TMC is an independent, primarily volunteer organization that relies on ad revenue to cover its operating costs. Please consider whitelisting TMC on your ad blocker and becoming a Supporting Member. For more info: Support TMC
  1. TMC is currently READ ONLY.
    Click here for more info.

Buzzing static noise

Discussion in 'Model X' started by Sam A, Aug 8, 2017.

Tags:
  1. chadcristi

    chadcristi Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2016
    Messages:
    120
    Location:
    Lakewood, CO
    Okay, I just tried turning off the ambient lighting. The buzzing sound is still there. I also tried shutting off other lights and accessories. Good suggestion, but, unfortunately, no luck on this one. There is a slight delay from when you first enter the vehicle to when the buzzing switches on. If the car has been sleeping, the delay is slightly longer. You can clearly hear the buzzing sound “switch” on. When you power down the car using the MCU (touchscreen), the buzzing shuts off.
     
  2. eternal

    eternal Member

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2017
    Messages:
    56
    Location:
    new jersey
    at my recent service, I was told possibly a firmware could fix the issue but honestly, I doubt it. I was told because there is a more powerful CPU, the fans have to work extra hard to keep it cool :rolleyes: I don’t think much effort was put into identifying the source of the noise when it was being checked out.
     
  3. M.Baguette

    M.Baguette Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2017
    Messages:
    7
    Location:
    Oslo
    Makes no difference, unfortunately.
     
  4. M.Baguette

    M.Baguette Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2017
    Messages:
    7
    Location:
    Oslo
    Exact same issue and symptoms observed, and even more interesting, I have noticed it only starts when one is seating in the driver's seat, if you are alone in the car and in the passenger's seat, the sound does not start until one slides across to the driver's seat.
     
  5. chadcristi

    chadcristi Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2016
    Messages:
    120
    Location:
    Lakewood, CO
    Okay, I know this is a lot to read. But, here is some test data and notes I provided to Tesla. It may be worth trying out some of this to see if you get the same results:

    -------

    Model X Audio Buzzing Problem

    DESCRIPTIONS

    Problem:

    An abnormal buzzing or static sound can be heard coming from the vehicle speakers.


    “Fan(s)”

    Refers specifically to the fan sound is coming from the center to RH side of the dash. The sound is louder when the glove compartment is open.


    “Contactor”

    A muffled sound similar to an electric contactor coming from the LH front interior of the vehicle. The sound has more of a “thud” sound which differs from the “click” sound heard from a typical small relay.


    “Buzzing”

    The noise/static sound coming from ALL of the interior speakers when the problem occurs. The sound comes on instantaneously and is more pronounced in the higher frequency midrange and tweeter speakers located in the front dash. The sound can also be heard, however, while placing your ear near the falcon wing door speakers.

    CONDITIONS

    Buzzing occurs predictably 100% of the time and under all conditions. During the multiple tests I performed, the outside temperature has been between 45-70 degrees. The vehicle was both indoors and outdoors and had been sitting for at least an hour. The problem is NOT limited to a specific location. Buzzing can be heard with or without electronic devices in the vehicle. The number and position of passengers does NOT affect the sound. However, for testing, I sat in the front passenger side of the vehicle. The audio input source has NO effect. The audio system volume does NOT affect the buzzing (including mute level) except for the ability to wash out/overwhelm the buzzing sound once the volume reaches a high enough level (usually a setting of 3 or 4+). The volume level of the buzzing does not change - it never gets louder or softer.


    OBSERVED BEHAVIOR PATTERNS

    Behavior “A” - Buzzing begins ~7-9 seconds after driver’s door is unlocked and opened;

    Behavior “B” - Buzzing begins immediately after driver’s door is unlocked and opened;

    Behavior “C" - Buzzing begins ~131 seconds after driver’s door is unlocked and opened.



    BEHAVIOR “A”:

    This is the most common behavior experienced when the vehicle has been sitting for at least an hour. To achieve Behavior A, the vehicle has to be powered down with the doors locked and the specific “fans” (described above) completely off. Even when the vehicle is powered down manually using the Touch Screen, these specific fans will continue to run at low speed until the “contactor" (see description of contactor above) finally thumps. Five seconds after the contactor thumps, these specific fans will run at high speed for five seconds and then shut off completely.


    BEHAVIOR “A” TEST:

    This test was performed multiple times while sitting in the front passenger seat with nobody in the driver’s seat and while holding the key fob. The driver’s door will be opening and closing throughout the testing.


    0:00 - Three clicks to close and lock all doors.

    0:06 - System powers down, relays heard clicking, buzzing sound stops and screens go off.

    —fans can still be heard running continuously at low speed.

    1:35 - Contactor thump sound heard.

    1:41 - Fans ramp up to high speed for five seconds.

    1:46 - Fans shut off completely.


    ***perform these steps after the fans shut off completely


    0:00 - Two clicks on the key fob to unlock and open the driver’s door

    0:06 - Screens go on, audio system functional, fans ramp up to low speed. Audio system works normally.

    0:15 - Buzzing sound starts and will not stop again until the vehicle is powered down completely.



    BEHAVIOR B:

    This behavior occurs when the vehicle is exited, locked and the screens are powered down. If reentry occurs before the contactor thumps (usually within ~95 seconds of locking the vehicle under the conditions described above), the buzzing sound starts immediately when the driver’s door is unlocked and opened.


    BEHAVIOR B TEST:

    This test was performed multiple times with one person sitting in the front passenger seat as well as while standing outside the vehicle with the window down and nobody sitting in the vehicle. The driver’s door will be opening and closing throughout the testing.


    0:00 - Three clicks to close and lock all doors.

    0:06 - System powers down, relays heard clicking, buzzing sound stops and screens go off.

    — fans can be heard running continuously at low speed.


    ***perform these steps BEFORE the contactor thumps and/or the fans shut off completely


    0:30 - Two clicks on the key fob to unlock and open driver’s door while fans are still running at low speed.

    0:31 - Screens power up and buzzing sound starts immediately.



    BEHAVIOR C:

    This is an interesting behavior which actually causes the buzzing sound to be delayed following entry. This behavior can be achieved by sitting in the passenger side of the vehicle with nobody in the driver’s seat, clicking the key fob three times to close and lock all of the doors and then double clicking the fob to unlock and open the driver’s door after the contactor thumps but before the fans stop running.


    BEHAVIOR C TEST:

    This test was performed multiple times while sitting in the front passenger seat with nobody in the driver’s seat and while holding the key fob. The driver’s door will be opening and closing throughout the testing.


    0:00 - Three clicks to close and lock all doors.

    0:06 - System powers down, relays heard clicking, buzzing sound stops and screens go off.

    — Fans can be heard running continuously at low speed while waiting for contactor sound.

    1:46 - Contactor sound heard after ~100 seconds.

    1:50 - Immediately, two clicks on the key fob after contactor sound but before fans stop.

    1:53 - Fans ramp up to high speed and run continuously.

    — No buzzing for the next ~2 minutes. Audio system works immediately and normally.

    3:34 - Exterior lights shut off.

    3:53 - Fans shut off completely after running at high speed for ~2 minutes.

    3:58 - Fans ramp up again to low speed.

    4:07 - Buzzing starts and will not stop until the vehicle is powered down completely.

    -------
     
    • Helpful x 1
    • Informative x 1
    • Like x 1
  6. Scottharr27

    Scottharr27 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2017
    Messages:
    19
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Just picked my Model X up from service. They replaced the dashboard and the noise is still there so they said it's expected behavior. Very frustrating.
     
  7. mrElbe

    mrElbe Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2014
    Messages:
    1,713
    Location:
    Stouffville, ON Canada
    Recently while driving from Florida to Ontario I had this buzzing noise several times. Looking around I always noticed some kind of radio transmission tower in the vicinity. My deduction is that this buzzing noise is very strong radio interference pick up by some of the Tesla antennas.
     
  8. hiroshiy

    hiroshiy Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2013
    Messages:
    2,376
    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    I don't have this issue but my friend had and I confirmed. His SC guy identified it as a fan noise of AP2 (could be 2.5) computer. The SC said they need to replace AP computer to fix this noise.
     
    • Helpful x 1
  9. wallstguy

    wallstguy Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    555
    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Is this the same Buzzing Noise the rest of you are hearing? I've been complaining about this to my SC since purchasing the car and have taken it in to them at least 10 times, always get a "cannot replicate" or "normal" when I go, regardless of all the videos like this I've sent them.

     
  10. hiroshiy

    hiroshiy Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2013
    Messages:
    2,376
    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    This is the same noise but what I confirmed on my friends X was a little bit less.
     
  11. Scottharr27

    Scottharr27 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2017
    Messages:
    19
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    My SC said they'll find a fix if they get enough complaints about it. I hope everyone who reads this complains! :)
     
    • Like x 1
  12. rtmac

    rtmac Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2017
    Messages:
    6
    Location:
    Connecticut
    Sam A-what ever happened with your noise? This happened to me with no warning and scared the heck out of me. I had to drive for an hour with this horribly LOUD noise. Accidentally discovered that it went away by using the voice control. As suddenly as it started, it stopped and hasn't come back.
     
  13. lnb2g

    lnb2g Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2018
    Messages:
    8
    Location:
    Atlanta
    Just took my X delivery and the first thing I notice is that noise. We need to take this issue direct to twitter for a faster response
     
    • Like x 1
  14. forzawq

    forzawq Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2018
    Messages:
    17
    Location:
    SF bay area
    My SC confirmed it's a known issue with no fix yet. It sounds like all AP2.5 cars have it.
     
  15. M.Baguette

    M.Baguette Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2017
    Messages:
    7
    Location:
    Oslo
    Great to hear it's a known issue and we would love to see this being resolved if they pinpointed this to AP2.5 cars. Did your SC share more details on this?
     
  16. forzawq

    forzawq Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2018
    Messages:
    17
    Location:
    SF bay area
    Unfortunately not much detail or timeline regarding the fix. They did mention that they took another car apart quite a bit to diagnose, and then got to to know it’s known by engineering already.
     
  17. wallstguy

    wallstguy Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    555
    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    My car is currently at the SC, and they've found the issue (Think i brought it in 7 times for this!)! They are the coolant pumps behind the instrument panel causing it.

    SC is waiting on parts, will see when I pick up if its gone away

    Its not AP 2.5 related, mine is AP 2
     
  18. bFlat

    bFlat Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2018
    Messages:
    86
    Location:
    San Francisco
    Don't know if my experience is related, but I only get the buzzing sound infrequently when playing Slacker. It has never happened with the radio. The buzzing is at a fixed volume regardless of the music volume. I am pretty familiar with high end audio equipment and imho, the buzzing is not due to distorted sound. It is something separate from the music playing. At least for me, if I skip forward on Slacker, the buzzing goes away. My MX is still pretty new and I've only come across this 3 times since 6/5. Definitely interested to see if this is the same issue.
     
  19. SSonnentag

    SSonnentag Rocket Scientist

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2017
    Messages:
    1,709
    Location:
    Arizona
    Our S has the same issue, so it's not specific to the X.
     
  20. chadcristi

    chadcristi Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2016
    Messages:
    120
    Location:
    Lakewood, CO
    I was told by a tech at the Service Center than they now have a fix for the noise problem. Apparently, the fix involves some hardware that has to be installed. No further details at this time, but I will post as soon as I know for sure.
     
    • Like x 1

Share This Page

  • About Us

    Formed in 2006, Tesla Motors Club (TMC) was the first independent online Tesla community. Today it remains the largest and most dynamic community of Tesla enthusiasts. Learn more.
  • Do you value your experience at TMC? Consider becoming a Supporting Member of Tesla Motors Club. As a thank you for your contribution, you'll get nearly no ads in the Community and Groups sections. Additional perks are available depending on the level of contribution. Please visit the Account Upgrades page for more details.


    SUPPORT TMC