Your car rattles? Too bad…

[n2fooz]

I was just informed by my Service Center that they no longer cover rattles unless they are caused by a defective or broken part. My car is now almost a year old and has developed a rattle somewhere in the passenger doors. It sounds like both front and rear but it’s a bit hard to tell. I scheduled an appointment with a $0 estimate but when I went to drop it off they told me about the new policy. I was told that if they didn’t specifically find something broken they would charge me the hour diagnostic rate of over $200. I asked, what if it’s just a build quality issue?, they said unless something is broken or defective, rattles are not covered. They also said Teslas are not luxury vehicles, they are tech vehicles so they will rattle.
So now, I will fix the damn rattles myself and Tesla has definitely dropped a couple of rungs in my mind.

 

[PatriotOne]

What a terrible response. I just booked my S Plaid for a center console rattle, and I got the same message regarding the charges. Paying such a premium for a car, you expect the manufacturer to stand behind their workmanship.

 

[Murtaya]

I just booked my S Plaid for a center console rattle...

I was just searching for a mention/fix for the center console rattle on a Plaid--does yours sound like it's coming from the phone charging area?

Personally I wouldn't expect Tesla to fix this (I mean, I would expect a car company with decent customer service to fix it--especially on vehicles in this price range--but not Tesla), which is why I was about to go in and see if I could fix it myself.

 

[Murtaya]

@PatriotOne - after some more searching, I found this post, which I think might be my rattle:

2022 refresh swivel screen rattling housing.

Alright… given the absolutely shoddy job Tesla did with the housing for the swivel mechanism and that it’s just plastic allowed to rattle around (most noticeable when adjusted toward the driver), what have people come up with in terms of quieting down the plastic trim? It’s terrible how much it...

teslamotorsclub.com

Not coming from the console, but the shroud behind the pivoting screen. If that's the case, it should hopefully at least be an easy fix to secure (or at least weigh down) the loose component to stop the rattle. You know, in case you don't want to pay Tesla $200 to not fix it.

Unfortunately I don't have any useful suggestions for you, @n2fooz ...though I have found solutions to both of my rattle issues on this site, so maybe you can find some fixes on here? I'm in no way implying that we SHOULD have to do stuff like this ourselves, and it is sad that they don't even try to address quality issues, but hoping there's at least a solution other than depending on Tesla.

 

[Rottenapplr]

I was just informed by my Service Center that they no longer cover rattles unless they are caused by a defective or broken part. My car is now almost a year old and has developed a rattle somewhere in the passenger doors. It sounds like both front and rear but it’s a bit hard to tell. I scheduled an appointment with a $0 estimate but when I went to drop it off they told me about the new policy. I was told that if they didn’t specifically find something broken they would charge me the hour diagnostic rate of over $200. I asked, what if it’s just a build quality issue?, they said unless something is broken or defective, rattles are not covered. They also said Teslas are not luxury vehicles, they are tech vehicles so they will rattle.
So now, I will fix the damn rattles myself and Tesla has definitely dropped a couple of rungs in my mind.

I just did a paintless dent repair and the guy was showing me all the cheap components Tesla uses. Like body clips that are ultra rigid. Also how the panel clips are missing in my 2019. Plus unpainted surfaces. So yah… Tesla! Yay.

I really think the service centers acknowledge the problem with rattles are too much and too many and too rampant they just evoke that policy or else the centers are swamp with cars. I know my 2019 has rattles more so than my older bmw or vw gti. Thankfully less rattles than my 350z so take that Nissan!! At this point I practice acceptance of changing the things I can change and accepting those I can’t change including the damn ducking arm rest rattle and a pillar rattle that Tesla tried to fix twice in 2020 and I just about given up.

 

[Murtaya]

I'm actually used to seeking out and fixing rattles on my glorified kit-car, so it's not that big a deal doing it on the Tesla....just a little unexpected for a current day, mass-produced car.

That said, I used some looped up electrical tape on the inside of the center screen's pivot shroud, and the rattle is all gone now.

 

[MrJeep997]

I'm glad I found this thread. I have a rattle in MY tailgate that is new. Guess it's up to me to pull it apart and find it. Very love/hate on the Tesla experience so far.

 

[Incredulocious]

I'm glad I found this thread. I have a rattle in MY tailgate that is new. Guess it's up to me to pull it apart and find it. Very love/hate on the Tesla experience so far.

Yeah, I have that rattle in my Model Y rear hatch too. Sounds kinda like bits of gravel against metal. I removed the plastic panel but couldn’t find the source with it off. I’m reluctant to remove that panel repetitively to do trial and error sound dampening fixes out of fear of breaking the clips.

 

[MrJeep997]

Yeah, I have that rattle in my Model Y rear hatch too. Sounds kinda like bits of gravel against metal. I removed the plastic panel but couldn’t find the source with it off. I’m reluctant to remove that panel repetitively to do trial and error sound dampening fixes out of fear of breaking the clips.

So, kudos to my 11yo daughter. She was back there and tracked it down to the rear headrest. Turns out if they are left up they rattle, they rattle a tiny bit in the fully down position. It was right behind my head, sounded like the top of the hatch.