Audio: Speaker rattle

[anpahwa]

I've searched the forums, and while I've seen issues with the rear speakers and with radio reception, I haven't heard of this issue yet:

I've noticed an obnoxious and inconsistent rattle from my front speakers. First I heard it coming from the driver side (kick panel area, I think?), and now I've also noticed it similarly from the passenger side.

I'm pretty convinced it's the speakers, because turning down the volume gets rid of the rattle.

Oddly, I only notice it with mid tones, not low tones. In fact, I mostly notice it with talk on NPR (maybe it gets covered up more easily with music?). And I'm not talking about super loud volumes -- I'm usually listening to talk radio at "5" or so to make it audible on the freeway.

Has anyone had any similar problems? I'll report this to Tesla support, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be one of those rattles that conveniently doesn't happen when anyone else is around...

 

[Chris]

Yes, I have a similar issue. My rattle is coming from the passenger side, most likely door speaker. It is kind of inconsistent (ie noticed it while playing True Affection - Paper Television). Had it check out during a service visit but they could not reproduce it. Next time I am going to play that song for them...

 

[anpahwa]

Thanks, Chris. Let me know if you're able to reproduce it for TM and if there's a fix...

 

[PureAmps]

Yes, I also have the same rattle coming from the speaker in the passenger door. It is somewhat inconsistent, but does happen on certain songs I play. Mostly songs with strong mid-bass tones at a moderately loud volume (5+).

I had Tesla service look at it when I had my car in for service a few days ago. They could not reproduce, and I couldn't make it happen while I was there either. Of course, as soon as I drove away from service and got on the freeway it started happening on the exact same song (Sail by AWOLNATION) that I played for them. I think it is a combination of road vibration and the speaker that is causing some kind of resonance.

Next time I have to go in for service (pick up my parcel shelf?), I will take a service tech along for a ride and see if they can isolate it further.

 

[Jason S]

Yes, I have a similar issue. My rattle is coming from the passenger side, most likely door speaker. It is kind of inconsistent (ie noticed it while playing True Affection - Paper Television). Had it check out during a service visit but they could not reproduce it. Next time I am going to play that song for them...

Heard a similar sound earlier this week. For us it was the trim right next to the windshield in front of passenger getting loose.

We turned off the sound and the rattle continued (but less often, oddly enough) while my wife groped around in front of her -- found a loose spot, pressed it down, no more rattle. Have driven another 500 miles since, mostly highway, no issues.

 

[Electric Machete]

I've had the same noise. It seems to be coming from the speaker in the passenger dash.

 

[Ditpixs]

Add me to the list with front passenger speaker rattle... I only seem to hear it on AM radio. When I had it in for service, they tightened things up, but 10 minutes down the road I heard it again.

 

[olanmills]

I started noticing this with certain songs only a couple days ago. For me, it seems to come from the passenger side lower speaker on the door. I'm assuming it's a problem aggrevated by loud music with more bass. It happened in my old car too, but of course, I would expect it to happen so soon with this newer car.

 

[Getting Amped So]

I've had success with this stuff: dynamat at Crutchfield.com
. Requires removing the door panel, but on most cars that's pretty easy. Peel and stick. Makes the door closing sound better also. There are companies that will do your entire car with the stuff.

- - - Updated - - -

You cut a hole in this stuff and stick in onto the sheet metal around the speaker, then take the scraps and attach them to the speaker basket metal pieces.
Dynamat 10415 Xtreme Speaker Kit Two 10-in. x 10-in. Sheets at Crutchfield.com

 

[dmizock]

I also have experienced the dreaded rattle coming from the passenger door speaker. It's most noticeable when playing softer music - usually piano pieces. I just now happened to notice that the speaker grill on that speaker is not very tight -- it's actually loose. I checked the driver's side and the grill seems much more solid. Not sure if this looseness is causing the problem, but the next time I hear the buzzing, I'll see if, in fact, it's due to the grill vibrating. It would be interesting to know if anyone else discovers that the passenger speaker grill is noticeable looser than the drivers side.

 

[jhs_7645]

Yesterday I had a rattle coming from the small speaker grille in the A-pillar (next to the windshield). I could reach out and hold it and it stopped, an audio podcast I was listening to combined with the specific road vibrations seemed to trigger it. I've sent an email to ownership.

 

[KKlabunde]

In the last week or two, my S has developed a strong rattle/buzz in the passenger door panel as well. It is nearly constant with even lower volume music and sounds like a loose baffle inside the door or something. Notified Tesla.

Don't know if it is related or not, but when no music is playing there is a distinct clatter coming from under or next to the passenger seat. I've tried to find it, but can't. Moderated rough roads make it happen every time -- it rattles on all but freshly paved roads.

Ugh! I have always hated car rattles and there is no way I'll be able to tolerate it on my first high-end car.

 

[Electric Machete]

I have the feeling that the rattle people are hearing is not from loose bits in the speaker. I think this is a software or compression issue (low bitrate when streaming). What are the odds that everyones rattle would be coming from the passenger side front of the vehicle. When I hear the rattle, it is only when music is streaming from Slacker. I have also read the same complaints from those who stream internet radio (I don't really use that). Others have reported that service opened up the speaker and "fixed it" and the issue continued. I'm optimistic that they can patch the software.

It is super annoying, especially when demonstrating the car to friends.

 

[KKlabunde]

Rattle is the same with FM and FM HD radio. And it too a couple thousand miles to develop.

 

[aaronw]

I notice the rattle as well particularly when listening to some of the NPR talk radio (Terry Gross on Fresh Air seems to really aggravate it in my car for some reason).

 

[Al Sherman]

I notice it also. But, I'm back in the passenger side window grill speaker camp. If it's a firmware fix I'll be even more amazed than I was when 4.3 fixed my blinker light.

 

[Jeff Miller]

I had this rattle when I first got my car. It sounded like it was coming from the speaker on the front passenger side of the car. I mostly noticed it when listening to NPR talk radio. The Service Center tightened some panels in the front passenger door (at least that is what they told me) and the rattle went away - I haven't heard it since.

 

[Electric Machete]

I had this rattle when I first got my car. It sounded like it was coming from the speaker on the front passenger side of the car. I mostly noticed it when listening to NPR talk radio. The Service Center tightened some panels in the front passenger door (at least that is what they told me) and the rattle went away - I haven't heard it since.

OK. Good to know. I will ask them to take another look when I bring my car in again. I'm waiting on the carbon fiber dash to replace the piano black that they had installed.

 

[dbm417]

I had a similar issue. After a lot of attempts to diagnosis (since the Service Center couldn't duplicate the problem), I think it is being caused when my phone receives/sends a large amount of data--for example, an email with a large attachment. I assume this is some type of electronic interference between the speaker (the front left one is the noisiest) and my phone. It never happens when I don't have my phone with me. Do you have the noise when you don't have your phone in the car? Any solutions? By the way, the issue is not unique to my MS; I encountered it with the loaner from the Burlingame SC as well.

 

[pilotSteve]

I had a similar issue. After a lot of attempts to diagnosis (since the Service Center couldn't duplicate the problem), I think it is being caused when my phone receives/sends a large amount of data--for example, an email with a large attachment. I assume this is some type of electronic interference between the speaker (the front left one is the noisiest) and my phone. It never happens when I don't have my phone with me. Do you have the noise when you don't have your phone in the car? Any solutions? By the way, the issue is not unique to my MS; I encountered it with the loaner from the Burlingame SC as well.

Are you referring to the "angry wasp buzz" intermittent sound? If so this can be experienced around almost any electronics that has headphones/speakers when a phone or tablet is using cellular data radios. A basic principle of modern cell phones is that transmit power is reduced when close to a tower and (logically) boosted when father away. So how noticeable/annoying this interference will be depends on signal strength.