Service center was no help, looking for advice on a knocking sound coming from my back right side seat.

[jkstjk]

Hello friends. I took my model 3 to a service center today to get a rattle coming from the passenger side rear seat fixed. The tech identified the problem, said it was fixed, and it clearly isn't. I have been trying to narrow down the source, and it sounds like it's coming from 1 or 2 joints. It's either coming from the center armrest's left side joint, or the middle joint that joins the left side seat with the right side. I can prompt the noise to happen by just pushing on the seat. I'm thinking about taking the seat and armrest assembly apart, but I don't really know what to do once I do that.

Has anyone seen this issue before? Any tips on a solution? It's a shame that I need to do this myself, as Tesla seems to love reporting something fixed when they clearly did not fix the problem.

Your help is appreciated, as this is driving me up a wall. Thank you!

https://imgur.com/a/wx5vy9j

 

[mmyers300]

I had a similar issue and it was something in the rear seatback. A tech was out for another reason and I told him about it. I was able to bang a bit on the seatback, with it down, and it would rattle a little. He unzipped the back and I gave him some thin (3/8"?) dense foam package padding and he stuffed it between some braces and it was fixed. I was SO Grateful!

 

[Zacster]

If you find that it isn't really the seat back, there is also an issue with the trunk hood struts that is an easy adjustment to fix. It makes a clunking sound. I had to bring mine in to a collision shop for another reason and they mentioned it and it was fixed when I got the car back.

 

[jkstjk]

I had a similar issue and it was something in the rear seatback. A tech was out for another reason and I told him about it. I was able to bang a bit on the seatback, with it down, and it would rattle a little. He unzipped the back and I gave him some thin (3/8"?) dense foam package padding and he stuffed it between some braces and it was fixed. I was SO Grateful!

Awesome! I think I will try this. Seems foam tape is the main fix for these issues. I will do some investigating and report back to you. Thank you again.

 

[jkstjk]

If you find that it isn't really the seat back, there is also an issue with the trunk hood struts that is an easy adjustment to fix. It makes a clunking sound. I had to bring mine in to a collision shop for another reason and they mentioned it and it was fixed when I got the car back.

I am 100% sure it's coming from the back seat hinges. I will double check the trunk though. Thank you for your comment.

 

[jkstjk]

I had a similar issue and it was something in the rear seatback. A tech was out for another reason and I told him about it. I was able to bang a bit on the seatback, with it down, and it would rattle a little. He unzipped the back and I gave him some thin (3/8"?) dense foam package padding and he stuffed it between some braces and it was fixed. I was SO Grateful!

Update- I unfolded the passenger side rear seat, stuck a folded rag in the gap between the hinged seat and the trunk, closed the seatback, and... no more noise on a quick test drive! If this was the fix, I'm fine with it. Hoping it holds up when I go for a longer drive today.

 

[Zacster]

Update- I unfolded the passenger side rear seat, stuck a folded rag in the gap between the hinged seat and the trunk, closed the seatback, and... no more noise on a quick test drive! If this was the fix, I'm fine with it. Hoping it holds up when I go for a longer drive today.

Cool. Sometimes the fixes are easy.

 

[slzeal]

I also had a similar issue with the rear right passenger side seat.
The issue goes away when I folded down the rear seat. But comes back when its upright.

I had to stick a towel in the gap behind the hinged seat, folded it back upright, and it resolved it glad I wasn't the only one going crazy with this issue

 

[carpe_diem]

I had the same issue and fixed it by shoving acoustic foam into the gap between the sheet metal and fabric cover of the shelf behind the rear seat.

I suspect adhering the fabric down could work too, but I prefer a solution that creates separation. To mitigate rattles, you either want full separation or permanent contact. Rattles arise when contact/separation are intermittent so the solution is typically to control the interface in favor of one or the other but not both.

 

[jason_my]

I had a similar issue and it was something in the rear seatback. A tech was out for another reason and I told him about it. I was able to bang a bit on the seatback, with it down, and it would rattle a little. He unzipped the back and I gave him some thin (3/8"?) dense foam package padding and he stuffed it between some braces and it was fixed. I was SO Grateful!

do you have a photo to illustrate the solution? Thanks