Rattle coming from front right passenger door

[dave999z]

Every time I go over a bump, I hear a rattle coming from the right side of the car. It's apparently coming from the door panel / window sill, because if (er, well, my wife) presses firmly on this spot (see attached pic) it does not rattle.

Any idea if this is something I can address myself? (I have no idea how involved removing the door panel is, nor whether it's the panel itself or something inside there that's rattling, nor how involved it'd be to fix.) Would really like to avoid a service center appointment, but this is driving me insane.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

P.S. I realize there is no left passenger door. Too late to change the thread title though.

 

[ngogas]

Why bother wasting your time just bring it into sc for warranty.

 

[KenC]

While the OP surely has a SC nearby, not all of us live near one. Mine is 3+ hrs away.

 

[MrG_NY]

Since you can get it to stop with your wife holding the door and can replicate the issue, make a video of it and send it to the SC. This way they can have the parts when you bring it in or they send a mobile unit out. I wouldn't being fixing something thats under warranty.

 

[tvad]

Have your wife keep pressure on that spot.

You're welcome.


...but seriously, unless you're adept at disassembling your door panel, or are good at using small foam pieces to stop rattles, then the answer is taking the car to service. Just be certain the rattle can be replicated the majority of the time, because if it can't you might be wasting your time.

FWIW, I sympathize. We have an intermittent rattle in the left front dash under the black mesh piece. Drives me nuts, but sometimes it's quiet. Taking it in for service could be a big time waster...and frankly might create more rattles...so we've chosen to leave it alone (for now).

 

[brobinson]

I can't find the post right now, but there was an issue with the door tweeter being loose that would cause similar noise.

 

[gecko10x]

I just had mobile service come out to fix a very similar issue.

I agree to be certain it can be repeated before going in. Mine happened every day for months except the day he came out . Might even behoove you to wait for a cool day, since plastic tends to rattle less when it's warm.

Also, my tech said that technically rattles, squeaks, etc. are not covered by warranty unless it's deemed a mfg defect. Keep that in mind.

 

[dave999z]

Mine is repeatable. It does it all the time, over any bumps. I'll make an appointment.

If it were something as simple as "tighten the tweeter screw" I'd do it myself.

 

[brobinson]

Mine is repeatable. It does it all the time, over any bumps. I'll make an appointment.

If it were something as simple as "tighten the tweeter screw" I'd do it myself.

 

[m3supra]

FWIW, I sympathize. We have an intermittent rattle in the left front dash under the black mesh piece. Drives me nuts, but sometimes it's quiet. Taking it in for service could be a big time waster...and frankly might create more rattles...so we've chosen to leave it alone (for now).

If this is the grill below the windshield, then I've been dealing with this issue with Tesla and it can be reproduced once the dash is warm (eg sitting in the sun or driving during the day for awhile).

The passenger side has been fixed, but the idiots completely ignored the passenger side even though the work invoice indicated both sides rattle. It is user removal but the reinstallation is supposed to be a pain. The fix was listed as malformed vents that were replaced. They probably just taped foam tape everywhere.

 

[tvad]

If this is the grill below the windshield, then I've been dealing with this issue with Tesla and it can be reproduced once the dash is warm (eg sitting in the sun or driving during the day for awhile).

Correct. That's the location. I also thought the condition could be reproduced when the dash is warm, and I had a service appointment scheduled. Two hours before the appointment, I parked the car in the hot California sun to be certain the dash was warm. As soon as I left for the appointment...no rattle. Whatsoever! So, I cancelled the appointment. Waste of time if the rattle wasn't rattling.

Of course, it has since returned...intermittently.

BTW, at one point we thought the rattle was related to the AC vent position because the rattle would go away when the vents were moved to the most upward position...but later the rattle returned regardless of the vent position.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Perry]

Why bother wasting your time just bring it into sc for warranty.

Most likely SC won't fix your rattles. I took mine 4 times each for 2 weeks and each time they said it's fixed but it wasn't. Still have the rattles. Every time I would take it I would also incur little interior damages too so I decided not to go again since they are completely useless. I hate the rattles every day but what can I do. The hole car is a rattle box. To many rattles to complain about. Just have to live with this poor build quality.

 

[quitepossibly]

Correct. That's the location. I also thought the condition could be reproduced when the dash is warm, and I had a service appointment scheduled. Two hours before the appointment, I parked the car in the hot California sun to be certain the dash was warm. As soon as I left for the appointment...no rattle. Whatsoever! So, I cancelled the appointment. Waste of time if the rattle wasn't rattling.

This sounds a lot like the VIN plate rattling.

 

[tvad]

This sounds a lot like the VIN plate rattling.

Is that a thing? VIN Plate Rattle?