Clicking sound while turning?

[pipplo]

I'm going to the SC tomorrow. This will be the second time asking them to address this issue. The first time they 'tightened everything in the suspension' and were unable to reproduce the sound the next morning, but by the time I got home the noise was back.

After a couple of weeks I've been able to figure out that it only makes this sound when it's warmer outside (not in the morning) and you need to drive a little bit of distance before it'll happen.

I'm hoping that someone else here has some ideas or may have seen similar?

 

[Wali1993]

I had the same problem I can’t figure out what it is either but if you have an update on it let me know

 

[pipplo]

I had the same problem I can’t figure out what it is either but if you have an update on it let me know

The service center was able to reproduce it and fix it mostly thanks to this video .

Turned out to be a lower control arm bushing. The issue seems to be resolved now 2 days after picking it up.


Their wrottew notes say they lubricated the bushing and tightened everything in the suspension to torque specs.

 

[polyphonic54]

I have the exact same sound, when turning left only. Mobile service came out in July and said it was a bad half shaft, but then on the next apt applied grease to the axle spline, re-torqued some stuff, and adjusted brake calipers.

It came back after a month. Made a new apt, but they canceled on account of not getting the half shaft in time. The apt is now 3 weeks out and in the meantime the car is needed for a long trip. Curious to hear from others who have been through this.

 

[Dolemite]

Has anybody reliably resolved this issue? I started experiencing this in <1K miles. I'm coming across tons of stupidity & conjecture on the internet. I would hate to take it to the SC for shot-in-the dark attempts & would much rather fix it myself...

FWIW, I rotated my wheels & the sound went away for a bit and came back. I think (hope) it's something simple but can't quite figure it out.

 

[ecarfan]

Has anybody reliably resolved this issue?

Post #3 in this thread, made by the OP, states the issue was resolved. That was over a year ago and he has not reposted about it.

 

[polyphonic54]

Has anybody reliably resolved this issue?

Yes, they replaced the front half-shaft on my car. The CV joint was bad.
They should be able to figure it out without issues.

 

[Dolemite]

Yes, they replaced the front half-shaft on my car. The CV joint was bad.
They should be able to figure it out without issues.

Thanks - was really hoping that wasn't it... hate to have them tear open a brand new car.

I've come across the following root causes:

1. Loose hubcaps
2. Brake backing plate
3. Bad half-shafts
4. Dry LCAB
5. Other misc. suspension adjustments

This long list, combined with the fact mine went away for a few weeks after simply rotating the wheels, plus others who've paid the SC a visit to have it "fixed" & only return, has me questioning what's really going on. Yours is the first long-term confirmed case I've heard where it hasn't returned.

 

[Avid]

Intermittent problems are the toughest issues to fix, at least they don't have to filter out engine noise to hear these things.

 

[DarkNightP3D]

I'm going to the SC tomorrow. This will be the second time asking them to address this issue. The first time they 'tightened everything in the suspension' and were unable to reproduce the sound the next morning, but by the time I got home the noise was back.

After a couple of weeks I've been able to figure out that it only makes this sound when it's warmer outside (not in the morning) and you need to drive a little bit of distance before it'll happen.

I'm hoping that someone else here has some ideas or may have seen similar?

so my Model 3 has been making this creaking sound when coming to a stop for a few weeks. I checked all the bolts on the passenger side suspension components and nothing seemed to be loose. Now I have noticed when I am turning the car is making a clicking sound from the passenger side. It only appears to do it when turning the steering wheel left.
Since I got my Performance 3 I have thought the steering never felt nearly the same as our other LR AWD 3. I even had Tesla do an alignment because I thought the car tracked all over the road, but it didn’t make a difference. When you were having these issues did you feel your car’s steering didn’t feel the same as it did after the car was fixed?

 

[polyphonic54]

so my Model 3 has been making this creaking sound when coming to a stop for a few weeks. I checked all the bolts on the passenger side suspension components and nothing seemed to be loose. Now I have noticed when I am turning the car is making a clicking sound from the passenger side. It only appears to do it when turning the steering wheel left.
Since I got my Performance 3 I have thought the steering never felt nearly the same as our other LR AWD 3. I even had Tesla do an alignment because I thought the car tracked all over the road, but it didn’t make a difference. When you were having these issues did you feel your car’s steering didn’t feel the same as it did after the car was fixed?

Does it sound like my video? If so, that's a bad CV joint. I would have them fix it ASAP.

 

[Dolemite]

Does it sound like my video? If so, that's a bad CV joint. I would have them fix it ASAP.

Not necessarily - I took mine in yesterday & the technician there suspected it was the hub itself, which coincides with my experience of it going away for a few days after rotating the wheels.

So they swapped out the hub. Wife is driving it today - I'll report back later today if it's gone.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

That kind of clicking definitely would be commonly coming from a CV joint, only if your car is AWD of course since a RWD won't have CV joints in the front. With the level of performance for such heavy cars, plus regen braking, it's a tough life being a Tesla CV joint.

 

[Dolemite]

Ok - front left hub replaced yesterday, after driving 70+ miles, clicking has not returned. I'll update this thread if that changes.

 

[polyphonic54]

Not necessarily - I took mine in yesterday & the technician there suspected it was the hub itself...

Yeah, sounds need to be investigated fully. In my research I found that that particular click most of the time meant CV. But anyway a mechanic needs to see it in person to confirm. Glad your car was fixed.

With the level of performance for such heavy cars, plus regen braking, it's a tough life being a Tesla CV joint.

My thoughts as well. Instant torque + regen has got to take a toll. Hopefully these CVs are stronger than on other cars, or they're cheap out of warranty. I suspect mine had a factory defect though.

 

[Dolemite]

Yeah, sounds need to be investigated fully. In my research I found that that particular click most of the time meant CV. But anyway a mechanic needs to see it in person to confirm. Glad your car was fixed.



My thoughts as well. Instant torque + regen has got to take a toll. Hopefully these CVs are stronger than on other cars, or they're cheap out of warranty. I suspect mine had a factory defect though.

Thanks! Me too.

And I'm not saying yours wasn't a bad CV - it's just also *possible* that it was something else and they happened to "disturb" the real culprit & inadvertently fixed the issue. If they replaced your half-shaft, they messed about with the hub & should've replaced all of the associated hardware in the process. Let's hope it was that, because I really don't want these cars to have a weak point like this! Good news (?) is I live near a fairly large SC & they said mine was the first they'd seen w/ this problem.

That's what my service advisor suggested, anyway. Could also be the reason why there are multiple "fixes" for this on the internet that seemingly resolve the problem. He said that if it was a bad CV, it would've reliably made the noise no matter what. In my case, the noise went away for a few days after swapping the wheels, the suspicion being that, after the parts "settled" doing some driving, whatever was at play returned. It also became more prominent as the car was driven and it heated up.

I was 90% confident it was the CV after poking around on the forums, and especially after seeing this video @ 2:40:

If it returns tomorrow, I'm eating my words, selling the car & buying a Versa.

 

[ElChief]

same issue here clicks when i steer to the left, comes from the front drivers side. how long did the cv joint repair take to be finished.

 

[Dolemite]

Gonna have to eat my words on this one - clicking came back today. Will be paying the SC another visit.

 

[polyphonic54]

Yeah, who knows. I don't know how they fixed my clicking with grease the first time, when it turned out to be a CV later on.

 

[ElChief]

apparently mine was just dirt and grime stuck in the rotor mating areas or so. 30 min job at the tesla center in cathedral city. repair dudes asked me if i had taken my car offroading.