Tesla Model 3 Rear Door Won’t Open: Try These Fixes

Opening the rear door on the driver’s or passenger’s side often takes hard work for DIYers. First, you have to locate and identify the causes before doing anything.

Based on my experience, the Tesla Model 3 rear door won’t open if the striker plate gets rusty, activate Child Lock mode, or misaligned the door frame. You can solve the bug by changing the striker plate, turning off the Child Lock mode, or aligning the door frame.

This issue is easy to fix that takes 20 – 40 minutes based on the difficulty level of each task. To know the procedure, keep on reading till the end!

3 Ways to Fix When Tesla Model 3 Rear Door Won’t Open!

In order to get rid of the issue of the car’s rear door not opening, you might need to try the given fixes. The instruction is given under each section. Enjoy!

Solution #1: Toggle Child Lock & Reboot the Tesla

Since there is no Tesla Model 3 rear door manual release but you can find it in the front door, they give an option called Child Lock for safety. Sometimes folks tune this mode and forget to turn it off and later cannot open the rear door. If that’s your case, try the given procedure:

• Go to your front door seat and access the touchpad.
• Click on the Controls bar.
• Hit the Locks option and then the Child Lock bar (on the left side of Windows Lock).
• Press it to turn it off.
• Then, hit the 2 buttons on the steering wheel (scroll keys) for 10 seconds while pressing the brake pedal. Do this until the screen goes off.
• Sit and wait for 10 to 30 seconds to complete the steps.

Note: It is suggested to turn it on if your kids are in the back seat.

Solution #2: Align the Door Frame

Sometimes a wrongly inserted door frame can block the extra space that needs to open the rear door. It can occur maybe when you try some sort of DIY task. To fix that, you should try the given step-by-step hack:

• Use a pry bar to detach the reflective cover on the side of the door panel. You’ll find a bolt inside and remove it using a driller.
• Similarly, unbolt the one bolt that stands on the handle head using the same tool.
• Underneath the door panel, you have to remove another bolt with the driller.
• Use a small pry bar or hand force to remove the door panel.
• Then, use the same tool to remove all the bolts that hold the door frame. Some bolts are hidden behind the glass which has holes.
• Remove the door frame from the rear door.
• Locate the gasket or seal under the door frame. Matching the seal line, insert the door frame back to the spot. Be sure it is properly fitted and aligned.
• Insert all the bolts and tighten them out using the driller.
• Attach the glasses to the holes to hide the bolts.
• Now, align the door panel in the right proportion and put everything back into place.
• Reboot the car and then test it out if this works or not.

Solution #3: Lube the Striker Plate or Replace It

A lot of times water or freezing snow sticking in the door striker plate on the rear door can cause it to catch rust. This can cause the rear door to not open as the latch gets stuck. Do the following steps to fix that:

• Open the rear door using a pry bar or go inside your car through the front door and press the open button on the touchscreen.
• Locate the door striker plate on the piler.
• Inspect its condition.
• Use paint tape around the door striker plate.
• Apply the penetrating oil through a small brush only on the metal parts, not the Tesla.
• Let it sit for 30 seconds.
• Close the door and then open it a few times.
• Again, apply the penetrating oil on the metal parts and close the door. Let it sit for 10 – 30 minutes.
• If it doesn’t work, you have to replace the striker plate.
• Grab a flat screwdriver or torque wrench and starts to detach the 2 bolts that hold the door striker plate.
• Remove the striker plate and install a new one.
• Then, use a protective cap like the CoolKo striker plate cover for the door striker plate to protect the shell.
• Close the door and open it after rebooting the car.

Also Read: Tesla Model S Glass Roof Heat Issue: (Solved)

Overall Thought

And that’s how you can fix the situation when Tesla model 3 rear door won’t open! The procedure is simple if you are able to follow the steps without missing anything.

Spending bucks on repair through a dealership is okay if these ways don’t help you. However, it will take around $1,500 or more based on the damage. If you have assurance time left, then it can charge less.

Hope the piece of information given in this guide helps you to fix the error. Catch You in The Next Guide with New Topic Soon!