Model Y makes hum noise all the time

[fablau]

Hello here.

I just got my new Model Y two days ago (long range, dual motor), and I have noticed that there is a continuous humming sound coming from the front all the time, either when I am driving or when the car is parked. Once parked, the noise will eventually go away, but it takes several minutes (30-40?) to stop. It is most annoying when driving and the climate is off. For example, when stopping at intersections, I keep hearing this humming sound which is very, very annoying.

I have a 2019 Model 3 and never had such a problem, it is completely silent when the climate is off. I used to have a 2016 Model S, and never had this problem either. That's the beauty of electric cars, being completely silent!

Any ideas? is this a new "feature" or a defect of my new car?

Thanks.

 

[DaveORD]

MY has a heat pump. Google it.

 

[GOVA]

^ If possible, visit the Tesla Store and talk to them. Sounds like something is not right.

 

[fablau]

MY has a heat pump. Google it.

Yes, that's what I thought, but is it possible it is running all the time? Even when the climate is off?

 

[fablau]

^ If possible, visit the Tesla Store and talk to them. Sounds like something is not right.

Yeah, that's what I'll do, but I wanted to check with you guys if anyone else is experiencing this problem.

Thank you!

 

[DaveORD]

Yes, that's what I thought, but is it possible it is running all the time? Even when the climate is off?

Define all the time... When parked in your garage and not driven for hours? Our just when driven but no AC on? The heat pump will continue to work even after the MY is turned off, you are done driving, not tied solely to AC usage. It is also used to regulate temps to the battery, so if cold or hot where you are, or the battery is getting too hot from charging or driving, the heat pump will be trying to keep the battery within optimal temperature range to maximum range and extend its life. That is why I said to Google it, lots of info out there on this. If you feel it is running too long or too loud, then submit a ticket to Tesla service for somebody to look at it. But chances are, if this is your first exposure to the heat pump, it is probably normal.

 

[fablau]

Define all the time... When parked in your garage and not driven for hours? Our just when driven but no AC on? The heat pump will continue to work even after the MY is turned off, you are done driving, not tied solely to AC usage. It is also used to regulate temps to the battery, so if cold or hot where you are, or the battery is getting too hot from charging or driving, the heat pump will be trying to keep the battery within optimal temperature range to maximum range and extend its life. That is why I said to Google it, lots of info out there on this. If you feel it is running too long or too loud, then submit a ticket to Tesla service for somebody to look at it. But chances are, if this is your first exposure to the heat pump, it is probably normal.

Yes, it always runs, as I said, both when it is parked and when I am driving it with AC off. The ambient temperature is 24C (75F) by the way.

I have googled around and it looks like the noise of the heat pump should be strictly related to having the AC on, please, correct me if I am wrong and f you find anything saying that differently.

I'd have no problem having that humming sound running when the AC is on, but when the same sound never goes away when the AC is off, that's concerning to me.

I'd be curious to know if other Model Y owners, or owners of newer Teslas with a heat pump, have the same exact problem.

Thanks again.

 

[fablau]

Define all the time... When parked in your garage and not driven for hours? Our just when driven but no AC on? The heat pump will continue to work even after the MY is turned off, you are done driving, not tied solely to AC usage. It is also used to regulate temps to the battery, so if cold or hot where you are, or the battery is getting too hot from charging or driving, the heat pump will be trying to keep the battery within optimal temperature range to maximum range and extend its life. That is why I said to Google it, lots of info out there on this. If you feel it is running too long or too loud, then submit a ticket to Tesla service for somebody to look at it. But chances are, if this is your first exposure to the heat pump, it is probably normal.

Please, let me know if you also hear the heat pump running all the time while driving even when the AC is off. If so, I'll acknowledge that.

Thank you again.

 

[angus[Y]oung]

I have googled around and it looks like the noise of the heat pump should be strictly related to having the AC on, please, correct me if I am wrong and f you find anything saying that differently.

@fablau no this is incorrect. Here are a couple of relevant bullet points from the owners' manual:

• In addition to cooling the interior, the air conditioning compressor also cools the Battery. Therefore, in hot weather, the air conditioning compressor can turn on even if you turned it off. This is normal because the system’s priority is to cool the Battery to ensure it stays within an optimum temperature range to support longevity and optimum performance.
• Even when not in use, you may hear Model Y emit a whining noise or the sound of water circulating. These sounds are normal and occur when the internal cooling systems turn on to support various vehicle functions, such as maintaining the 12V battery and balancing the temperature of the high voltage Battery

 

[DaveORD]

My heat pump does comes on while driving with no environmental turned on. And it is often on after parking when I get home, especially if hot outside. And even when just parked in the garage and it is not being used, it can come on occasionally to do 12V battery maintenance and BMS stuff, so it is possible for heat pump to come for that too.

I have been working from home for this past year and the door to the garage is 17-18 feet from where I sit at my home office. If quiet enough I have heard the MY wake up occasionally and the heat pump starts going, while the MY is locked in my garage, not being touched. That is normal. I do not keep track of how frequently or for how long, it depends on many factors like outside temp, battery temp, battery charge level, if charging, doing software update, cabin overheat turned on, etc.

Like I said before, heat pump is not just for sole purpose of AC inside the car. Heat pump is to move heat around the entire car, which is inside the cabin AND also the battery pack, to provide heat or cooling as needed. So it is possible for the cabin setting for environmental to be off, and the AC will still come on to service the battery. That does not mean that the AC will come on inside the cabin when the controls are set for off. The octovalve in the heat pump will disable AC for the cabin and route the AC for battery heating or cooling as needed. The octvalve and heat pump is a big step forward, which means the AC is not just for the cabin.

https://forums.tesla.com/discussion...nder-the-hood-when-it-is-parked-in-the-garage

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/h973q7

https://forums.tesla.com/discussion/139888/constant-noise-from-model-3-while-parked-is-it-normal

 

[fablau]

My heat pump does comes on while driving with no environmental turned on. And it is often on after parking when I get home, especially if hot outside. And even when just parked in the garage and it is not being used, it can come on occasionally to do 12V battery maintenance and BMS stuff, so it is possible for heat pump to come for that too.

I have been working from home for this past year and the door to the garage is 17-18 feet from where I sit at my home office. If quiet enough I have heard the MY wake up occasionally and the heat pump starts going, while the MY is locked in my garage, not being touched. That is normal. I do not keep track of how frequently or for how long, it depends on many factors like outside temp, battery temp, battery charge level, if charging, doing software update, cabin overheat turned on, etc.

Like I said before, heat pump is not just for sole purpose of AC inside the car. Heat pump is to move heat around the entire car, which is inside the cabin AND also the battery pack, to provide heat or cooling as needed. So it is possible for the cabin setting for environmental to be off, and the AC will still come on to service the battery. That does not mean that the AC will come on inside the cabin when the controls are set for off. The octovalve in the heat pump will disable AC for the cabin and route the AC for battery heating or cooling as needed. The octvalve and heat pump is a big step forward, which means the AC is not just for the cabin.

https://forums.tesla.com/discussion...nder-the-hood-when-it-is-parked-in-the-garage

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/h973q7

https://forums.tesla.com/discussion/139888/constant-noise-from-model-3-while-parked-is-it-normal

Thank you for your explanation and provided links.

It doesn't bother me when the car is parked. It does bother me when I am driving with the AC off because I keep hearing this buzzing noise all the time, even when I listen to music, which is quite annoying. But from your description, it looks like you have the same exact issue and it is considered "normal."

I guess I'll have to get used to it, even though I am still quite disappointed. After so many years driving Teslas, this is the most annoying thing I have ever had.

Thank you again for your help in understanding this issue, appreciated it!

 

[Schulz1983]

Thank you for your explanation and provided links.

It doesn't bother me when the car is parked. It does bother me when I am driving with the AC off because I keep hearing this buzzing noise all the time, even when I listen to music, which is quite annoying. But from your description, it looks like you have the same exact issue and it is considered "normal."

I guess I'll have to get used to it, even though I am still quite disappointed. After so many years driving Teslas, this is the most annoying thing I have ever had.

Thank you again for your help in understanding this issue, appreciated it!

Do you have sensitive hearing? I ask because either A: the sound is louder than it should be or B: your more sensitive to sounds. I never notice mine while sitting at a stop light with no music playing. Really I don’t hear it at all except if I accelerate rapidly and then stop at a light. When I do that I can hear the fans running and pumps running trying to cool the batteries back down.
If you leave the house on a 60 degree morning and drive like a grandma, do you notice it when sitting at a stoplight? If you do then it sounds like Tesla service needs to look at it. Supposedly there are some recalls on some of the sensors for the heat pump. You might have one that is faulty causing the heat pump to run all the time.

 

[Schulz1983]

Thank you for your explanation and provided links.

It doesn't bother me when the car is parked. It does bother me when I am driving with the AC off because I keep hearing this buzzing noise all the time, even when I listen to music, which is quite annoying. But from your description, it looks like you have the same exact issue and it is considered "normal."

I guess I'll have to get used to it, even though I am still quite disappointed. After so many years driving Teslas, this is the most annoying thing I have ever had.

Thank you again for your help in understanding this issue, appreciated it!

You definitely shouldn’t be able to hear it over music.

 

[fablau]

Absolutely I am not sensitive, I have also issues to hear some very quiet sounds (!!) so... the sound is definitively there and it is annoying, and I am afraid it is louder than it should be. I haven't noticed any difference in my driving: if I drive fast, it is there. If I drive slow, it is there. It is always there, no matter what I do.

I don't usually hear it over the music when playing it at regular volume, but when the sound is low, I still can hear it. If no music is playing, I can always hear it every time I stop at a light, and sounds like a quiet airplane (a Cessna?). And yes, definitively it runs all the time.

Tomorrow I'll call Tesla and ask them. Thanks for your concerns.

 

[Schulz1983]

So after driving the Y this morning I can confirm that I can hear the humming you speak of. It is the heat pump working to cool the vehicle. I don’t notice it on the interstate just when sitting in traffic or parked. I guess I have never paid enough attention to notice. Of course I came from an ICE car so the hum doesn’t really bother me. Maybe I have tuned it out since I have been driving it for a while?

 

[fablau]

So after driving the Y this morning I can confirm that I can hear the humming you speak of. It is the heat pump working to cool the vehicle. I don’t notice it on the interstate just when sitting in traffic or parked. I guess I have never paid enough attention to notice. Of course I came from an ICE car so the hum doesn’t really bother me. Maybe I have tuned it out since I have been driving it for a while?

Thank you for confirming. I'll call Tesla anyway, just in case. I'll report what they'll say. Thanks again!

 

[Schulz1983]

Thank you for confirming. I'll call Tesla anyway, just in case. I'll report what they'll say. Thanks again!

I had another thought. What is the temp you normally set your vehicle at?

 

[fablau]

I had another thought. What is the temp you normally set your vehicle at?

Around 75F?

 

[Schulz1983]

Around 75F?

Cancelled that thought then. I noticed if I turned mine to 70 the sound really kicked on. If I went to 71 then the sound went away. It was 70 out this morning though so I don’t know what your outside temp was when testing all this.

 

[fablau]

Cancelled that thought then. I noticed if I turned mine to 70 the sound really kicked on. If I went to 71 then the sound went away. It was 70 out this morning though so I don’t know what your outside temp was when testing all this.

Well, the problem is that the sound is there even when the climate is off! That's the problem! Do you also have that noise when the climate is off?