Loud clicking noise from drivers door

[Saimaannorppa]

I had a loud clicking noise caused by something else. At first, I thought the outer door panel was mishemmed/clinched. It turned out to be the mirror rubbing the top of the door. A good spray of wd40 cured it.

WD40 is a dissolvent, and it is good for cleaning metal parts. Its temporary lubricating effect wears off quickly, and I think it somehow hardens/dries rubber parts over time. You would want to apply something inteded for lubricating (grease, graphene but no silicone) or suitable for rubber parts after cleaning with wd40. You don't want anything with silicone near painted surfaces either, since it makes any re-painting painfully hard if such is needed.

 

[philip295]

WD40 is a dissolvent, and it is good for cleaning metal parts. Its temporary lubricating effect wears off quickly, and I think it somehow hardens/dries rubber parts over time. You would want to apply something inteded for lubricating (grease, graphene but no silicone) or suitable for rubber parts after cleaning with wd40. You don't want anything with silicone near painted surfaces either, since it makes any re-painting painfully hard if such is needed.

Good point. If it happens again, I'll try grease. The wd40 shouldn't have touched any rubber parts though, it's where the chromed plastic of the mirror touches the door skin that made the noise.

 

[rooter]

Loud clicking noise from drivers door

{bites tongue, to everyone's relief}

 

[Ozborn2000]

For model S owners that had the hinge replaced. Which hinge was it the upper or lower? I’m out of warranty so plan to DIY. Thx

Did you order an upper hinge and install it? Did it fix the issue? My driver door was making a popping noise when I opened it all the way, now it won’t stay open it just tries to close

 

[npardo]

Reviving this from the dead - for those that had an upper hinge replaced outside of warranty through Tesla, how much did this cost? Including painting to match the car?

On my 2014 S, I kid you know, all 4 doors started doing this, the most annoying being the driver's door. Was going to get a quote from Tesla for the part but found there is an abundance of parts on eBay as low as $15 for a color matched hinge off of part cars. No guarantee of longevity but I figured I couldn't beat that for the price.

So far replaced 2 of 4 hinges myself, pretty easy, just use a jack to support the door, 6 bolts (for front door, 4 for rear), swap. Getting the door aligned after is slightly annoying but not the worst.

 

[JimmyAZ]

I JUST noticed this on the 2018 MS 100D that we just purchased. I did the WD40 thing. Then saw how the M3s were having this issue and it's so difficult to get to since you have to take the door panel off. I thought I was LUCKY to see on the S it's just integrated into the upper hinge.

SC Ranger wanted €350 to come out and fix! I thought I've done door hinges before, so I just bought the unpainted part and would install myself. First, that hinge is like an immovable object unnattached to anything!?! The hinge had to be opened up in order to 'fit' the angle I had the door in when taking out the original part. Holy cow that took everything we had to get it to pop through a couple of the detents. We installed it and got the door to close beautifully.

Only problem - the NEW hinge makes the sound too! UGH.

Looks like I'll probably be on the hook for ANOTHER €350 to have them come out and install another new hinge as I'm sure they won't warranty a part that I've installed myself. Oh well. At least we know what it is and how it's failing. Bummer we can't self-service it.

 

[npardo]

I JUST noticed this on the 2018 MS 100D that we just purchased. I did the WD40 thing. Then saw how the M3s were having this issue and it's so difficult to get to since you have to take the door panel off. I thought I was LUCKY to see on the S it's just integrated into the upper hinge.

SC Ranger wanted €350 to come out and fix! I thought I've done door hinges before, so I just bought the unpainted part and would install myself. First, that hinge is like an immovable object unnattached to anything!?! The hinge had to be opened up in order to 'fit' the angle I had the door in when taking out the original part. Holy cow that took everything we had to get it to pop through a couple of the detents. We installed it and got the door to close beautifully.

Only problem - the NEW hinge makes the sound too! UGH.

Looks like I'll probably be on the hook for ANOTHER €350 to have them come out and install another new hinge as I'm sure they won't warranty a part that I've installed myself. Oh well. At least we know what it is and how it's failing. Bummer we can't self-service it.

How much was the unpainted hinge itself? I feel like there's a case for a replacement if you're within the 60 day return period and the part hasn't been painted. Take a video of the noise and send it to Tesla.

Since my last comment above, I purchased another $25 perfect condition painted hinge off eBay and replaced the front passenger door. I'm 3 for 3 for eBay parts fixing the problem on the cheap and not having to deal with paint.