Loud vibrating noise after turning on the heat! (video)

[DanF861]

Lately my car has been making a very loud vibrating/groaning noise after the heat is turned on. It usually lasts a few seconds and then goes away, but is extremely loud and annoying. Tesla service replaced the heat pump, but that didn't have any affect on the noise. This is my second winter with the car, and previously it had never made this noise.

Here's a video linked below ... any thoughts on what would cause this?

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[STS-134]

That's the compressor running on high. Generally happens when you use the defrost combined with the temperature set to HI (windshield logo in the climate control turns red) to try to clear fog off of the windshield ASAP. Although if it's cold enough outside and the interior of the car has had a chance to cold soak, it would probably also happen when you're starting the vehicle with the temperature set to a comfortable level.

Since these vehicles have a heat pump and do not generally use PTC (electrical resistance) heaters to heat the interior of the vehicle, they're going to make more noise than PTC heaters when they're trying to pump as much heat into the cabin interior as possible right after the vehicle starts.

 

[DanF861]

That's the compressor running on high. Generally happens when you use the defrost combined with the temperature set to HI (windshield logo in the climate control turns red) to try to clear fog off of the windshield ASAP. Although if it's cold enough outside and the interior of the car has had a chance to cold soak, it would probably also happen when you're starting the vehicle with the temperature set to a comfortable level.

Since these vehicles have a heat pump and do not generally use PTC (electrical resistance) heaters to heat the interior of the vehicle, they're going to make more noise than PTC heaters when they're trying to pump as much heat into the cabin interior as possible right after the vehicle starts.

Thanks for the info ...

When you say compressor are you referring to the heat pump? Or is the compressor separate from that and associated with the AC?

My car sits overnight in a heated garage at 60 degrees, and I rarely use the windshield defrost. I'll try and see if it happens more in AUTO mode vs MANUAL mode since I usually keep in on AUTO. A new heat pump was installed and did not have any change on that noise.

 

[STS-134]

Thanks for the info ...

When you say compressor are you referring to the heat pump? Or is the compressor separate from that and associated with the AC?

There's only one compressor, and only one heat pump. A traditional air conditioning system has an evaporator (cooling) coil indoors, and a condenser (hot) coil outdoors. All air conditioners are technically heat pumps; the term "air conditioner" in HVAC usually refers to a one way heat pump that moves heat from inside to outside. A "heat pump" in HVAC typically refers to a heat pump that can move heat in both directions because it has a reversing valve that can switch the roles of the evaporator and condenser coils, i.e. the outdoor coil becomes the "cold" coil and the indoor coil becomes the "hot" coil. The system in the Tesla is far more complex than that and can move heat from the cabin to the batteries or from the drive unit or batteries to the cabin or from the cabin and the batteries to the outdoor air, etc. But it's called a heat pump because it moves heat from one place to another. When you have a very high heating demand in the cabin, that compressor is going to ramp up and run full blast.

My car sits overnight in a heated garage at 60 degrees, and I rarely use the windshield defrost. I'll try and see if it happens more in AUTO mode vs MANUAL mode since I usually keep in on AUTO. A new heat pump was installed and did not have any change on that noise.

Well it looks like the car wasn't in your garage when the video was taken and the thermometer on the car is reading 19°F. If it was really that cold, I'm not surprised that the compressor is running full blast.

 

[DanF861]

@STS-134 Thanks for the detailed write-up and additional info! That's helpful to get a better understanding on how the heat pump system works. My only concern is that the noise seems to have presented itself just over the past few months ... whereas before that, and the previous winter in 2020 ... it was much quieter. It would never vibrate/groan to this extent inside the cabin. My friends with a Model Y & 3 both don't experience this noise in the same winter conditions. I plan to take it back to service for another look.

 

[STS-134]

@STS-134 Thanks for the detailed write-up and additional info! That's helpful to get a better understanding on how the heat pump system works. My only concern is that the noise seems to have presented itself just over the past few months ... whereas before that, and the previous winter in 2020 ... it was much quieter. It would never vibrate/groan to this extent inside the cabin. My friends with a Model Y & 3 both don't experience this noise in the same winter conditions. I plan to take it back to service for another look.

Perhaps the compressor isn't properly bolted or there's an issue with the material around it that's supposed to dampen the noise?

 

[DanF861]

Perhaps the compressor isn't properly bolted or there's an issue with the material around it that's supposed to dampen the noise?

It turned out to be an issue with the super manifold and discharge lines that was causing the compressor to fail.

 

[STS-134]

It turned out to be an issue with the super manifold and discharge lines that was causing the compressor to fail.

Did you get a new compressor?

 

[DanF861]

Yep a third compressor! They discovered the manifold caused the second replacement to fail quickly. They noted a PRV was blown. So a new compressor, manifold and discharge lines. They confirmed the sound the car was making was abnormal.

 

[Alchemist_28]

Hey mine did this a couple if times today. Both the times after a few seconds of getting into the car. It was 0°C outside. After that I hasn't made the noise again. Did yours made the noise everytime you turn on the heat? I had my condenser fan replaced a few days ago.

 

[DanF861]

It didn’t happen every time, but it happened quite often. They ended up replacing the super manifold components and lines which fixed it.

 

[Alchemist_28]

It didn’t happen every time, but it happened quite often. They ended up replacing the super manifold components and lines which fixed it.

Thanks a lot for your response. I'm at SC right now. Hoping for the best.

 

[Alchemist_28]

It didn’t happen every time, but it happened quite often. They ended up replacing the super manifold components and lines which fixed it.

Hey do you mind sharing the invoice after redacting your personal info. My SC tech says that they were not able to reproduce so they won't be doing anything. Maybe after looking at your description and the fix, they might do something.