Is this "normal" noise while releasing the brake?

[Todd Burch]

I brought it in today. I was told that this noise (based on noise in video) is part of the normal acoustics of a Tesla with 21" wheels. Weird, I have had big wheels before on other cars and never this issue. I think it has something more to do with Creep than anything, but they say this noise is expected on all 21" wheel Teslas. But that "some customers don't notice the same sounds as others even when present", hence why other owners (here on the forums) do not think this sound is normal.

Pure BS.

 

[jerry33]

Pure BS.

Apparently some Tesla service personnel are still stuck in dealer mentality mode where the customer is told the first thing that comes to mind to get the customer to settle rather than trying to solve the problem. Even "There's no fix yet, stay tuned" is better than "Oh, it's normal".

 

[randompersonx]

I think a lot of it has to do with the big push for end of quarter. Not saying it is acceptable, but I think that is part of the reason. I got my car a month early, so I guess I am ok with a few things needing to be padded up here and there ( ac, fan, frunk placement). The noise from the brakes isn't acceptable in my opinion.

I'm not really comfortable posting SC / Name because I feel like these are the guys I will have indefinitely. If I post their info, then I worry it will just lead to a worse experience for me down the road.



I got to hop in a neighbors last night and try his out, no noise and he had creep on and 21" wheels. The service rep also mentioned I already have the new calipers that help reduce noise. To me that is even a bigger red flag. Why would I be getting a noise others with old calipers do not get when I have the new "improved" ? I agree with you on not feeling the love. To be honest I feel he has two options:

1. BS the customer into thinking this is normal, everyone has it but just doesn't notice it like I do.
2. Have to explain to corporate why they are doing a major repair (I assume this would be major? not sure).

Option 1 seems a lot easier, lot less work, and looks a lot better on him to corporate. I'm pretty upset about it, especially on a brand new car. Seems like a sleezball answer I would get buying from one of those dealership companies. What can I do at this point? I worry about escalating because I do not want my local SC to look down on me from here on out and/or effect the work they do for me because "I went over their head".

I have been really impressed with how they have treated me so far until this. I might be wrong, but the more I think about it the more I feel it is not an acceptable answer.

Make a a video comparing your car to your neighbor's. Show it to the SC. Do the test under identical circumstances. Same garage, same camera angle, different car.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I got to hop in a neighbors last night and try his out, no noise and he had creep on and 21" wheels. The service rep also mentioned I already have the new calipers that help reduce noise. To me that is even a bigger red flag. Why would I be getting a noise others with old calipers do not get when I have the new "improved" ? I agree with you on not feeling the love. To be honest I feel he has two options:

1. BS the customer into thinking this is normal, everyone has it but just doesn't notice it like I do.
2. Have to explain to corporate why they are doing a major repair (I assume this would be major? not sure).

Option 1 seems a lot easier, lot less work, and looks a lot better on him to corporate. I'm pretty upset about it, especially on a brand new car. Seems like a sleezball answer I would get buying from one of those dealership companies. What can I do at this point? I worry about escalating because I do not want my local SC to look down on me from here on out and/or effect the work they do for me because "I went over their head".

I have been really impressed with how they have treated me so far until this. I might be wrong, but the more I think about it the more I feel it is not an acceptable answer.

Your service center will have loaner cars with 21" wheels. When you're service advisor tells you it's "normal", then ask him to show you a loaner with 21" wheels that makes the same noise. But even before you do that, you should speak with the service manager. My service center was a bit out of its element when it tried to address an issue on my car. After the 4th time trying to fix, I got a little miffed and sent an email to the regional manager. Not five minutes went by and I received a response that the issue will be escalated to engineering. The next day, I received a follow up that engineering felt the issue rose to the level of a new service bulletin which was then issued to all service centers.

Sometimes you need to take the bull by the horns.

Oh, and Tesla moved to heavier rotors because of a squeaking issue as you come to a full stop. My 19" wheels also suffered from the same issue and I was given the heavier rotors, noise is gone. But that's a far different noise than what you have presented in your video. Your noise is more of a thunking noise, the rotors address squeaking.

 

[strider]

I agree w/ AmpedRealtor - the heavier rotors are to address a squealing noise as you come to a stop. Not the thunking you are hearing. Since you're down in SoCal, I would try and take it to a different SC in the area. It may be a bit of a drive but it never hurts to get a second opinion and you may find attitudes and knowledge vary widely between SC's. Can you figure out which SC's in SoCal have been around since the Roadster days? May have better luck w/ some "old timers" that have had the ICE Service model beaten out of them Not casting stones, just throwing out some options. My favorite service writer, Karl, at Burlingame came from the ICE service world (MB dealer I think) and is amazing. He's completely embraced the Tesla way of service and doesn't try to wave his hands or tell me "they all do that." But like others have stated "newer" service writers may still be in the hand-waving mode if they just came from an ICE service center and have yet to understand Tesla's approach to service.

 

[yobigd20]

That's not a normal sound. Go to a different service center. I was unhappy with Norristown and Queens SC's for various legitimate noises and issues where they were giving me the run around or blowing me off until I went to Springfield SC and they addressed every single issue perfectly and then some (even things I didn't notice). Unfortunately each service center is YMMV. Sad to say that but it's true.