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“Differential” wobble noise?

Discussion in 'Model X' started by chukiechz, Sep 7, 2020.

  1. Yinn

    Yinn Active Member

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    That does sound pretty normal to me. I hear both the hum of the motor as well as the road noise from your tires.

    I can see how the oscillation can seem like a wobbling noise. Maybe tires might help - maybe not. But everything sounded normal to me.
     
  2. chukiechz

    chukiechz Member

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    Tires are brand new (Goodyear eagles), Oscillation is definitely a better descriptor than my wobble. Thanks for all the help helping me figure this out. I’m the second owner so it’s hard for me to tell what’s normal and what’s not. Since I have the 4 year warranty, I want to make sure Tesla fixes as much as possible.
     
  3. chukiechz

    chukiechz Member

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    I had to take my car in for a handful of things, and had them look into the noise. The technician says its a bent rear wheel causing the noise, and the estimate was about $1800. So yeah, I guess Im going to pass and live with it if that's really the cause.

    I just had new tires (by Americas Tires) put on a few months ago, wouldn't a bent rim have been noticed during installation and balancing?
     
  4. Yinn

    Yinn Active Member

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    A bent wheel isn't necessarily harmful to a car. Most wheels on vehicles on the road are bent, and some are actually out of round from the factory. You don't typically hear a bent wheel though, if anything you typically feel it but more so because the wheel/tire is now out of round or unbalanced.

    If the wheel/tire can still hold a good seal, a tire installer typically isn't going to be concerned by a bent rim. A bent wheel can still be balanced appropriately and the tire is going to be the final shape that touches the ground anyway. Between the tire rubber, vehicle suspension, and road irregularities a minor bend isn't going to make a huge difference while a major bend wouldn't hold air anyway.

    As such, I'm typically not concerned with a minor bend - as long as its in balance. I'm more concerned with the vibrations. The only exception is in performance situations. On my tracked cars I have no tolerance for a bent rim as the tolerances are a bit tighter.

    Did he show you the bend or where it may have been impacted? Did you get new tires because of a blowout?
     
  5. chukiechz

    chukiechz Member

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    I’m fairly certain the wheel is fine. I was at the tire shop for my sons car today, and they said if the rim was bent that bad, they would have said something to me. They offered to check, but there is no vibration when driving, so I’m of too concerned. Tires were replaced because I was down to the metal on the inner rears.

    This service center left a bad taste for sure though. Still a handful of items they didn’t address while the car was there for 2 days. Not sure the point of making an appointment 2 weeks out, only to have it sit for an extra day until it gets touched.

    I will try to bring it back up to the original service center I’ve been using.
     

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