Less than 1,200 miles, A/C sounds like Lawnmower

[DLink33]

I just took delivery of my model 3 less than 2 weeks ago, and I just noticed the A/C compressor was making a loud fluttering sound as I was pulling into my garage yesterday. It quite literally sounds like either an industry air compressor kicking on or a lawnmower. To be clear, this isn't like the whirring of a jet engine sound that is largely associated with Tesla HVAC systems. It is grinding and terrible. The sound only happens when I kick the A/C on in the car (fan speed doesn't matter).

I was curious if anyone else has experienced this problem and if so what the solution was. I was also curious if repair costs would be covered at all by the warranty. I feel like if there is indeed something wrong with the a/c's compressor it is due to a defective part. I have hardly put any mileage on the car.

Thanks in advance for any help and/or information you can offer.

 

[Kirby64]

You have 1200 miles on the car. It's covered under warranty, assuming your description is correct. Contact your service center.

 

[Bill Foster]

I just took delivery of my model 3 less than 2 weeks ago, and I just noticed the A/C compressor was making a loud fluttering sound as I was pulling into my garage yesterday. It quite literally sounds like either an industry air compressor kicking on or a lawnmower. To be clear, this isn't like the whirring of a jet engine sound that is largely associated with Tesla HVAC systems. It is grinding and terrible. The sound only happens when I kick the A/C on in the car (fan speed doesn't matter).

I was curious if anyone else has experienced this problem and if so what the solution was. I was also curious if repair costs would be covered at all by the warranty. I feel like if there is indeed something wrong with the a/c's compressor it is due to a defective part. I have hardly put any mileage on the car.

Thanks in advance for any help and/or information you can offer.

As long as the damage isn’t caused by an outside influence, it will be covered.

 

[KenC]

Why do you come here with a very negative thread title before you call Tesla?

Well, maybe he setup an appt for 2 weeks later, and thought he'd check with others. The title doesn't seem all that negative, I mean, a broken fan does sound pretty bad.

 

[iaflyer]

Considering the poster has had his car 1200 miles, and with the weather in Colorado (snow!) a few weeks ago, this might be the first time he's used the A/C. The poster was actually being responsible and asking "is this a normal sound or do I have a problem?" before clogging up a service center or complaining about it.

Personally, my wife was asking what's the matter with the car because it recently got warm here in Michigan. The "jet engine sound" of the A/C was concerning her. I drove it and decided that it seemed normal from other reports...

 

[aspec818]

Link a video to the sounds. Doesn’t seem like a common problem so far.

 

[ngogas]

Doesn’t sound normal. Get to sc and have them check it out.

 

[redgt]

sometimes a leaf or other object can get into the fresh air vent / blower motor and make a loud noise when the fan blower motor is on

happened to me with a different vehicle ... not a tesla but HVAC has to be similar

schedule a service appointment

just a heads up - I had to pay for it to be removed with other manufacturer even though it was under warranty

 

[srkerd]

I just started having this issue couple weeks ago. When the AC is on, every 15-30 seconds there is a loud deep noise as if some motor is winding down. There is a slight vibration that I feel behind the firewall when this happens too. I am taking it in next week.

 

[DLink33]

Link a video to the sounds. Doesn’t seem like a common problem so far.

Sorry, I haven't come back to this thread in some time, but I got it looked at by the service center there was definitely a problem. One of the bearings on the compressor fan for the A/C was defective from the manufacturer. I believe they replaced the fan entirely and warranty covered everything.

Here is a video of the sound in case you were wondering just how bad it sounded:

 

[DLink33]

I just started having this issue couple weeks ago. When the AC is on, every 15-30 seconds there is a loud deep noise as if some motor is winding down. There is a slight vibration that I feel behind the firewall when this happens too. I am taking it in next week.

Does it sound anything like this:

This was my car back in June. I took it in and they determined it was a broken bearing in the A/C compressor fan. I have had no problems since. Warranty covered everything. Good luck with diagnosing the issue. Let me know if you have any other questions

 

[DLink33]

Link a video to the sounds. Doesn’t seem like a common problem so far.

I know it's been a while, but in case you were curious, this is how the car sounded:

 

[DLink33]

Why do you come here with a very negative thread title before you call Tesla?

I know this is older, but I just got around to checking this thread recently. I just wanted to apologize: I was unaware that asking for advice about owning a Tesla on a Tesla owner's forum was forbidden. Next time I will only partake in forums with sanctimonious circle-jerking.

 

[640k]

I know this is older, but I just got around to checking this thread recently. I just wanted to apologize: I was unaware that asking for advice about owning a Tesla on a Tesla owner's forum was forbidden. Next time I will only partake in forums with sanctimonious circle-jerking.

looks to me like that poster was banned or removed. don't feed the trolls. glad you got your problem fixed.

 

[Nocturnal]

I know this is older, but I just got around to checking this thread recently. I just wanted to apologize: I was unaware that asking for advice about owning a Tesla on a Tesla owner's forum was forbidden. Next time I will only partake in forums with sanctimonious circle-jerking.

Just ignore that. Your title was fine. Glad you got it fixed, that was super loud.

 

[run-the-joules]

The ol' bathtub of failure probabilities. Either early or late, usually. My first few months with Model 3 had me a little worried but as time goes on I'm actually beginning to think these might be ok for reliability.

 

[Big Earl]

I just started having this issue couple weeks ago. When the AC is on, every 15-30 seconds there is a loud deep noise as if some motor is winding down. There is a slight vibration that I feel behind the firewall when this happens too. I am taking it in next week.

Same issue I had. The solution was replacing the compressor.

 

[srkerd]

Good to hear that Big Earl... I think the compressor had an issue for a while. It just became very noticeable.

 

[aspec818]

Sorry, I haven't come back to this thread in some time, but I got it looked at by the service center there was definitely a problem. One of the bearings on the compressor fan for the A/C was defective from the manufacturer. I believe they replaced the fan entirely and warranty covered everything.

Here is a video of the sound in case you were wondering just how bad it sounded:

not normal.

 

[Big Earl]

Sorry, I haven't come back to this thread in some time, but I got it looked at by the service center there was definitely a problem. One of the bearings on the compressor fan for the A/C was defective from the manufacturer. I believe they replaced the fan entirely and warranty covered everything.

Here is a video of the sound in case you were wondering just how bad it sounded:

Yikes. Sounds like the compressor puked its guts internally.