Strong Noise when driving above 67mph

[Duckjybe]

I have the hum/drone coming from right rear. It is most noticeable at highway speeds and I can still here it with music volume at 6. It is loudest with accelerator providing 10-20Kw of power and goes away when coasting at 0kw of power. Comes back slightly when regen kicks in. I can here it faintly at lower speeds as well. I mentioned it to Toronto service and they took it for an extended test drive and determined the sound is exhibited/normal on some/many (not sure exact wording) vehicles. The loaner I had was whisper quiet, however. I am not sure if I am satisfied with hearing this sound. Although it is probably quieter than an ICE, it is not something that sounds normal considering the car was silent when new. It's a similar sound to a failing wheel bearing.

 

[mknox]

I have the hum/drone coming from right rear. It is most noticeable at highway speeds and I can still here it with music volume at 6. It is loudest with accelerator providing 10-20Kw of power and goes away when coasting at 0kw of power. Comes back slightly when regen kicks in. I can here it faintly at lower speeds as well. I mentioned it to Toronto service and they took it for an extended test drive and determined the sound is exhibited/normal on some/many (not sure exact wording) vehicles. The loaner I had was whisper quiet, however. I am not sure if I am satisfied with hearing this sound. Although it is probably quieter than an ICE, it is not something that sounds normal considering the car was silent when new. It's a similar sound to a failing wheel bearing.

Exactly what I'm hearing, except I don't seem to notice it even under heavy re-gen. It goes on and off like a switch as soon as the power meter goes orange. Doesn't even seem to get louder under heavy acceleration... just on and off. The failing wheel bearing analogy is right on. I can hear it over the music at 8, but I think it's because it is such a low frequency drone. It makes the car louder than my previous CTS was on the highway, although not horribly so. Like you, mine was whisper quiet when new, and up until I hit about 12,000 miles / 20,000 km.

 

[yobigd20]

My P85 started making that noise after about 10k miles. I'm now at 40k and it hasn't gotten any worse.

40k miles? And I thought I had a lot. I just crossed 24k today.

 

[Duckjybe]

I am also now hearing a faint buzzing sound from the right rear when accelerator is giving 10-15 kW and speed is about 40-50 Km/h (25-30 mph) If you take the power above 15 kW it goes away and when you take it below 10 kW it goes away. Something must be up but car is functioning great.

I am at 15K miles.

 

[William13]

I agree with mknox. He describes the sound and cause well. Not enough for a new drive train and it seems endemic similar to the balloon air leak with fast acceleration.

 

[VirtualE]

I am taking my Model S to service. I will update after my service.

 

[mknox]

I agree with mknox. He describes the sound and cause well. Not enough for a new drive train and it seems endemic similar to the balloon air leak with fast acceleration.

I have a service appointment for the 16th (that's as soon as they could get me in). I drive about 75% of the time on the freeway at freeway speeds, and it is really starting to annoy me. It really does sound like a bad wheel bearing. At first, I found the car to be similar in noise level to my former Cadillac CTS on the highway, but that is not the case now... and it's not even a particularly "nice" sound for a car to make.

 

[Rowlock]

I have the same noise with less than 5k on the odo. The pitch remains exactly the same in mine regardless of speed, but it gets louder as you go faster. Most noticeable at about 65mph+. It is also louder on some road surfaces than others. The noise is exactly like a failing wheel bearing, but I can't hear whether it's coming from any one particular part of the car. If it was coming specifically from one wheel well, that would be my immediate first guess.

I took the car in last week, and went for a ride with one of the techs. He was convinced that it was normal, and was coming from the tires. But we were on a fairly quiet stretch of road at the time, so I remain unconvinced.

The loaner P85 I had while they were doing other work also had the same noise, but quieter. That car was riding on the 21" Conti rubber, whereas mine has the 21" Michelins.

On some roads, particularly concrete surfaces in cornering, the noise can be very loud indeed. If it continues I might push further, and see if one of the techs will come out with me to a loud location.

 

[mknox]

I took the car in last week, and went for a ride with one of the techs. He was convinced that it was normal, and was coming from the tires. But we were on a fairly quiet stretch of road at the time, so I remain unconvinced

If I have that opportunity, I can make the sound go on and off like a switch. It comes on as soon as the power meter goes into the "orange" and off when I hit zero or go into the "green". All I have to do is back off the accelerator and then get back on it and you can plainly hear the sound come and go.

 

[Rowlock]

If I have that opportunity, I can make the sound go on and off like a switch. It comes on as soon as the power meter goes into the "orange" and off when I hit zero or go into the "green". All I have to do is back off the accelerator and then get back on it and you can plainly hear the sound come and go.

I will play with mine and see whether that works for me, too. I haven't noticed it coming on and off in my case yet, but I wasn't necessarily paying attention. Definitely worth a try.

 

[VirtualE]

Fix: SUPER SERVICE

I have taken my Model S to the Tesla Service Center.
First of all GREAT SERVICE from the ROCKLIN TESLA SERVICE CENTER TEAM (Danielle, Patrick etc...). http://www.teslamotors.com/service/rocklin

They worked on my Model S and resolve the issue.
The issue was resolved by changing the "motor".
Now it is as silent as it was design.

While there were solving the problem they also took care of other minor items.
They delivered my Model S to my door and pick up the loaner.

Here few pics of the Rocklin Service Center and the loaner Model S P85 (with Firmware version 5.0).
Few words about Firmware version 5.0: it is a great update. I can not wait to see it installing on my Model S.

 

[Chipper]

Yet another happy Tesla owner. I LOVE seeing these kinds of stories, and the great thing is how often they are repeated on this forum!

 

[texex91]

Great to hear--another great service center experience.

 

[bsd]

If I have that opportunity, I can make the sound go on and off like a switch. It comes on as soon as the power meter goes into the "orange" and off when I hit zero or go into the "green". All I have to do is back off the accelerator and then get back on it and you can plainly hear the sound come and go.

I assume they should be able raise the car up on a lift and then accelerate and decelerate. That will quickly rule out tire noise.

(I have this noise too, which appeared after < 2 weeks.)

 

[mknox]

I assume they should be able raise the car up on a lift and then accelerate and decelerate. That will quickly rule out tire noise.

There may need to be some load on the motor (not sure of this) and it probably isn't a good idea to rev it up to 60 or 70 MPH on a hoist. It is clearly not tire noise. I can make the noise come and go at will just by modulating the accelerator such that the orange power meter comes and goes. I have heard similar noises from distribution transformers with loose coils or windings and suspect it is an electrical vibration in the inverter. Lately, I can hear it come and go as a higher frequency "buzz" at slower speeds. My service appt. Is in about two weeks (soonest they could fit me in) and I'll know for sure then.

 

[Right_Said_Fred]

I had the 'ICE-noise' too in my two week old car. It started at 65 mph and got worse the faster I went. On Friday my motor and inverter were replaced and it is now completely silent at the same speeds. So a great service from Tesla. But this is something they have to solve, because replacing all those motors and inverters is a costly business. I hope they can tackle it at the source: the producer of the motor and inverter.

 

[smd]

Mine was just replaced last week to get rid of the low, loud hum over 63 mph that I had. I had driven over 13,500 before it started in my S85. It took three weeks here in Northern California to wait for valet/loaner service, but it was very convenient.

I think Tesla does need to look into the design of the motor to see why this hum is happening in a significant number of cars, some only after quite a while like myself.

Here is all the information directly from my service invoice:
------------

Complaint Narrative: Customer states that they are hearing a low pitched humming sound coming from the rear of the car. It occurs at speeds above 60mph and increases as the speed increases. Check and advise.

Cause: Noise from drive unit.

Correction: Exterior NVH General Diagnosis

Test drove vehicle. Noise is very obvious. Recorded noise and uploaded for NVH team.

Recommended replacement of drive unit.

Correction: Drive Unit - Remove and Replace

Replaced drive unit.

Part Qty

ASY,P-TRAIN,MECH,COMPLETE,RC (1002633-00-E) 1.00

TRANSMISSION FLUID, ATF, DEXRON VI (2004338) 2.00

G-48 COOLANT (1029320-00-A) 1.00

ASY,HV COVER,INVERTER (1003783-00-B) 1.00

Correction: Four Wheel Alignment

Performed four wheel alignment after drive unit replacement.

Pay Type: Warranty

 

[mknox]

Mine was just replaced last week to get rid of the low, loud hum over 63 mph that I had. I had driven over 13,500 before it started in my S85.

That is roughly the mileage that my S85 had when my noise started. It's in for service today. I got a message saying the car will be ready tomorrow afternoon. I hope they're not going to blow me off over this, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see what happens when I pick it up.

 

[Forty Creek]

That is roughly the mileage that my S85 had when my noise started. It's in for service today. I got a message saying the car will be ready tomorrow afternoon. I hope they're not going to blow me off over this, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see what happens when I pick it up.

Guess you didn't have a chance to try a loaner and to compare noise levels? It's so difficult to tell what is normal. My car is very loud over 110 (KMS) and I hope I'm not told it's a characteristic of the vehicle. I have it scheduled for service in early November.

 

[mknox]

Guess you didn't have a chance to try a loaner and to compare noise levels? It's so difficult to tell what is normal. My car is very loud over 110 (KMS) and I hope I'm not told it's a characteristic of the vehicle. I have it scheduled for service in early November.

No, I was hoping for a loaner so I could compare. What I can say, however, is that this noise at highway speed was not there before and based on the fact I can make it come and go at will simply by modulating the accelerator (noise goes away when power level reaches zero), I have to assume it's not "normal".