Nagging issues

caps04 · Apr 15, 2015

I am facing some nagging issues with my car and wondering if there's any hope:

I feel some buffering pressure in my ears at speeds over 20 but my wife doesn't feel it and the service guys didn't either. It's subtle but I can't imagine living with it for the life of the car. There are no obvious gaps anywhere where I can feel the wind or anything but I just sense it. It's driving me crazy.
My seat has some movement to it when I apply the brakes which I've never felt in any other car. Even stopping from low speeds and I feel it jerk forward slightly and then back. Again, they didn't feel it in service but still tightened the bolts and the issue remains. Is this normal? Should the seat move even a little when the car stops hard/semi-hard?
The front left wheel grinds against something when turning all the way left. They fixed the alignment to "spec" to fix this but I still hear it.
After the minor 153 update, the "jet engine" noise from the front motor has become too loud both in normal and sport mode. It's now a very prominent electric motor sound that I can hear at any speed and any acceleration, even when pulling out of the driveway in 15MPH zones. I remember hearing it only when I was punching it pre-153. Is this normal or should I have it looked at?

My service center is far away and the whole getting a loaner, waiting days and then getting my car on a flat bed is just too much work and I don't want to go through it if these are "normal" issues and I have to just live with it. I went through that before, got a very dirty loaner and after all said and done, the car is just the way it was. They were not even able to fix a mis-aligned window chrome trimming that is so off that almost everyone notices and comments on it.

Thoughts and experiences?

Gizmotoy · Apr 15, 2015

Doesn't sound normal, but if no one else feels it, it might be either that it's in your head or that it's real and you're just much more sensitive to it. If it's anything, the likely culprit is the triangle windows on the front doors. Take it to a high pressure wash and see if you get any water intrusion. If you do, that'd be a good way to force them to adjust the weather stripping despite them not experiencing what you are.
This is not normal. The seats should be solid and without any play. Is it the seat base or back (or both)? Could be a safety issue. Maybe there's a way you can measure?
This is not normal, but common. The tolerances at full lock are pretty tight. I know mine rubs slightly. Essentially your tire is brushing against the felt wheel well liner. They can fix it, but it's not a big deal.
Mine is RWD, so I'll have to let a D owner chime in here. In general, I think many owners of even the RWD model have described the sounds the car makes have changed or evolved as the car aged.

iadbound · Apr 15, 2015

I would say No. 2 is not normal (I've been in many Model S vehicles and only one did this, and it was very irritating). I've never experienced 1 or 3, and I don't have a dual engine car so I can't comment on No. 4. I believe there are some thread about No. 1, however, so you should search for those.

As for the trim, Tesla has no excuse. They should be able to fix this, especially since the trim just pops off and can be refitted. And while I hate to jump the gun, don't be shy about taking your issues up a rung or two, especially if you feel that the service center could still do more. Usually, Tesla will jump through hoops to fix stuff; so don't give up.

XrstalLens · Apr 15, 2015

For the first issue, some people have found that the rear hatch if it is not tight against the bumpers can flutter when driving. It causes a big change in pressure in the cabin just like you describe. The way to fix it is to extend the rubber bumpers the hatch closes against by unscrewing them a small amount at a time until the fluttering goes away.

For the third issue the tire is probably just rubbing against the inside of the wheel well. My car does this and it's not a big deal.

Todd Burch · Apr 15, 2015

#1: Rear hatch is vibrating like a drum head while driving, causing an annoying low frequency vibration. Annoys my ears. Both my first and second car had it.

Solution: Unscrew the rubber stoppers on the hatch a little each time, until the sound goes away.

Unfortunately, on my car I've got them out as far as they'll go (without falling out) and although it's much better than before, I can still hear it a little. Was going to ask the service center if there's another (better) solution--like longer rubber screws!

#2: What is moving, the entire seat (including the base) or just the backrest? Surprised that the service center cannot replicate.

#3: Agree, not a big deal. You're either hearing slight rubbing at full rotation (which you shouldn't really be at much if at all while driving), or you're hearing straining of the power steering hardware.

#4: RWD owner here. I've heard of the balloon noise appearing, but have never heard of the turbine noise changing after an update.

taurusking · Apr 15, 2015

I had a same issue with #2. I felt the seats move even now. Took it to the service center and the tech told me slight movement is within normal limits....I was little worried after I read your post. Hopefully it is not a safety issue that they are ignoring.

Mnlevin · Apr 15, 2015

Gizmotoy said:
Take it to a high pressure wash and see if you get any water intrusion. If you do, that'd be a good way to force them to adjust the weather stripping despite them not experiencing what you are.

.

I was told NEVER take the car to a car wash, especially a Hi Pressure. Your paint will fly off. I have 2 Teslas and the only thing close to what you have had is when my Pano Roof was not sealing properly. Fixed, no more issues.

Gizmotoy · Apr 15, 2015

Mnlevin said:
I was told NEVER take the car to a car wash, especially a Hi Pressure. Your paint will fly off. I have 2 Teslas and the only thing close to what you have had is when my Pano Roof was not sealing properly. Fixed, no more issues.

I think someone was pulling your chain. The paint will "fly off"? :biggrin: Yeah, that's not how it works.

iadbound · Apr 15, 2015

Here comes the youtube video of the paint flying off.

Good grief! What's next, don't put the tires on the road?

Lintrix · Apr 15, 2015

caps04 said:
After the minor 153 update, the "jet engine" noise from the front motor has become too loud both in normal and sport mode. It's now a very prominent electric motor sound that I can hear at any speed and any acceleration, even when pulling out of the driveway in 15MPH zones. I remember hearing it only when I was punching it pre-153. Is this normal or should I have it looked at?

Thoughts and experiences?

I did not notice any extra sounds coming from the front motor. This sounds crazy but have you changed wheel sizes since? For some reason I notice the motor sound a lot more running on 19" than 21".

breser · Apr 15, 2015

I thought my front motor was louder for a while. Either I was imagining things or it went back to normal again. Might want to give it a while and see if it goes away.

Westweb · Apr 16, 2015

Definitely an increase in motor whine with the latest update. To sacrifice tranquility for a few milliseconds of acceleration is not a welcomed trade-off. If acceleration was so important I would have purchased the P. Give us back our sanity and keep your Sport Mode.

redi · Apr 16, 2015

Todd Burch said:
#1: Rear hatch is vibrating like a drum head while driving, causing an annoying low frequency vibration. Annoys my ears. Both my first and second car had it.

Solution: Unscrew the rubber stoppers on the hatch a little each time, until the sound goes away.

Unfortunately, on my car I've got them out as far as they'll go (without falling out) and although it's much better than before, I can still hear it a little. Was going to ask the service center if there's another (better) solution--like longer rubber screws!

Thanks for this. I have heard a buffeting on rare occasion between 20-30 mph and, since the car was closed up, thought it was just odd tire/road noise or maybe the rear shelf/cover doing something harmonic. I might give this a try. Sounded like a more faint buffet as if one rear window might be open. Happened so rarely that I did not bother chasing it down.

caps04 · Apr 16, 2015

Westweb said:
Definitely an increase in motor whine with the latest update. To sacrifice tranquility for a few milliseconds of acceleration is not a welcomed trade-off. If acceleration was so important I would have purchased the P. Give us back our sanity and keep your Sport Mode.

So it's just not me. What sucks is that Normal mode doesn't return to the quieter sound.. at least not in my limited testing. Hopefully it goes away in time or with another update.

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Lintrix said:
I did not notice any extra sounds coming from the front motor. This sounds crazy but have you changed wheel sizes since? For some reason I notice the motor sound a lot more running on 19" than 21".

No, it's still the original 19".

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XrstalLens said:
For the first issue, some people have found that the rear hatch if it is not tight against the bumpers can flutter when driving. It causes a big change in pressure in the cabin just like you describe. The way to fix it is to extend the rubber bumpers the hatch closes against by unscrewing them a small amount at a time until the fluttering goes away.

For the third issue the tire is probably just rubbing against the inside of the wheel well. My car does this and it's not a big deal.

I tried a few settings up to the max right before it falls out but can still feel the pressure

Weather stripping around the whole car looks really amateur hour.. it's loose in a couple of places, incorrectly cut in other areas and jutting out between windows. Troubleshooting this will be a pain especially since the service guys don't notice it.

Ok, so I have to live with the tire rubbing against the wheel well. That's probably not a big deal in terms of damage but sounds terrible within the car... like an old clunker would sound, not a brand new 100k car.

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iadbound said:
As for the trim, Tesla has no excuse. They should be able to fix this, especially since the trim just pops off and can be refitted. And while I hate to jump the gun, don't be shy about taking your issues up a rung or two, especially if you feel that the service center could still do more. Usually, Tesla will jump through hoops to fix stuff; so don't give up.

This is what I have:

wonko · Apr 16, 2015

The trim is clipped on wrong. Have the SeC fix it!

If you open a rear window just a tiny bit, and the pressure noise goes away, your car may have a issue with getting rid of the air in the cabin. SeC should take another look. Also, as someone wrote before, the triangular shaped window on the driver side front of the front door has known issues sealing. Chek if air comes in there.

caps04 · Apr 16, 2015

wonko said:
The trim is clipped on wrong. Have the SeC fix it!

If you open a rear window just a tiny bit, and the pressure noise goes away, your car may have a issue with getting rid of the air in the cabin. SeC should take another look. Also, as someone wrote before, the triangular shaped window on the driver side front of the front door has known issues sealing. Chek if air comes in there.

I'll have them take another look but this is after they took one look when I sent it to the SC, on top of the quality checks on the bamboo floor at the factory. That is why I've been wondering if this is "normal". Thanks.

iadbound · Apr 16, 2015

wonko said:
The trim is clipped on wrong. Have the SeC fix it!

If you open a rear window just a tiny bit, and the pressure noise goes away, your car may have a issue with getting rid of the air in the cabin. SeC should take another look. Also, as someone wrote before, the triangular shaped window on the driver side front of the front door has known issues sealing. Chek if air comes in there.

+1 one this. My trim on my first car was way off and they just popped it off, repositioned it a bit, and voila!

Good photos by the way.

GlmnAlyAirCar · Apr 16, 2015

Todd Burch said:
Unfortunately, on my car I've got them out as far as they'll go (without falling out) and although it's much better than before, I can still hear it a little. Was going to ask the service center if there's another (better) solution--like longer rubber screws!

If that's the case it sounds like the latch on the hatch is out of alignment. It should be held secure with the screws at their midpoint. This should be an extremely simple fix.

supratachophobia · Apr 16, 2015

caps04 said:
I am facing some nagging issues with my car and wondering if there's any hope:

I feel some buffering pressure in my ears at speeds over 20 but my wife doesn't feel it and the service guys didn't either. It's subtle but I can't imagine living with it for the life of the car. There are no obvious gaps anywhere where I can feel the wind or anything but I just sense it. It's driving me crazy.

My seat has some movement to it when I apply the brakes which I've never felt in any other car. Even stopping from low speeds and I feel it jerk forward slightly and then back. Again, they didn't feel it in service but still tightened the bolts and the issue remains. Is this normal? Should the seat move even a little when the car stops hard/semi-hard?

The front left wheel grinds against something when turning all the way left. They fixed the alignment to "spec" to fix this but I still hear it.

After the minor 153 update, the "jet engine" noise from the front motor has become too loud both in normal and sport mode. It's now a very prominent electric motor sound that I can hear at any speed and any acceleration, even when pulling out of the driveway in 15MPH zones. I remember hearing it only when I was punching it pre-153. Is this normal or should I have it looked at?

My service center is far away and the whole getting a loaner, waiting days and then getting my car on a flat bed is just too much work and I don't want to go through it if these are "normal" issues and I have to just live with it. I went through that before, got a very dirty loaner and after all said and done, the car is just the way it was. They were not even able to fix a mis-aligned window chrome trimming that is so off that almost everyone notices and comments on it.

Thoughts and experiences?

It took four times to get the chrome trim right. I can get you in touch with the SC that resolved it finally and they can talk to you SC.

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dkellyb717 said:
If that's the case it sounds like the latch on the hatch is out of alignment. It should be held secure with the screws at their midpoint. This should be an extremely simple fix.

It will slip back down after a few up downs if they fixed it that way.

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iadbound said:
+1 one this. My trim on my first car was way off and they just popped it off, repositioned it a bit, and voila!

Good photos by the way.

It will slip back down after a few up downs if they fixed it that way.

jhs_7645 · Apr 17, 2015

dkellyb717 said:
If that's the case it sounds like the latch on the hatch is out of alignment. It should be held secure with the screws at their midpoint. This should be an extremely simple fix.

I’ve also heard that the rear parcel shelf will fix this.

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