Rattling noise from the passenger side

[ParHunter]

I’ve been noticing some rattling noise on my 2021 M3 coming from the passenger side. At first I thought it was the seat belt knocking against the side. But then I plugged it in and it continued.
I’ve tried to find whether anything is lose on that side but couldn’t find anything.

Any one else that had rattling problems from the passenger side?

 

[MrBadger]

It may also be the top fixing of seat belt. I did add it to an SC visit and they did something but cannot remember what it was or exactly what I reported, but it was more related to checking something being lose rather than noise.

Ours wasn't this, but it was certainly a thing on earlier cars. A random google DIY: Fixing the Tesla Model 3 seat belt adjuster rattle sound (video)

There is also this Rattling noise from seat belt tensioner which seems to cover a few more causes

 

[Jez_GB]

Glass rubbing against the door seal has been reported as a “rattling noise” before now. If that sounds like it might be a possibility it might be worth applying something like gummi pflege.... other pflegeseses are available

 

[Irata]

Here is a useful site of possible causes and fixes

Tesla Model 3 Rattle Fixes – Tesla Model 3 Wiki

 

[Alistairuk]

I know you said you plugged the seatbelt in, but in my case it seems to rattle if the seat is in very specific positions - putting it all the way back seems to solve it for me.

 

[Somex]

I’ve been noticing some rattling noise on my 2021 M3 coming from the passenger side. At first I thought it was the seat belt knocking against the side. But then I plugged it in and it continued.
I’ve tried to find whether anything is lose on that side but couldn’t find anything.

Any one else that had rattling problems from the passenger side?

Only when the wife is in the car

 

[Jason71]

Only when the wife is in the car

I get a high pitched whining sound under hard acceleration when my wife is in the car

 

[tomorrowman]

Son likes to leave empty soda can's in passenger door storage - good for a rattle, especially when it contains metal straw.

Very annoying, but to be fair easily remedied

 

[Jason71]

Glass rubbing against the door seal has been reported as a “rattling noise” before now. If that sounds like it might be a possibility it might be worth applying something like gummi pflege.... other pflegeseses are available

This
Don't dismiss this as making no sense. You would not think rubbing glass would make a rattling sound but it really does. I treat my seals once or twice a year and it makes a huge difference. You can test the theory using silicone if you have that to hand but long term supposedly it is bad for the seals so gummi is a good bet longer term

 

[mpandrew]

On certain road surfaces mine rattles noticeably and does seem worse if someone is in the passenger side. It is the plastic trim above the air vent slots, pressing down on it will stop the noise. It's less obvious when I'm on my own in the car (90%+) probably because my commute is on better roads and the music is louder. Annoying but not enough to raise a service request as I can see that being a not rattling on the day type of thing. If it wasn't a lease car I'd probably try and work out how to dismantle and fix it, if anyone has seen such a thing...

 

[Jason71]

On certain road surfaces mine rattles noticeably and does seem worse if someone is in the passenger side. It is the plastic trim above the air vent slots, pressing down on it will stop the noise. It's less obvious when I'm on my own in the car (90%+) probably because my commute is on better roads and the music is louder. Annoying but not enough to raise a service request as I can see that being a not rattling on the day type of thing. If it wasn't a lease car I'd probably try and work out how to dismantle and fix it, if anyone has seen such a thing...

Interesting. which air vents are you referring to?

 

[mpandrew]

Interesting. which air vents are you referring to?

I was trying to find a way to describe it since as you know there aren't vents per se, just a long wide slot. Pressing the cover over the slot stops the rattle. This bit outlined in red:

 

[Yev000]

Glass rubbing against the door seal has been reported as a “rattling noise” before now. If that sounds like it might be a possibility it might be worth applying something like gummi pflege.... other pflegeseses are available

This is how my car rattles. Open window, no rattle, closed window rattle... And only starts after a little while driving . Order the stick, gona see how it goes.

 

[Jason71]

This is how my car rattles. Open window, no rattle, closed window rattle... And only starts after a little while driving . Order the stick, gona see how it goes.

I tried to diagnose it that way on mine but I could never be sure if the rattle had gone or if the wind noise was masking it when you opened the window. so I bought the gummi anyway and it totally fixed it. its a bit tricky to get it up inside the rubber channel at the top but totally worth it.
worst on uneven road /bumps because that is when the frame flexes and the glass moves against the rubber

 

[Somex]

I tried to diagnose it that way on mine but I could never be sure if the rattle had gone or if the wind noise was masking it when you opened the window. so I bought the gummi anyway and it totally fixed it. its a bit tricky to get it up inside the rubber channel at the top but totally worth it.
worst on uneven road /bumps because that is when the frame flexes and the glass moves against the rubber

Please forgive my ignorance, but WTF is gummi and where can it be obtained from?

 

[ParHunter]

This morning on the school run I switched off the music and told my son who was sitting on the passenger seat to try to locate the rattle - no rattle at all! I dropped him off and the rattle started. I plugged in the seatbelt. Still rattling. A bit odd. It might be the seat needing someone to sit there or the seatbelt is in a different position when someone sits there.

 

[Jason71]

Please forgive my ignorance, but WTF is gummi and where can it be obtained from?

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[Adopado]

This is how my car rattles. Open window, no rattle, closed window rattle... And only starts after a little while driving . Order the stick, gona see how it goes.

Yep .. it's a thing. Gummi Pfledge is the stuff that cures it. (The following bit you can believe or not ...) My own theory is that the lubrication allows the glass to slide when in contact with the rubber seal rather than the glass being gripped by the seal. When the glass is gripped by the seal any relative movements between the car structure and door are transmitted down the pane of glass into the door mechanism which makes it rattle. I just think there's no way the rattle itself can be from the actual seal so that's my rationalisation!

 

[ParHunter]

Btw for the people not fluent in German. ‘Gummi Pflege’ means rubber care.

 

[SergeyP]

I’ve been noticing some rattling noise on my 2021 M3 coming from the passenger side.

I had exactly the same when I picked up mine last September. I was 100% certain that it was coming from the inside of the door, so I suspected something within the glass door mechanism. I brought it back to the service and was told that it was just the seat belt knocking against the side. Tesla guys applied a sticky soft tape around the buckle handle (kind of a cushion tape) and gave me a spare roll. Not sure if it was indeed the buckle or something else was fixed instead, but the rattling noise disappeared. However, that cushion tape became very handy recently. A month ago I started hearing a kind of a clicking noise from the passenger door side when the car was moving, especially on uneven surfaces. First, obviously, I blamed my wife who kept changing the seat position back and forth. But after checking everything with a torch I have found a real culprit - underneath the seat most wires are wrapped in some kind of black protective film. This film dried out and started making clicking sound each time the wires move slightly and touch anything. I used the cushion tape (thanks Tesla service guys!) to wrap all parts of the wires that touch any other parts. Did the same on both driver and passenger seats - no more noises (except when the kids are on the back seat).