What began as a supermarket run ended with a Tesla Model Y Performance owner hearing a pop from the rear hatch and then finding that the liftgate would no longer open.
Once back home, the owner manually opened the trunk and discovered that the liftgate actuator bolt had broken off, turning a simple cargo-area function into a trip for service.
Here's what to know
The problem was described in a Reddit thread on a subreddit devoted to the vehicle. The original poster shared photos of the issue.
Even when this kind of part failure does not make the trunk completely unusable, it can still disrupt how the liftgate closes and seals. In this case, the owner said the trunk could still be shut well enough to get the vehicle to Tesla Service, but not as it normally should.
Comments in the thread suggested the issue may extend beyond a single vehicle. One owner said a similar bolt on their 2024 model loosened without fully coming off, yet the repair still had to be sent to a body shop. Another reported the same left-side break and said it took "like 2 weeks to get the bolt through service."
Warranty coverage may reduce the repair bill for some owners, but it does not eliminate the inconvenience that those drivers experienced.
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More background
According to the owner, the strut remained attached at the top, and each attempt to close the trunk pushed it farther upward, which left a noticeable gap. As a stopgap measure, they said they placed rubber under the strut to keep it from sliding up as far.
The original poster updated their post and shared a Tesla service bulletin PDF titled "Replace And Rework Body Side Liftgate Ball Studs," pointing to a documented Tesla repair procedure for at least some liftgate hardware problems.
When a trunk will not shut all the way, owners can be left worrying about both weather sealing and cargo security, while also trying not to aggravate the damage.
After checking Tesla's service website, the poster said the powered strut is on the left side and the right side functions as a strut assist. That may help explain why several of the reports in the thread involved failures on the left.
A commenter who said they work with different car brands described the issue as "a common fault on those ball-bolts and happens randomly on pretty much any brand vehicle," adding the cause could be either a material problem or incorrect factory torque.
What's being done?
That same commenter advised drivers to "avoid causing further damage by using the trunk until the fix."
Along the same lines, it was a better move to take the car in, which is what the original poster did. Before the appointment, they said they expected Tesla would remove the remaining piece of the fastener and replace the bolt.
"Went to the Tesla Service this morning and they were able to fix it (under warranty) within an hour," they shared after the visit. "So everything is good again."
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