I was set to buy a new 2021 Model Y. We did a test drive and both me and my husband could not get over how loud it is inside the car. The road noise was horrible and we both experienced the ear pain. Both of us seem to have more of the pain in the left ear for some reason and I noticed someone here said they had it in the left at well. We both drove the car for 15+ minutes each. We turned the air completely off and that lowered the noise level slightly but did not help with the ear pain. We rolled the windows down and that helped a little bit with the ear pressure. When we came back the salesman said he had never heard of the ear pressure pain before and he drove this particular car home each night and thought that it was very quiet inside. (exactly what I would expect him to say). So then we drove a different model Y they had there, same issues and then he said that the loud interior was caused by the 21" sport tires. So we went to a different showroom and drove their model Y with the 19" tires. Not quite as loud inside for the ear pain still there. I walked away so completely disappointed because I really wanted that car and I have read all about adjusting the stops, etc. BUT what if that doesn't fix the problem for me, then I have a $50k 4500lb paper weight sitting in my driveway! Has anyone here ever NOT found a solution to this problem??
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Ear pain/Pressure help
- Thread starter justobuf
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- sound proofing
That was my top competitor for the Model Y. I do not have any sound or ear pain issues in the ID.4 at all. I just don't like the car as much as I like the Model Y. But I will probably have to settle for the ID.4 in the end.
My wife and I were experiencing ear pain in my Model Y. It was like that ear pain feeling we get when an airplane is going in for landing. It made the car a miserable ride and I was starting to think I made a big mistake getting one! However, I solved the problem by removing the hitch cover and leaving it off. I just put a rubber cover over the hitch and leave it open. No more ear pain since!
Maybe you could ask Tesla to remove the hitch cover and then take it for a test drive? Have some one sit in the car and turn the AC on max with the hitch over off, then put your hand over it! It will feel like just like putting your hand over an AC vent. My theory is the air in the cabin has no where to go! Most cars the bottom is open so the rear vents in the back have no problem letting air out, but with the Model Y it is covered with that back bottom plastic piece.
NeverGoingBack
De-ICEd
Thanks for the post ..... and your backup plan. I’ve got a test drive scheduled because I’m also not interested in going to this kind of trouble to deal with potential booming/buffeting. Will go with the ID.4 as well if test drive is a fail.
NeverGoingBack
De-ICEd
Cool - definitely going to do this if we get ear pain/booming/buffeting on test drive. Not going to order a hitch anyway.
With my Y the ear pain, booming and buffeting were all different problems with different solutions. I solved the buffeting by adjusting the hatch stoppers as others have mentioned. I reduced the booming by adding sound proofing.
We took delivery of our Model Y on 3/12 and I also notice the pressure changes in the vehicle after I got over the initial "new Tesla owner high".
Checked the rubber spaces and the two lower ones were all the way screwed in not making any contact at all. Adjusted them so that all 4 have equal contact and can no longer feel the issue.
Adjustment is super simple with some thin cardboard strips (e.g. cut from old birthday card). Cut them so that they have the same width as the rubber spacer's diameter. Hold them where the spacers hit (the two upper ones can be held from the outside) and the two lower ones from inside the car (used the app to close the trunk). Adjust all of them so that they have firm contact (which makes pulling the cardboard out hard).
Checked the rubber spaces and the two lower ones were all the way screwed in not making any contact at all. Adjusted them so that all 4 have equal contact and can no longer feel the issue.
Adjustment is super simple with some thin cardboard strips (e.g. cut from old birthday card). Cut them so that they have the same width as the rubber spacer's diameter. Hold them where the spacers hit (the two upper ones can be held from the outside) and the two lower ones from inside the car (used the app to close the trunk). Adjust all of them so that they have firm contact (which makes pulling the cardboard out hard).
I drove the ID again tonight and I think I'm decided. The ride is very smooth and quiet, and the turning radius is absolutely amazing! There were some glitches in the infotainment software, which I think will be quickly worked out by mfg once the car is in full production. There are things that I was bummed to leave behind with my Ford Fusion Energi once being A/C seats and this has them plus the drivers seat has a massage "roller" that goes up and down, an added bonus! The contols are all in that screen and it's not super intuitive, it will take a bit of learning. I do really like that you can control things like the fan and radio volume with just the slide of your finger. The one they are showing with right now is the "1st Edition" which is sold out. Its a RWD with single motor and I felt a bit of lag on the base of the hill. The ones coming in July-Oct will be dual motors & AWD. I will continue to research the Tesla thing, but since the problem has been around since 2013 and they are still sending people home with cars that have this issue, I don't hold out a lot of hope. If I find something that says otherwise I can cancel my ID downpayment and go the other way. The salesman was the one that really helped to turn me off because I asked him what I would do if I ordered the car and then found that the car was undrivable and he said "Well you would just have to figure out what to do because once you take delivery of it, the car is yours, no returns". That just gave me this feeling like I would be left out in the cold by Tesla if my car has problems.
I have had a persistent feeling of pressure in my left ear for a few months now. ENTs and audiologists can't figure it out.
I am an e-tron owner who chimed in because the issue sounded nearly the same, though without the misadjusted hatch. Test driving a couple Model Ys confirmed that it is the same exact feeling. At this point, I've tried everything. The car is excessively covered in soundproofing material to begin with. My wife drives it exclusively now as she doesn't have a problem with ear pain or pressure. I get the pressure feeling after a few seconds in the e-tron, Model Y, and ID.4 (to a lesser extent) - but literally nothing else I have ever driven.
Very glad to hear it !! My wife and I thought the ID.4 was a great overall package. It's got so many features for the money, solid DC charge curve, incredible turning radius, and yes - very quiet. We were excited to trade for an AWD version, until I experienced the ear pressure after about a minute in the car. I must be a really odd case, since even a reviewer specifically said it "doesn't have the annoying boomy interior some EVs suffer from." Oh well
Very happy for you though! I'm sure you'll love it.
The ID.4 is getting some pretty good reviews. I was watching one yesterday on the Out Of Spec Reviews YouTube channel. I think it will sell very well as it seems to require relatively little retraining coming from an ICE vehicle. Just hope the EA network is up to the challenge.
I'm so sorry to hear that Tesla "wannabe" buyers are getting turned off by this ongoing issue. We suffered from the buffeting, and easily resolved it with proper adjustment of the rear hatch rubber pads. We still get subsonic rumbling over certain patches of subtle washboard concrete, but it no longer induces ear discomfort. I attribute much of that noise to the Conti ProContact tires. HVAC rumble comes and goes.
I owned VW/Audis exclusively since 1983, with an original PA built GTI. Subsequent decades of ownership, with electronic issues, and the love/hate affair I had with the CleanDiesel (over 200k combined miles, 4 diff models) has soured my passion for the brand. Love the styling, engineering, but I remain cautious about their ability to produce a car w/o electrical glitches. ALL of my cars had them, and you just had to get used to it (uhh...yup...kinda like Tesla software, right???). Over-engineered mechanical aspects were also suspect (inboard disc brakes, Audi Fox? HOT rotors right next to HOT engine block?)
I drove the ID.4. I liked it very much. But after 3k miles in my dual motor LRMY, and it's minimalist interior, I felt the interior of the ID.4 was just...too...fussy. Even after 3 decades of owning German VAG products, I still can't wrap my head around some of their ergonomic decisions. (Did y'all notice only TWO window switches on the driver's door? You have to toggle between using them for the front two or the rear two. Weird!)
I hope the VW is a success, and the VAG commitment to EV autos convinces the industry that it's not only viable, but critical to move away from petrol. I hope they don't suffer the catastrophic electronic failure of the Phaeton. GREAT car. Journalists rated it superior to the top Mercedes, until it shut down, TWICE, during casual driving on city streets. Unable to duplicate the problem, they never figured out WHY it shut down. They ultimately said, "Nope!" to the Phaeton.
Sorry for the thread drift...
I owned VW/Audis exclusively since 1983, with an original PA built GTI. Subsequent decades of ownership, with electronic issues, and the love/hate affair I had with the CleanDiesel (over 200k combined miles, 4 diff models) has soured my passion for the brand. Love the styling, engineering, but I remain cautious about their ability to produce a car w/o electrical glitches. ALL of my cars had them, and you just had to get used to it (uhh...yup...kinda like Tesla software, right???). Over-engineered mechanical aspects were also suspect (inboard disc brakes, Audi Fox? HOT rotors right next to HOT engine block?)
I drove the ID.4. I liked it very much. But after 3k miles in my dual motor LRMY, and it's minimalist interior, I felt the interior of the ID.4 was just...too...fussy. Even after 3 decades of owning German VAG products, I still can't wrap my head around some of their ergonomic decisions. (Did y'all notice only TWO window switches on the driver's door? You have to toggle between using them for the front two or the rear two. Weird!)
I hope the VW is a success, and the VAG commitment to EV autos convinces the industry that it's not only viable, but critical to move away from petrol. I hope they don't suffer the catastrophic electronic failure of the Phaeton. GREAT car. Journalists rated it superior to the top Mercedes, until it shut down, TWICE, during casual driving on city streets. Unable to duplicate the problem, they never figured out WHY it shut down. They ultimately said, "Nope!" to the Phaeton.
Sorry for the thread drift...
Here is an official temporary solution from tesla Chinese service center, which will reduce 5~10db sound at 30hz
official acknowledgement...cool. There are engineers that care about this kind of thing. Someone get a part number so we can group buy these lol.
PecuniaNonOlet
Member
i like to provide some feedback on the ear pain/headache issue.
we have the MY for about 2 months, and my wife didn’t feel anything, while i have this headache issue.
I was skeptical about the fix mentioned in this thread(video), but i gave it a try tonight anyway.
I found that none of the four rubber feet touch the body using the paper test.
After adjusting the rubber feet and I took it out for a 30min drive, both local and highway, and I am happy to report that my headache is gone!!!
It is amazing!!! Thank you !! Thank you!!
This forum has so much good information, I would never figure this out myself!
we have the MY for about 2 months, and my wife didn’t feel anything, while i have this headache issue.
I was skeptical about the fix mentioned in this thread(video), but i gave it a try tonight anyway.
I found that none of the four rubber feet touch the body using the paper test.
After adjusting the rubber feet and I took it out for a 30min drive, both local and highway, and I am happy to report that my headache is gone!!!
It is amazing!!! Thank you !! Thank you!!
This forum has so much good information, I would never figure this out myself!
Rippin1Gear
Member
For my particular Y it definitely makes a difference with the ear pain I described in a previous post. I put the cover back on to verify and the ear pain returned.
It is totally unrelated to the other problems like booming or buffeting and will not make any difference. I did not have any ear pain in the Y that I test drove with the cover on, so it could just be a handful of them have this ear pain issue and I happened to get one of them.