Buzzing at low speed

[David99]

I hear a distinct buzzing when easing on the throttle up to about 20mph after that it fades out. I assume it is coming from the motor as it seems to originate from the right rear (passenger side of the car)

It is not overly loud but loud enough to be an annoyance.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Steve

I have the exact same thing. It is mostly audible at low speed and gets less noticeable when going faster as tire and wind noise take over. I went to my service center, did a short test drive with them. They knew right way and said they can fix it, but need a day. So I have it scheduled for next week. They assured me it is nothing bad or harmful in any way. You can drive without any risk.
Oddly my car didn't have it from the beginning. It started 4 weeks after I got it. I only get it when I accelerate, not when regen is active.
Now reading through the other comments, I think it might have started with 5.9, but it could be just a coincident. Sucks for Tesla if they have to swap out the entire Inverter/motor to fix it. That's expensive to fix a small problem.

 

[KenN]

Same here as well since Update to 5.9 I hear it much more than before, loud wine from 10-20kw drain.

If you have loud wine, it needs to age a little longer before drinking!!

 

[linuxdrake]

Any update on this from the service manager?

Same. My drive unit was replaced a while ago and the noise went away. It's back now. And if considered normal that sucks because it's really noticeable with the windows down. I wonder what it sounds like to pedestrians. I'm about to call it in - same service manager as who dealt with it before so we'll see what he says.

 

[trigga71]

I had this same issue. I took the car in for tank mode and mentioned it along with the drone at highway speeds (over 70mph for extended periods of time)

Long story short, I got a new drive unit. All noises are gone now.

Was your drone sound coming from the same area (passenger side rear)? I drive 70+ all the time and am stating to notice a drone sound. I hear the buzz which the electrical noise is a given.

 

[Al Sherman]

Me too. Been over a year and 12k miles. Exactly as Flasher describes. Between 10 and 20kW. Seems to be coming from right rear. I've never mentioned it to service.

 

[yobigd20]

does it sound like the following? clearly heard from 0:11 to the end

 

[Al Sherman]

does it sound like the following? clearly heard from 0:11 to the end

Hard to tell but yes. Pretty close.

 

[nrcooled]

Was your drone sound coming from the same area (passenger side rear)? I drive 70+ all the time and am stating to notice a drone sound. I hear the buzz which the electrical noise is a given.

Yes. After extended periods of time at 70+ the drone would start.

 

[Brightonuk]

does it sound like the following? clearly heard from 0:11 to the end

Yep that it.
I guess you were easing on and off the throttle

So do we need to take this in just for this issue as it seems to be affecting a few cars

 

[callmesam]

Have the same issue. No sound when accelerating above 3k, high pitched buzzing at low energy discharge.

I also have balloon whine.

Not a big fan of all the "extra" sounds that are becoming normal as the car ages.

 

[David99]

My car is currently at the service center for this issue. It was very noticeable, especially when you roll down the windows. It's actually kind of noisy when you go at 20-30 mph through a quiet neighborhood. Only when accelerating gently, nothing when it's on regen.

The service center said they swapped out the drive unit.

 

[Tasdevil]

Any ideas what happens to the drive units?
I assume the tesla engineers have recreated the fault in their lab. Just wondering if there's any talk about a fix because changing drive units isn't ideal.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Have the same issue. No sound when accelerating above 3k, high pitched buzzing at low energy discharge.

I also have balloon whine.

Not a big fan of all the "extra" sounds that are becoming normal as the car ages.

+1. Right there with you. Not a fan of these noises which I keep being told are all "normal". I have the low energy buzz, heavy acceleration balloon whine and the low speed clunking gear lash when easing on and off the accelerator under 15 mph. The only one I don't have is the drone at 70+. I may go off the deep end if that one appears as well. Is a new drive unit in order here guys?

 

[David99]

got my car back. the buzz at low speed is gone. haven't tried hard acceleration yet. the play in the gears seem to be greater than before. i think i can feel the "clunking" more than before. hm... they did an extensive road test so i assume it is fine. Just odd that a simple 2 gear setup can have that much play.

 

[yobigd20]

Yep that it.
I guess you were easing on and off the throttle

So do we need to take this in just for this issue as it seems to be affecting a few cars

yes I was were easing on and off the throttle to clearly show the point.

Have the same issue. No sound when accelerating above 3k, high pitched buzzing at low energy discharge.

I also have balloon whine.

Not a big fan of all the "extra" sounds that are becoming normal as the car ages.

My car is currently at the service center for this issue. It was very noticeable, especially when you roll down the windows. It's actually kind of noisy when you go at 20-30 mph through a quiet neighborhood. Only when accelerating gently, nothing when it's on regen.

The service center said they swapped out the drive unit.

yeah mine is very loud and noticeable now. I have brought my car into service multiple times now and mentioned this every time. they keep telling me this is "normal" and won't do anything about it which sucks. even my wife is annoyed by the sound now. I am at 48.8k miles now and about to go out of warranty and I wanted this fixed. this really pisses me off when I hear about others getting their drive units replaced to fix this yet they refuse to do so on mine.

 

[cinergi]

Any update on this from the service manager?

Only that I won't get any details until I take my car in for them to "listen" to it, send to HQ, and get a reply back. I haven't had time to stop in to have them do that recording...

 

[David99]

I doubt the service centers have different standards on what is considered a warranty fix or not. Hard to tell if the sound your car makes was the same as my car made, or at the same level. When I test drove it with the technician he didn't even hesitate, he said right away he recognizes the sound and they can fix it. He might have heard something specific.

Reading through the messages here it seems there are different sounds. callmesam says it's below 3k. Mine was almost silent below 3k and got really noticeable at 20k and faded out above that. Others say they have it when they regen. Mine was silent in regen. On my service bill it said they also noticed a slight milling sound, which is mechanical and usually caused be the gears or failing ball bearings. Maybe that's why they rather swap out the drive unit that having mine fail at some point causing a bigger problem.

 

[FlasherZ]

Reading through the messages here it seems there are different sounds. callmesam says it's below 3k. Mine was almost silent below 3k and got really noticeable at 20k and faded out above that. Others say they have it when they regen. Mine was silent in regen. On my service bill it said they also noticed a slight milling sound, which is mechanical and usually caused be the gears or failing ball bearings. Maybe that's why they rather swap out the drive unit that having mine fail at some point causing a bigger problem.

Mine is not mechanically related to the gearing or wheels, it only occurs between ~7-20 kW - above or below that you cannot hear it. It does not vary in frequency with power consumption, although the amplitude seems to increase throughout that power consumption range. It's typically heard at low speeds, especially when reflecting off walls (although you can hear it in an open parking lot if climate control and radio are turned off, no need to have windows down). It's an electronic sound - almost as if you had crickets going constantly at a higher frequency.

 

[David99]

Mine is not mechanically related to the gearing or wheels, it only occurs between ~7-20 kW - above or below that you cannot hear it. It does not vary in frequency with power consumption, although the amplitude seems to increase throughout that power consumption range. It's typically heard at low speeds, especially when reflecting off walls (although you can hear it in an open parking lot if climate control and radio are turned off, no need to have windows down). It's an electronic sound - almost as if you had crickets going constantly at a higher frequency.

That sounds like what I had and it was really noisy in my case.

 

[spentan]

This is a known noise. Occurs between 10-20 kW of consumption, typically. Those with finely tuned ears can hear the gentle buzzing as you give it some power, but to hear it well, roll down the windows and go through a tunnel or in a parking garage.

I know several owners - as well as I - have reported it. It developed in my car around 20k miles. As I understand it, it is considered "normal" behavior by Tesla.

Same here as well since Update to 5.9 I hear it much more than before, loud wine from 10-20kw drain.

Me too. Been over a year and 12k miles. Exactly as Flasher describes. Between 10 and 20kW. Seems to be coming from right rear. I've never mentioned it to service.

I mentioned it to Tesla Service Costa Mesa, (along with a whole list of issues).

They ended up replacing my drive unit,