Photo: Tesla
Tesla Model X owners have been complaining about creaks and squeaks coming from the dashboard area, but nothing seemed to help. One Tesla Model X Plaid owner has been trying to fix the noise on his cars for over a year. Finally, he met a Service Center technician who eliminated the noises but did not want to disclose precisely how.
Service Centers are not the most popular Tesla departments, with many owners reporting mixed-bag experiences. Depending on your luck, you can get your car's problem fixed, or you can discover that nothing was repaired, despite technicians claiming otherwise. In the worst cases, new problems were caused by the service centers without them admitting to that.
Adam, a Tesla Model X Plaid owner, placed himself in the second category after he took delivery of his car in April 2022. One month into the ownership, his MXP had already developed a squeak that appeared to originate in the passenger side of the dashboard. The noise resembled that made by a wood floorboard when you step on it in the right place and was perceivable during acceleration and braking. Of course, Adam took the car to the Service Center, and the technician claimed the problem was gone.
The sound reappeared the same day, and Adam was patient for another 45 days before he couldn't stand it anymore. The second visit to the service center ended with the same optimistic message that the issue was fixed. This time, Adam noticed a bulge in the speaker grille on the passenger side. The technician explained that they installed felt padding to suppress the noise, which caused the swelling. He didn't mind as long as the noise disappeared, but it didn't. He eventually decided to live with it.
After ten months, the squeak got so annoying that Adam wanted to give the service center a third try. By now, the noise was loud and constant during acceleration and deceleration. When he got to the center, he asked for the manager, but he was on vacation, so a senior technician was assigned. Adam was in luck this time, as the service center guy recognized the sound less than 10 seconds after starting the test. Then he puzzles Adam even more when he promises to fix it in 15 minutes. The Model X spent two days at the service center last time it was in for the same problem.
Adam shared on Reddit that the repair took longer than promised. After 20 minutes, the tech guy returned with the car and invited him to do a test drive. The squeak was gone, and Adam was speechless. The technician promised it would never come back, although he refused to say what he did to eliminate the noise. Adam insisted, and the guy told him that the Model X had a known body seam issue on the passenger side. The noise has nothing to do with the dashboard, it's well below, in an unspecified spot.
Unfortunately, we cannot know for sure because the technician considers the fix a trade secret he would not reveal. Besides having the car fixed, the good news is that this is not a safety issue. Judging by the reactions to Adam's story, many Model X owners struggle with similar noises, and the Service Centers cannot or don't know how to solve the problem. Adam's experience is also a ray of sunshine on the Service Centers' tainted image, proving that competent people are essential.
Adam, a Tesla Model X Plaid owner, placed himself in the second category after he took delivery of his car in April 2022. One month into the ownership, his MXP had already developed a squeak that appeared to originate in the passenger side of the dashboard. The noise resembled that made by a wood floorboard when you step on it in the right place and was perceivable during acceleration and braking. Of course, Adam took the car to the Service Center, and the technician claimed the problem was gone.
The sound reappeared the same day, and Adam was patient for another 45 days before he couldn't stand it anymore. The second visit to the service center ended with the same optimistic message that the issue was fixed. This time, Adam noticed a bulge in the speaker grille on the passenger side. The technician explained that they installed felt padding to suppress the noise, which caused the swelling. He didn't mind as long as the noise disappeared, but it didn't. He eventually decided to live with it.
After ten months, the squeak got so annoying that Adam wanted to give the service center a third try. By now, the noise was loud and constant during acceleration and deceleration. When he got to the center, he asked for the manager, but he was on vacation, so a senior technician was assigned. Adam was in luck this time, as the service center guy recognized the sound less than 10 seconds after starting the test. Then he puzzles Adam even more when he promises to fix it in 15 minutes. The Model X spent two days at the service center last time it was in for the same problem.
Adam shared on Reddit that the repair took longer than promised. After 20 minutes, the tech guy returned with the car and invited him to do a test drive. The squeak was gone, and Adam was speechless. The technician promised it would never come back, although he refused to say what he did to eliminate the noise. Adam insisted, and the guy told him that the Model X had a known body seam issue on the passenger side. The noise has nothing to do with the dashboard, it's well below, in an unspecified spot.
Unfortunately, we cannot know for sure because the technician considers the fix a trade secret he would not reveal. Besides having the car fixed, the good news is that this is not a safety issue. Judging by the reactions to Adam's story, many Model X owners struggle with similar noises, and the Service Centers cannot or don't know how to solve the problem. Adam's experience is also a ray of sunshine on the Service Centers' tainted image, proving that competent people are essential.
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