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webbah
Active Member
That's typically a sound you hear when the car is "preconditioning" for supercharging. it's the front motor stators heating the battery. I've not really heard it in other situations though. Sounds like a turbo?
Thanks. Weird in that I wasn’t going to a super charger. Temp was 60. The drive was about 3 miles to get coffee this morning. I can hear the stator motors when I put it in drive or park.
webbah
Active Member
Does seem a bit odd to me. The only way to really see if it is the stators is to use something like ScanMyTesla with an OBDII dongle. Or book an SC visit and have them check it out.
I took it to my local super charger and charged from 80% to 90%. On the way there the sound was not as noticeable. After charging and when I got home the sound is still there, although not as loud as it was. The stator motors seem to be laboring when going from drive to park and vice versa.
webbah
Active Member
Honestly that seems a bit strange and I'm out of ideas. When you were going to the SuperCharger did you use the NAV with it as a destination? Did you see on the screen "preconditioning for supercharging"? I'm just trying to see if it is really the stators making this noise, or maybe it is something with the HVAC and/or superbottle liquid cooling for the HV battery.
No I didn’t navigate to the super charger as it’s only a couple of miles from my house. Nothing on screen. I Turn off HVAC when I’m exit the car when I’m home. The stators seem to be laboring pretty hard when I put the car in drive. Do you thing the car is safe to drive? I really appreciate your help!
webbah
Active Member
Well if your car is still at 90% right now I would wait until you get it down to the 50-70% area and then use the NAV to a SuC. You should see that message just above the navigation text card on the top left of the screen. You'll hear the wine then if you are in a quiet area without too much road noise and drive the car slowly. An underground parking garage will be very noticeable. The goal is to see if it is the same whine noise. I wouldn't worry too much about driving the car unless it feels off driving or starts throwing up errors on the screen.
Finally, while I believe turning the HVAC off shouldn't affect this the latest firmware versions have changed the HVAC behavior to have the fans stay on for awhile after you park to clear out any condensation near the condenser and air filters. There are a lot of threads here about the smell from moldy filters. Tesla changed the HVAC behavior to remove moisture and now I can hear my fans going for anywhere from 5-30 minutes after a drive depending on mystery factors. I'm not sure why you turn off the HVAC, but it shouldn't really be necessary if your goal was to try and save energy. The HVAC will turn itself off by itself with nobody in the car and the seat sensors not detecting anyone sitting in the driver seat, doors locked, etc. To force it to stay on you would use Camp mode. The only other setting to check is if you have cabin overheat protection enabled. Turn that off if your goal is to save energy instead.
Finally, while I believe turning the HVAC off shouldn't affect this the latest firmware versions have changed the HVAC behavior to have the fans stay on for awhile after you park to clear out any condensation near the condenser and air filters. There are a lot of threads here about the smell from moldy filters. Tesla changed the HVAC behavior to remove moisture and now I can hear my fans going for anywhere from 5-30 minutes after a drive depending on mystery factors. I'm not sure why you turn off the HVAC, but it shouldn't really be necessary if your goal was to try and save energy. The HVAC will turn itself off by itself with nobody in the car and the seat sensors not detecting anyone sitting in the driver seat, doors locked, etc. To force it to stay on you would use Camp mode. The only other setting to check is if you have cabin overheat protection enabled. Turn that off if your goal is to save energy instead.
COH is off. I’ve been turning the HVAC of so it will sleep quicker. I’ll take your advice and just leave it on. A couple of times about a half an hour of elapsed time my wife has gone into the garage and heard the HVAC running, it turned itself back on. I will let the SOC get down to 50% and then navigate to the super charger and see what happens. You’re the best, so helpful.
webbah
Active Member
Sounds normal to me with respect to the HVAC and this new "feature" to prevent mold. One other thing is if you and/or your wife are checking the Tesla app frequently that will keep waking up the car. A better option to check on the car status is to use Teslamate, Teslafi or an app that can check via the Tesla API's. I use Teslamate myself and it's fantastic with it's dashboards and data, but I'm a data junkie and like to see historical data for my car. And I also don't like the idea of hosting this on a third party service. There are extensive threads here about Teslamate as well, if interested.
My pleasure! Enjoy the car.
No she just hears the HVAC when she goes into the garage to get something or to get into her car and leave. I’ve been using Teslafi which is pretty helpful but it doesn’t tell me if the HVAC is on.
powaking
Member
I recently read that this could be due to the grounding straps not being tightened down. Some have had success in getting the newer grounding strap replaced. Not sure if its the same issue you are observing but something to look into.
DIY Fix: High-pitch Whine from Drive Unit(s)
High pitched noise from drive unit
DIY Fix: High-pitch Whine from Drive Unit(s)
High pitched noise from drive unit
Thanks man. So now I’m in a conundrum. No way I have the skills to tighten the grounding straps and if I take to the service center they will say it’s within spec. The stator motors struggle when I put it in drive.
Last edited by a moderator:
powaking
Member
I know its a hike but maybe check in with Electrified Garage. They may know exactly what needs to be done. Chad is very knowledgeable (7+ years as a Tesla technician and also worked at BMW and Toyota). Drop them a line and see what they say. They recently made a RWD M3 into a dual motor.
It means that instead of a quick transition from park to drive usually about a second, it now takes 2 seconds and the stator motors seem to be laboring doing so.
This noise is NOT within spec, if its so loud that its noticeably annoying, its a ground strap issue and needs to be replaced, fixed under warranty. You will notice a night and day difference, and driving will be a pleasure again! The service centers are aware of it and shouldn't be telling you this is normal, put the back seats down and take a drive with a tech, they will hear it. Ask to drive a new model 3 and see if you can hear the noise, you won't.
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