Vibrations/Rattles

[AW9nineteen]

Hey All

I’ll start by saying I absolutely love my Tesla.

That said, one of the big knocks I’ve always heard from other automakers sales reps is that the build quality is subpar. I’m ok with the simplistic look and feel, and it definitely isn’t my wife’s X7, but that’s ok. I am getting vibration noise/rattles at low speeds (10-35mph) from the passenger side dash. Has anyone else experienced this? Does Tesla fix it?

You would think that because there no engine, they would focus even more on sound deafening and vibration control. I still wish the cabin was quieter. This is different though, sounds like when someone has a massive sub in their trunk and you can hear the vibration of the speakers on the car.

 

[KalJoMoS]

Are you sure it’s from the dash? Have a look on passenger side safety-belt. This section that starts from the floor has a plastic fixture that might give you a rattle like noise if on uneven roads. Actually same thing is with drivers side, even if you are sitting there. If this is the source, then put some soft felt-pad on the seat side of the fixture so it does not rattles during your drive...

 

[darxsys]

Hey All

I’ll start by saying I absolutely love my Tesla.

That said, one of the big knocks I’ve always heard from other automakers sales reps is that the build quality is subpar. I’m ok with the simplistic look and feel, and it definitely isn’t my wife’s X7, but that’s ok. I am getting vibration noise/rattles at low speeds (10-35mph) from the passenger side dash. Has anyone else experienced this? Does Tesla fix it?

You would think that because there no engine, they would focus even more on sound deafening and vibration control. I still wish the cabin was quieter. This is different though, sounds like when someone has a massive sub in their trunk and you can hear the vibration of the speakers on the car.

Well, good luck. This car has so many potential points of rattling that after a while you might just give up. For me it was a futile battle, as soon as I would fix one, two more cropped up. I ended up ripping apart almost the whole interior and still couldn’t fix a few rattles so I gave up. A few suggestions what it could be:

1) a broken clip (or clips) under the dash pad. You will need to lift the dashpad and look to see if there are broken or missing clips that need to be replaced.
2) vents. Model S vents are horrible. Made of some sort of cheap plastic that I never managed to fully prevent from rattling. If so, ask the service center to replace the vent and hope that the new one is better.
3) trim. I had wooden trim and it would creak all the time. Just pressing against it caused it to creak horribly. Maybe it’s that?
4) panels. Door panels can rattle because of clips, too. There are videos on youtube on how to remove them and check what’s inside.
5) I remember researching and finding that A pillars also rattled on some cars - check that, too.
6) speakers. I had the passenger side door speaker rattle a lot. The service center fixed it after 2 or 3 attempts.
7) all the interior trim pieces under your dash. There are many pieces there and they are all kept in place by clips. If a clip breaks or is missing, the part will rattle.

you can buy Model S clips from bel metric or your local SC.
Have fun, sometimes it’s really hard to trace these things down. Don’t expect the service center to help much - from my experience they don’t give a damn about rattles, they have bigger fish to fry.

 

[Ken7]

Simplistic look & feel? To me it's sleek and still fresh looking.

 

[P100D_Me]

Rattles and creaks drive me crazy too, particularly on colder days the Model-S has a symphony of them with new ones arriving monthly it seems. Sadly the cheap Japanese car one of my kids has is still rattle free after 5 years

 

[Ken7]

I can only assume that someone disagreeing with my comment that the styling is sleek and still fresh looking, dislikes the look of their car. I wonder why you’d buy an expensive car whose styling you don’t like.

 

[AW9nineteen]

I can only assume that someone disagreeing with my comment that the styling is sleek and still fresh looking, dislikes the look of their car. I wonder why you’d buy an expensive car whose styling you don’t like.

I love the look actually. I think simplistic isn’t a negative thing. Modern homes are described as simplistic, with lines and yes sleekness.

As for the rattles, ugh

 

[David_Cary]

So funny. I have 80k miles and minimal rattles. Usually something super easy to fix.

 

[Buster1]

My Nov 2017 has a few rattles that annoy. One we isolates was the retractable cup holders in the back/center console. In the retracted position they’re bad. I applied bits of felt tape in certain locations and it’s fixed!

 

[aerodyne]

I had a rattle that I thought for sure was in the back seat back attachment. Passenger noted it was coming from the roof. Turned out it was the Tesla pano roof sunshade. Repositioned and it stopped.

 

[SO16]

I have a 2017 S90D. The only rattle I had (as another poster mentioned), was the passenger side seatbelt hitting the side of the seat. I put a couple soft felt pads on it. Took care of it.

 

[Sherlo]

Tried this suggestion with a variation of the app used. It helped pinpoint the source of rattle. It’s coming from driver seat belt hinge on the side column. Haven’t researched a solution yet but thought I’d share.

 

[meomyo]

Hey All

I’ll start by saying I absolutely love my Tesla.

That said, one of the big knocks I’ve always heard from other automakers sales reps is that the build quality is subpar. I’m ok with the simplistic look and feel, and it definitely isn’t my wife’s X7, but that’s ok. I am getting vibration noise/rattles at low speeds (10-35mph) from the passenger side dash. Has anyone else experienced this? Does Tesla fix it?

You would think that because there no engine, they would focus even more on sound deafening and vibration control. I still wish the cabin was quieter. This is different though, sounds like when someone has a massive sub in their trunk and you can hear the vibration of the speakers on the car.

we just started hearing this same rattle in 2017 ms with 48 k. Should be warranty issue?

 

[AW9nineteen]

Tried this suggestion with a variation of the app used. It helped pinpoint the source of rattle. It’s coming from driver seat belt hinge on the side column. Haven’t researched a solution yet but thought I’d share.

Thank you for the response. That being said, I get the same kind of sound when I hit the dash. Just sounds like plastic hitting plastic. Possibly warranty for noise. I just wish the car was more insulated for sound. Probably my biggest gripe. I like quiet..