Buzzing Sound From Left Front Area

[XLR8OR]

While parked in my garage, my refreshed S90D recently has developed a buzzing sound coming from the left front of the car. It's not always on, but it is on most of the time. It may also be occurring while driving, but I can't tell. Something is running, and it stays on even if I turn the car off. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[steve841]

I have what sounds like a pump running seemingly all the time...

SC looked at logs and say they see nothing out of the ordinary ...

File it in the asked and unanswered box .....

 

[davidc18]

I have the same issue. Does not exist on our 70D. I've recorded the sound. SC has looked once and claims it is "normal". Does not in any way seem normal to have a pump running close to 24/7 on the car. Have started the escalation process with Tesla. Please keep us posted on any updates to the issue you find.

 

[whitex]

Is it the same sound you hear when supercharging at 100KW+? If so, it's the fan. You may want to check to make sure something didn't get stuck in the fan, especially if it sounds like a card in bicycle spokes (happened to me once).

 

[davidc18]

Not a fan. The sound is close to 24/7 and is more of a humming sound. It does not matter if the car is charging or not. The Dania Beach SC claims it is "normal" but clearly it is not. Our other MS does not make this sound and the SC was not able to tell me what system was making the sound. They are just over run with cars to service and wanted mine gone (they had it for 5 days).

 

[whitex]

Not a fan. The sound is close to 24/7 and is more of a humming sound. It does not matter if the car is charging or not. The Dania Beach SC claims it is "normal" but clearly it is not. Our other MS does not make this sound and the SC was not able to tell me what system was making the sound. They are just over run with cars to service and wanted mine gone (they had it for 5 days).

Check whether the little flaps in the vents are not stuck on something. When my car sits alone for a while, when I open the doors the flaps open all the way and close to recalibrate (I assume) - if something was blocking a flap it could me continously try to close (or open) it.

 

[sbtz]

By left, do you mean passenger side? I have this too on my P90DL - some say it's normal, others say that it's attributable to a bad ballast for one of the headlights, as the sound seems like it is coming from right behind them.

 

[davidc18]

The SC pulled the head lights and the sound remained (drivers side).

whiteX - checked, not a vent flap - it does sound like a small pump.

 

[whitex]

The SC pulled the head lights and the sound remained (drivers side).

whiteX - checked, not a vent flap - it does sound

1. Do you have air suspension? There is a pump involved there.
2. Not sure about your level of comfort going beyond just looking, but it only takes about 10 minutes (or less if you've done it before) to remove the plastics and the frunk plastic tub, exposing all parts underneath (see picture below from my car). There aren't many "layers" or parts, most things are laid out pretty flat. You could listen and narrow down where the noise is coming from. It could be that some temperature sensor is broken and the fan is constantly on (there is a large fan on each side), or maybe air suspension compressor never turns off for some reason. Again though, car under warranty so you SC should be able to debug, but if you have the time and will to do it, it could provide more information to them (e.g. if you find the part making constant noise, take a picture of it and give it to the SC).

 

[davidc18]

Will try it today!

 

[Sousagil90D]

Same problem with my 90D built in July. I thought it was some adhesive tape on the tire or something...

 

[steve841]

Will try it today!

Gutsy ... let me know what you find.

 

[MickC]

Refreshed Model S: constant buzzing noise?

Check the front LED headlight. This could be a possible cause.
As replied in the above thread, I only have the noise since a replacement of the front left headlight (broken top DRL). Will need to check if it is comming from that new light unit.

 

[XLR8OR]

My car was in the SC yesterday for another (cosmetic) reason, and had them look at the buzzing issue. I even brought a recording of the noise I made on my iPhone. I was assured that it was "normal." Since it hasn't happened until very recently on a car I've had for 3 months and 5K miles, that doesn't sound like a "normal" thing.

Whitex, I'm going to do as you suggest and take off the frunk liner and expose the innards and see if i can locate where it's coming from. Thanks for the idea. And yes, I do have the air suspension.

 

[brkaus]

1. Do you have air suspension? There is a pump involved there.
2. Not sure about your level of comfort going beyond just looking, but it only takes about 10 minutes (or less if you've done it before) to remove the plastics and the frunk plastic tub, exposing all parts underneath (see picture below from my car). There aren't many "layers" or parts, most things are laid out pretty flat. You could listen and narrow down where the noise is coming from. It could be that some temperature sensor is broken and the fan is constantly on (there is a large fan on each side), or maybe air suspension compressor never turns off for some reason. Again though, car under warranty so you SC should be able to debug, but if you have the time and will to do it, it could provide more information to them (e.g. if you find the part making constant noise, take a picture of it and give it to the SC).
View attachment 201063

You can also take a short piece of PVC pipe to use to localize the sound. Touch it (carefully) to things and feel for vibration or put other end near ear.

 

[MickC]

I checked it and it comes from my new light housing. Didn't have it before the replacement.

 

[davidc18]

They disconnected my lights and still had the noise. I"m going to take the frunk lining out and see if I can locate the source of the noise. Great suggestion.

 

[davidc18]

Update. I took the frunk tub out and disconnected the headlights. It was the right headlight making the humming sound. Pretty disappointed in Tesla maintenance who claimed to have checked the headlights for the noise. Clearly they did not, so someone at the SC signed off on work they did not do. Second time I have caught them doing this. Very disappointing.

 

[davidc18]

Took the frunk out and unplugged the right headlight and the humming stopped. Waited 10 minutes, plugged it back in and the sound started within 60 seconds.

 

[mikedc813]

I have an intermittent high frequency hollow vibration sound that comes from the left front area on my 2016 MS. This is different than what others are posting here but it has been driving me crazy. It only happens when I drive over a rough surface, even changing lanes and going over lane reflectors will trigger it sometimes. The Dania Beach SC looked at it twice and replaced some parts around the left AC vent but no difference whatsoever. I think the issues is with the cheap hollow plastic AC vent blades. Has anyone else heard of this?