How Quiet is your P85D ?

a used part is a proven part...
old geezer

My P85D makes more power train noise than my Sig 85, but it's most noticeable during regen as a variable frequency whine, and not really a problem during acceleration or steady-state cruise. I haven't been able to conclude with any certainty that the whine is coming from the front drive unit, either.

Having two drive units makes diagnosing noise issues much more difficult...

If the noises are a true issue they will worsen and you will have another remanufactured motor in the back. I used to have that noise beginning at 20,000 miles until the motor and invertor were changed at 30,000 miles

The earlier demo P85Ds seemed louder to many of us than the cars that we started taking delivery of. Perhaps the motors you have now are somehow more similar to those earlier motors. (It's also possible that between the time people were driving the demo units and taking delivery, Tesla just did something to insulate the sound better, so the above could be completely meaningless.)

I do think that with your car having been so new, Tesla would be doing the right thing to get you brand new motors, and not remanufactured motors.

The only noise I hear is a feint whine from the front motor when accelerating briskly, and nothing at any other times.

My P85D has always had a somewhat noticeable whine coming from the front motor whose frequency depends on acceleration. I don't mind this sound at all, I actually like it since it's nice audible feedback with regards to how much acceleration you're applying.

However, it has also developed a small popping or clunk sound that happens frequently in city driving. It happens most commonly when accelerating briskly or right when regen kicks in after fully releasing the accelerator. It sounds exactly like the description from this old post. The Service Center looked at it and they said it's normal drivetrain sound, related to gears, and that only when it becomes very loud do they consider a drivetrain replacement.

I'm not very happy with this new sound. Does anybody else have it?

I've heard (from other threads on this forum) that Tesla has a "noise tracker" where they can record drivetrain noises and store them for playback later. I have no idea if this is a real feature or not. Sounds a little creepy if they record from the cabin...

I had a P85D loaner for one day recently, and compared to my S85, it was an order of magnitude louder. Same suspension, tires, etc. While accelerating slowly or quickly, regenerating, or just maintaining speed, the power train was simply louder. Every passenger who had ridden in my S85 noted that as well.

EVBeast said:

The only noise I hear is a feint whine from the front motor when accelerating briskly, and nothing at any other times.

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Same here. 800 miles so far.

Just turn the stereo up and it will all go away...

On the serious side, I've only had a P85D for a month and it is so much quieter than my previous ICE I have nothing to compare it to.

A video goes a long way to describe what you're experiencing.

I've been experiencing a louder-than-usual humming sound at speed and power > 15 kW, which incidentally goes away with RANGE MODE being ON since 2.2.139 and above introduced torque sleep, but the hum is clearly there when RANGE MODE is OFF.

For more details, check out the thread I started here:

P85D: loud motor humming sound at highway speeds and over 15kW power (or regen)

I didn't have a model S before the P85D (but it is quieter tha the roadster!). I did have several loaner S though, of varying ages. The P85D is quieter than any of the loaners, it seems to me. This is with me trying to notice extra noises. The only noise that has surprised me is a sometimes present, sometimes not, really high pitched sound coming from the parked car when woken up after a greater than few hour sleep period. It sounds like a small, very fast turbine, pump, or something in the front of the car. It goes away after a bit, or at least I don't notice it after a while.

I've had three drive units replaced. Maybe you got one of those.

Can anyone make a video of this noise. I drove a P85D over the weekend and it whined pretty bad which concerns me, not something I would want to have to live with.

PlanB said:

Can anyone make a video of this noise. I drove a P85D over the weekend and it whined pretty bad which concerns me, not something I would want to have to live with.

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I tried to do this for you today, but mine is so quiet that all I got was tire noise really. #672xx if that helps.

Point of comparison, my 2012 Leaf has louder motor/drivetrain noise by a decent amount and I swear the early build test drive car was much louder than my 1/2015 car.

There are a few motor wines that are normal for any motor to have, often times the insulation is what keeps you from hearing it. Anything electric if your pumping a lot of energy through it will make some kind of hum or noise from the vibration.

I work using a lot of electro chemistry to purify precious metals and even stationary equipment with no moving parts but high amps has a distinct hum and vibration too it. The fact that tesla has been able to make motors this quiet is rather remarkable.

yet we live in a world where the internet allows people to wine just like the motors about anything they see as out of the ordinary or does not come with a magic unicorn included.

I hear a small electric wine that is normal with any motor that spins. Weather it be polishing motors crushing and grinding motors or electric transformers, They all make a small amount of noise, Have any of you ever stood under high power transmission lines and heard the buzzing noise? And that is a stationary wire.

I think hearing a little wine is completely normal. Also if something is wrong you can know it. The feedback is kind of nice I feel as it lets you now the motors are doing something..or not.
Dare I say it? Sort of Like an Internal Combustion Engine, the faster you go the louder it gets.

Keep in mind this is a newer application, the First ICE cars were loud, And today the fact that explosive gas can be muffled down as far as it is is rather amazing. The same can be said for electric motors. Can you imagine how loud a tesla would be if using early 1900s tech to spin a motor that fast to drive vehicle?

A major problem with people of this era is they are not bewildered by what is around them and available too them and how amazing it is, particularly in the last century and even the last 15 years, But in a way this also solves problems and pushes those with the minds to make changes in engineering to push even harder to try to appease the un-appease-able of this world.

I like the tesla wine, I wish I could enhance it for effect, but the quiet has also not attracted the wrong kind of attention either while I zoom about enjoying the heck out of myself.

jewelerdave said:

There are a few motor wines that are normal for any motor to have...

yet we live in a world where the internet allows people to wine just like the motors about anything they see as out of the ordinary or does not come with a magic unicorn included.

I hear a small electric wine that is normal with any motor that spins.

I think hearing a little wine is completely normal.


I like the tesla wine...

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Whine. WHINE. W --H-- INE!

I know it's considered poor form to correct others' grammar and speliing and I let your other mistakes pass, but if you're really going to post about people whining about the cars' whine and use the word or a form of it five times, you're going to get called out for spelling the word incorrectly. Wine is a drink made from grapes.

Haha I was just going to write that a little wine (or more than just a little) is always a good thing! Whine, on the other hand, I can do without