Is A/C motor really this loud?!

[Baxterdown]

I took my car to the SC for a couple of things; one of them being a loud A/C motor (outside of the car--not the fan inside the cabin). When I picked-up my car there was no mention of the A/C on the RO. I asked the service advisor at the counter (not my SA, he wasn't there) and he said something like "oh that's normal, the fan on the MX is really loud."

I can't imagine this being normal. So, I took a video this morning:

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Jose

 

[Tam]

...up my car there was no mention of the A/C on the RO...

What's RO?

...the fan on the MX is really loud....

Agreed. Both outside and inside

For the inside, you can manually reduce the fan's speed to reduce the noise.

 

[Baxterdown]

What's RO?

Repair Order

 

[aesculus]

Some of the early X's had crossed compressor lines but I think by 2017 they fixed them all. The MX can be very loud on 90+F days when sitting stationary like at a Supercharger.

Not sure if you have a 6/7 seat car and was the rear A/C on too?

 

[Prairie]

I took my car to the SC for a couple of things; one of them being a loud A/C motor (outside of the car--not the fan inside the cabin). When I picked-up my car there was no mention of the A/C on the RO. I asked the service advisor at the counter (not my SA, he wasn't there) and he said something like "oh that's normal, the fan on the MX is really loud."

I can't imagine this being normal. So, I took a video this morning:

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Jose

If that’s what an X air conditioner sound like inside the car or outside, time to reconsider ordering one! Can’t live with that!

 

[Baxterdown]

@Prairie

Yup. I took it in back the following Monday armed with that and these three other videos I took over the weekend:

I was told again by a senior tech who sat in the car with me "that's normal, especially in hot weather climates like ours" (I live in South Florida). They said all Model X air conditioners are loud because the motor has to run extra hard to cool down the cabin. I DON'T BUY IT! I think there's something wrong with my A/C and they don't want to acknowledge it.

I drove a loaner a few weeks ago which was having this same problem but 10 times worse (it sounded like a lawnmower--not exaggerating). I guess I'm gonna have to wait until mine gets that bad.

@aesculus

I have a five-seater, no rear A/C. Where I live we have 90+F 10 months out of the year. I can't imagine any manufacturer building a car where that was acceptable. The vibration from the noise is so bad I can feel it through the steering wheel. Not fun.

Jose

 

[cobra]

Well, that's odd... I have been noticing the fans seem to run fairly high in our car. I finally angled the front dash ones away from my face as it was bothering me. I haven't noticed high noise though. It just dropped to 40 here today, so it'll be a few days until we get back to AC weather, I'll have to check ours out some more.

I see this thread in the related list, but not sure if he found the filter is related or not. Does fan speed change the noise for you? I wouldn't expect that to make a lot of difference if it's the compressor...

Is my A/C compressor failing?

I turned on my A/C for the first time in 5 months and have noticed that it’s making significantly more noise than it used to. Here’s a video I took today while swapping out my Winter tires: The compressor has never sounded this loud (and it is really, really loud inside the cabin). I’m...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Baxterdown]

@cobra yes it changes the noise. If you hear the original video and the top video from the weekend (the one behind the Camry), when I turn down the fan, the motor makes a "slowing down" noise.

 

[jboy210]

Mine makes the same noise. But only when it is hot (90F+), and only when I first start out. After 1 minute of being in motion at 10+ mph, the vibration sound is gone.

But even then, if the fan is blowing hard, there is some noise.

My car is a 5 seater.

 

[spectrum]

Please stop. This is completely normal. Mine sounds the same, and it's 100% healthy. It's louder when it is working hard to cool the battery as well as the massive cabin. It sounds that way when Supercharging in a hot climate, also.

 

[spectrum]

@Baxterdown are you really going to downvote/disagree with my post because it doesn't suit your preconceived notion of something being wrong with your car? I have seen and driven dozens of Model X's over the past three years, and they all sound exactly the same as your video.

If you aren't willing to be open to other user's feedback, why did you even post a question in the first place? Owners like you are truly making the Tesla community go to garbage.

Please learn the difference between "normal" and "refined".
Is the loud/vibrating A/C in Model X normal? Yes.
Is the loud/vibrating A/C in Model X refined? No.

 

[posity]

Well - EVs are really quiet except for the tire noise and fan noise. My fan is louder than most everything else (since there is no rumbling engine to drown everything else out), no worries for me, but then again I am not usually outside my car while I'm driving it.

You weren't perchance a BMW owner before the Tesla?

 

[Baxterdown]

You weren't perchance a BMW owner before the Tesla?

I wasn't. I came from a Range Rover.

 

[mbp11]

I had the problem of a really loud and buzzy AC, sounded like the car was going to take off and fly away. The problem was some of the AC lines were banging against other components in the the front. The technicians anchored the lines down to keep them from buzzing and the AC is now pretty quiet. I would suggest asking them to look at the AC hoses and see if there is something loose or banging on adjacent structures.

Mike P

 

[Harvey Danger]

Those videos taken from *outside* the car are definitely unlike my experience. And that "winding down" sound inside the cabin as you reduce fan speed also seems unusual to me. I'd be (politely) persistent in asking the SC to make a good faith effort at investigating this.

 

[doodlewalker]

@Baxterdown

My 2016 Model X made a very similar sound as the one in your AC3 video. From outside the car it was almost like an electric humming sound that got louder if I increased the fan speed. Started on a road trip in Washington DC in the middle of summer, about a week later it died - no cold air at all. Took in for service and had it fixed under warranty (I bought it used in 2019 when they were still giving out 4 year warranties). The RO says they replaced the condenser and the compressor. No sound like that after the repair.

 

[Baxterdown]

Thank you for the reassurance posts guys! It's definitely getting worse and louder. I guess I'm just gonna have to wait until either it dies or gets so loud that there is no doubt in anyone's mind that it's broken.

I might swing by the SC in the next couple of days when it's hot out and the compressor is loudest.

 

[BM3B]

It sounds to me like normal A/C compressor and fan sound when cooling the cabin or battery (supercharging). It should stop after a few minutes, if it doesn't and temps are not very hot then it does seem odd. How is your driving efficiency wH/mile for long drives?

 

[Baxterdown]

UPDATE!

So after a couple of visits to the SC, they finally sent me out with the shop foreman for a drive. He immediately determined that the A/C motor was bad and they replaced it.

It no longer has the wining noise, but boy is it still LOOOUDD!!! I had my car in for service the other day and drove a MS loaner and same thing! When it's hot out and I crank the A/C to eight or nine, that thing sounds like a Cessna. Is this how A/C's work on all electric cars, or just Teslas? I find it utterly unnacceptable for that level of noise and vibration in a car that's supposed to be silent, even worse in a $100,000+ MSRP car.

I'm curious to find out if Mercedes' EQS or the Audi E-Tron's A/Cs are that loud. I have the feeling they're not.

If this is not addressed in the refresh this will be my first and last Tesla for sure.

Jose

 

[outdoors]

UPDATE!

Is this how A/C's work on all electric cars, or just Teslas?

Yeah when you crank it and aren't really moving it acts like a giant AC unit. You can see this when you drive away. The surrounding temp goes down. When just sitting there you are in a giant heat tub.

Not sure what the problem is. Everyone looks at my car like it is the 100k car it is. Once I had to explain to somebody at a supercharger that my battery needs to stay cool while it charges. The sound you hear is the AC cooling the battery to make sure it stays nice and cool and doesn't explode.

Just works different than your used to. I sat next to a mom in a Escalade spewing heat all around today. AC was on, but I had to put my windows up and into Biohazard mode. Smelled exhaust.

The Porsche EV guy I saw yesterday had his cranking with a flat tire. Same or similar sound. Why he got those rims in Michigan I have no idea. If you saw his suit, that might answer the question.