90D Motor whine?

[Plugsuvohio]

I've searched and tried to read these forums and found very little related to what I am regularly hearing in my new MX. Vin ends in 11908 delivered early this month.

Only have this a week or so so its all new to me. But my wife and I both clearly hear whine that begins just above 40 mph and pretty much gone over 50. Around where we live there is a lot of 45mph speed limits and so we are in that zone frequently. I'm developing a list of things to go over with the tech people either local or by phone. I've got several. But this is the only one where I have great concern in adding miles while this is figured out.

The car is running totally in factory default modes, I've not adjusted anything on range for example. Anyone have thoughts on this or heard the problem? I've got some experience with motors and drives outside the automotive area, and this kind of sound is typical of what I've hear related to the power chopping and speed control.

 

[chillaban]

Do you have 2.32.33 yet?

I noticed a huge improvement in the 2.32 firmware vs 2.28 in the motor whine in my month old 70D which probably shares a lot of the same drivetrain parts as you.

 

[vandacca]

I would check and ensure that all panels/carpet are securely fastened both in the front trunk and the driver's and passenger's foot wells. If things are loose or slightly open, sound-insulation will be reduced.

I noticed that my carpet wasn't properly installed (popped-out) in the driver's side foot well, by my left leg.

 

[Plugsuvohio]

It appears as of today, I have 2.28.75

 

[chillaban]

It appears as of today, I have 2.28.75

That's what I had before as well…. I would suggest waiting for the 2.32 update and seeing if that improves it at all for you. I heard the exact same noise before: A pretty high pitched motor whine when maintaining speed or slowly accelerating between 40 and 50mph….

I am confident it's less pronounced in 2.32. There's still times that I can hear a bit of motor whine during that speed range when regenerating, but the droning constant whine seems to be gone.

 

[Rhyder]

That's what I had before as well…. I would suggest waiting for the 2.32 update and seeing if that improves it at all for you. I heard the exact same noise before: A pretty high pitched motor whine when maintaining speed or slowly accelerating between 40 and 50mph….

I am confident it's less pronounced in 2.32. There's still times that I can hear a bit of motor whine during that speed range when regenerating, but the droning constant whine seems to be gone.

I've noticed the same 40-50 MPH whine in my 6 week old S90D. Upgraded to 2.32 Saturday night and the whine is still there...but maybe not as loud? Not really sure, but will still have the SC check it out if I have another reason to make an appointment.

Am curious as to how many people are having this issue.

 

[st50maint]

I recently had my annual service done on my model S 70D and complained about the noise.
Here is a portion of the service invoice.


Concern: Customer states: whine of front motor is very loud ( more pronounced between 20-
45mph)
Pay Type: Goodwill
Corrections: Front Drive Unit General Diagnosis
Road tested vehicle. Unable to duplicate customer concern at time. No abnormal front
drive unit noise heard during road test. Slight whine confirmed from front drive unit is
normal operating noise.
Corrections: Front Drive Unit General Diagnosis Conclusion: No Trouble Found
Road tested vehicle. Unable to duplicate customer concern at time. No abnormal front
drive unit noise heard during road test. Slight whine confirmed from front drive unit is
normal operating noise.

 

[chillaban]

I've noticed the same 40-50 MPH whine in my 6 week old S90D. Upgraded to 2.32 Saturday night and the whine is still there...but maybe not as loud? Not really sure, but will still have the SC check it out if I have another reason to make an appointment.

Am curious as to how many people are having this issue.

Yeah I should clarify: the whine is definitely not gone but it is not as loud and not as easily reproducible when cruising at a constant speed between 40 and 50.

I didn't mean to imply that it'll be totally gone. Depending on how good your hearing is, you'll probably notice some level of switching or AC drive frequency noise.

Some newer cars especially with permanent magnet based motors are designed to produce much less irritating or audible noises but I think in our case we are kind of stuck with it for now.

 

[ishak]

I noticed this same whine in a loaner S that went away after I saw that "Range Mode" was on then turned it off.

 

[chillaban]

I noticed this same whine in a loaner S that went away after I saw that "Range Mode" was on then turned it off.

That's worth pointing out too: range mode is DEFINITELY louder. It seems to use the front motor more which results in the driver noticing more noise.


When I worked in this industry there were always "acoustic" trade offs made to operate on intentionally less efficient frequencies in order to avoid interfering with stereo amps and other electronics as well as to avoid droning noises.

 

[RossRAllen]

Really? Louder with Range Mode ON? I hadn't noticed. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll investigate.

But,... I keep Range Mode OFF because I want the running lights ON when I drive. Being more visible is worth 1 or 2 wHr/mi for the lights. The A/C needs to be what it is for comfort when it's 102 F outside around these here parts.

 

[chillaban]

Really? Louder with Range Mode ON? I hadn't noticed. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll investigate.

But,... I keep Range Mode OFF because I want the running lights ON when I drive. Being more visible is worth 1 or 2 wHr/mi for the lights. The A/C needs to be what it is for comfort when it's 102 F outside around these here parts.

Your backseat passengers might think it's quieter ;-)

Range mode uses the front motor more often. Without range mode, the system appears to avoid using it due to the more obvious noise to the driver…. But your backseat passengers will hear more motor noise in either mode.

 

[Plugsuvohio]

I've noticed the same 40-50 MPH whine in my 6 week old S90D. Upgraded to 2.32 Saturday night and the whine is still there...but maybe not as loud? Not really sure, but will still have the SC check it out if I have another reason to make an appointment.

Am curious as to how many people are having this issue.

================
Yesterday an upgrade was done on my MX, but it was to V2.30.61 not 2.32

Got around to trying a ride between 40 and 50 and could still hear the whine, although my initial impression was it was less pronounced. I've have more time to try this over the next few days. But How is it, that I get a new car 2 weeks ago, gets upgraded yesterday, but not to an even later release you guys got?

 

[chillaban]

================
Yesterday an upgrade was done on my MX, but it was to V2.30.61 not 2.32

Got around to trying a ride between 40 and 50 and could still hear the whine, although my initial impression was it was less pronounced. I've have more time to try this over the next few days. But How is it, that I get a new car 2 weeks ago, gets upgraded yesterday, but not to an even later release you guys got?

Tesla stages and rolls updates to batches of cars at a time. It is perfectly normal to be on a different version compared to others online.

 

[tonyx]

Mine is over 6k miles and still has a very slight whine around 52-56mph. I get the impression the car wants to go faster and is kind of complaining about it.

Having said that, the EV whine IS a thing, you hear it insanely loudly on a Leaf for example. And on a S90D loaner it was so loud I would have returned the car if it were my own.

Hopefully it's something that can be managed to tolerable levels for everyone...

 

[Plugsuvohio]

Well the service center is going to look at this Tuesday for me. I'll post what I learn.

================
Yesterday an upgrade was done on my MX, but it was to V2.30.61 not 2.32

Got around to trying a ride between 40 and 50 and could still hear the whine, although my initial impression was it was less pronounced. I've have more time to try this over the next few days. But How is it, that I get a new car 2 weeks ago, gets upgraded yesterday, but not to an even later release you guys got?

 

[Fred6936]

mx 510x motor whine 40 to 50mph loud, service center says that there is nothing they can do about the whine???? Have model 60 2013 that had a bad whine that i complained about for 3 years, service said they could not hear the noise then they said that it was not abnormal then when i went in for the three year service they told me they had a recall for the whine then the whine got fixed, They knew about the whine for 3years, i hope it does not take that long for the X.

 

[rgreen]

Plugsvohio--what was the result of your service appointment regarding the whine?

 

[rgreen]

I have the refreshed S90D. 2.5 months old, 3,300 miles. On my car the high-pitched whine developed over the last 1500 miles. It occurs at 24-26 mph and at 48-52 mph so it seems like it is some kind of motor harmonic. The whine is independent of amount of acceleration or amount of regen. It is related to speed and is constant when the aforementioned speeds are held constant. Very noticeable to both driver and passengers. Range mode off. Software version 2.32.

Have an appointment at the Denver service center tomorrow to see if this is something that can be fixed. For my wife and I, the whine is not something we could live with long-term. We have notified Tesla that we will trigger the happiness guarantee buyback per our 90-day lease guarantee if the whine cannot be fixed, even though there are substantial sunk costs to us if we do so. This is the only remaining open mechanical issue on the car and we are otherwise very happy with it.

Would be very curious if anyone has had a motor replacement or other repair that has solved this issue on the S90D.

 

[Plugsuvohio]

I'm glad to hear others responding about this. When I first took this in this week, I did not have high hopes of resolution. My car went in Tuesday for some cosmetic and trim issues, wifi difficulties, and the central concern being this whine. The SA talked this all through with me and wrote it up.,Plus I had provided some pictures and write up myself. I'll be picking up the 90D this afternoon and will let you know what got done. I do know that the SA and lead technician went together in a different 90D to listen and then took mine out to test. At first they did not feel there was anything unusual being heard. But by the time they were on the way back, changed their mind. They recorded audio and have been connected with someone in Fremont.

I only have about 800 miles so far