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Front Door Alignment: Procedure

  1. Identify any adjacent panels that may also need adjustment to successfully align the front doors to within specification.
    NOTE: If multiple panels require adjustment, the best practice is to start with a panel that is adjacent to a fixed panel on the vehicle (e.g. quarter panel or roof rail).
    NOTE: The optimal adjustment order is the following:
    • Trunk/liftgate
    • Rear doors
    • Front doors
    • Fenders
    • Hood
  2. Remove the striker for the door to accurately assess the natural alignment of the assembly.
    CAUTION: Forcing the door into alignment via striker adjustments can lead to premature wear on the hinge and latch assemblies.
  3. Identify what directions the door needs to be adjusted to bring it within specification.
  4. Use the images to identify the hardware that needs to be loosened to adjust the door position in the necessary directions.
    G14739136Courtesy of TESLA, INC.
    G14739137Courtesy of TESLA, INC.
  5. Loosen the necessary bolts just enough to enable adjusting the assemblies with a light application of force.
  6. Retighten them.
  7. Check to see if the door fit has improved.
    CAUTION: Adjust the door in only one direction at a time to reduce risk of damage from panels contacting each other during the adjustment process.
  8. Repeat the process until the door fit is within gap and flushness specifications.
    NOTE: If the shouldered / tapered bolts are not allowing for successful adjustment, replace the selected shouldered / tapered bolts for 1063260-00-C.
  9. Re-torque all hardware that was loosened back to factory values.
  10. Reinstall the striker.
  11. Adjust the striker until the door closes in a smooth motion with minimal effort and is correctly aligned to adjacent panels in the fully latched position.
    NOTE: If the door requires excessive force to close, does not latch, or does not maintain proper alignment with the striker installed, then the striker may require adjustment.
  12. Re-torque the striker hardware to factory values.