Trunk seal replaced by mobile service

[Tez~La]

I have zero gaps in those locations with the flange as it came from the factory(under).
My rover guy says it suppose to go in and I did not see any of the model 3's at the SC with it pulled out.
This does not mean it is not wrong but thats what I have seen on my end.

Would love to get the final official word from Tesla but I am guessing they will have different answers depending who you ask.
After looking at mine closely and seeing no leaks at all in the trunk I think I will leave it as is.

 

[GreenHokie]

Damn, Ken. Clean out that trunk of yours!!

By the way, I took a closer look at my trunk gasket/bumper and there are actually zero gaps between the gasket and bumper. What you are seeing and have referenced in my photos are not actually gaps, but rather just a shadow effect/optical illusion created by the angle and light conditions when I took these photos. My trunk gasket actually sit very tight up against the surface/edge of the bumper.

Out of curiosity, I also went a step further, removed one of my tail lights and unbolted/loosened the top part of my rear bumper to examine the trunk gasket on the back side. What I found is very interesting... My particular trunk gasket does not actually have a lip that can be pulled over (to cover the bumper edge). The bottom half of my trunk gasket is actually glued to the body panel underneath. And, now that I think about it, I do recall the Tesla ranger applying glue when he came out to replace my trunk gasket. So, it’s not even possible for me to position the gasket any differently than the way it is currently installed/shown. This makes me wonder if at some point Tesla changed their trunk gasket design and how these gaskets are positioned/installed. This would certainly explain why some owners are reporting trunk gaskets installed like mine and other owners are report gaskets installed like yours.

Hmmmm….

 

[KenC]

Damn, Ken. Clean out that trunk of yours!!

By the way, I took a closer look at my trunk gasket/bumper and there are actually zero gaps between the gasket and bumper. What you are seeing and have referenced in my photos are not actually gaps, but rather just a shadow effect/optical illusion created by the angle and light conditions when I took these photos. My trunk gasket actually sit very tight up against the surface/edge of the bumper.

Out of curiosity, I also went a step further, removed one of my tail lights and unbolted/loosened the top part of my rear bumper to examine the trunk gasket on the back side. What I found is very interesting... My particular trunk gasket does not actually have a lip that can be pulled over (to cover the bumper edge). The bottom half of my trunk gasket is actually glued to the body panel underneath. And, now that I think about it, I do recall the Tesla ranger applying glue when he came out to replace my trunk gasket. So, it’s not even possible for me to position the gasket any differently than the way it is currently installed/shown. This makes me wonder if at some point Tesla changed their trunk gasket design and how these gaskets are positioned/installed. This would certainly explain why some owners are reporting trunk gaskets installed like mine and other owners are report gaskets installed like yours.

Hmmmm….

Wow, interesting! Yours is a 2019, so that change had to have happened a while ago. Oh, I see, yours was a replacement, so the change happened later. So, current gaskets don't have a lip and are glue'd! I've never heard of a gasket being glue'd. How would you remove it or replace it?

The question I would have is, why do so many people have mis-installed trunk gaskets to begin with, if it wasn't a mis-installation?

 

[heavyD]

The mystery of the Model 3 trunk seal. To tuck or not to tuck the flange. I would assume it's possible that some people working on the factory lines have been installing them differently leading to these inconsistencies. I would lean to flange out based on removing trim on other cars but as long as you are okay with it and there are no leaks it's probably not a big deal.

 

[GreenHokie]

Wow, interesting! Yours is a 2019, so that change had to have happened a while ago. Oh, I see, yours was a replacement, so the change happened later. So, current gaskets don't have a lip and are glue'd! I've never heard of a gasket being glue'd. How would you remove it or replace it?

The question I would have is, why do so many people have mis-installed trunk gaskets to begin with, if it wasn't a mis-installation?

Good question and I wish I knew the answer. A change in the trunk gasket, if there was one, is just pure speculation on my part. It’s the only thing I can think of that would help explain some of the differences we are hearing/seeing (one Tesla service employee reportedly saying the gasket is supposed to be tucked behind the bumper edges; while, another Tesla service employee reportedly saying the gasket is supposed to lay over the bumper edges).

I have no idea if the current trunk gaskets are lipless on the bottom half and are glued to the body panel. What I do recall when the Tesla mobile service tech came to my house to replace my trunk gasket was seeing some type of adhesive between the gasket and body panel, when he pulled the original gasket off the vehicle. So, perhaps when I said “glue” in my previous post, that is not the proper description/word. For sure, it was some type of adhesive because I remember having to wipe off and remove some type of sticky residue off a few areas of my rear bumper after the Tesla service tech performed the gasket swap and left my house. So, my assumption was the service tech applied some type of adhesive when he installed the new gasket. I believe that mobile service visit happened sometime around the end of 2019.

I think I’m gonna chalk this one up as just another one of those Tesla quirks/mysteries…

 

[SK360]

Bumping an old thread since I had similar questions so I checked the service manual. Pretty sure the Note puts this debate to rest

 

[KenC]

Bumping an old thread since I had similar questions so I checked the service manual. Pretty sure the Note puts this debate to rest

View attachment 833098

Haha! Thanks for that, as it seems definitive to me, but I can see that there are two possible definitions for "bottom of the seal", which would leave everything still up for debate. In my interpretation, the seal has two parts, the bottom which attaches around the trunk opening, and the flange, or edge, or whatever you call it that lays over the metal edge of the trunk to hide the metal edge. The confusion is whether that flange or edge is ALSO tucked into the rear fascia. I have argued not, while others have argued for.

However, the only complaints about the trunk seal that I have seen in this forum, is when the seal doesn't lay flat. The only times it doesn't lay flat is when the flange or edge is tucked in, so, it should be obvious that that's the wrong way. I've never seen a complaint about the seal not laying flat, where the flange or edge is out, laying over the metal edge. Seems obvious that that is the correct way, but what do I know, we've had people arguing that that's wrong. Since everyone is entitled to their own opinions, then whatever way people think is correct is certainly fine.

 

[GreenHokie]

You’re wrong again, Ken!!

 

[Perscitus]

How can Ken be wrong, when it feels so right? How can it be wrong, when it's so right?

 

[Resist]

I pulled mine out because that just makes more sense. My experience with Tesla service is that they don't always know what they are talking about and base some of their reasoning by looking at new cars they have. They automatically assume if it came from the factory that way, then that's how it was supposed to be. But we know that's not always fact, case in point are the missing wheel well fasteners. So, unless someone can show me a Tesla install manual for the gasket with pictures or explicit install wording, I'm keeping mine with the lip out.

 

[myky]

Well, guys, no doubt @KenC is right,
My one was changed, and I had the same issue; it just didn't feel right; also trunk stopped closing smoothly.
I went and pulled that lip out and look at that, so nice and the trunk problem went away.

 

[Resist]

I'm really shocked that the Tesla service manual says the bottom should be tucked in, that really doesn't make sense to me.

 

[KenC]

Well, guys, no doubt @KenC is right,
My one was changed, and I had the same issue; it just didn't feel right; also trunk stopped closing smoothly.
I went and pulled that lip out and look at that, so nice and the trunk problem went away.

It looks great!

I'm really shocked that the Tesla service manual says the bottom should be tucked in, that really doesn't make sense to me.

Sometimes I think manuals are written poorly, which leads to confusion. Just look at what was written.

If you just look at that main instruction part. There's only one part of the seal that can fit into the perimeter of the trunk. And, yes, you should press it firmly to seat it, or use a rubber hammer. THEN, use a plastic trim tool to fully install the trunk seal to the body.

Just think about that last part. After hammering the seal, why would you need a plastic trim tool to "fully install" the trunk seal? You use the trim tool to pull out the edge to cover the exposed plastic edge of the bumper cover. It's funny, because that's exactly what I did, intuitiveIy, I used an orange plastic trim tool to pull out that edge. There's really no other purpose for using a plastic trim tool, after you've hammered the seal to the perimeter of the trunk.

Part of the confusion is they use the term "trunk seal" for both steps. But, I know I have had difficulty describing the flap, whether it's an edge, a flange, a flap, etc. Maybe they did too?

It's the final "note" that increases the confusion.

But what is the "bottom"? If there's a bottom of the seal, that implies that there's another part, the top, the edge? The bottom is already tucked into the fascia, as it's installed on the perimeter of the trunk. That's the lowest part of the seal, and the only part that can reasonably be described as a "bottom of the seal". Would you call the edge, the flap, the flange, also the "bottom"? I wouldn't.

 

[myky]

To be honest, if you check on the internet, the seal never has that lip pulled out (just check the random pics on Google typing tesla 3 trunk or similar, and I don't get it too. If I ever in the service centre I will check by myself and ask questions if it's inside.

 

[KenC]

To be honest, if you check on the internet, the seal never has that lip pulled out (just check the random pics on Google typing tesla 3 trunk or similar, and I don't get it too. If I ever in the service centre I will check by myself and ask questions if it's inside.

I went to a Service Center once, and I looked at the 3 and Y on display, and yes, the lip was not pulled out. It only takes one employee on the assembly line to cause a heck of a lot of confusion!

 

[Resist]

When I first read that instruction for the seal I thought it meant to keep the bottom in the facia, but after looking over what you wrote now I'm completely convinced the seal is supposed to be on the outside and that the workers or their supervisors interpreted it incorrectly. Wish someone knew an engineer at Tesla and could give us the right answer and if it is supposed to be tucked in, then why? Because that just doesn't make sense. Or maybe Sandy Munro can answer this.

 

[aspec818]

Mine came like this from the factory. Is there a way to tuck it in?

 

[myky]

It still bothers me . Like how come all cars don't have it pulled out from factories in US and UK same time? If you don't do it, it looks ugly.

 

[stopcrazypp]

One thing not pointed out is the edge between the seal and the rear bumper cover does not need to be water proof to prevent water from getting into the trunk. The seal depends on the part that sticks up interfacing with the trunk lid. So if the theory of the bottom flange being flipped out is based on having a better seal on that part, then actually that function may not be as necessary as people think.

Also from pictures above there appear to be drainage holes that could only drain into the bumper cover, which would suggest waterproofing the bumper cover is not a priority.

I will try to look at my trunk seal on the weekend when I have the chance to see if it is tucked in or not.

 

[stopcrazypp]

One thing not pointed out is the edge between the seal and the rear bumper cover does not need to be water proof to prevent water from getting into the trunk. The seal depends on the part that sticks up interfacing with the trunk lid. So if the theory of the bottom flange being flipped out is based on having a better seal on that part, then actually that function may not be as necessary as people think.

Also from pictures above there appear to be drainage holes that could only drain into the bumper cover, which would suggest waterproofing the bumper cover is not a priority.

I will try to look at my trunk seal on the weekend when I have the chance to see if it is tucked in or not.

Just as a follow up, my 2021 Model 3 has the seal tucked in, but pulled out.