Clicking noise when accelerating

[buss]

Hey guys, newbie owner here of a 2019 M3P. Thought I'd add my experience here in case the info is useful.

I had the same clicking noise a couple weeks into ownership of my new-to-me used Tesla. Can't say if it was there before or not - it was so subtle you couldn't hear it with the windows up, even with no music on. Windows down one day and I picked it up, and after some testing I figured it was consistently happening under a threshold amount of acceleration/deceleration.

Its a slightly worse version of this:

(instead of having single clicks, I would have multiple, often 3-5 in quick succession).

I could have done this myself as I have some hobby background with vehicles but I thought it'd be peace of mind to take it to Tesla and get it done once, and done right. Plus I might have a leg to stand on if the issue came back.

Logged a service request with Tesla here in the UK. Tech seemed to be very familiar with the issue, and I asked if he confirmed this was the fix if he could take preventative maintenance on the other corners too. He agreed, at cost of course. Its not long enough to form a proper conclusion but £300 and 2 weeks later, no clicking observed at all. We've had some really wet weather the last week and no sign just yet of letting up, would be interesting to see how it copes over the UK winter.

 

[swinter]

In my P3D I get quiet tapping from both front wheels (I can hear it slightly from inside the car). It is only upon initial loading of the drivetrain that it occurs. When I had the wheels off to rotate them, I was able to reproduce the tapping simply by rotating the rotor back and forth. (Each time I start moving the rotor in one direction, there is a single tap. Then when swapping directions I get another tap.) . The tapping actually seemed to be coming from the motor itself, kind of like there was just a bit of play in each direction due to gear lash, and the tap is simply the gears loading up.

I did try torquing the axle nut (just did 129 ft-lbs - it was not enough to move anything and I didn't try more), so it did not seem to be loose at all. And as described above, for me the axle nut torque appears to not be the issue. I didn't detect any noise or play in the actual axle/hub interface, and I didn't detect that the tapping was coming from either of the CV joints (though it would be very difficult to tell to be honest, particularly if it were from the inner CV).

It's not clear to me how my single-tap clicking noise is similar or different to those described above.

 

[swinter]

I had this problem as well. One click when I accelerated, one click when I slowed down. Three months in the shop and a new subframe the clicking stopped. Fast forward two years and my ckick is back. I am very reluctant to take the back in for service. If it is not dangerous, I would live with it but I’m not sure.

 

[Jeffrios]

I tried doing the DIY fix today, but I could not break the torque of the Axle Nut. I was using a breaker bar and even added an extension. I tested it on a Lug nut to make sure the added length was working and YES it was very easy to remove the torque of a lug nut.

I added penetrating oil to the axle nut and going to let it sit overnight. Any other tips to break the torque of the rear axle nut?

To add, I did have Tesla service this 3 months ago and it fixed it for about a month. I am now out of warranty.

 

[Gtech]

Yes, this is the same sound I have and the one he talks about a fix for in the Rear Axle Click: Ultimate DIY Fix post. The only thing is I didn't hear it when you let off the acceleration in your video. The common issue, the one I have, is it makes the clicking noise when starting as well as when you let off the acceleration, it's the same click both times. The other thing I noticed that's different is your seems to have a little bit of trailing noise after, which may be a different issue? I'm not sure though.

I'm going to try out the fix he posted about, with greasing the inner splines, as I've tried greasing the outer splines probably 15 times and it always comes back within a day or 2. Good luck with yours!

Think the way to go is like in the service manual (between half shaft and hub) and to not grease the splines

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Think the way to go is like in the service manual (between half shaft and hub) and to not grease the splines

View attachment 981696

Thanks. This makes a lot more sense - there is perhaps some very small amount of play at this interface with grit, and thus it makes crunching/clicking noises (I think not to be confused with the slight play/lash in the gearbox itself which also makes a tapping on the forward and back movement of the wheel which is different). I've heard a clicking noise in the past when turning the wheel and I figured it was my CV joint (haven't done anything about it as it seems there is nothing wrong with it) but maybe it is this interface? Anyway. For those looking for this procedure, it's under:

• 
  Halfshaft - Front Drive Unit - LH (Lubricate at Hub)

In the Model 3 Service Manual (available for free from Tesla).

If the above "link" won't work, to navigate to it, this screenshot may be helpful:

 

[Triple D]

A few weeks ago I noticed the clicking noise when accelerating and decelerating. So I attempted to locate the problem (before reading this thread). I mounted a gopro under the car focused on the right side of the rear motor because that is where i though the sound was coming from.
I drove up and down the street accelerating and decelerating.

The video shows the motor torqueing when I accelerate and the clicking can be heard. I know the motor should be allowed to move a little but I am not sure if mine is normal.
I setup an appointment for service but the next available appointment is 2 weeks away.

Wow, I can't imagine how that could be considered normal. Looks like a motor mount broke off or has some extremely loose screws. Please let us know what happens at service center.

UPDATE: Well it took over 1 month to get my Tesla into the service center (after the appointment being rescheduled by tesla 3 times). But I finally got the issue resolved.

It was not the motor or motor mounts. I showed the tesla mechanic the video and he also went for a drive with me. He said after watching the video that the motor movement is "normal." He said the noise I was hearing was from the axle shafts and he deals with about 2 - 3 cars with these axle clicks per week. Sure enough, the car was fixed in 1 day and they just re-torqued the axle shafts and the problem is now fixed.

 

[rcho8]

UPDATE: Well it took over 1 month to get my Tesla into the service center (after the appointment being rescheduled by tesla 3 times). But I finally got the issue resolved.

It was not the motor or motor mounts. I showed the tesla mechanic the video and he also went for a drive with me. He said after watching the video that the motor movement is "normal." He said the noise I was hearing was from the axle shafts and he deals with about 2 - 3 cars with these axle clicks per week. Sure enough, the car was fixed in 1 day and they just re-torqued the axle shafts and the problem is now fixed.

what year and how many miles does your 3 have?

 

[kidAX]

Hi everyone. I took delivery of my X a month or so ago and a day or so after I brought it home I started hearing clicking noises. See video below. I took it in for service at a Tesla service center and they said they greased the wheels and the sound was no longer there. When I picked it up they were correct. The sound was gone but It came back the next morning and has persisted since I came from service last week. See video below. Could this be related to axle shafts?

 

[Gtech]

Hi everyone. I took delivery of my X a month or so ago and a day or so after I brought it home I started hearing clicking noises. See video below. I took it in for service at a Tesla service center and they said they greased the wheels and the sound was no longer there. When I picked it up they were correct. The sound was gone but It came back the next morning and has persisted since I came from service last week. See video below. Could this be related to axle shafts?

First thing I thought about when hearing that noise.

Otherwise I don't know, it doesn't sound like the typical Model S/X axle click

 

[buss]

Hi everyone. I took delivery of my X a month or so ago and a day or so after I brought it home I started hearing clicking noises. See video below. I took it in for service at a Tesla service center and they said they greased the wheels and the sound was no longer there. When I picked it up they were correct. The sound was gone but It came back the next morning and has persisted since I came from service last week. See video below. Could this be related to axle shafts?

Its hard to say without hearing the initial sound you had, but that sounds distinctly different from the one I had that was fixed via greasing + torquing.

 

[buss]

...

Its not long enough to form a proper conclusion but £300 and 2 weeks later, no clicking observed at all. We've had some really wet weather the last week and no sign just yet of letting up, would be interesting to see how it copes over the UK winter.

Off the back of this, an update some several weeks later. I've done a good variation of drives in this (mostly urban, couple of 100+ mile trips) and everything is still great, fingers crossed. No reoccurrence of the issue at all.

 

[kidAX]

Thanks. Took it in to Tesla service and they torqued the suspension and lubricated the axles. They said it was fixed but the sound persisted. I'm bringing it back in to service for the 3rd time. They also said clicking sounds are normal for this car but in my case it's pretty excessive. I've never heard another X sound like this.

 

[Triple D]

what year and how many miles does your 3 have?

2020, Built in Aug 2020. 36k miles

Other than this issue I have had ZERO issues with this car, I love it.