Tesla Model Y - Whilsting Noise Unresolved - Regret ever buying the car

[phxazcraig]

Apologies about the audio everyone, headphones if you can and you should be able to hear it! regardless, im not dreaming it all as Tesla has tried remedying the situation to no avail! really interested to see if anyone else has had this persistent problem. thanks for the responses so far!

I didn't hear it at normal volumes, but I don't doubt you. Here's what I would try to isolate things.

First - is it wind noise, or is it something inside the build of the car rattling in some way? Wind noise should at least change with speed - different pitch, get louder, etc. If it is some mechanically-caused noise (maybe something with a window motor), it won't change sound with speed, probably.

My guess, along with everyone else's basically, is wind noise. (Again, I couldn't hear anything so speculating based on your description.) I've had speed-induced wind noise before on cars after a windshield replacement, and I tracked it down to an edge condition. At one or more spots along the windshield edge, there were gaps and/or an edge sticking up or down, and that was the spot the wind whistled. (By the way, does anything change if a window is cracked a bit? Probably too hard to hear.) Anyway, the idea of using blue painter tape is a good one. Cover all the edges of both doors and windows on the driver's side, and get in through the passenger side.

I thought about the idea of using a directional microphone to isolate the sounds. Such things exist. In a similar thread on Reddit, I found this interesting answer to a similar question about tracking down an annoying sound: "Get a cheap directional mic that plugs into an iPhone and use app ExtraEars to locate it. It's a spectrum analyzer which is what you're going to want. A deity v.mic would probably work." That basic concept sounds do-able.

 

[Quickst]

I can hear it.
did you keep records of all your interactions with Tesla- this is important. It also has nothing to do with "within spec". Consumer laws protect against such nonsense.

There are strong consumers laws that protect against this. However you will need a lawyer to assist with this. Ultimately you need to take Tesla to the NCAT (NSW Civil administrative Tribunal).

 

[JonDarian]

Sorry to hear about your trouble. Tesla took no interest in repairing the damaged paint on my June 2023 MY. I decided it wasn't worth the misery of trying to deal with them through legal channels as they have vastly greater resources than I do.

If you are going to take them to an administrative tribunal, it is worth spending proper money on a decent microphone and sound recorder. With tens of thousands of dollars at stake, a few hundred dollars might be a good investment (less, if you can hire the equipment).

Consider having an assistant video record you from the passenger seat as you take the audio recordings (if you need to synchronise the audio from two devices, clap once at the start of the recording to give you an obvious place to synchronise them). You could use a "shotgun" microphone and point it at different places on the door to detect where the noise is coming from. Alternatively, a lavalier (collar) mic is small and could be moved around next the door to find the loudest location.

If you need a recommendation, Rode microphones and Zoom sound recorders are well-regarded at the entry- and enthusiast-levels (I know little about the professional levels).

 

[Lozza12]

Hi there,
I had a temporary whistle on my 2019 Model 3 and it turned out to be the driver’s wing mirror. It must have got hit and the plastic casing had separated from the base somehow. I squeezed it fairly hard together, it went click - no more whistle!

 

[Borgy]

I had this in my model y, whistling at around 60-80ks, the front drivers and passengers window glass had moved out of alignment and the service tech put it back, noise gone.

Couldn't believe such a small thing caused the noise

 

[Onshore]

@Adz1 is there a particular speed at which it occurs? Or is it any time the car is moving?

 

[Blue heaven]

I’m going to take a guess without listening to videos or looking at photos and say the the glass on the rear door behind the drivers door is sitting very slightly out at the front.

 

[phxazcraig]

In general, look for a sharp edge exposed to the wind.

 

[dcfas]

Essentially, i bought a Tesla Model Y in Perth in June 2023 and boy was I excited. After collecting the vehicle, within a week I began to hear a whistling noise coming from the driver's side window. Obviously, took it back to Tesla, they said they resolved the issue, drove it out of the service center and it presented itself again. Turn the vehicle around, the service agent agreed the noise was present, and kept the vehicle again.

Examples of the sound:
New video by Adam (turn up your sound / audio and you'll hear exactly what I mean)

My vehicle was subsequently returned to Tesla 8 times for the same problem, each time they acknowledged the problem, except for the final instance when I demanded a replacement vehicle and they dropped the "this noise is within spec for the vehicle" and we cant hear what you're describing (convenient right?).

They attempted firstly to replace the speaker grill, mirror replacement, went onto door realignment, window realignment, sealing something in the front trunk area believing air was getting up into the pillar, to then finally taking apart the car roof, resealing everything and replacing the roof (only because I'm a valued customer and they didn't believe the noise was present). Yet the noise still persists. Particularly on windy days, it is ever-present.

Has anyone had any luck solving this issue? My only avenue now for remedy is taking Tesla to court, which could end up costing more than the car is worth for no guaranteed outcome. I just want it fixed!

Sorry for the rant but this is a painful experience and honestly would not recommend anyone ever buying a Tesla. I saw all the horror stories about build quality in the forums and I should have listened!

After all of the service I wouldn’t expect the following to help out, but I’ll share to include how I resolved my wind noise from the window. When I first got my 3 the weather stripping was bunched up a bit in my driver side door. I bought a lubricant, hoping it would help it straighten out. It worked. The wind noise improved so that it is now a non-issue. Good luck- I hope you find a solution.