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nvx1977

Unknown Member
Nov 25, 2017
3,139
7,389
NH, MA
I left this feedback via the form in my tesla.com account:

First, let me give massive kudos to the Watertown, MA service center for doing an excellent job servicing my car during a time when I've been reading up a lot about diminishing customer satisfaction around Tesla service. Everyone treated me courteously and addressed all my concerns seriously, no matter how trivial they may have been.

One of my issues was a very annoying tapping sound coming from the rear of the car. The service tech sat with me on a drive to diagnose the issue. His initial hunch turned out to be the correct one and he fixed it. The tapping is gone.

The main reason I'm leaving feedback is that I wanted to share that after the fix, there was such a HUGE change in my perception of my car. Every day, I had to be reminded that my early-VIN build was less than ideal, be that a tap or a creak in the cabin. While something like that is so minor compared to, say, a failure of the 12V system or a drivetrain motor gone bad, never underestimate the owner's emotional experience with the car. My car is silent again and it feels like a brand new car. I had a huge smile on my face during the drive home.

I work in the field of Technical Support where we triage issues by severity and customer priority. These cosmetic issues, while low in severity, are often high priority for the customer. It takes courage to prioritize issues like this, but I believe it's completely worth it, because you've earned yourself a brand promoter.

Thanks for hearing me out! Good luck with your company mission!
 
I did something similar and the executive team came back with a copy and paste respond. Hope you don't get what I got.

Below is what I received:

Thank you for contacting Tesla Customer Support.

We apologize for the inconvenience with your experience at the Service Center. We value your feedback and will forward your concerns to the proper team to improve the overall experience.

Best Regards,
 
those poor service centers in CA.... I was just over in LA during Christmas break. there were SOOOO many Teslas on the road. I can see why the service quality is struggling there.

Where I am, it's still a novelty to see a fellow Tesla owner, and most of the time we're still waving at each other.
 
I did something similar and the executive team came back with a copy and paste respond. Hope you don't get what I got.

Below is what I received:

Thank you for contacting Tesla Customer Support.

We apologize for the inconvenience with your experience at the Service Center. We value your feedback and will forward your concerns to the proper team to improve the overall experience.

Best Regards,

Here was the response:

Thank you for contacting Tesla! I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide this feedback to us, I am happy to hear you were satisfied with the service provided to you at Watertown. I have sent this feedback over to them. Thanks again!
 
Here was the response:

Thank you for contacting Tesla! I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide this feedback to us, I am happy to hear you were satisfied with the service provided to you at Watertown. I have sent this feedback over to them. Thanks again!

Nice, this is encouraging to hear so I will continue to send positive feedback after service appointments.
 
just out of curiosity, what/how did they fix it?

(wife's M3 has a click/clack sound when she turns right into a driveway...)

I believe I had the same issue as the OP. It's a broken door clip. The clip that keeps the inside plastic door covers to the metal door. Your issue may be different. That click/clack sound is normal for AWD. I have it when I back out of my garage (flat surface) every morning but don't have it in my RWD.
 
@Big Dog Apparently the screw in the photo below was barely not touching the trunk arm (when the trunk is closed), but when the car went over bumps, or if the weight shifted due to turns, the screw would come in contact with the trunk arm piece, making a tapping sound. They put a teflon coating over the screw, and my assumption is that the coating is thick enough that the teflon is now always in contact with the trunk arm.

The technician was able to diagnose the issue simply by sitting in the back seat and listening. Presumably he has dealt with this before, because he told me the screw has been an issue in other cars, so that was his top culprit for the sound.

upload_2019-2-1_21-17-59.png
 
Just to be clear.....Tightening down that screw wouldn't help? What exactly was tapping what?
Thanks in advance!

With the trunk lid closed, the top of that screw was tapping the underside of the trunk lid, triggered by movement of the car. So I would hear the noise on rough roads (plenty around here) or making a sharp right turn. I wondered the same thing (why not tighten the screw down to increase the gap) but I didn't get a chance to ask the question to the service tech.

A couple things make me hesitant to tighten it down (given the teflon solution fixed the issue):
1) the whole mechanism is encapsulated in exterior paint
2) not really sure how that mechanism works and/or what impact tightening or loosening the screw would have on the trunk.
 
I wish I had confidence in my local shop diagnosing and fixing problems like this, but I don't. I also don't have the patience to give them the car for a week before they can get it into queue to even look at it.

Currently I have two fairly annoying noise problems.

1. Wind noise. Mobile service adjusted a jutting piece of trim on the passenger side B pillar and that did cut down on it a bit but it's still worse than any other car I have owned over the past 20 years when driving down the highway over 60 mph in any kind of cross wind. My suspicion is that the glass roof, which is misaligned (one corner is jutting up several mm more than it should be) is contributing to this. I am way too nervous about Tesla service flocking something else up while "fixing" this problem to let them have a go at it. More than likely they would insist it's "in spec" since that's their answer to everything anyway.

2. I have some kind of annoying rattle sound that comes and goes from the rear passenger side of the cabin. It's so persistent when it's happening that I will actually turn around at stop lights thinking something is sitting in the door pocket... considering that Tesla already removed one "foreign factory object" from inside of my car when it was built I figure this one can be anything. I am going to have my wife drive the car around a bit while I'm in the back so I can try to get a handle on where it's coming from and see if I can do a workaround on it myself.

I have a 2012 Honda Fit in the stable that someone who works for us drives. It has a much quieter cabin and is quieter at highway speeds than the Tesla. We paid $7,000 cash for it.
 
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With the trunk lid closed, the top of that screw was tapping the underside of the trunk lid, triggered by movement of the car. So I would hear the noise on rough roads (plenty around here) or making a sharp right turn. I wondered the same thing (why not tighten the screw down to increase the gap) but I didn't get a chance to ask the question to the service tech.

Have the exact same issue but on the passenger side. I can see the paint starting to wear off the top head of the bolt. It creates a clank when turning into a driveway as the car body torques and the trunk lid then comes into contact with the bolt. Have not yet made an appt with the SC. (It's the wife's car -- she can deal with it. hahahaha)
 
Thanks for posting the details of the fix. Too many people just post about the problem and some vague solution such as tech lubricated trunk mechanism, which of course isn't of much use to those of us that would rather tackle a simple fix than take the car in.
 
Have the exact same issue but on the passenger side. I can see the paint starting to wear off the top head of the bolt. It creates a clank when turning into a driveway as the car body torques and the trunk lid then comes into contact with the bolt. Have not yet made an appt with the SC. (It's the wife's car -- she can deal with it. hahahaha)

You could try applying some loctite thread sealant on top of the bolt/screw. Or glue a bit of felt on either the screw head or the part where it strikes the metal above.
 
With the trunk lid closed, the top of that screw was tapping the underside of the trunk lid, triggered by movement of the car. So I would hear the noise on rough roads (plenty around here) or making a sharp right turn. I wondered the same thing (why not tighten the screw down to increase the gap) but I didn't get a chance to ask the question to the service tech.

A couple things make me hesitant to tighten it down (given the teflon solution fixed the issue):
1) the whole mechanism is encapsulated in exterior paint
2) not really sure how that mechanism works and/or what impact tightening or loosening the screw would have on the trunk.

I doubt that screw head is touching the "trunk lid". But it sure looks like that long leg of the hinge could graze it, when it's down.
 
@Big Dog Apparently the screw in the photo below was barely not touching the trunk arm (when the trunk is closed), but when the car went over bumps, or if the weight shifted due to turns, the screw would come in contact with the trunk arm piece, making a tapping sound. They put a teflon coating over the screw, and my assumption is that the coating is thick enough that the teflon is now always in contact with the trunk arm.

The technician was able to diagnose the issue simply by sitting in the back seat and listening. Presumably he has dealt with this before, because he told me the screw has been an issue in other cars, so that was his top culprit for the sound.

View attachment 373828

I had the exact same issue on my Model 3, looking at the bolt on the left compared to the right side, the right side bolt was tightened down a couple of turns more than the left. I tightened the left bolt to the same height as the bolt on the right side as the left bolt had a wear spot that was hitting the edge of the upper trunk hinge (causing the random clicking noise of rough roads). I then took my car for a drive down the same road that would always produce the sound and the clicking noise was gone! Thank God as it was driving me crazy. Looking at the hinge, I can not for the life of see what purpose it serves? But regardless, I’m glad the issue is resolved and the fact that I didn’t waste time taking the car to the local Service Center.
 
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