MIC Model 3 Rear Seat Rattle Fix

[mikehj]

Just thought I'd share a fix I've found for a fault that has been annoying me and a friend on our China built Model 3's delivered in March 2021 as it's taken me weeks of trial and error. My car with the white interior was worse but either that's the white seats being different, bad luck or the fact mine has done almost 5000 miles whereas my friends has less than 1000 miles. My car has been in the Edinburgh service centre 4 times for various issues and every time I mentioned this rather annoying constant rubbing sound from the back seats whenever the car went over even the slightest bump. I made videos, took recordings and explained it in detail but it didn't help. They took the parcel shelf out, rear door cards and various other things but the noise remained. I decided to give up on them and spent some time trying to find the source of this noise myself and after a lot of trial and error I found it! The issue is because the rear seat backs are latched in the centre/inner edge yet sit right against the outer bolsters on the outer edge without a latch and thus move slightly whenever the car goes over a bump or uneven surface. As the China made cars have a slightly rougher type of fabric on the side of the seats it creates a rubbing sound against the synthetic leather on the side bolster.

For the fix; I initially tried wedging folded microfibre clothes between the seat back and side bolster and this fixed the problem but was rather unsightly. For a more permanent fix I ordered a pack of 2 adhesive felt rolls on Amazon and stuck a piece along the length of the rear seat back and another where it meets the side bolster. The noise immediately vanished and the fix is invisible when the seats are folded up. My car is now as silent as my previous 2020 US built Model 3! The adhesive seems strong enough to hold it even when the seats are folded up/down but I was still able to remove the felt (at least for now) without it leaving any marks or damage. Photos below and link to the felt rolls: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089LR1PBS/

Hope this helps anybody that has the same issue. Now just need to get Tesla service to acknowledge the constant creak in my drivers seat as felt isn't going to fix that

 

[Adopado]

Just thought I'd share a fix I've found for a fault that has been annoying me and a friend on our China built Model 3's delivered in March 2021 as it's taken me weeks of trial and error. My car with the white interior was worse but either that's the white seats being different, bad luck or the fact mine has done almost 5000 miles whereas my friends has less than 1000 miles. My car has been in the Edinburgh service centre 4 times for various issues and every time I mentioned this rather annoying constant rubbing sound from the back seats whenever the car went over even the slightest bump. I made videos, took recordings and explained it in detail but it didn't help. They took the parcel shelf out, rear door cards and various other things but the noise remained. I decided to give up on them and spent some time trying to find the source of this noise myself and after a lot of trial and error I found it! The issue is because the rear seat backs are latched in the centre/inner edge yet sit right against the outer bolsters on the outer edge without a latch and thus move slightly whenever the car goes over a bump or uneven surface. As the China made cars have a slightly rougher type of fabric on the side of the seats it creates a rubbing sound against the synthetic leather on the side bolster.

For the fix; I initially tried wedging folded microfibre clothes between the seat back and side bolster and this fixed the problem but was rather unsightly. For a more permanent fix I ordered a pack of 2 adhesive felt rolls on Amazon and stuck a piece along the length of the rear seat back and another where it meets the side bolster. The noise immediately vanished and the fix is invisible when the seats are folded up. My car is now as silent as my previous 2020 US built Model 3! The adhesive seems strong enough to hold it even when the seats are folded up/down but I was still able to remove the felt (at least for now) without it leaving any marks or damage. Photos below and link to the felt rolls: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089LR1PBS/

View attachment 668969View attachment 668970

Hope this helps anybody that has the same issue. Now just need to get Tesla service to acknowledge the constant creak in my drivers seat as felt isn't going to fix that

Is the design of the back seat actually different between the Fremont and MIC cars or simply the different material? (If others have noticed this it might be worth treating the "leather" with 303 Protectant or similar ... if you happen to have it ... in that area to see if that provides a slight lubrication between the surfaces.)

 

[mikehj]

Is the design of the back seat actually different between the Fremont and MIC cars or simply the different material? (If others have noticed this it might be worth treating the "leather" with 303 Protectant or similar ... if you happen to have it ... in that area to see if that provides a slight lubrication between the surfaces.)

Unfortunately I don't have the 2020 Fremont car anymore so can't compare but I did notice immediately in the MIC version the rear seat backs don't seem to latch as securely as the did in my previous M3. There were a few other subtle changes to the seats (black fabric instead of white on the sides of the white seats) and door trims (hard plastic instead of soft touch plus extended front door trims) so maybe this was also part of the package and it could of course also be the side bolsters which are different. Having said this I don't know if this is a MIC specific thing as the revised front door cards with the extended trim came first on the MIC cars we received in the UK and have since rolled out globally so all these changes maybe just came first to China and are now also on the latest Fremont cars.

Now I see a few suggested posts it appears others have this issue on Model Y's so it's probably a global thing. For example:

Rear Passenger leather on leather noise

I thought I’d poll the group here to See if anyone has experience this... when driving over bumps or anything where the car is uneven , I get a noise that sounds to be leather on leather rubbing. I’ve tried the rear seats in different recline positions, folding the seats down in all...

teslamotorsclub.com

I did try a Gyeon protector I have sitting around but the noise persisted. My car seemed particularly bad though! The felt has a double purpose in that is also fills up the gap and makes the fit tighter thus limiting the movement so I think a "spacer" like this felt as the US user called it is the best solution.

 

[Telstom]

Thanks for sharing this. It sounds like it was satisfying to finally fix this annoyance!

 

[shahzainnaqvi]

Hi. I got a Tesla model 3 in May 2021 and I can hear annoying noise from the rear side. I tried to fold the rear seats but still could hear it.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1542251082785451

 

[shahzainnaqvi]

Hi. I got a Tesla model 3 in May 2021 and I can hear annoying rattle noise from the rear side. I can hear the noise even when rear seats are folded down.

@mikehj did you experience the same rattle noise as mine in the

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1542251082785451

below video?

 

[mikehj]

Hi. I got a Tesla model 3 in May 2021 and I can hear annoying rattle noise from the rear side. I can hear the noise even when rear seats are folded down.

@mikehj did you experience the same rattle noise as mine in the

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1542251082785451

below video?

Good Morning,

Unfortunately I can't see the video you posted. Can you repost it?

 

[Peter 224]

This is much the same problem that I've been suffering.
Today I removed the rear seat.....


There are some scarily heavy cables under the seat!

The seat is secured using two simple catches (in white on the front edge), the N/S one doesn't seem to hold as securely, allowing the seat to rub on the door pocket.

When removing remember to unclip the seat heater cables and the pressure switch cable before pulling the seat base out.

So I fitted 3m self adhesive tape at each end, so the seat can't rub on the plastic.



Then I put a line of the same tape along the bottom edge of the front of the seat.



The result is that the rear seat is now held tightly in place.
Will it eliminate the noise? I'll report back!

 

[Peter 224]

That sort of worked, but discovered that the real issue is that the O/S door doesn't shut tight, needs adjusting. Service visit booked.

 

[TheFuturist]

That sort of worked, but discovered that the real issue is that the O/S door doesn't shut tight, needs adjusting. Service visit booked.

How did you discover that?

 

[Peter 224]

How did you discover that?

Compared how much free play there is when pushing on the closed door just above the handle on the N/S (rattles) and the O/S (no rattles).
Also noticed that the N/S door is about 1mm proud of the body at the top, the O/S sits flush.

 

[Peter 224]

Service at Winchester at 13:00 on Friday 13th.

 

[PNWLeccy]

What is N/S and O/S?

 

[MrBadger]

Near side and offside, in relation to standing on the kerb and the car on the correct side of the road. Which basically means near side is (front) passenger side and offside is drivers side.

 

[Adopado]

Near side and offside, in relation to standing on the kerb and the car on the correct side of the road. Which basically means near side is (front) passenger side and offside is drivers side.

And for the benefit of @PNWLeccy from Seattle this relates to cars that drive on the left. This terminology is standard in UK/Ireland i.e. the home location of this section of the forum.

 

[PNWLeccy]

Sorry, missed the localization in my indiscriminate search for a rear rattle fix and quick google search gave me no logical answers

 

[Peter 224]

The problem has been fixed, first time and in 1 hour. The invoice says Striker plate and latch both removed and replaced. The Technician said that the door card was not properly seated, either.
The car is now silent, other than tyre noise!
Excellent service from Tesla Winchester UK.

 

[jamescy]

Just thought I'd share a fix I've found for a fault that has been annoying me and a friend on our China built Model 3's delivered in March 2021 as it's taken me weeks of trial and error. My car with the white interior was worse but either that's the white seats being different, bad luck or the fact mine has done almost 5000 miles whereas my friends has less than 1000 miles. My car has been in the Edinburgh service centre 4 times for various issues and every time I mentioned this rather annoying constant rubbing sound from the back seats whenever the car went over even the slightest bump. I made videos, took recordings and explained it in detail but it didn't help. They took the parcel shelf out, rear door cards and various other things but the noise remained. I decided to give up on them and spent some time trying to find the source of this noise myself and after a lot of trial and error I found it! The issue is because the rear seat backs are latched in the centre/inner edge yet sit right against the outer bolsters on the outer edge without a latch and thus move slightly whenever the car goes over a bump or uneven surface. As the China made cars have a slightly rougher type of fabric on the side of the seats it creates a rubbing sound against the synthetic leather on the side bolster.

For the fix; I initially tried wedging folded microfibre clothes between the seat back and side bolster and this fixed the problem but was rather unsightly. For a more permanent fix I ordered a pack of 2 adhesive felt rolls on Amazon and stuck a piece along the length of the rear seat back and another where it meets the side bolster. The noise immediately vanished and the fix is invisible when the seats are folded up. My car is now as silent as my previous 2020 US built Model 3! The adhesive seems strong enough to hold it even when the seats are folded up/down but I was still able to remove the felt (at least for now) without it leaving any marks or damage. Photos below and link to the felt rolls: 2 Packs Felt Strips with Adhesive Backing Self Adhesive Felt Tape Polyester Felt Strip Rolls Self-Stick for Protecting Furniture and Hard Surfaces (Black, 118 x 1.97 x 0.12 Inch) : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

View attachment 668969View attachment 668970

Hope this helps anybody that has the same issue. Now just need to get Tesla service to acknowledge the constant creak in my drivers seat as felt isn't going to fix that

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your post. I have a MIC RHD 2021 March delivery in the UK. I am having similar issue of hearing fabric rubbing noise when driven on uneven surface. Could you tell me exactly where you have put your felt tapes please?

Today I have stuck two pieces, one on the rear right seat right side where it meets the right side bolster, another piece on the rear left seat left side where it meets the left side bolster. I am still hearing some rubbing noise, I am going to stick a piece on the left side of the right (40) seat where it meets the rear central armrest. (60)

When you said "stuck a piece along the length of the rear seat back and another where it meets the side bolster." Where did you mean by the length of the rear seat back, is this something at the back of the seats instead of their sides?

Thank you in advance.

James

 

[mikehj]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your post. I have a MIC RHD 2021 March delivery in the UK. I am having similar issue of hearing fabric rubbing noise when driven on uneven surface. Could you tell me exactly where you have put your felt tapes please?

Today I have stuck two pieces, one on the rear right seat right side where it meets the right side bolster, another piece on the rear left seat left side where it meets the left side bolster. I am still hearing some rubbing noise, I am going to stick a piece on the left side of the right (40) seat where it meets the rear central armrest. (60)

When you said "stuck a piece along the length of the rear seat back and another where it meets the side bolster." Where did you mean by the length of the rear seat back, is this something at the back of the seats instead of their sides?

Thank you in advance.

James

Hi James,

Just saw your post. There were actually 2 stages to this "fix". The first was to stick the thick padded adhesive felt on each surface at the side of the seats where it meets the bolster. This resulted in two benefits; 2x soft surfaces rubbing together and them being higher fitting against each other which limits the movement somewhat. This fixed the noise for me in 90% of situations but occasionally when driving on a particularly bumpy city street I could still hear a slight noise so I placed a couple of folded up microfibre cloths wedged between the top of the seat back and parcel shelf which makes them latch in much tighter and another at the base in the centre where the hinge is (not sure how much this helped).

Hope that helps!

Good Luck!

 

[jamescy]

Hi James,

Just saw your post. There were actually 2 stages to this "fix". The first was to stick the thick padded adhesive felt on each surface at the side of the seats where it meets the bolster. This resulted in two benefits; 2x soft surfaces rubbing together and them being higher fitting against each other which limits the movement somewhat. This fixed the noise for me in 90% of situations but occasionally when driving on a particularly bumpy city street I could still hear a slight noise so I placed a couple of folded up microfibre cloths wedged between the top of the seat back and parcel shelf which makes them latch in much tighter and another at the base in the centre where the hinge is (not sure how much this helped).

Hope that helps!

Good Luck!

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your pointers. I spent some time this afternoon to trying to isolate the fabric rubbing noise when driven at low speed I hear from the rear seats of my 2021 March MIC Model 3. Going to drop some details here hoping to help others experiencing the same issue, your comments definitely helped me solving it! Thank you for the previous tips and tricks.

I initially folded 40 portion of the rear seat down and the rubbing noise at low speed gone away, then I put the 40 portion back up and folded the 60 portion down and the noise went away also. This was just to see if it happens at a particular side however it was not definitive.

I then did what you did by folding up some microfibre cloths filling the gap/trunk between the bottom of the rear seat back and the boot surface. The fabric material there definitely seem 'rough' and 'noisy'. I also started sticking some felt tapes there to try to make the contacting surfaces smooth.

The annoying fabric rubbing noise that I hear when driven at low speed in local/city road have now gone away! I plan to experience some more with only felt tapes if possible, removing the cloths ideally. The good thing is when the seats are in normal position the cloths cannot be seen from anywhere at all, not from the cabin nor the boot.

Thanks
James