Front end knocking sound Model Y performance

[HonchoNI]

I’ve searched as much as I can but can’t find a solution to my problem. I’ve got a late 2022 China built MYP with a front end knocking sound. It’s only really noticeable at low speed when going over small bumps in the road. The only thing I can compare it to is worn drop link sound. It’s not very loud but enough to ruin the enjoyment of my car - like something is loose in the front end of the car. I’ve had the car in with Tesla and they have checked the torque in all the front end bolts. I have also checked these myself. I can’t see any play in any suspension joints. I have also banged the under-tray and front wheel arches about to try to replicate and find the noise but no joy.

I should also note that while I’m with Tesla I had a drive in another MYP and it had the same noise. Anyone have any insight into this?

 

[HonchoNI]

Sorry. Posted in wrong category.

 

[240vPlug]

I’ve searched as much as I can but can’t find a solution to my problem. I’ve got a late 2022 China built MYP with a front end knocking sound. It’s only really noticeable at low speed when going over small bumps in the road. The only thing I can compare it to is worn drop link sound. It’s not very loud but enough to ruin the enjoyment of my car - like something is loose in the front end of the car. I’ve had the car in with Tesla and they have checked the torque in all the front end bolts. I have also checked these myself. I can’t see any play in any suspension joints. I have also banged the under-tray and front wheel arches about to try to replicate and find the noise but no joy.

I should also note that while I’m with Tesla I had a drive in another MYP and it had the same noise. Anyone have any insight into this?

Can you possibly post video of the noise? I have a similar noise in the front over uneven road surfaces at lower speeds. Tesla replace the strut assembly and it seemed to go away mostly for about 3 months and now it is back and even worse. Going to try to video from strut tower to see if I can pinpoint. I had to take it in 4 times to get them to work on it.

 

[HonchoNI]

Can you possibly post video of the noise? I have a similar noise in the front over uneven road surfaces at lower speeds. Tesla replace the strut assembly and it seemed to go away mostly for about 3 months and now it is back and even worse. Going to try to video from strut tower to see if I can pinpoint. I had to take it in 4 times to get them to work on it.

Here you go... The mic is placed on the top mount for the front suspensions to try to identify wherre the noise is coming from. Booked in again with Tesla this Friday. Part number of the front shocks fitted is 1188376-00-E. Do you know what you are on as I know there have been revisions?

 

[240vPlug]

Here you go... The mic is placed on the top mount for the front suspensions to try to identify wherre the noise is coming from. Booked in again with Tesla this Friday. Part number of the front shocks fitted is 1188376-00-E. Do you know what you are on as I know there have been revisions?

Cool your right hand drive. Sounds very similar to what I hear inside the cabin but mine is more subtle and hard to capture on video. I couldn't get anything taking video from the strut tower. Based on previous experience I'm thinking it's the sway bar links. I ordered a set of Mhyle HD front links from ESC Tuning. It's $130 and worth it in an attempt to restore some of my sanity. Been going on since the car had about 2,500 miles and I have 20,000 now!

Something interesting is that before all this happened I heard a very audible pop when accelerating and making a sharp left turn and I was also hearing some noise turning in parking lots early on. All that has disappeared and now I have this clunk...the intensity of which is intermittent.

Also, the car doesn't seem to handle quite right. Seems floaty when making lane changes on highway at 70+ mph.

DAMPER ASSY FR LEFT HAND,COIL E3 DM PERF.(1188371-00E)

 

[HonchoNI]

Cool your right hand drive. Sounds very similar to what I hear inside the cabin but mine is more subtle and hard to capture on video. I couldn't get anything taking video from the strut tower. Based on previous experience I'm thinking it's the sway bar links. I ordered a set of Mhyle HD front links from ESC Tuning. It's $130 and worth it in an attempt to restore some of my sanity. Been going on since the car had about 2,500 miles and I have 20,000 now!

Something interesting is that before all this happened I heard a very audible pop when accelerating and making a sharp left turn and I was also hearing some noise turning in parking lots early on. All that has disappeared and now I have this clunk...the intensity of which is intermittent.

Also, the car doesn't seem to handle quite right. Seems floaty when making lane changes on highway at 70+ mph.

DAMPER ASSY FR LEFT HAND,COIL E3 DM PERF.(1188371-00E)

Let me know if the new links work for you.

 

[240vPlug]

First time I have been able to replicate the noise. It is getting worse. I hear this and I also hear a rattle when traveling over bumpy roads when the wheel is straight. Something seems off with the steering from time to time too. Its driving me nuts.

Honestly I am debating replacing the links myself because if its something else Tesla may refuse to help if they see I replaced the links. I am thinking I might just schedule a service now that I have video duplicating the noise.

As far as your post it sounds like you might be dealing with upper control arm...when I listed on my desktop your noise sounds more like a squeak which is usually what folks report with a bad UCA.

https://imgur.com/XGeLa08

 

[Sixer]

It almost sounds like metal hitting metal and something fouling against a suspension component. My guess is its more likely to be the subframe.

 

[HonchoNI]

First time I have been able to replicate the noise. It is getting worse. I hear this and I also hear a rattle when traveling over bumpy roads when the wheel is straight. Something seems off with the steering from time to time too. Its driving me nuts.

Honestly I am debating replacing the links myself because if its something else Tesla may refuse to help if they see I replaced the links. I am thinking I might just schedule a service now that I have video duplicating the noise.

As far as your post it sounds like you might be dealing with upper control arm...when I listed on my desktop your noise sounds more like a squeak which is usually what folks report with a bad UCA.

https://imgur.com/XGeLa08

Mine has a small hiss which I think is a normal sound of the shocks, but the problem is there is also a knock at the same time so difficult to tell if the noise is coming from the same source or not. New front struts are now on order under warranty. Your sounds like it could be the driveshafts. Maybe try to grab a front drive shaft and try to move it in and out fo the differential area to see if it makes the same noise.

 

[240vPlug]

Mine has a small hiss which I think is a normal sound of the shocks, but the problem is there is also a knock at the same time so difficult to tell if the noise is coming from the same source or not. New front struts are now on order under warranty. Your sounds like it could be the driveshafts. Maybe try to grab a front drive shaft and try to move it in and out fo the differential area to see if it makes the same noise.

Yeah I was thinking this too. They said they drove it previously with sway bar off and the noise was still present. So that rules put away bar and end links. Car also seems to vibrate more than it should...but it's not enough to make a complaint about. I also had shuddering but that seems to have improved now.

They have had the car 4 days now. They have duplicated the issue but still don't know the cause.

 

[240vPlug]

I picked up the car from service yesterday and unfortunately the problem is not resolved. They drove it with swaybar off, torqued all components in front end, and "checked the entire front end". The manager says they drove one other Model Y performance with 9000 miles and it has the same noise. So they are calling it characteristic of the car. They have spent about 25 days on the car and I have attempted 6 times to get this issue taken care of. Its a metal on metal sound and despite the video they still have no idea where the sound is coming from. They insist though that the car is safe to drive.

They have escalated it to a "regional engineer" as I questioned one car proving that it is characteristic of the car. I also questioned how they are just learning this. The car has been manufactured for about 3 years now. The manager just gave me a bunch of BS reasons why like "we don't see a lot of MYP". I also asked him why the car didn't do it when it was new....problem appeared when the car had about 3,825 miles on it. He said "springs probably just needed to loosen up". Its clear they have no idea and are giving up.

I am going to test drive another 2022 Model Y performance this weekend to see if it makes similar noises. The manager and staff at the SC have been polite and professional though. I follow up next week to check if they have heard back from the regional engineer.

 

[sooolate]

I have a 2021 Y and it has made the knocking sound in the left front-you can feel it near your left foot. Always when going slow over a bump or into a elevated driveway as well as regular undulation in the road. Had it at two Tesla service facilities and no luck fixing it. They have supposedly torqued all to specs but have not replaced anything. Today after another visit the 2nd technician test drove with me and said it is the battery that is bolted in that is flexing the chassis. I went with him in a demo Y on the lot and it made a slight noise but not in the front and I think it was actually the hatch moving in the back. He says some make noise and some dont. Not what you want to hear as it drives me crazy. I am insisting it gets moved up to someone more knowledgeable as it is unacceptable to have this as "normal". Overall I feel no one at both Tesla service facilities has any desire to fix the problem. Not impressed overall with service and attitude.

 

[240vPlug]

I have updated my original thread here:

Need help isolating rattle

Well update. Tesla service says they test drove car and didn’t hear any abnormal noises. They checked ithe steering and suspension on the lift and didn’t find any problem. I switched the steering into standard mode out of sport. Wife and daughter seem to think it’s road noise. It very well...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[HonchoNI]

I have a 2021 Y and it has made the knocking sound in the left front-you can feel it near your left foot. Always when going slow over a bump or into a elevated driveway as well as regular undulation in the road. Had it at two Tesla service facilities and no luck fixing it. They have supposedly torqued all to specs but have not replaced anything. Today after another visit the 2nd technician test drove with me and said it is the battery that is bolted in that is flexing the chassis. I went with him in a demo Y on the lot and it made a slight noise but not in the front and I think it was actually the hatch moving in the back. He says some make noise and some dont. Not what you want to hear as it drives me crazy. I am insisting it gets moved up to someone more knowledgeable as it is unacceptable to have this as "normal". Overall I feel no one at both Tesla service facilities has any desire to fix the problem. Not impressed overall with service and attitude.

I have pretty good knowledge of shocks and their issues through racing bikes for many years. A possible casue is a fault in manufacturing of the shocks where not enough oil is put into them or not enough gas pressure. When this happens the piston of the shock can move freely for that tiny amount with no dampening force. This can cause a knock and rattle on small bumps. You probably won't hear it on bigger bumps as the piston will have moved into the section of the damper with oil. There is no way of inspecting this on a tesla as the shocks are sealed units. The only way to find out is to replace the front shocks and see if the issue goes away. The issue is if you do this the new ones might have the same fault, so best trying to replace with a newer part number if available or go aftermarket which is not ideal.

There is the possibility it is something else too. If you are hearing squeaking it is more likely to be a suspension joint.

 

[m9679]

I have this problem on a Model Y registered new in New Zealand in Nov 2022 (guess this means it is a China-built car). The Tesla technician who inspected the car when I booked it for a service to check the issue said that I was the 4th/5th person to raise the issue. They checked the status and torques of everything potentially relevant in the the front chassis and found no issues. We also drove another Model Y with similar mileage and although I wouldn't say the sound was quite as noticeable as mine, it was there in this other car. So it might indeed be a "characteristic of the car" (albeit a pretty lamentable and avoidable one). For me it is a sound that only happens on high-acceleration rebound. Ie it doesn't happen coming down from modern (ie flat-top) speed bumps. It happens mostly with road deformations or shallow potholes that you drive over at normal road speeds. It feels like a rebound noise rather than a compression noise (ie wheels moving vertically at high speed, and mainly/only in the downwards direction). I re-confirmed recently that there is no later part number for the front shocks, otherwise I'd be asking them to replace those.

I will just note, in case it helps with someone else's sanity, that moving the tow hook out of the frunk does, surprisingly, seem to have made a small positive difference. Might be in my head, but I think it's real. This is something I had wondered about but not tested until recently. Also adding floor mats front and rear, over top of the stock carpet floor mats has perhaps dampened the sound a non-zero amount also.

 

[240vPlug]

I tried it all. I even removed the entire frunk and the sound was still present. It's definitely in the damper assembly. I can get the sound to change slightly by increasing/decreasing tire pressure. I am considering getting the MPP suspension.

 

[massi013]

I tried it all too. I'm italian and I have the same problem, I was at Tesla Service and they told me that "the noise is normal"

But isn't normal for a 50k car! It should be confortable, and I GO crazy at each plothole on the road.

Do you thing that is suspension? Joint arm? Or something that moves in front?

Sorry for my english

 

[Tony Hoyle]

I'm not sure it's a characteristic of the car.. I don't have anything like that on mine, even going over the numerous speed bumps.

 

[240vPlug]

I'm not sure it's a characteristic of the car.. I don't have anything like that on mine, even going over the numerous speed bumps.

What is the build date on yours?

 

[Tony Hoyle]

March 2022