Normal Model S Sounds

fryfrye · Sep 11, 2013

I've had my car for almost two weeks now. It's fantastic. However, its very hard to know which sounds are normal and which sounds might need a trip to the service center. For example, when I first "wake the car up" in the morning I hear an audible loud-ish click from under the car -- it sounds like a relay closing. (i have V 5.0 of the software).

Perhaps we can create a wiki page here that has recording of these sounds so we can compare the "good" from the "bad".

Other fun sounds are the air-suspension, the air conditioner, the sound of the car under VERY hard acceleration --

I had my first "My Tesla Saved my A$$" today when I had to accelerate very very hard and fast when someone tried to occupy the same space as my car -- the sound of the juice flowing at that rate is fun.

JerryNycom · Sep 11, 2013

My MS has the same "click clunk" sound.....Sometimes while I'm in my garage it happens when I don't even do anything, its like shes calling me!

Mayhemm · Sep 11, 2013

fryfrye said:
I had my first "My Tesla Saved my A$$" today when I had to accelerate very very hard and fast when someone tried to occupy the same space as my car -- the sound of the juice flowing at that rate is fun.

Are you a lawyer by any chance, fryfrye?

"Occupy the same space" sounds very legal-ese for "F%@& almost ran into me!"

gene · Sep 11, 2013

I have had my S for six months. That click sound when you enter garage is normal. I think the car recognizes your fob and the noise coming from around the rear inverter is probably just getting ready for your next command. Under acceleration you can hear gear whine or even the tires digging in; normal. Noise from the A/C compressor is totally normal. The earlier ones, like mine, make even more AC noise than yours. I'd say, you haven't any issues by your description.

brianstorms · Sep 11, 2013

How about the loud hum at 70mph or higher on I-5 out in the middle of nowhere in Central CA?

I noticed on my recent long drive that as soon as we got up to 70mph, there was a pretty loud hum coming from the motor. I have heard this may not be normal? The hum is loud enough to resonate and make the left rear door panel vibrate/ratttle annoyingly. At lower speeds depending on road surface, it rattles and vibrates, but when the motor hum gets going, the combination is a bit much.

Sparky · Sep 11, 2013

brianstorms said:
How about the loud hum at 70mph or higher on I-5 out in the middle of nowhere in Central CA?

Yup. Got that too. Thought it might be road noise but it doesn't seem to change with surface condition. It's on my list of things to have checked. Perhaps someone else has a report on whether it's something fix-able?

steve841 · Sep 11, 2013

brianstorms said:
How about the loud hum at 70mph or higher on I-5 out in the middle of nowhere in Central CA?

I noticed on my recent long drive that as soon as we got up to 70mph, there was a pretty loud hum coming from the motor. I have heard this may not be normal? The hum is loud enough to resonate and make the left rear door panel vibrate/ratttle annoyingly. At lower speeds depending on road surface, it rattles and vibrates, but when the motor hum gets going, the combination is a bit much.

There's a thread about a similar issue that actually required a drivetrain replacement... Search around.

Plug Me In · Sep 11, 2013

My philosophy is don't sweat it unless a warning light comes on or you get a call from Tesla telling you not to drive your car. Of course I maxed out warranties and service plans exactly for this peace of mind.

fryfrye · Sep 12, 2013

Mayhemm said:
Are you a lawyer by any chance, fryfrye?

"Occupy the same space" sounds very legal-ese for "F%@& almost ran into me!"

LOL, no.

- - - Updated - - -

Do what about the idea of setting up a place in the MODEL S FAQ to post "normal sounds" --

caddieo · Sep 12, 2013

I am hearing impaired especially for higher frequencies and my hearing aids are just about "end of life" so the blessed silence of the car under normal circumstances is even more blessed. :biggrin: I have trouble appreciating the whine when flooring it and fan/AC noise is non-existent. So as long as I get no warning lights, messages or numbers and the car motion feels normal without unusual vibrations or palpable thumps, I blissfully drive on. The sound package in my car is for the Mrs.

cybrown · Sep 12, 2013

How about funny sounds after you park? When I get out of the car in the evening in the garage, I can hear high-pitched whining sounds. I've assumed it's part of the battery cooling system or maybe just the AC compressor still running, but it doesn't sound nice.

fryfrye · Sep 12, 2013

I hear that one as well I think its normal. Im going to start recording some sounds... and posting here -- then we can move them to the wiki if they are "normal" -- maybe a section for "bad sounds" as well

gene · Sep 12, 2013

cybrown said:
How about funny sounds after you park? When I get out of the car in the evening in the garage, I can hear high-pitched whining sounds. I've assumed it's part of the battery cooling system or maybe just the AC compressor still running, but it doesn't sound nice.

That's the AC. Its normal. There is also a small whine that can come from the battery cooling system. Don't over think these tiny noises.

Of interest:. I did have the pano-roof service bulletin work done. When the tech was test driving the car, he removed all the clutter from my glove box to be sure that there was no personal items to make noise. The car is so incredibly quiet that anything will be noticeable. So, you just can't have complete silence. When I drive with the roof open, the birds in the trees tweeting away can surprise me!

Todd Burch · Sep 12, 2013

The clunk when you approach the car, for clarification, is in fact a relay that is connecting the main pack to the car. When it "unclunks", only the 12V battery is engaged fto power the car's systems.

You'll hear it click when you get the car going in the morning, or when the car needs to top off the 12V battery, or if the pack is in a maintenance mode (coolant circulating), for instance.

MarkR · Oct 10, 2013

brianstorms said:
I noticed on my recent long drive that as soon as we got up to 70mph, there was a pretty loud hum coming from the motor. I have heard this may not be normal? The hum is loud enough to resonate and make the left rear door panel vibrate/ratttle annoyingly. At lower speeds depending on road surface, it rattles and vibrates, but when the motor hum gets going, the combination is a bit much.

I've also got a hum at 70+ that I think is actually a vibration. When I bank into a turn at high speed the noise goes away and returns on the straight away. I guess I could drive without the hum the time if I were willing to drive a lot in high speed circles!

mknox · Oct 10, 2013

MarkR said:
I've also got a hum at 70+ that I think is actually a vibration. When I bank into a turn at high speed the noise goes away and returns on the straight away. I guess I could drive without the hum the time if I were willing to drive a lot in high speed circles!

I have the (very annoying) hum too. Sounds a bit like a failing wheel bearing. I notice that it goes away when the power meter goes to zero or into the green and comes back again as soon as the power meter goes in to the orange. Maybe you're backing off the accelerator in the turns??? I can make the sound come and go at will just by backing off and then re-applying some accelerator. I can hear it with the windows open and the audio at "8" and it sometimes causes a vibration that I can feel through the accelerator pedal. Goes in to Service next week.

AmpedRealtor · Oct 10, 2013

Having owned a hybrid for 7 years, I've gotten used to the strange noises the car makes while sitting idle. There are whistling noises, liquid sounding noises, occasional fan sounds, etc. Model S makes a lot of the same sounds. Absolutely normal. If you are coming from an ICE car then some of the sounds might seem strange.

Mayhemm · Oct 10, 2013

mknox said:
Goes in to Service next week.

Be sure to post here when you get your car back. I'm curious to hear what they find.

fryfrye · Oct 12, 2013

I have a small "hum" over 65, but I am pretty convinced its the tires as 70 downhill neutral power consumption still has the same noise... I might schedule a service appointment at 2k miles for a few very small items that need to be checked (wipers stuttering, seal on Pano, and passenger door hard to close, rocker panel adjustment)

DRK · Nov 5, 2013

I have now got a clunking sound and lows speeds when I gently add power and come off power in stop and go traffic. Sounds like a bad u-joint type sound coming from the rear end. Service wants to look at it and claim they have heard of this prior to me reporting it. Once I get an answer I will report back.

Normal Model S Sounds

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