Minor annoyances with my 2016 P90DL

[easyev]

Hey everyone, sorry I haven’t been more active here. I’ve been dealing with a few things and haven’t give back as much as I’m receiving from this great site, but I will make it up, I promise!

Just wanted to ask anyone that’s got a similar car to mine, or if you have a newer one and know what’s going on, I would love to hear from you.

1) I get a ton of brake dust from this car that I didn’t really ever ever get with my 2015 or my Plaid for that matter. Also, I see a bit of rust on my rotor hubs. This car was serviced at a Toyota dealership, which I think aftermarket parts were put on the. Third-party rotors and pads. The car makes a bit of a squeak sound at low speeds sometimes sometimes coming to a stop or pulling away. I had Tesla “ service” the brakes basically taking them apart, lubricating everything and putting them back together, and it made no change. I don’t think it’s worth buying original Tesla rotors and pads so I’m probably just going to wait this one out, but what do you think? Would it be worth trying some better quality coated rotors and maybe some stock pads? Or better quality, third-party pads that don’t emit bucket loads of brake dust?

2) when I pull away or put it into Drive, sometimes there is a weird sound. It doesn’t sound like the robotic solenoid sound of the parking brake releasing but kind of a weird creaky old door sound. It’s driving me crazy. I let the dealer know and they didn’t find anything. Any ideas? I’m going to try and record this and if I can, I’ll attach the sound but to me it sounds like a very sick parking brake solenoid/mechanism. Yet other times it sounds fine. Of course I’m trying to record it and I can’t replicate it now. Maybe the service centre lubricated the parking brake? It sounds like it means business right now!

3) My taillights are holding water, and really need to be taken out pull apart, cleaned and sealed. Has anyone ever done this? Tesla said it was very expensive and not to bother doing it.

4) the door switches on the driver side lifts up on the front. Maybe it’s missing a clip or something?

5) 3 of the 4 wheels have been curbed pretty badly. Wondering if I should try sanding them and doing a DIY thing or taking them to the shop. They want $650 to Powdercoat them all in satin black which will look great on the car. Alternatively, I was thinking of taking a sander to them and sanding the rough areas is out but they’re so bad. I will probably need to use bondo to fill in the deep scratches. Time vs money?! my wife says drop them off at the shop and let the experts do it.

On the other hand, it’s kind of nice not worrying about these things while parking…They just look terrible!!! My Plaid had those beautiful 21s that were absolutely flawless. God I miss that car!

6) my Michelin pilot sport all seasons are really noisy on the highway nothing like my 2015 or my 2022 Model S which both had Michelin as well. I forget what tires I had on my 2015. They were originally all seasons, and I finally replaced them with performance tires and those things were so quiet and it was ridiculous!

I searched it up and found this guy’s quote on the Michelin website:

“Horribly LOUD & NOT LIKE the old wonderful) Michelins - I bought the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 (ZR rated) for my Lexus LS. These tires are SO NOISY!!”

I tend to agree with this guy.

My new MCU 2 computer has really made. The car is so much more enjoyable. I’m so glad I did it.

The car is getting better and better better and is really starting to grow on me. My wife *loves* the sunroof and the free supercharging.

Thanks for any input or ideas I really appreciate it!

 

[Hank42]

For 2, mine sounds like you describe and I know for a fact it's my rear control arm bushing. Make sure it is not damaged and torqued properly.

For #3, just replace with dry used ones. Easy to do and cost effective.

 

[maximizese]

1) I find that the OEM brake pads dust up quite a bit but yours really takes the cake. I'm assuming that if the rotors were replaced that perhaps the brake pads were replaced as well at some point. I had an annoyance with european cars circa 1998-2016 for that same heavy brake dust issue, but I found that switching to ceramic pads reduced the brake dusting by up to 90%. I would keep the rotors until they need to be replaced and from my memory zinc-coated rotors kept the corrosion down. I have a set of Zimmerman rotors on my old VW TDI that are nearly 20 years old (Hawk HPS on the front, Akebono ceramic pads on the rear) and I wonder if they make set for the Tesla.

2) Perhaps raising the car and checking all the links will shed some light on the what's happing here or have someone cycle the car in Drive, Park, & Reverse in the driveway while you look and listen at the parking brake mechanism at the rear. Perhaps it's a solenoid or mechanical issue.

3) If time and money is an issue, I would think swapping out the taillight from junkyard or eBay would be much easier. In the old days with light bulbs, you could just remove the bulb from the socket and use a hair dryer or electric leaf blower on a dry day to get the moisture out in a minute or two. But these lights will need to be heated with a heat gun, pulled apart, dried, and resealed (probably takes about 2-3hrs from start to finish and it's probably really messy with adhesive). You can keep your original taillight and fix it in your free time.

4) Take the door skin off the driver side is very easy (check YouTube), and I'm sure you'll see a busted or missing clip that you can replace.

5) I would just have it professional done unless you have a second set of wheels and tires you can mount. The time it takes to DIY would probably take at least a weekend and a pro would get it done in a quarter the time.

 

[j.harris]

The tail light foam gaskets sag where they meet the body and let water in. When I got my car both inner tail lights had condensation in them. I took the lights out pushed the foam back into position and reinstalled. The tail light housing are glued they don't come apart with heat they just break. I found that out the hard way.

I put a small hole in the corner of my original tail light but didn't do the replacement one thinking it was fine. Well a few nights ago I noticed the newer one had standing water in it so I drilled a small hole in it as well with a pin vice for the water to drain.

 

[easyev]

The tail light foam gaskets sag where they meet the body and let water in. When I got my car both inner tail lights had condensation in them. I took the lights out pushed the foam back into position and reinstalled. The tail light housing are glued they don't come apart with heat they just break. I found that out the hard way.

I put a small hole in the corner of my original tail light but didn't do the replacement one thinking it was fine. Well a few nights ago I noticed the newer one had standing water in it so I drilled a small hole in it as well with a pin vice for the water to drain.

Was the replacement an original Tesla light or one of the eBay units from China? I think adding a drain hole is a great idea. Unfortunately, mine has a small insect inside it, so I believe at least my right outside corner light will need replacing.

 

[j.harris]

Was the replacement an original Tesla light or one of the eBay units from China? I think adding a drain hole is a great idea. Unfortunately, mine has a small insect inside it, so I believe at least my right outside corner light will need replacing.

It was a used original one that I found on ebay. These were the inner lights that were on the tailgate my outside lights have been fine. The hole doesn't have to be large, you can use the smallest drill you can find and it should be enough.

 

[Made in CA]

Here is a simplistic suggestion in regards to the brake dust: make sure the “Controls > Pedals & Steering > Apply Brakes When Regenerative Braking is Limited” setting is off. It could be the car is applying the brakes more than you realize?

 

[j.harris]

Here is a simplistic suggestion in regards to the brake dust: make sure the “Controls > Pedals & Steering > Apply Brakes When Regenerative Braking is Limited” setting is off. It could be the car is applying the brakes more than you realize?

Very good point I forgot at high charge levels regen is limited or not available.

 

[easyev]

1) I find that the OEM brake pads dust up quite a bit but yours really takes the cake. I'm assuming that if the rotors were replaced that perhaps the brake pads were replaced as well at some point. I had an annoyance with european cars circa 1998-2016 for that same heavy brake dust issue, but I found that switching to ceramic pads reduced the brake dusting by up to 90%. I would keep the rotors until they need to be replaced and from my memory zinc-coated rotors kept the corrosion down. I have a set of Zimmerman rotors on my old VW TDI that are nearly 20 years old (Hawk HPS on the front, Akebono ceramic pads on the rear) and I wonder if they make set for the Tesla.

I'll look for a ceramic set, great idea thank you!

2) Perhaps raising the car and checking all the links will shed some light on the what's happing here or have someone cycle the car in Drive, Park, & Reverse in the driveway while you look and listen at the parking brake mechanism at the rear. Perhaps it's a solenoid or mechanical issue.

So it's not the parking brake, there's some other mechanical thing that seems to engage AFTER I park the car and go to leave, it's a strange eeking sound...

3) If time and money is an issue, I would think swapping out the taillight from junkyard or eBay would be much easier. In the old days with light bulbs, you could just remove the bulb from the socket and use a hair dryer or electric leaf blower on a dry day to get the moisture out in a minute or two. But these lights will need to be heated with a heat gun, pulled apart, dried, and resealed (probably takes about 2-3hrs from start to finish and it's probably really messy with adhesive). You can keep your original taillight and fix it in your free time.

I'm going to look at removing them, pulling apart and cleaning and resealing them, I think it's worth the 4 hours whether my wife agrees or not!

4) Take the door skin off the driver side is very easy (check YouTube), and I'm sure you'll see a busted or missing clip that you can replace.

This is what the window switch looks like, I'm trying to see if it uses a clip...https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...6d2a606414ba41410a46fa3f05a&afSmartRedirect=n

5) I would just have it professional done unless you have a second set of wheels and tires you can mount. The time it takes to DIY would probably take at least a weekend and a pro would get it done in a quarter the time.

I 100% agree with you, thank you!

Btw, the last(?) problem was a stale smell in the car..tried may things and finally an Ozone Generator got it smelling fresh and new again, very happy!

Thanks again for the ideas and detailed reply, very kind of you!

I'm working on touching up scratches and chips. The previous owner must have owned a dog, there's scratches everywhere!

 

[easyev]

It was a used original one that I found on ebay. These were the inner lights that were on the tailgate my outside lights have been fine. The hole doesn't have to be large, you can use the smallest drill you can find and it should be enough.

Thank you, I'll see if I can get them out to work on them or replace them, really appreciate it!

 

[VxA=W]

I have what I think is a similar sound when shifting to drive. I have assumed it's the parking brake releasing, is less noticeable if I keep my foot on the brake another second after shifting, if I lift my foot just as I shift I hear the creaky sound.

Just ordered Hankook Ion EVO AS 245/45-19, get them installed Wednesday. Really curious to see how they perform.

Like you I really enjoy my MCU-2 upgrade.

Speaking of curious, how come you sold a blue '22 MS Plaid and bought a blue '16 MS P90D?

 

[KalJoMoS]

Here is one suggestion about brake service. With these new pads at front I now have really low dust condition. And the curbed rims, if the damage is really low - just paint damage, then you can fix it at your driveway. Sure, if the damage is deep but coating several times can give some good result. If the damage is major then I would take them to the wheel shop as the rim might even be damaged.
There was someone here who had repaired the rear lights, just can’t fing the post now. But as suggested the culprit is the foam casket.

edit: just found that post

 

[VegarHenriksen]

3) Your car might not have the gasket on the inner taillights. You can purchase it from SC and install it. Fairly okay job to remove taillights to check.

4) Remove door card and check if the screws are all there. It is screwed in from the back

 

[easyev]

3) Your car might not have the gasket on the inner taillights. You can purchase it from SC and install it. Fairly okay job to remove taillights to check.

4) Remove door card and check if the screws are all there. It is screwed in from the back

Okay, thank you for the advise, I'll check them out.

 

[easyev]

Do you guys know if I can upgrade to HW3 on my non-refreshed 2016? I have MCU2 now. If they did I guess that wouldn’t include the new front bumper would it?

 

[tldickerson]

I don't think HW3 is available for your car.