Model Y Squeaking Noise Near Trunk Door

[Frappas13]

Hey all,

I'm a brand new Model Y owner (about 3k miles so far) and just recently my trunk has started making this really loud squeaking when the rear of the car hits ANY kind of bump. Here is a brief video

(you can hear it really good near the end of the clip)

I took it into my SC and they said the lift gate needed to be tightened to be more secure. I picked up the car from the SC yesterday and the noise was gone for about 20 miles until it came back with a vengeance. I have tried everything from putting electrical tape around the latch, checking if it's actually the rear seats, cleaning it, etc...

This is really driving me insane and I really don't want to wait another 3 weeks to take it back in. Was wanting to post here to see if anyone else has had anything that worked.

Thanks all and sorry if this has been posted before

 

[fr4c]

I had the same noise, and did the following which solved all the squeaking noises I had in the back. I'm ranking them in difficulty/time order:

1) Adjust the bump stops on the rear trunk, so all 4 rubber feet on the trunk mates firmly with the rest stops.

2) Pull out all of the rear seat headrests, and lube the headrest steel posts lightly with white lithium grease etc. I personally used Krytox GPL205.

3) Pull up rear seat bench, and apply automotive felt tape on the steel tube bars that the seats snap into. The prevents the rubbing/squeaking sound of the bottom of the seat (styrofoam) against the tubes.

4) Rear cargo side trim and sub/amplifier, is what I consider the hardest as you will need to remove and dissemble quite a few pieces.

• What I found is that the amplifier is screwed into the bare frame of the vehicle, and was squeaking when I tapped on it. I removed it and placed felt on all the contact points before screwing it back in. This solved all squeaking.
• The plastic trim pieces on both rear and passenger/driver side are snapped into the body panels. However on my rear passenger side, one of the metal snap clips was not installed correctly from the factory, and was actually bent out of place and rubbing against the frame. A few plastic snaps were also mashed/bent. Installing this piece correctly is a major PITA, as you need to snap about 10 clips into their slots on the inner rear fender frame. So I don't doubt that there is a good chance that some of these are not installed correctly from the factory, so you potentially have metal/plastic tabs rubbing against the inner frame of the vehicle.
• The problem area, as well as another poster who shared a very useful breakdown of how to take apart these trim pieces: Remove rear trunk trim

After doing all of the above, this has solved all squeaking/rubbing noises that I had in the rear of the vehicle. It took me a while to figure this out so I hope this is helpful in fixing your squeaks.

 

[Frappas13]

I had the same noise, and did the following which solved all the squeaking noises I had in the back. I'm ranking them in difficulty/time order:

1) Adjust the bump stops on the rear trunk, so all 4 rubber feet on the trunk mates firmly with the rest stops.

2) Pull out all of the rear seat headrests, and lube the headrest steel posts lightly with white lithium grease etc. I personally used Krytox GPL205.

3) Pull up rear seat bench, and apply automotive felt tape on the steel tube bars that the seats snap into. The prevents the rubbing/squeaking sound of the bottom of the seat (styrofoam) against the tubes.

4) Rear cargo side trim and sub/amplifier, is what I consider the hardest as you will need to remove and dissemble quite a few pieces.

• What I found is that the amplifier is screwed into the bare frame of the vehicle, and was squeaking when I tapped on it. I removed it and placed felt on all the contact points before screwing it back in. This solved all squeaking.
• The plastic trim pieces on both rear and passenger/driver side are snapped into the body panels. However on my rear passenger side, one of the metal snap clips was not installed correctly from the factory, and was actually bent out of place and rubbing against the frame. A few plastic snaps were also mashed/bent. Installing this piece correctly is a major PITA, as you need to snap about 10 clips into their slots on the inner rear fender frame. So I don't doubt that there is a good chance that some of these are not installed correctly from the factory, so you potentially have metal/plastic tabs rubbing against the inner frame of the vehicle.
• The problem area, as well as another poster who shared a very useful breakdown of how to take apart these trim pieces: Remove rear trunk trim

After doing all of the above, this has solved all squeaking/rubbing noises that I had in the rear of the vehicle. It took me a while to figure this out so I hope this is helpful in fixing your squeaks.

Thanks so much for the reply, I'm not as car savy so I just went out and tried adjusting the bump stocks a little; I didn't want to loosen them too much to cause it to pop hard when I opened it but I think I got it to a more secure point (on the side the bolts around the rubber weren't even tightened)

I'm hoping this solves it and i'll take it out later to see; I do notice my rear seat headrest does squeak too so I may give that a shot as well with the grease. 3 and 4 seem a little out of my league so if it's still really bad I may have to research and give those a shot.

Seriously thanks again for the reply as I haven't thought of all of those.

 

[PecuniaNonOlet]

Definitely check whether it's the rear headrests by removing them and driving. Can remove the rear headrests by popping them up a bit and using something like a bent paperclip in the small hole to release them all the way up and out. Thanks @fr4c for the recommendation on the specific lubricant to silence them; going to give that a try in my car once it arrives rather than putting the headrests back in and taking them out after every time someone needs to ride back there.

I also have my seatbelts make noise sometimes. Can check whether it's them by plugging them in (even with no one in the seat) and then driving around. Can either leave them plugged in or hook them on the edges of the seats to stop them from moving.

About the hatch stops, there is a specific method you can use to get them to the optimal tension that I am going to link below.

Ear pain/Pressure help

We have had our Model Y for just over a week, and we are experiencing the same things that others are here. Mainly (1) an irritating repetitive ear pressure when traveling at high speed, much like when one window is open and (2) a subsonic booming with some ear pressure when going over bumps...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Frappas13]

I think I FINALLY found it! On the far left and right of the trunk, the rubber stops have a screw around them. On the left side the screw was tightened all the way to the metal of the trunk and the vibrations were causing the screw to rub against the metal and make that "squeaking" noise (I could see a black ring around the screw where it had been rubbing). When I unscrewed it most of the way and did a really bumpy test drive I heard absolutely nothing. I'm thinking of grabbing the felt to place around it because with it loose it now "rattles" a little bit. I can deal with a tiny rattle until then though.

I'm very hopeful that was the issue, when I was adjusting the rubber stops it was making it better/worse. It wasn't until my wife was able to sit in the back and tell me which side that I was able to really find it.

Thanks so much guys, I'm crossing my fingers that my sanity is restored now!

 

[Frappas13]

Well I spoke too soon, noise came back with a vengeance today. I'm pretty sure it's nothing with the latch and rubber stops now. I would give the Sub/Amp solution a try but I'm not quite sure how to get to it to see if that's what's squeaking as well. I'll try looking up some videos.

SC wants to charge $200 just to take it back to diagnose because "they've already done a courtesy look at it earlier".

 

[Luau26]

I had the same noise, and did the following which solved all the squeaking noises I had in the back. I'm ranking them in difficulty/time order:

1) Adjust the bump stops on the rear trunk, so all 4 rubber feet on the trunk mates firmly with the rest stops.

2) Pull out all of the rear seat headrests, and lube the headrest steel posts lightly with white lithium grease etc. I personally used Krytox GPL205.

3) Pull up rear seat bench, and apply automotive felt tape on the steel tube bars that the seats snap into. The prevents the rubbing/squeaking sound of the bottom of the seat (styrofoam) against the tubes.

4) Rear cargo side trim and sub/amplifier, is what I consider the hardest as you will need to remove and dissemble quite a few pieces.

• What I found is that the amplifier is screwed into the bare frame of the vehicle, and was squeaking when I tapped on it. I removed it and placed felt on all the contact points before screwing it back in. This solved all squeaking.
• The plastic trim pieces on both rear and passenger/driver side are snapped into the body panels. However on my rear passenger side, one of the metal snap clips was not installed correctly from the factory, and was actually bent out of place and rubbing against the frame. A few plastic snaps were also mashed/bent. Installing this piece correctly is a major PITA, as you need to snap about 10 clips into their slots on the inner rear fender frame. So I don't doubt that there is a good chance that some of these are not installed correctly from the factory, so you potentially have metal/plastic tabs rubbing against the inner frame of the vehicle.
• The problem area, as well as another poster who shared a very useful breakdown of how to take apart these trim pieces: Remove rear trunk trim

After doing all of the above, this has solved all squeaking/rubbing noises that I had in the rear of the vehicle. It took me a while to figure this out so I hope this is helpful in fixing your squeaks.

Thanks so much! I was able to do #4 and fixed the squeak from the amplifier. I bent the clip forward from where the amplifier hooked into the slot and placed get on the contact points.
For #3, did you take off the black plastic pieces over the seat hinge? I think that’s where my squeaks from the middle seat come from in my MY.

thanks

 

[fr4c]

Thanks so much! I was able to do #4 and fixed the squeak from the amplifier. I bent the clip forward from where the amplifier hooked into the slot and placed get on the contact points.
For #3, did you take off the black plastic pieces over the seat hinge? I think that’s where my squeaks from the middle seat come from in my MY.

thanks

I did not, as those hinge covers wasn't an area of issue for me.

 

[Frappas13]

Thanks so much! I was able to do #4 and fixed the squeak from the amplifier. I bent the clip forward from where the amplifier hooked into the slot and placed get on the contact points.
For #3, did you take off the black plastic pieces over the seat hinge? I think that’s where my squeaks from the middle seat come from in my MY.

thanks

Welp I have ruled out 1-3 and the squeak persists. How did you guys remove the side pieces to get to the sub woofer? @fr4c ; Is that something easy but time consuming or do you really need to know what you're doing to get in there?

 

[fr4c]

Welp I have ruled out 1-3 and the squeak persists. How did you guys remove the side pieces to get to the sub woofer? @fr4c ; Is that something easy but time consuming or do you really need to know what you're doing to get in there?

All of the pieces are held together by snap joints, clips, and push pins. If you take your time with it, I think it is pretty straight forward and just time consuming on your first go especially when you're trying to determine the areas that needs to be addressed. I think overall, it took me about 1.5 hours to do that area but YMMV.

 

[PecuniaNonOlet]

Go to my long post here and scroll down to "Quarter Panels". You will need to take out some other pieces of trim first. See earlier in my long post for info on those. The post linked by fr4c is good too. These pieces are easy because they are just held in by clips and easy to get back in when you are done.

Removing the passenger side quarter panel (with the subwoofer behind it) is easier than removing the driver's side one because there are no cables to detach on the passenger side. Just pop the panel off and rotate it out.

As I say in my long post, do NOT unclip the quarter panels all the way up to the passenger seats, because the panels are very awkward to get back on when you are done. If your squeak is coming from behind there, rather than the subwoofer area, well, maybe we can put our heads together and figure something out.

 

[kittsjoy]

I have this EXACT same squeak on my MY. I got my car last June, and the squeak was super intermittent through the summer. It went away completely in the winter, and now it is BACK and constant. Every time I hit a bump, it squeaks (and makes me crazy). I'm going to schedule a service appointment, but I'm not sure it will be covered since the car is already a year old? @Frappas13 - have you had any luck with yours?????

 

[Frappas13]

@kittsjoy @PecuniaNonOlet @fr4c Sorry it's taken so long, but I was unable to pinpoint my issue until I took a REALLY long road trip this week. I have found the source of the squeaking but i'm not quite sure how to solve it. The sound is coming from near the trunk's hinge at the top. I can reproduce the squeak almost consistently when I close the trunk and put my ear next to it right as it's about to close fully. It sounds like when the rubber strip that I circled is getting pushed down the trunk will squeak. I tried cleaning it and putting some lubrication around it to see if that was it but it is still happening. I imagine what's happening is the trunk is moving while driving and the edge of the trunk top is rubbing on that rubber strip maybe? The weird thing is, if I push that rubber strip up and hold it for a few seconds then close the trunk, it won't squeak for a while. I tried putting some temporary felt around the rubber and the trunk to see if that stops it but it doesn't. Any ideas? (ignore the dirt, was a long trip in Colorado )

 

[fr4c]

@kittsjoy @PecuniaNonOlet @fr4c Sorry it's taken so long, but I was unable to pinpoint my issue until I took a REALLY long road trip this week. I have found the source of the squeaking but i'm not quite sure how to solve it. The sound is coming from near the trunk's hinge at the top. I can reproduce the squeak almost consistently when I close the trunk and put my ear next to it right as it's about to close fully. It sounds like when the rubber strip is getting pushed down the trunk will squeak. I tried cleaning it and putting some lubrication around it to see if that was it but it is still happening. I imagine what's happening is the trunk is moving while driving and the edge of the trunk top is rubbing on that rubber strip maybe? The weird thing is, if I push that rubber strip up and hold it for a few seconds then close the trunk, it won't squeak for a while. I tried putting some temporary felt around the rubber and the trunk to see if that stops it but it doesn't. Any ideas? (ignore the dirt, was a long trip in Colorado )

View attachment 666971

You can try cleaning the weather seals and applying Gummi Pfledge and see if it helps.

Now that the weather is warmer, I’m now getting the random squeak in the rear area again. It’s random and I think it’s coming from the rear passenger door, so I may dig further if I’m bothered enough by it. The expansion on trims and seals from the temp is probably causing things to rub.

 

[Frappas13]

You can try cleaning the weather seals and applying Gummi Pfledge and see if it helps.

Now that the weather is warmer, I’m now getting the random squeak in the rear area again. It’s random and I think it’s coming from the rear passenger door, so I may dig further if I’m bothered enough by it. The expansion on trims and seals from the temp is probably causing things to rub.

Thanks i'll give the Gummi Pfledge a shot tomorrow and let ya know how that goes.

 

[Frappas13]

Thanks i'll give the Gummi Pfledge a shot tomorrow and let ya know how that goes.

@fr4c I also updated the picture to highlight which rubber piece I was referring to since there was 2 in the picture lol

 

[Frappas13]

@fr4c Cleaned all areas of the trunk with the Gummi Pfledge and about 3-4 hours of driving now I haven't heard any semblance of squeaking from the trunk. I'm kind of facepalming that I didn't check the areas up top earlier, I was more sure it was near the bottom of the trunk area. I'll keep ya guys posted but that seems to be the solution that's completely eliminated it so far

 

[abaik]

Thanks for sharing. Any chance you can share a video of what you did? I have the exact problem but can't seem to figure out how to fix it. I'm taking it into service this week as well.

 

[Dennisis]

Reading this thread this morning reminded me I'd purchased 303 Rubber seal protectant for my other car several months back. It hadn't occurred to me to try it on my MY hatch as I usually listen to audio books when I drive and the squeaks had rarely bothered me. They were annoying at times but not to the point I felt the need to disassemble too far and risk making things worse. So I lubed up the hatch seals with the 303 and went for a drive and was pleasantly surprised! It virtually eliminated the squeaks I had been attributing to something in the rear seat or hatch itself but hadn't gotten around to pursuing. I hope it holds up for a while .

By the way, when I bought it on Amazon in October it was $18.98 now the same size is $37.04! Crazy but if it keeps working I'll buy it again when needed.

 

[fr4c]

Just to update on this thread, I’ve narrowed down the squeak in the rear. It is actually the rear passenger window, and if I just bring it down a little the noise completely goes away. I’m going to clean the window, channels, and Gummi Pledge all the rubber seals.

I believe with the summer weather the seals are expanding and rubbing against the window glass which is making this noise.