Model 3 Rattles

A rattle that I had turned out to be a loose button on my garage door opener. It drove me crazy, I emptied all the door pockets and central console and it wouldn't go away. The stiff suspension encourages rattles and it's hard to locate where exactly a sound is coming from.

I even put foam on my garage opener and keep it stored away until I take it out to use. That’s true, the suspension doesn’t help and neither do the 50 million potholes in LA.. I’m trying my best to just ignore them but my OCD will not allow it lol. I figure posting here and hearing how many others deal with it may help me get it through my head that the car will never be silent.

Like most cars, there’s examples with almost no rattles and examples with tons of them. Bad luck for you. I only had one in my 2019 model 3- solved in a day.

Mine rattles like a shitbox in just 2 years and 30000km. It is a 2024 Model 3 AWD. Worst than any other car I owned, including some cheap french cars. Looking to get rid of it and never getting a Tesla again.

I just took it in to deal with some rattles and drove away to hear different rattles. 😂

Yes it’s annoying in such a quiet vehicle. I had two. One was a loose piece of plastic that I popped back in. The other was my passenger seat. I took it to Tesla twice and they ended up just giving me a new passenger seat.

Yuuuup.. I have a friend who was a tesla tech for years and he told me don’t bother with them, just do it yourself but accept that you’ll never have a completely silent model 3.

At least they replaced that. I’ve just started pulling panels off and applying foam tape and felt pads anywhere that could possibly cause rattle/vibration. The problem is, that’s the entire car it seems so I’ve got my work cut out for me.. I owned an S years ago and never had this issue.

You are not alone, wish you luck on finding and eliminating those rattles

Judging by the amount of posts and videos i’ve now seen online it’s not just good or bad luck.. It’s poor build quality and little to no QC on these cars. The vast majority have some rattles/interior issues. I don’t have any that are even that bad but in my opinion there should be zero, not a single noise as far as rattles go. This car doesn’t even have 12k miles on it and I live in a forgiving climate so it really comes down to the above..which unfortunately Tesla is quite infamous for on these Model 3s.

🫡 i’ll keep sharing the ones I have found and solved in hopes it helps others

I’m yet to have a single vehicle, of which I’ve owned more than 30, that didn’t needs rattles fixed. My last car was a 2014 BMW M3 that had so many rattles- I finally gave up and put a subwoofer in lol. I hope you can track down the issues as I do feel for ya. But I have 2 teslas and both were relatively simple to solve any rattles. The model y had a few but YouTube helped tremendously.

It's the curse of having a nearly silent car. My old car rattled like crazy but the engine was loud enough I didn't care.

I don't hear any in my model 3 but I have a 2026 with the softer suspension. That could help for sure.

I just ordered a 26 M3P and taking delivery this Friday. I’m coming from a 22 M3P and 23 Plaid. I’m hoping the rumors are true that new M3P build quality is on par with the plaid.

I’ve heard that’s one of the biggest improvements in the new Model 3/Y.. I imagine they heard enough of the feedback and complaints over the years to somewhat address it.

When I replaced the battery 12volt, I had to disconnect the hv connection under the rear pass seat. Then, after that, I heard more rattles from that area. So I reopened it, and placed a worn-out dishwasher glove between the seat and locking hook. No more rattles. We just have to figure out the rattles and find solutions in exchange for not dealing with gas stations and dirty oil changes.

The only way to get rid of noise in the Tesla is to remove all exposed plastic. I put in Alcantera, protective pads, and rubber gaskets delivered from Korea and China. Also, my mom made something for the B pillar.

Wait so most cars even German cars have rattles like the model 3s?

Good luck. I have a 2025 and it rattles

2025 Shanghai rwd. Totally solid other than a rear folding seat mechanism being slightly out. Range fixed it with Velcro tape. Even in the freezing winter, there isn’t anything anywhere. My last 2019 Audi a6 was like a sardine can in comparison. The M3 is the tightest feeling car I’ve ever owned.

Yeah my new M3 is silent. I had a 2023 MY that had many more rattles.

Yeah its bad. Especially now in the winter where all the materials shrink differently. I have a 22 performance and the rattles change with the road textures. And its not coming from any one place. Sometimes they come from the dash. Sometimes my driver side door. Sometimes the b pillar. Sometimes the other door and the other b pillar. Thing is. When I decide to take it in to a shop suddenly the rattles get nervous and dont wanna come out -_- It really is unacceptable for a 50k vehicle. And its not guaranteed to be resolved with the new cars. Because during a fix of my last rattle, they gave me a brand new long range models 3. And I mean brand spanking new. Only 7 miles on the clock. Plastic still on the screen. The cameras weren't even calibrated yet so I couldnt even use cruise control on my drive home. While admittedly the car was significantly quieter and much better damped. It would occasional rattle over bumps. Of course that was one example but that was literally a brand new vehicle fresh off the truck they got like an hour before they gave it to me. Now imagine the car with 40 or 50k miles on it?

no rattles in my 2021 sr+ after 50k miles. Trim pieces like to come loose but they don't make noise.

Took mine in for various rattles. Service Center said they have never heard of Model 3's having any rattles ever. Charged me $150 to find and fix nothing. I dunno if the charge or gaslighting pissed me off more. The quote was $40 BTW and they said it would be a quick repair. over an hour later and I have a bill for all labor and them saying they could find nothing and claiming they have never heard of model 3's having rattles. Not the first time this SC has done some scammy crap and gaslit me. (And the reviews show this happens to others for all kinds of service here.

to contrast with the other guy, I have a 2025 and no rattles thus far

Thats good to hear. Gives me confidence for the 2026. I also have a 2024 GLC43 and it rattles like crazy; way more than the M3P. The exhaust just drowns out the rattles.

It’s a rattler for sure , made with cheap plastic

I’m keeping my fingers crossed 🤞

Yes

Exposed plastic where and what did she make for it?

i don’t think 2024 and above really are in the conversation from what i have heard.

Go around the car, and rattle each of the wheel caps. One of them is surely loose (one of the clips snapped). Buy a replacement from Tesla.

the service centers make me want to get rid of my tesla anytime i have to interact with them. they’re the absolute worst always.

Unfortunately not a single cm of movement on the wheel caps. I know exactly where all of the rattles are located in the car, the problem is I can’t seem to keep them silent after i temporarily fix them. Fix one, another pops up or the rattle comes back but slightly different.

I had one there too and bought a home link module Off eBay so I could get rid of the remote all together

Same. It has been my largest barrier to wanting to keep my Tesla or buy another one in the future. I like the car so much I think I am willing to deal with them. But they are the largest factor in me possibly never owning a tesla again. (I have been tempted to just sale my current Tesla a few times as well.) I have spoken with other previous Tesla owners and for them it was usually the combination of Service center and incorrect distance on the car that bothers them. I knew the car mis lead about total distance, but I found it really pisses some people off. 2 of them grabbed used Tycans and said it is a much better experience in all ways, especially the dealerships. Minus lacking a few features. Going to test a Tycan this week actually.

I couldn’t agree more. I think Tesla is the best EV on the market by a long shot but I cannot stand the cheapness and lack of QC on these basic things that really do ruin the experience for me.

Yeah it's tough. I have never been so divided over a product before.... Ok maybe some video games. But those are $60.

its annoying, the one issue i have with tesla

I have had to fix most myself, and I think they are common. A pillar, LED bar, center console slider mechanism, headliner metal clip, rear deck and the front facing camera housing are key rattle sources if you have already had the Fremont built vent fix installed. DM me if you have a rattle video and I will let you know if I solved it.

The pre highland model 3 are prone to rattling. The highland ones are much better I have 23 model 3 and it was a rattle trap. I also have 25 model 3 and 26 model 3 performance and both are rattle free.

Please share your fixes :)

How do I fix B pillar seatbelt rattle?

Do you have a new highland or older model 3? The fit and finish on the highland is way better. I have no rattles on mine. The older model has many more issues

Left scroll wheel fixes mine…

My 2026 M3H from Shangai is also full of rattles and no way Tesla Centers are going to really help with those. Anyway for the OP: could you go into details on how you fixed all those rattles ? I have almost all of those you’ve listed. Thanks!

I also have the buzzing/rattling by the passenger rear, but I'm not sure it's a seatbelt issue for me - sounds like it's coming from the door panel

Yeah it’s unfortunate they just gaslight you and send you on your way lol. B pillar rattles: Removed the b pillars and then removed the plastic seatbelt housing that goes up and down and covered every plastic edge with felt tape and small pieces of anti rattle tape. Also covered the outside b pillar clips with felt tape. A pillar rattle: Removed a pillar and added felt tape to any plastic with movement, put pillar back added foam between the crevice where the a pillar and dashboard meet near the windshield. Dash rattle: removed dashboard trim and knocked around until i located the specific rattle point, added felt tape and foam, added felt tape to the trim piece itself, reassembled. Basically the answer is always felt tape if you can locate the rattle spot. Eliminate any possible plastic on plastic or plastic on metal contact.

Just answered this on another comment but in short remove the pillar and add felt tape and small foam to any plastic and plastic or plastic on metal contact points. Add felt tape between the seatbelt sliding piece and the pillar.

forsure.. I work in the music industry and listen to music all day for my job so i tend to like driving in silence, hence why I have found so many of these lol

2022 only 12k miles. I’ve heard that. I’ll certainly get a performance of the new M3 when I trade this in and hope they’re a little better made as far as the rattles go. Ultimately, i’ve fixed a lot of mine to a reasonable point, but my OCD won’t let me ignore even the slightest one when they pop up lol

I don’t have rattles… yet. But in this cold weather it seems like I am hearing mor road and wind noise

I took mine in for a super annoying creaking in my driver side seat. No matter how I shifted my weight, adjusted the lumbar and the seat orientation, there was this awful rusty old spring sounding creak every time I went over a seam in the road, or moved in my chair. The first time I brought it in I was told the "vegan leather (pleather) needed to break in". The second time I brought it in about 3 months later, they took apart the seat and found the problem and it hasn't creaked since. No idea what it was, but clearly was inside the seat.

Elon, is that you? Because that sounds like bs to me.

Headliner rattle was a bit.h to find it. I had to drive with tesla ranger in the back and the we found out where the rattle was. 2 years search🤡.

yeah and the headliner is a pain in the ass to remove or else i’d just take it off and felt tape every last bit of it. i have a service appt this week and im already prepared to get the car back with more rattles than i leave it with 🤦‍♂️

Check the coat hangers

You don’t listen to any music while driving? I have a rattle somewhere on the passenger rear door panel but any rattle gets muffled by the music I play. Most rattles are going to be behind panels and it’ll be a pain to find where the exact sound is coming from. The problem is that teslas are already really quiet cars so any other noise that the car makes is very audible and noticeable, so don’t think that you are the only one having rattles. All other cars can have some sort of rattle

Update on this: Brought it in for service, they claim to have fixed them but really nothing is any different. However, they gave me a loaner Model Y in the meantime and I realized “wow.. my M3 really barely rattles at all compared to this thing..” so if anything that helped me be a little less picky about the little bit of noise I have in mine. It seems to be inevitable that there will be some noise present in a lot of if not most of these cars.