather than taking the easy way out. I'll take a close look at the holes in the seal on mine and might consider punching a hole myself if the current ones aren't in alignment.
dduffey
Member
I know this is an old thread, but mobile service came out, verified it by using a water hose. He also could not tell why one door was different. He replaced the seal around the bottom of the door (the one with drain holes) and it resolved the problem.
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