2024 Model 3 RWD vibrations at highway speed - is this an issue for others?

[Jstar97]

Coming up on two weeks in my RWD Model 3 and during the drive home I noticed zero vibrations. But lately at highway speeds I notice a lot of vibration. It was so bad at one point the seats were vibrating like crazy and my arms were getting fatigued from all the vibrations. It's gotten better but still present. Is it a tire balance issue? Something with the steering itself? Perhaps the foam in the tires?

I didn't know I know return it within 14-days, and had I known that that I would have opened a case sooner. I'm about to open a case and ask for a mobile tech to at least look at it and see what he thinks. Watch it not happen when he's driving it.

 

[fredjan]

There's something wrong with the 2024 model 3s. Owners in Spain and Germany have reported similar issues. Nobody really knows knows why this is happening.

 

[bengradish]

See also Rejecting my brand new model 3 Highland

 

[Tragically_Hip]

My car is affected. Going in for the third time tomorrow. Wheels have already been balanced twice. Big German thread below. I’m guessing you’re in the UK?

Ruckeln/Vibrieren Highland

Ich erlebe das gleiche Problem mit meinem neuen Model 3. Ich habe das Auto letzte Woche abgeholt und beim ersten Mal, als ich es auf der Autobahn gefahren bin, bemerkte ich eine erhebliche Vibration, besonders am oberen Teil des Lenkrads, bei Geschwindigkeiten über 90 km/h. Jetzt habe ich...

tff-forum.de

 

[bengradish]

My car is affected. Going in for the third time tomorrow. Wheels have already been balanced twice. Big German thread below. I’m guessing you’re in the UK?

Ruckeln/Vibrieren Highland

Ich erlebe das gleiche Problem mit meinem neuen Model 3. Ich habe das Auto letzte Woche abgeholt und beim ersten Mal, als ich es auf der Autobahn gefahren bin, bemerkte ich eine erhebliche Vibration, besonders am oberen Teil des Lenkrads, bei Geschwindigkeiten über 90 km/h. Jetzt habe ich...

tff-forum.de

Europe, Austria, see Location of every users posting on the left.

 

[bookiepilot69]

Coming up on two weeks in my RWD Model 3 and during the drive home I noticed zero vibrations. But lately at highway speeds I notice a lot of vibration. It was so bad at one point the seats were vibrating like crazy and my arms were getting fatigued from all the vibrations. It's gotten better but still present. Is it a tire balance issue? Something with the steering itself? Maybe the foam in the tires?

I didn't know I know return it within 14-days, and had I known that I would have opened a case sooner. I'm about to open a case and ask for a mobile tech to at least look at it and see what he thinks. Watch it not happen when he's driving it.

Picked up our 2024 M3RWD March 16 and absolutely no problems. GREAT car! Hope you get your situation resolved.

 

[molibden]

I also have vibration. I feel it in the steering wheel and on the floor area around pedals. Long story short: They rebalanced all wheels twice now (Road Force) and problem persists. My mechanic outside Tesla checked them again and still had vibration. We also checked flat spots on tires using laser light and all tires have flat spots. Don't know if there are tires without any deformation. Will have to change complete set of wheels and try to completely rule out the tires. Tesla SC has no idea or will not do anything else. But my steering wheel still vibrates at speed 110-130 km/h. Oh, and my rear wheels randomly slip on the highway above 140 km/h when in a slight turn.

 

[fronesis]

I also have vibration. I feel it in the steering wheel and on the floor area around pedals. Long story short: They rebalanced all wheels twice now (Road Force) and problem persists. My mechanic outside Tesla checked them again and still had vibration. We also checked flat spots on tires using laser light and all tires have flat spots. Don't know if there are tires without any deformation. Will have to change complete set of wheels and try to completely rule out the tires. Tesla SC has no idea or will not do anything else. But my steering wheel still vibrates at speed 110-130 km/h. Oh, and my rear wheels randomly slip on the highway above 140 km/h when in a slight turn.

I’m really sorry you, and others, are having to go through this. But for both you and others reading this thread, it really does seem that for at least most people, the cause is clear: it’s NOT the wheels, it’s the flat spot on the tires caused during shipping from China to Europe.

This is why the standard fix for vibration – rebalance the wheels/tires – does not work. Because rebalancing doesn’t get rid of the flat spots, which are causing the vibration.

This also means that the solution is to install 4 brand new tires. Tesla should obviously pay for those tires, but that’s a separate issue from diagnosing the cause of this problem.

The people who are having the longest and most frustrating problems are the ones who keep rebalancing their wheels with the same tires. There was someone in the other thread who got his new car and immediately put different winter wheels on it – car was fine. A few months later he changed to the wheels/tires the car shipped with and the problem appeared.

It explains why there are almost zero cases of this with cars in the states: they were built in the Fremont factory and not put on a ship.
(The OP here might be an exception, but he seems to have disappeared after initial post.)

 

[EfficientWatts]

I’m really sorry you, and others, are having to go through this. But for both you and others reading this thread, it really does seem that for at least most people, the cause is clear: it’s NOT the wheels, it’s the flat spot on the tires caused during shipping from China to Europe.

This is why the standard fix for vibration – rebalance the wheels/tires – does not work. Because rebalancing doesn’t get rid of the flat spots, which are causing the vibration.

This also means that the solution is to install 4 brand new tires. Tesla should obviously pay for those tires, but that’s a separate issue from diagnosing the cause of this problem.

The people who are having the longest and most frustrating problems are the ones who keep rebalancing their wheels with the same tires. There was someone in the other thread who got his new car and immediately put different winter wheels on it – car was fine. A few months later he changed to the wheels/tires the car shipped with and the problem appeared.

It explains why there are almost zero cases of this with cars in the states: they were built in the Fremont factory and not put on a ship.
(The OP here might be an exception, but he seems to have disappeared after initial post.)

Given that they've been shipping cars from China for quite some time, wonder why it has suddenly appeared. Was it caused by some delays, bad procedure, or something else? They are using different tires this time so wondering if that has something to do with it.

Even those the OP hasn't updated, it may indicate that whatever caused it can happen within the US, just not as frequently (if that issue was not an edge case or one-off).

 

[Tragically_Hip]

I’m really sorry you, and others, are having to go through this. But for both you and others reading this thread, it really does seem that for at least most people, the cause is clear: it’s NOT the wheels, it’s the flat spot on the tires caused during shipping from China to Europe.

This is why the standard fix for vibration – rebalance the wheels/tires – does not work. Because rebalancing doesn’t get rid of the flat spots, which are causing the vibration.

This also means that the solution is to install 4 brand new tires. Tesla should obviously pay for those tires, but that’s a separate issue from diagnosing the cause of this problem.

The people who are having the longest and most frustrating problems are the ones who keep rebalancing their wheels with the same tires. There was someone in the other thread who got his new car and immediately put different winter wheels on it – car was fine. A few months later he changed to the wheels/tires the car shipped with and the problem appeared.

It explains why there are almost zero cases of this with cars in the states: they were built in the Fremont factory and not put on a ship.
(The OP here might be an exception, but he seems to have disappeared after initial post.)

If you read the German thread linked above though for lots of people swapping the wheels and tyres doesn’t work.

 

[ODWms]

So is the shipping time really that much longer than other long-sit times like when they’re on Tesla lots after before delivery? I’ve never heard of this before with any other manufacturer.

 

[fronesis]

If you read the German thread linked above though for lots of people swapping the wheels and tyres doesn’t work.

Ah, well would that make it a really crazy mystery. I had thought most people in that thread were focused on rebalancing the wheels, but if new wheels and new tire still vibrate…well, obviously the source of the problem lies elsewhere. But finding out where isn’t going to be easy.

It does seem relevant that a TON of people in the States of taken delivery of highland model 3’s over the past month, and we just aren’t seeing complaints about vibration. Perhaps this suggests the issue lies in something that went on in production in the Shanghai factory (at least early on), that isn’t happening in the Fremont factory.

 

[fronesis]

So is the shipping time really that much longer than other long-sit times like when they’re on Tesla lots after before delivery? I’ve never heard of this before with any other manufacturer.

The hypothesis was that the problem was not just how long the cars were sitting: it had to do with the way Tesla lowers the tire pressure and *secures* the cars to the boat for transport.

 

[Adam3]

Sounds more like faulty tires than the way the cars were shipped.

 

[fronesis]

The most recent post on the German thread makes a lot of sense to me, as it suggests that the catalyst for the problem is still the tires…though the sensitivity of the new steering column may exacerbate that fundamental problem.

 

[molibden]

I will try with different set of tires. As you can imagine, nobody will give you new tires to try for free.
Tesla is putting same brand and type of tires on the car (Michelin E-primacy). In my case they had a few excuses - new tires are not in stock so I've waited for two weeks for new tires. In the end they told me they will try with a different set not new - told me it was even worse. I'm not even sure they really tried... Unhelpful.

 

[tijnski]

Same issue for me. My M3H LR came with Hankook iOn Evo tires. The steering wheel vibrates at speeds of 105KM/h and up.
After several sessions in the service center of road force balancing, wheel and tire replacement, I now have Hankook Ventus Evo3 tires on the car but the issue remains unsolved.

This video still claims the vibration issues are caused by defective tires .. but I have my doubts, since all kinds of tires are affected (Hankook, Michelin etc.)