Mine is a 2020 3LR (out of warranty by 300 miles)
My passenger side was noisy and then I noticed the drivers side gasket was cracking (second seal) so I paid $280 for a replacement) after the guy left I had to get him to come back because parts of the string were out of track.
Now I notice the wind noise at 60mph so it’s worse than before so I submitted a request and have to approve another charge of $280to schedule service? Which I will fight.
The seal issue for me is it doesn’t reach the glass in the top corner. I know they are going to come back and say “in spec” which they always do and they will not share the criteria for being “in spec”. In spec means whatever they want. Elon should be ashamed. This is getting ridiculous. I’ve had so many little issues on two new cars. My brand new 2023 Y is pretty quiet but has other issues the call In Spec. My 2016 S seems to be a much better built car.
My only thought is somebody’s going to have to make a replacement gasket not Tesla (since they don’t seem capable) or a kit to fix this. You can put according to one tech little strips of felt to push the gasket to the window better. I think he means where the gasket attaches to body. So frustrating I’ve never experienced these wind noises in any of my cars including other electrics I’ve owned. A Chevy Bolt was fine.
I have the 2022 Tesla Model 3 Performance. I've put hundred(s) of hours in trying to get rid of this wind noise and I've made great progress!
Most of the wind noise seems to come from the general area of the top corner, against the B pillar (rear end of the window glass). The issue is the seal between the glass and the rubber door surround weatherstripping.
Note that the offending area can move and change with other more gross adjustments. You've got to fine tune the gross adjustments as good as you can get before moving on to the next process that I call, "shimming".
I've made a lot of progress and the driver's side noise is down to the point that now I hear all the other doors/ windows instead of the one right next to my left ear.
If the condition of the rubber is bad, it must be replaced.
But we should all condition that rubber on some kind of regular schedule. Tesla mobile service technician recommended a non silicone treatment. I bought what was recommended by Tesla, Wurts. It's expensive but I'm pulling out all the stops to solve these issues.
What I've observed in my car is that the window has a lot of pre curvature in the non shut non pressured shape. And the door surround rubber weatherstrip attached to the car body is fairly flat. That means the window must flattened out when it is rolled up. This isn't a good idea and a terrible design IMHO. That means that the window needs a lot of pressure to flatten and it's likely there will be spots that don't get a good tight seal. It also might mean that the rubber weatherstripping surround may get unevenly pressured over time may squeeze some areas more than other areas. And you may have to return to the process. Time will tell. The rubber is very solid and very hard, so I hope not.
So I did the following:
I closed the door tighter by adjusting the hook latch in the B pillar inwards several mils. This moves all the glass tighter in against the rubber.
I then tightened the glass somewhat selectively front and back (each has an adjustment screw) by removing the door inner panel and moved the screws out so the top of the glass moved in. This I did in several iterations back and forth front back in out until I got the glass as flat as possible. I kept measuring with the cardboard slip test as described herein.
Finally I came up with a unique "shimming process". I shim the rubber outwards towards the window a few mils at a time and only in areas where the gap is larger and only after doing all the other tightening techniques outlined herein. I believe it is unique. I have not read or watch anyone even thinking of this approach. It took a long time to sort this approach out and a lot of experimentation. But it works. It's tricky and time consuming but it works!
After tightening the door and window. To get the rubber to window tighter in the gross overall sense.
Then I test for any remaining loose sections.
First I used a thin cardboard about the shape of a credit card. I test the fit of the window glass to the rubber. I just slip it in between. If it feels snug it is good, if the cardboard passes easily or goes through, there will be wind noises. I mark the section(s), hopefully just one with removable black electrical tape (it leaves no residue).
I have to get the overall window tight enough so that there are only one or two areas, say 4” more or less in length where the test card is too loose. If there's more areas than that still loose, then go back to gross tightening adjustment measures such as door tightening and window angle adjustment. Do those iteratively until you are down to one or two small areas that need a bit of help.
I shim the rubber out just in those areas. Hopefully just one or two.
I came up with a shimming system.
I take a hacksaw blade and wrap one or two wraps of black Duck Tape around it for the thickness desired. I then tape the blade on the body surface on the edge facing the rubber when removed. If necessary I open the slot in the rubber a bit to fit. If I need a shorter shim, I simply break the blade into shorter sections.
I then press the rubber back into place carefully going over the shim(s). I then reinsert all places where the rubber is supposed to seat.
This process has proved to work quite well.
A word of caution. DO NOT excessively shim. You could possibly force the window to hit the metal half round over the top of the window and break glass. Replacement glass runs around $200-$275, aftermarket or used, if you do it yourself. The newer cars have double glass which is more expensive and more difficult to get a hold of.
