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2013 P85 vibration from suspension

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Hmm..

Passengers feeling noticing this in front of the car. ..

Just wondering if it's not some accessory under the frunk bin... like A/C compressor or brake vacuum pump.. something that cuts in and out. If you have a vac leak that pump will come on at random times and will work hard (long) to make more vac as she's leaking... hard time catching up. If the vac pump is rubbing against something or its bearings are starting to get upset... vibration..

When "all is quiet" on the freeway... do some long light lingering braking pedal presses (to drain the reservoir) and see if the noise starts up!

I found the A/C compressor hoses rubbing on the bottom of my frunk bin, and I'm sure the contact and vibration was amplifying the sound of A/C compressor when it was working hard. Started to sound like a monster under there on the hottest of days. (Will need to wait until next summer to see if its gone.)
Thanks, Scott, those are some great ideas! The vibration that we feel (both driver and passenger) can be felt in the seat as well as the steering wheel. In all cases, the vibration occurs at approximately 65-70 MPH. It always occurs in that speed range and under acceleration, primarily while driving into a slight incline. The difficulty is that the vibration only happens half the time I try and reproduce it, even on the same stretch of road. In fact, Tesla thought the issue was completely resolved with the DU and rear axle replacements, as they were unable to reproduce the issue afterward until I drove the car. That's when I was able to make it happen for them.

I'll mention your suggestions to them and see what they think. The service foreman is leaning towards it being a rotational issue of some kind. He also noted that it seems to occur most often under acceleration load, or in other words, when the weight shifts to the rear and the car squats down. Other than throwing parts at the problem, they don't really know what else to do at this point.
 
It might be worth experimenting with tires pressures just to see if it gets better or worse. If it changes at all, then you atbleast have ot tied to the wheels to something in the rotating or suspension stack.
Thanks for the idea. Service tried a whole new set of tires/wheels and the problem persisted. I'm sort of wondering if I should ask Tesla to have a high end suspension shop take a look at it.
 
...UPDATE 2...

Turns out it wasn't the axle, as the problem was still there. They replaced the DU, problem still there. They are going to try the air struts next. Thank goodness for the ESA!
My Factory Warranty just ended, and I opted for the 4 year ESA. The very next day (yesterday) my door handle went out on the passenger side. I'm guessing that's over a thousand bucks to fix right there. Thank goodness for the ESA indeed! :D
 
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@AmpedRealtor Any updates on if your car was fixed? I have the same issue with my P85+ where the seats and car starts shaking from about 50-75 mph. Tesla service is replacing the rear half shaft, hoping the problem will be fixed.
I'm still getting some weird road feedback above 80 MPH, but otherwise the issues are resolved. Tesla ruled out a bent or cracked rim, I asked specifically about that. They performed a road force balance, replaced my half shafts and all air struts. It's about 90% better, but still a little something 80-85 MPH that comes and goes depending on the road surface.
 
FWIW, our 2013 P85 (purchased from a dishonest private party seller in Pueblo, CO) led us down a rabbit hole of vibration sleuthing that took years to resolve. Along the way, the following items were replaced (nearly all at no cost under the ESA, except for a few major exceptions):

1. Drive Unit
2. Both rear half shafts/axles
3. rear wheel bearings
4. all four 21" wheels (at OUR ~$5k expense)
5. eight tires (Also at our major expense; a major Texas SC said it was the fault of the non-OEM Hankooks. They were wrong.)
6. front suspension, both upper control arms

and possibly some other items I've forgotten about.

In the end, it appears to have been the front struts/shock absorbers which may have been damaged in the PO's snowbank impact (thanks to the original owner's non-disclosure, his major omission and/or lie), or just worn, or who knows? The car had about 60k miles when we purchased it, IIRC.

Regardless, the car was about 99% better after that last fix.

One of the key discoveries was that it was not a consistent vibration, and seemed to be exacerbated after a long bend in the road in one direction, but not the other. The very smooth freeways near Phoenix made this easier to figure out, thankfully.

Huge kudos to the Scottsdale SC for taking the time (and making the many calls to HQ) to get to the bottom of the problem.
 
...a '12 with a face lift - maybe you have and aerodynamically incompatible front end :p

As it turns out, the problem was the front diffuser vibrating on some part of the steering mechanism. Had it fixed by a local shop. The problem reappeared a few weeks ago, but much more mild. The same shop is now addressing the issue. Don’t need Tesla service to address this.
 
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I'm still getting some weird road feedback above 80 MPH, but otherwise the issues are resolved. Tesla ruled out a bent or cracked rim, I asked specifically about that. They performed a road force balance, replaced my half shafts and all air struts. It's about 90% better, but still a little something 80-85 MPH that comes and goes depending on the road surface.

I have this same exact issue and started a thread recently. So far a similar story with the SC replacing (at my expense) several parts, new wheels and tires, multiple road force balances, several drive units, control arms, integral link, and now the SC is back to wheels and tires even though the new set on there has less than 500 miles.

It has been a while since you posted on this, have you explored this further or found a solution?
 
I have this same exact issue and started a thread recently. So far a similar story with the SC replacing (at my expense) several parts, new wheels and tires, multiple road force balances, several drive units, control arms, integral link, and now the SC is back to wheels and tires even though the new set on there has less than 500 miles.

It has been a while since you posted on this, have you explored this further or found a solution?
I had a different tech do a road force balance. After that, the vibration went away. I don't know if maybe there's something wrong with the balancing machines, but it took 3-4 road force balances before they got it right. Two were done by Discount Tire and two by Tesla. The last one did the trick. Or it was just coincidence. My car is probably possessed.
 
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Wow, just wrote all this, and THEN noted I'd already responded with same quite some time ago (see above).

I must be getting old.

**************************************

FWIW, on our elderly 2013 Model S P85, some thorough diagnostic work by the Scottsdale, AZ, SC, and their contacts at Tesla HQ, found that the front struts had some sort of odd play which would allow vibrations to begin (and remain) on curves. It was very difficult to diagnose, as indicated by the replacement of:

Drive Unit
both half-shafts
wheel bearings
a complete set of wheels and tires (at our expense)
and probably some other parts I've already forgotten . . . .

Thankfully, that Model S had the ESA/"warranty" which greatly reduced the pain, except for the wheels and tires which were very "spendy." While the new wheels did not correct the core issue, they did make a major difference as all four wheels were bent by a massive "fail" on a road resurface project where the crack road crew had left a 2" lip in the pavement at the end of the day, so as to destroy many cars' wheels all night long. The City of Farmers Branch, Texas, like most, is not liable for their employee's incompetence . . . .