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The world can hear my phone calls

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idoco

Member
May 7, 2013
583
675
Outside Philly
#1
On several occasions my wife has pulled into the garage while talking on the phone. Standing outside the car I can hear the other end of the phone call, as if it were on a loud speaker. I can't hear my wife's end of the call. Only the other person.

Today while driving the car I was on the phone in a parking lot. A friend walked over and asked me if I knew that the other end of the call was being broadcast for the world to hear!

Does anyone else have this problem? Or is this something I need the service center to address?
 
#3
idoco said:
On several occasions my wife has pulled into the garage while talking on the phone. Standing outside the car I can hear the other end of the phone call, as if it were on a loud speaker. I can't hear my wife's end of the call. Only the other person.

Today while driving the car I was on the phone in a parking lot. A friend walked over and asked me if I knew that the other end of the call was being broadcast for the world to hear!

Does anyone else have this problem? Or is this something I need the service center to address?
Click to expand...

All cars are like that.

Bill D said:
Is it only your phone calls or can you hear everything that's playing on your speakers (radio etc) from outside the car?
Click to expand...

It's everything.
 
#5
In my experience all cars are like that and when I pull up next to a car at a traffic light and they're talking hands-free to someone on the phone, I can hear everything both parties say if the driver's car's windows are down, or, if they're up, I can still hear everything the other party is saying because it's so loud on their car stereo speakers.

For this reason I am always careful to lower the speaker level to the very lowest "1" setting when I'm on a hands-free phonecall in the Model S.
 
#7
theres another thread on here I think about this. (I think that thread was from 2012 or early 2013) so yes it's been noted by many ppl from very early on that people outside the car can hear your conversation very clearly. the car is great at keeping sound out. but not in. i wonder if the sound dampening material is one-way, lol.
 
#9
idoco said:
I don't think it's the stereo, but I'll have to check.

As for all cars being like this I've never heard this in any other car I've been around. Even an inexpensive Saturn I own doesn't have this problem.
Click to expand...
Your inexpensive saturn had bluetooth hands-free calling through the stereo?

Stereo speakers are usually located in the doors of vehicles, and they often cut in to any sound insulation to fit them in. End result is most things on the stereo (music included) are quite audible outside. Music is less noticeable for psychological reasons mostly, it has to do with hearing only half a conversation, it's the same reason someone talking on their cell phone in a restaurant always seems louder than 2 people having a conversation, it's not that they are actually louder, it's that your brain has more trouble filtering it out.
 
#11
This is very common. I think the only real concern would be if your calls were being broadcast out to others over the net, airwaves or whatever. Yes, the doors act like reverberators of sounds, so anybody standing near you can hear your music or whatever is coming through the speakers. The entire car body acts as such. Ever heard that guy with the big loud music at a stop light? Same thing. It's physics-vibrations. But the only time to be concerned is when you are stopped. If you are moving, nobody could discern the conversation.
 
#13
Yes this is well-known issue.

Applies to some extent to all cars, but even more so to Model S because a) when you're sitting a stop light or pulling into a garage there's no engine noise to drown the sound of your conversation out and b) because the car is so quiet Tesla have fitted a lot less acoustic insulation than an equivalent premium ICE car would have. That's also why my Model S is totally silent at 10mph but louder than my Audi A8 at 80mph.
 
#17
Chipper said:
Trying to understand this...so having NO noise makes for MORE noise???
Click to expand...
Easy to understand. At highway speeds in a normal luxury car the engine noise is minimal, most of the noise is wind/road. It's easy to imagine that if there's less soundproofing in the MS than the A8 the MS will be quieter at low speeds, yet noisier at high speeds.

ICE Noise in a modern vehicle is not that substantial, it's noticeable at idle and low speeds because there's no other noise to mask it, but at high speeds the wind and road noise far overwhelm the ICE noise.

I have witnessed a similar phenomenon, I used to drive a Mercedes Diesel, at slow speeds it was LOUD (in parking garages and such it was almost embarrassing), but at high speeds it wasn't bad at all, it had great sound insulation that mitigated wind and road noise well. I now drive a Mitsubishi Diesel that idles far quieter than that Mercedes did, it's much quieter at low speeds. But it has poor sound insulation and at highway speeds it's deafening.
 
#18
green1 said:
Easy to understand. At highway speeds in a normal luxury car the engine noise is minimal, most of the noise is wind/road. It's easy to imagine that if there's less soundproofing in the MS than the A8 the MS will be quieter at low speeds, yet noisier at high speeds.

ICE Noise in a modern vehicle is not that substantial, it's noticeable at idle and low speeds because there's no other noise to mask it, but at high speeds the wind and road noise far overwhelm the ICE noise.

I have witnessed a similar phenomenon, I used to drive a Mercedes Diesel, at slow speeds it was LOUD (in parking garages and such it was almost embarrassing), but at high speeds it wasn't bad at all, it had great sound insulation that mitigated wind and road noise well. I now drive a Mitsubishi Diesel that idles far quieter than that Mercedes did, it's much quieter at low speeds. But it has poor sound insulation and at highway speeds it's deafening.
Click to expand...
But it would not be "due to no engine noise".
 
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