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85D Whine

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Yesterday I picked up a CPO 2015 85D with 57k miles.

The motor has an obnoxious high pitch whine that randomly increases in volume, especially around 25-45mph, and seems to be the worst when I maintain a speed of ~25mph. I read almost everything I could find on TMC and elsewhere and concluded that it probably goes beyond the normal whine heard in a dual motor, so I took car to SC to evaluate whine.

First guy gets in car and we go for a drive. He initially notices the "normal" whine and then hears the whine periodically get louder and more annoying (which is intermittent). He though there might be something wrong, so he tells me he needs his foreman to listen. I go for a ride with the foreman and the foreman explains to me that all of the whining that I am hearing is normal, even when it gets a little louder and more grating. He agreed to record the sound and send it to engineering for their opinion. He seemed confident that they were going to conclude that nothing is wrong and that I am going live with it. He said that 100% of dual motors have a whine like mine (except for brand news ones until they get to 10 miles), and that Tesla has concluded that this acceptable because most people drive with ambient sound of some sort (e.g., a/c, music, traffic, etc.), so they really don't notice it.

I recognize there is some level of whine on dual motors, but I don't believe the whine should arise to the level where it annoys your passengers. Everything else about this car is great, but it's unfortunate to have a car where the only way to avoid hearing whine is to turn up the music loud (i.e., I can hear the whine with music at a "regular" volume).

Any advice to help me determine where the line is crossed between acceptable and unacceptable whine?
 
go faster? lol ;)

but just to be on the level, if it persists have the SC check the insulation in the front, and maybe do an onboard decible test and capture the readings to show them.

I have noticed over time that the whining appears to diminish and may just be a 'breaking in' adjustment period.
 
This is going to sound stupid, but... is Range Mode on or off? If it's off, then that does seem a bit odd.

Not stupid at all...the front motor gets used a little more with range mode on so you'd heard more whine from the front. The front DU on my car (85D, April 2015 build) has a bit of a whine, particularly with range mode on, but I don't find it unpleasant.

OP should just be sure it's a whine and not the "milling noise" that some (early?) owners had. I don't think that problem is common on the 85D however, particularly on the front motor.

The only other suggestion I would have for the OP is if you are not satisfied with the answer from your service center, do you have any friends nearby who own an 85D? Maybe you can compare noise levels between two cars.

Bruce.
 
Just a thought. We have a 2014 CPO S85 (single motor). We had a hum sound that started around 40mph and the pitch kept increasing as speed increased. They first replaced the drive due to a clunk sound and I hoped the hum. Unfortunately the hum was still there. It went back a week ago and they ended up determining it was 3 of the 4 wheel bearings were going bad. Now no hum - glorious! Ours was a low mileage New England car and my assumption is that the winter road sand/salt might have something to do with it though the service center said they hadn't had the issue before.
 
Yes as said above, make sure range mode is off. The whine almost sounds like ignition of a conventional car with an AM radio. In fact you can practically toggle the whine on/off with the range mode switch.
Even with range mode off, it still has a subtle whine depending on acceleration and vehicle load (up/down hill etc)
Also as stated, above 40-45 it disappears.
I've heard this whine on all my D cars as well as D loaners.
Initially I thought it was an issue, and brought it in to learn that I had been keeping range mode on and that's why it was so noticeable.
 
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I notice this on my June 2015 85D only when range mode is on. My wife, finds it much more annoying than I do.

Try turning it off and let us know if it makes a difference.

Range mode has been off.

I have an 85D, and yes there is a noticeable whine during acceleration, but I hear no whine at cruising speed, or really at any steady speed. I don't think that is normal unless you have extremely sensitive hearing.

This is great to know! The whine is present almost 100% of the time. I would like to go back to SC with this kind of anecdotal evidence. Hopefully others with dual motor will report the same, as this would contradict what I was told by the head mechanic.

Thanks for the feedback!!
 
I have been complaining about this whine noise since delivery day of my 2015 70D.

I get it whether range mode is on or off.
Service says it is normal and I mention it at every time it is in for a checkup.
I once asked to drive another car to hear for myself if it was normal.
The new 90D had the exact same noise.
So, I have learned to live with it.
 
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Was one of the first things we checked when we took delivery. Went through the test drive and recording by the SC being sent back to Fremont. On ours it is precisely between 60 and 70 kmh. We've learned to find it normal with all the driving we do. Granted the stereo is usually on anyhow. As a positive it's actually become an audible reminder when driving in a 50 zone to have a look at the speedometer because the noise is telling me I've started into the 60's and naturally I don't want a ticket for going 15kmh over.
One thing I've never heard of until this thread is that having Range Mode On or Off will make a difference, will have to try that as we've almost always had it set to On.
 
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I see that a few times on pre 2015 model from loaners I've gotten

It's annoying electronic whining noise. Back in the days having aftermarket stereo system we had to add noise cancellation filter due to the amp in the car. The sound on the 85 was similar to that.
 
I have been complaining about this whine noise since delivery day of my 2015 70D.

I get it whether range mode is on or off.
Service says it is normal and I mention it at every time it is in for a checkup.
I once asked to drive another car to hear for myself if it was normal.
The new 90D had the exact same noise.
So, I have learned to live with it.

Yup our S90D has the same whine sound but the S85 And S60 are nearly silent. I do wish the high pitch sound would not be there but I much prefer the region of AWD.
 
Anecdotal feedback from my experience as a S85 owners (2y, 60k miles) who had many D loaners, including recent P90DL.
I'm flabbergasted as to the whine in any D cars. I sure am glad I eventually went for the S85 and not the 70D back in 2015 as that whine is quite present in all D cars.
This week I had once more a D, a 70D. At first I thought "well this one doesn't have the whine" but later in the day it did quite manifest itself.
Means to me the whine is something that depending on various factors can be subtle to quite annoying. Probably that one of those factors is one's own mood :)

That to support OP's point. It sure is there in any D and compared to a non-D can be very annoying. I hope Tesla will find ways to better insulate it as I would not favor a D replacement as long as this does not improve. (But of course our climate does not require D. )
 
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I'm getting a slight fingernails on chalkboard noise between 42-48mph. I was wondering if this is the "milling noise" otherwise I only get the normal EV motor whine when I accelerate especially at lower speeds (road noise and wind noise soon overwhelm that whine). The whine isn't my issue but the scratching noise is annoying. Good luck -- don't let this go and the service center might take action.
 
I have an late 2015 85D with the same problem. I was told by the service department in Dublin that it was due to resisters. They told me if it gets worse they could address it. It has not gotten worse over the last 6 months. It is more annoying at about 80mph. I noticed it on at that speed on a trip on I5 to LA.
 
It just does not seem right that a car this expensive can have a whine 100% of the time when moving. I can live with the acceleration whine, but the other whining is driving me crazy. Yesterday I could hear it with the music volume on 6.5 (not quiet) and a/c running. Sometimes the sound is closer to nails on a chalkboard. The car I test drove (a 100D) did not have anything like this.

I'll stop "whining" now... :)