Cold Weather Motor/Drivetrain noise on Model S P85D [video]

[Kevin Michaluk]

Hit play on the video above and let me know what you think.

The situation: I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I park my Model S P85D outside (I know... so mean to it). I plug it in every night. Last night was pretty cold here... -25 Celsius and probably more like -35C with the windchill.

This morning before I drove to the gym I used the app to pre-heat the interior for ~30 minutes. While driving and accelerating (fairly firm on the pedal, but not like an Insane Mode launch with foot to the floor type of thing) I could hear a lot of fairly loud "creaking". Sounds like either from the motors or the drivetrain. Maybe a bit more from the front motor than rear.

I've experienced this a few times on really cold days, and it seems to go away after a while.

Any thoughts on what the noise is actually from? Something I should be concerned with for service to checkout, or is more of just a rule to accelerate slow in cold weather until really warmed up?

Thanks!

(PS. Also, I realize all four tires are low on air... when the weather drops that cold the sensors all fire. Tires really aren't that low. Also, SUPER STUPID that when you have the Speedometer is set in KMs that tire pressure shows up in BAR. No Canadians use BAR. We all use Kilometers for speed, but PSI for Tire Pressure. You'd think Elon and team would have thought of that given he lived in Canada for a while. lol. They really should have a separate setting in the Units section for tire pressure than to base it on speedometer setting).

 

[sundoc]

I had the same thing happening to me last winter... would occur randomly but always when it was cold and the first drive after sitting for a bit. My noise was localized to the front drivers side.

The service centre recorded the sound and it was analyzed by the engineers at Tesla... apparently something had to be adjusted/torqued. I haven't had that sound so far this winter (never had it all summer) but it hasn't been as cold here yet.

 

[S'toon]

It was -35, -41 wind chill when I went out for my morning walk this morning. Stayed that temperature most of the morning.

 

[AWDtsla]

It was -35, -41 wind chill when I went out for my morning walk this morning. Stayed that temperature most of the morning.

The car does not care what the windchill is.

 

[Iowa92x]

The car does not care what the windchill is.

Wind does affect inanimate objects by cooling them to ambient temp faster.

 

[AWDtsla]

Wind does affect inanimate objects by cooling them to ambient temp faster.

But it's never going to go below ambient temperature.

Windchill is based on the velocity of the wind over warm semi-porous bag of water, not a dry inanimate object.

 

[S'toon]

The car does not care what the windchill is.

Sigh. I only mentioned it because Kev. mentioned it in his OP. We Canadian prairie folks can get competitive when it comes to how cold it gets where we are.

 

[mechapreneur]

2.5 bar is about 36 PSI. I bet your tire pressure actually is that low when it's that cold.

 

[InternetDude]

No creaking here, -24 ish but I did get a low tire alert times 3. Bar is meaningless to me, 39 psi makes sense though

 

[Tjhappel]

To me it sounded like the traction control kicking in, I know it didn't flash on the screen but older vehicles with early tc systems sounded similar to that noise you recorded. I haven't had my car in that cold of temps, hopefully you get it sorted. Abooot time!

 

[Kevin Michaluk]

Don't think it was TC kicking in... was already moving and then accelerating harder when the noises kick in, and was on clean-ish road - pretty good traction available.

To me it sounded like the traction control kicking in, I know it didn't flash on the screen but older vehicles with early tc systems sounded similar to that noise you recorded. I haven't had my car in that cold of temps, hopefully you get it sorted. Abooot time!