I challenge you to say this sound is normal.

[tinm]

The following sound is something I just recorded minutes ago in my garage.

This is the sound my classic 2013 Model S makes whenever I press my foot on the brake pedal. Even to start the car. In fact, this recording does the sound justice.... for the past few months the sound has been worse, but this a good enough recording to give you an idea.

Note that even while out on the road, when I come to a stop sign or have to stop at a red light, AS LONG AS I AM PRESSING BRAKE PEDAL, this sound happens. It is LOUD. Other drivers can hear it. It makes my car sound like some rickety old radiator or something.

I don't know any other Tesla owners who report their car making this awful sound WHENEVER THEY PRESS THE BRAKE. I have had the brake vacuum pump replaced once already this year to no avail -- the sound was just as worse after as it was before.

You listen, you decide. What's your verdict?

HEAR THE SOUND HERE ---> Tesla - Brake - Pump - Whine - 20160606

 

[Max*]

Did the service centers say it's normal?

 

[kort677]

have you considered taking the car in to have tesla's techs hear this unusual sound?

 

[AWDtsla]

Noisy vacuum pump

 

[tinm]

The basic question, for any other Model S owner, is:

DOES YOUR CAR DO THIS?

 

[AWDtsla]

No, and why don't you just get your car fixed?

 

[gavine]

Sounds like you may have a vacuum leak in your brake system and the pump is trying to keep-up with the leak. Does that happen often or only when you first hit the brake after start-up?

 

[idoco]

The sound is not normal.

Vacuum pump. Either leak in system, obstructed intake port, or broken mounting bracket. Take into service center.

 

[gaswalla]

Sounds like he had the pump fixed already and the noise persists. Did you take it back in ?

 

[tinm]

No, and why don't you just get your car fixed?

Let me explain it to you more clearly: this is what it sounds like AFTER it was fixed.

Here's what I had fixed a few months ago:

Note how it says "Verified noise is no longer present."

Well, that may have been the case at the service center but when I got the car back home (service center is 400mi away, and requires a flat-bed trailer and a Tesla Ranger to tow it to and from) the noise was still there.

Given I live ~8-10 hours from nearest service center, it isn't as easy as "why don't you just get your car fixed." It can be gone a week. I wanted to wait until this summer to have it shipped back to Denver for other issues, as well as revisiting this brake pump noise.

But I was hoping I could get many replies from other Tesla Model S owners confirming that THEIR cars don't ever sound like this. This is what my car sounds like every. time. I. press. the. brake. pedal.

 

[Traveto]

I finally own a classic 2013 Model S P85+ and can say that this is NOT normal. I have 27k miles on it and the only sound I have a slight squeak when doing that last 5MPH stop. This is typical for a vehicle that barely uses brakes so not a worry. This sound I just heard sounds like the brake compressor or vacuum pump, these cars use the typical brembo system which is hydraulic based, can suffer from non-use.

 

[Sparrow]

Not only is the sound not normal the duration of the pump running is not normal. I really do not notice mine anymore, but seems like when I did notice it, it would only run for about 10 seconds at a time.

 

[AB4EJ]

Is everyone absolutely sure that this is being caused by the vacuum pump? Antilock braking systems can also make, weird, loud noises. If the vacuum system is repaired but noise persists, maybe the wrong thing is being fixed.The frequency of it sounds to me like it could be the brake feathering system used for antilock.

 

[calisnow]

The following sound is something I just recorded minutes ago in my garage.

What's your point OP? No it doesn't sound normal - therefore, what exactly? Have you asked Tesla to pick up the car at their cost and fix it again? Are you polling us to ask if it sounds normal because Tesla has tried to tell you that it is normal?

 

[tinm]

What's your point OP? No it doesn't sound normal - therefore, what exactly? Have you asked Tesla to pick up the car at their cost and fix it again? Are you polling us to ask if it sounds normal because Tesla has tried to tell you that it is normal?

Tesla service center thinks it's normal. I don't think so. So, yes, I'm curious to see if other customers have this "normal" sound whenever they press the brake pedal in their cars. So far, seems like it is definitely not normal.

 

[kort677]

Given I live ~8-10 hours from nearest service center, it isn't as easy as "why don't you just get your car fixed." It can be gone a week. I wanted to wait until this summer to have it shipped back to Denver for other issues, as well as revisiting this brake pump noise.

I am not trying to be overly harsh but what other options do you have? complaining about your car's problem here is NOT going to get the car fixed. It needs to be addressed by a tesla tech. I have no basis in fact but I've heard that the denver SvC is not one of the better ones, consider using a different one. Good luck.

 

[gavine]

They replaced the pump but maybe there's a leak somewhere that they missed. My thinking is that the pump runs louder and faster when there's less resistance. Because there's a leak, the pump can spin faster and it has to spin longer to create the full vacuum. Could be a loose hose connection too.

 

[scottm]

See if you can pinpoint the source better...

Remember the old days of lifting the hood and using a mechanics stethoscope to probe around a bit?

Pull out the carpet and plastic bin and have a listen.

Take a picture, and circle the thing making noise and post that picture here.

Look for obvious issues nearby the thing making the sound... hose pinched, cracked, fell off, .. that sort of thing.
Maybe you can fix it yourself in 2 minutes and spare the service call.
And post your fix here, to help future people hitting the same issue.

Pull fuses one at a time to see which stops the noise.
Reboot your instrument cluster.

With your bin out, take it to a brakes specialty shop. They'd be thrilled to see Tesla brakes system first hand.
Ask their opinion.

Do your brakes work OK or not? The threat of brakes not working is a safety issue.
I wouldn't drive it around like that.

 

[calisnow]

Tesla service center thinks it's normal.

What you posted here sounds like a 100 decibel racket - Tesla couldn't possibly think that sound is normal - which service center and which person told you it's "normal" - I'm calling BS unless we can verify that Tesla said that.

 

[182RG]

See if you can pinpoint the source better...

Remember the old days of lifting the hood and using a mechanics stethoscope to probe around a bit?

Pull out the carpet and plastic bin and have a listen.

Take a picture, and circle the thing making noise and post that picture here.

Look for obvious issues nearby the thing making the sound... hose pinched, cracked, fell off, .. that sort of thing.
Maybe you can fix it yourself in 2 minutes and spare the service call.
And post your fix here, to help future people hitting the same issue.

Boy, it sure would be easier to trace the source of issues if Tesla actually GAVE YOU ACCESS TO THE SERVICE MANUALS so you could study the systems.