2013 P85 vibration *HELP*

[AmpedRealtor]

For the last few years, my 2013 P85 has been experiencing unusual vibrations on the freeway. I've taken it to service a few times under warranty and each time they tell me everything is normal with the suspension. I don't believe this is the case, I believe they are just unable to diagnose the issue. I'm hoping community members can help me with some ideas on what it could be, so I can give service some suggestions on what to look for.

This is what I experience:

• When accelerating on the freeway between 65-75 MPH at full throttle, I feel a "rumble" wash over the car.
• When driving steady at 85+ MPH, I feel a slight vibration in my steering wheel.

Both of these vibrations have persisted across multiple tire changes, multiple tire types, and multiple wheels/rims. Service even replaced all of my 19" wheels with 21" wheels they had in the shop and the vibrations persisted. This led service to eliminate wheels and tires as the cause.

Two years ago I complained again of the issue and the senior technician took extra time and care to perform a road force balance. The vibrations were still there, but significantly reduced to the point where they didn't bother me. They seem to have increased again and they bother me again.

These are the components service has replaced over the last few years to try to address the issue:

• Rear half shafts
• Four air struts
• Rear drive unit (car is RWD)

The only rotational components they haven't replaced are the bearings and rotors. Rotations have no impact on the feel or speed range of the vibrations. Neither I nor service can determine, through driving, whether the issue is coming from the front or rear. I'm thinking it's the rear since it happens on acceleration load.

WEIRD THING... If I accelerate from zero to 75 without interruption, there is no vibration. However, if I'm driving on the freeway at 60 MPH and gun it, the vibration presents itself. What is different with these two acceleration scenarios? I feel the cause is somewhere here.

If anyone can help point me in the right direction with service, I would appreciate it.

 

[cookie99]

hmm... control arms worn out?

 

[AmpedRealtor]

hmm... control arms worn out?

I wish I knew. I've suggested that they look at my suspension components. Every time they tell me "everything is fine, everything is torqued to spec, there is no play or unusual wear in any suspension components." They are basically saying "this is normal for P85", which I know isn't true because my first 3-4 years of driving I had no such issue and neither do the loaners!

 

[cookie99]

I wish I knew. I've suggested that they look at my suspension components. Every time they tell me "everything is fine, everything is torqued to spec, there is no play or unusual wear in any suspension components." They are basically saying "this is normal for P85", which I know isn't true because my first 3-4 years of driving I had no such issue and neither do the loaners!

New axles - $1800 or $400?

 

[rjcampeau]

I have the exact same issue with my S60 RWD. Hard acceleration from 90-120 km/h will make a hum/vibration and I also have a clunk when going slowly over speed bumps. Mobile service diagnosed front lower control arms are faulty and are getting swapped in a couple weeks, they are also going to do the rear driveshafts. Interesting that the driveshafts didn't make any difference for you but I'll find out soon if this fixes the problem.

 

[rjcampeau]

they showed me the slop in the control arm bushings by using a pry bar to lever against the arm, it moved pretty easily

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Consider checking to see if long, high-speed curves have an impact on your issues. If so, double check the strut installations.

Otherwise, I'm thinking it's one or both of your drive shafts, especially as you probably have very high miles?

MUCH BETTER IDEA:

Just trade it in.

You will be blown away at how much better a 2020 Model S is compared to your car.

Bonus: for LESS money than your cost all those years ago you'll get:

Two motors/AWD
EPA Range of 402 miles
And every optional item in 2013 is pretty much standard now
Plus Basic AP is standard as well.

And you'll provide another Model S for someone who can't afford a Model 3, but very much wants a Tesla.

Seems like a no-brainer, especially since you've gotten a lot of use out of your 2013--it's almost eight years old . . . .

Life is short: buy a new Tesla.

(And I think you have TSLA stock so, being honest, your first Model S, and this next one, were both "free" many times over.)

 

[Lasttoy]

I have a vibration 70 to 74. SC said all was good. So I changed to my summer wheels/tires. Still there. Ok, next I changed front hubs, rotors, pads. Still there. I have the 2 rear axles. I will change those when it cools off in a few months. Oh, i didnt like the play in RF tie rod end, changed it . Still there.
So i drive 70 or 75 till i figure it out.

 

[rjcampeau]

I have the exact same issue with my S60 RWD. Hard acceleration from 90-120 km/h will make a hum/vibration and I also have a clunk when going slowly over speed bumps. Mobile service diagnosed front lower control arms are faulty and are getting swapped in a couple weeks, they are also going to do the rear driveshafts. Interesting that the driveshafts didn't make any difference for you but I'll find out soon if this fixes the problem.

Another data point - they did the front control arms, including the sway bar end links, but not the rear drive shafts. No change to the vibration issue.

 

[Muffinman]

Did they check your rear subframe bushings? On my 2013 P85 they replaced most suspension components due to instability not fixing the problem, claiming the car now worked as designed. Even though it had been like this for a few months only, being totally stable for years prior to this. When they finally checked the subframe needed to be replaced due to completely shot bushings, making the car totally fine again. Also, they made things right by me, so no problem there.

I would not know if this could cause vibrations, but if it has not been checked it could be worth a look.

 

[rjcampeau]

So far they only did a test drive and said it's probably the drive shafts, but I'll make sure they check the bushings on my upcoming appointment

 

[jpvdheijn]

Maybe also a data point from the Netherlands. I have also been struggling with this issue at 85m/h /135 km/h. I went to an independant garage and got all the wheels and tyres checked with me attending the reading at the balancing machine. I had 20 inbalance on 1 wheel, also it was noticed that the wheels were still ok but that a tyre had developed a height swing. You can balance a wheel perfectly but if the tyre still introduced a height swing then you will still have vibrations. I have seen noticed that my normal strut model S is quite sensitive to these height swing in tyres.

 

[rjcampeau]

Interesting, but I have 2 sets of rims and tires and swapping them or rotating the tires doesn't make any difference for me

 

[rjcampeau]

After replacing bad upper and lower control arms in the front, they finally tried new rear halfshafts which seems to have fixed the problem! The part number said performance even though mine is just a RWD S60

REAR HALFSHAFT 36 MM, PERFORMANCE
Part #: 1007719-00-C

 

[ElectricTravel]

After replacing bad upper and lower control arms in the front, they finally tried new rear halfshafts which seems to have fixed the problem!

Great!

The part number said performance even though mine is just a RWD S60

When Model S first came out, they had different halfshafts for performance (P85) and regular cars. Not long after launch, they stopped carrying the standard halfshafts as service parts and just stocked and installed the performance ones.

I'm not sure if the factory also started using the performance halfshafts as well, but if you get a halfshaft replaced, it will always be the "performance" part.