2013 Model S making strange new gear (?) noise while in motion

[Gizmotoy]

Hello,

I have what is a pretty "classic" Model S at this point. It recently started making a new noise I haven't heard before from the drive unit/inverter area. It's not super loud, but it's loud enough to be immediately noticeable to passengers.

I've found its directly correlated with wheel speed. It happens both in drive and reverse. Additionally, if the vehicle is in motion and put into neutral, the sound continues. It does not appear to be associated with acceleration or deceleration at all, only wheel speed.

I'm familiar with the typical inverter whine and milling sounds that are relatively common among this era of vehicle, but this is something different. Perhaps the reduction gear? I'll probably have to get it in front of Tesla, but was curious if anyone has experienced something similar.

I captured the audio. Once the speed increases it's hard to hear, but at lower speeds you'll hear it in this audio. It sounds a little bit like a wind-up toy car. Which would be cute if I didn't get the impression I'm in for a multi-thousand dollar fix-it bill.
MP3 of the sound it is making.

Thanks!

 

[brainhouston]

... It happens both in drive and reverse. Additionally, if the vehicle is in motion and put into neutral, the sound continues. It does not appear to be associated with acceleration or deceleration at all, only wheel speed.

just to clarify this bit for u, in Tesla n most EVs there's nothing like a transmission, R/N/D are all the same mechanically, only computer sees the difference.
wheels/gears/rotors are always connected n spinning when car rolls

 

[Gizmotoy]

Sure, but neutral guarantees the motor is free spinning. It’s not applying torque to the wheels, nor is it using inertia to charge the battery.

So, theoretically, this should remove inverter noise from the equation.

 

[Gizmotoy]

After some investigation by the SC, they say this is normal and that all their service fleet now doing the same thing. They indicated the copper windings of the rotor are out of alignment. This will eventually lead to a failure, but it might be years before that happens. They stated the service fleet started doing it 3-4 years ago and they're (mostly) still working. The drive unit repair/replace would be on the order of $4k-$7k.

Ultimately we decided to sell it. AT 11 years old, the risk of a vehicle-totaling problem is getting pretty high at this point given the low resale value.