Motor noise after exit car

Yes I hear that also, sounds like a compressor in the front? I was wondering if it was air suspension-related.

Yes, I'm hearing that sometimes too. For some reason the suspension is lowering too. I got home today and was pulling out grocery bags from the trunk when the car decided to lower, and knocked into my knee on the way down! Bit annoying too as now I had further to pull the heavy shopping bags up!

I don't think the car should be doing this. I have auto-lowering set to 55mph, not Park

DriverOne said:

Yes, I'm hearing that sometimes too. For some reason the suspension is lowering too. I got home today and was pulling out grocery bags from the trunk when the car decided to lower, and knocked into my knee on the way down! Bit annoying too as now I had further to pull the heavy shopping bags up!

I don't think the car should be doing this. I have auto-lowering set to 55mph, not Park

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This is the air suspension and it started with 5.9. It is indeed lowering the car after you get out. The tech at the service center I spoke to could not figure it out since you should not need the compressor to run to lower the PSI. It's also odd that it lowers the are more than what the Low setting is supposed to be since that is what I drive in.

I have the same issue that I have posted on the driving dynamics thread. Ever since 5.9 once I exit the vehicle I get this motor noise and the car lowers or self levels. It does not seem to matter if I have it set to lower at a specific speed or have it to be in the low setting all the time. I wonder how it can lower when it is already in low mode.

It sounds to me like the auto-leveling shocks, and I agree it is new since 5.9 I believe.

In another thread, I thought we'd decided this noise was from the compressor that powered the brakes since people without air suspension got the same noise.

FWIW, the noise isn't new, but it does seem to happen more now with 5.9 after parking. Presumably Tesla noticed something that made that a good time to run that compressor.

It definitely sounds like the brake vacuum booster pump.

AmpedRealtor said:

It definitely sounds like the brake vacuum booster pump.

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Maybe so. But my car is lowering whenever I get out while this "noise/motor sound" is happening. Definitely new behavior since 5.9

In my opinion 5.9 refined the auto-leveling algorithm. It only seems like it is lowering because a significant weight (the driver) has just departed the car causing it to rise on one quadrant. Auto-leveling then kicks in and readjusts the vehicle.

Every time I hear the noise, I notice that the car gets lower, so I'm pretty sure that it's the air suspension. It's really noticeable if you stare at the back tire's wheel gap. I love it!

Chipper said:

In my opinion 5.9 refined the auto-leveling algorithm. It only seems like it is lowering because a significant weight (the driver) has just departed the car causing it to rise on one quadrant. Auto-leveling then kicks in and readjusts the vehicle.

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Interesting. I'm definitely one of the (ahem) "largest" Model S drivers (maybe THE largest?) so this might be the case. Kind of the car sighing with relief when I exit. :smile:

I believe the noise is the air suspension lowering or self leveling. As soon as the motor noise starts the car lowers, so we know that the low setting that you are in when driving is not as low as it will go when parked.

I too have noticed the air suspension re-leveling after I exit more often under 5.9 than before. Seems like there's consensus on it being this.

ImperialG said:

Every time I hear the noise, I notice that the car gets lower, so I'm pretty sure that it's the air suspension. It's really noticeable if you stare at the back tire's wheel gap. I love it!

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I still think it's the brakes. If you get in and lower the suspension manually, you won't her the same noise.

The car may _also_ be lowering after parking now and it's just that the two are happening at the same time that's causing people to think it's the suspension.

I know the difference between the brake boost pump and the air suspension pump. On my car at least they are distinct. I'll pay closer attention next time it happens , but was pretty sure it was the air suspension pump last time.

I back into my garage with the air set to High and leave it there when exiting the car. Since 5.9, the car has been doing this wee bit of "lowering" even with the setting on High. I got back into the car to make sure that the setting still shows as High; the clearance in the wheel wells confirm this too. So, not sure what that lowering was.

The noise does sound more like the brake pump though; it's what I hear the first thing in the morning every day when I press the (hard) brake pedal to get the car going.

My observation is that it is the air suspension lowering. Every time I hear the noise the suspension lowers. Been doing this to me since 5.9.