2023 TESLA Model Y - What Is the Fan Noise While Parked???

[THEbuz]

2023 TESLA Model Y (LR/AWD)

Took delivery 89 days ago. Model Y has been parked in my garage for 1hr this evening after getting home. It’s plugged into my Wall Connector, but it doesn’t start charging until 9pm. Meanwhile, 1hr after arriving home in the garage, some loud-ish fan noise is coming from the front end of the car. From the exterior of the car, it sounds like the HVAC fan is running, but the center display is black and not lit up. No one is sitting inside the car. The garage is empty of people and all other movement.

Any idea(s) what is causing this noise and why???

 

[BitJam]

This is perfectly normal. You will learn to ignore such noises in time. The car has a very sophisticated thermal management system that moves heat between the outside, the cabin, the motors, and the battery. I added some sound insulation to the hood of my frunk which helped me ignore the noises.

If you want more details, here is part one of a series of videos on Tesla's Model Y thermal management.

Moving heat around is what causes the HVAC noises. Despite the noise, this is more efficient energy-wise than just letting the car sit in silence. For example, when it's cold outside the car will take the heat from inside the cabin and store it in the battery. Tesla is all about efficiency (and safety). The Model Y battery holds less energy than 3 gallons of gasoline. Without massive efficiency the range would be pathetic.

The company EVinsulate sells a kit and instructions for insulating the battery and its cooling/heating hoses. They claim that when combined with their double pane roof it will cut wintertime range loss in half. Or take a look at Sandy Munro's teardown and critique of the Ford Mach-E. EV thermal management is very complicated but it plays a significant role in maximizing efficiency.

 

[howardnj]

2023 TESLA Model Y (LR/AWD)

Took delivery 89 days ago. Model Y has been parked in my garage for 1hr this evening after getting home. It’s plugged into my Wall Connector, but it doesn’t start charging until 9pm. Meanwhile, 1hr after arriving home in the garage, some loud-ish fan noise is coming from the front end of the car. From the exterior of the car, it sounds like the HVAC fan is running, but the center display is black and not lit up. No one is sitting inside the car. The garage is empty of people and all other movement.

Any idea(s) what is causing this noise and why???

Perfectly normal
Faagetaboutit

 

[THEbuz]

This is perfectly normal. You will learn to ignore such noises in time. The car has a very sophisticated thermal management system that moves heat between the outside, the cabin, the motors, and the battery. I added some sound insulation to the hood of my frunk which helped me ignore the noises.

If you want more details, here is part one of a series of videos on Tesla's Model Y thermal management.

Moving heat around is what causes the HVAC noises. Despite the noise, this is more efficient energy-wise than just letting the car sit in silence. For example, when it's cold outside the car will take the heat from inside the cabin and store it in the battery. Tesla is all about efficiency (and safety). The Model Y battery holds less energy than 3 gallons of gasoline. Without massive efficiency the range would be pathetic.

The company EVinsulate sells a kit and instructions for insulating the battery and its cooling/heating hoses. They claim that when combined with their double pane roof it will cut wintertime range loss in half. Or take a look at Sandy Munro's teardown and critique of the Ford Mach-E. EV thermal management is very complicated but it plays a significant role in maximizing efficiency.

Thanks a lot for this awesome REPLY!
Would you mind sharing with me about how you “…added some sound insulation to the hood of [your] frunk…” to dampen the thermal management system noise? Do you have a video of what you did and how you did it? Was this a kit? Thanks!

 

[ElectricIAC]

Thermal management. It’s important.

 

[BitJam]

Would you mind sharing with me about how you “…added some sound insulation to the hood of [your] frunk…” to dampen the thermal management system noise? Do you have a video of what you did and how you did it? Was this a kit? Thanks!

I got something called "Model Y front trunk lid sound insulation" from AliExpress for about $20. It was pretty thin. I combined this with 8mm car cell foam sound proofing insulation (that had adhesive on one side). I had a 40" x 24" roll of it lying around. I think I got it for damping sound from my computers. The foam probably worked better. I put the piece from AliExpress on the outside which made it look good. The foam alone would probably look terrible.

Installation was a bit of a pain for one person because I had to hold it all up while I tried to align the little plastic pins. I ended up climbing into the frunk to do it. With two people it should be much easier. The car comes with a large plastic donut/gasket kind of thing attached to the frunk hood. Like with most things it's attached with plastic pins that simply pop out and can be popped in again. You take this out, the sound insulation attaches to it then you put it back in. Adding the foam made the installation more difficult.

I didn't take any sound measurements so I cannot promise it actually reduced the sound significantly. It seemed quieter to me but that might have been psychological. My concern about those extra HVAC noises dropped precipitously. Maybe I was just getting used to them. Or maybe it was psychological because I had done all I could do. Or maybe it worked and damped the higher frequencies which took the edge off. It certainly didn't silence the HVAC sounds but they no longer bother me.

In contrast, right after I got the car I had installed a noise reduction kit which was basically weatherstripping for the doors and the hatch. That stuff made no discernible difference psychological or otherwise.