Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues

[nleggatt]

Today I drove my car on the hwy a fair distance with the heat set at about 27 ish (it's 7 outside). When I pulled up to my place and turned off my music as I pulled into my driveway I hear a faint hum like a computer fan from the front dash. I've been sitting here for about 5 mins and the sound is still there. My climate is set to off and changing the accent lighting doesn't do anything

More concerned then anything

 

[Todd Burch]

Today I drove my car on the hwy a fair distance with the heat set at about 27 ish (it's 7 outside). When I pulled up to my place and turned off my music as I pulled into my driveway I hear a faint hum like a computer fan from the front dash. I've been sitting here for about 5 mins and the sound is still there. My climate is set to off and changing the accent lighting doesn't do anything

More concerned then anything

I think that's normal. I hear that too sometimes...whatever it is.

 

[steve841]

Yeah ... fans coming on is completely normal. No worries.

 

[kinddog]

my only issue after a week in is a very noticeable grinding or buzzing noise from the car when I drive on the highway between 65-70mph.

it is pretty loud and sounds like *egad* an aftermarket exhaust note or something.

i have NO IDEA what this is. motor? tires?


oh, and my charging cable won't open my chargeport door.


any ideas? i searched the forum but couldn't find anything about the grinding noise...

 

[tezco]

Today I drove my car on the hwy a fair distance with the heat set at about 27 ish (it's 7 outside). When I pulled up to my place and turned off my music as I pulled into my driveway I hear a faint hum like a computer fan from the front dash. I've been sitting here for about 5 mins and the sound is still there. My climate is set to off and changing the accent lighting doesn't do anything

More concerned then anything

I hear this as well. Sounds to me like a small fan behind the dash display. Previously I didn't hear it when the car was off, until I upgraded to v4.2 Unfortunately, the fan now seems to be on 24/7.

 

[Ben W]

Why did the fob battery die after only 4 months? Tesla says early cars (ours is VIN 112) had the fobs stored inside for transport, which apparently uses a lot of fob battery. They now transport the fobs separately.

A fox, a chicken, a Tesla, and a key fob are all trying to cross a river, but there's only one canoe...

 

[stevezzzz]

my only issue after a week in is a very noticeable grinding or buzzing noise from the car when I drive on the highway between 65-70mph.

it is pretty loud and sounds like *egad* an aftermarket exhaust note or something.

i have NO IDEA what this is. motor? tires?



oh, and my charging cable won't open my chargeport door.


any ideas? i searched the forum but couldn't find anything about the grinding noise...

This may be the 'resonating rear hatch' phenomenon some have mentioned. The fix is apparently to adjust the rubber bumpers that get compressed when the hatch closes, extending them a bit to make the hatch latch work against a larger compression force and the hatch thus be less likely to vibrate. I haven't had this problem so I don't know exactly where you find these bumpers.

 

[Chgd Up]

my only issue after a week in is a very noticeable grinding or buzzing noise from the car when I drive on the highway between 65-70mph.

any ideas? i searched the forum but couldn't find anything about the grinding noise...

I wouldn't say grinding (grinding sounds bad) but there have been a number of mentions of a hum from the motor/power train:

Road noise at highway speeds coming from wheel wells - Page 2

The charge port door is a noted issue, it sometimes helps to hold the cord above and behind the door. If you hold the button down and circle it around back there you'll probably find the spot. But I know service will replace your receiver antenna if you bring it in as a problem. I've just figured out where to hold it and it really isn't that inconvenient.

 

[goaliemanshark]

Does anyone hear a weird beep when you reach 25 MPH the first time after starting a drive?

 

[Todd Burch]

This may be the 'resonating rear hatch' phenomenon some have mentioned. The fix is apparently to adjust the rubber bumpers that get compressed when the hatch closes, extending them a bit to make the hatch latch work against a larger compression force and the hatch thus be less likely to vibrate. I haven't had this problem so I don't know exactly where you find these bumpers.

I had the hatch buffeting before adjusting my bumpers. This description sounds like something else.

 

[aaron.s]

I hear this as well. Sounds to me like a small fan behind the dash display. Previously I didn't hear it when the car was off, until I upgraded to v4.2 Unfortunately, the fan now seems to be on 24/7.

Tezco, Others - Reboot your 17" screen and the fan noise will go away - has happened 2-3 times to me....

Aaron

 

[Todd Burch]

Does anyone hear a weird beep when you reach 25 MPH the first time after starting a drive?

That's normal too. Can't remember but it's a system arming. Might be ABS, child locks, something related to cruise control...can't remember. But I heard a similar sound in my old ICE when crossing a speed threshold for the first time.

 

[kinddog]

I wouldn't say grinding (grinding sounds bad) but there have been a number of mentions of a hum from the motor/power train:

Road noise at highway speeds coming from wheel wells - Page 2

The charge port door is a noted issue, it sometimes helps to hold the cord above and behind the door. If you hold the button down and circle it around back there you'll probably find the spot. But I know service will replace your receiver antenna if you bring it in as a problem. I've just figured out where to hold it and it really isn't that inconvenient.

okay, thanks for the info..

 

[mknox]

That's normal too. Can't remember but it's a system arming. Might be ABS, child locks, something related to cruise control...can't remember. But I heard a similar sound in my old ICE when crossing a speed threshold for the first time.

I had that in an ICE a couple of cars back. It was the ABS and/or Traction Control "charging up" or something. If you just happened to be on the brakes at that point, you could feel it in the pedal too.

 

[ggr]

Does anyone hear a weird beep when you reach 25 MPH the first time after starting a drive?

I believe this is the doors auto-locking. It's an option you can turn off.

 

[strider]

Tezco, Others - Reboot your 17" screen and the fan noise will go away - has happened 2-3 times to me....

Is this with 4.2? I've noticed this noise a few times when I've gone into the garage to do laundry. I just assumed it was a side-effect of sleep mode being disabled. I'll try the reboot.

 

[MikeK]

I don't think it's that. I suspect it's the ABS system -- it happens at about the same time and speed where previous cars that I've had would do a calibration of the ABS that was accompanied by an audible whine or other sound.

 

[nleggatt]

Does anyone hear a weird beep when you reach 25 MPH the first time after starting a drive?

Yes! Noticed it yesterday and today. Called service and they said they would look at it on Thursday.

 

[MikeK]

If it's the same one I hear, I don't believe it's through the speakers.

 

[Todd Burch]

Yes! Noticed it yesterday and today. Called service and they said they would look at it on Thursday.

If you're referring to having service look at the 25 mph sound, I'd say don't bother them with it. After quick checks, I'm 99.9999% sure this is the ABS system check/activation sound. Do a Google search ('ABS arming sound' or something similar) and you will find dozens of comments on the same thing, from all different manufacturers. Happens to me right at 25 mph too, and likely everyone else. Almost sounds like a muted dot matrix printer head moving for a brief moment, right? (Had trouble thinking of common sounds that sound similar).