Motor Whine Gone: Bizarre, awesome side effect of 5.8.8??

[riceuguy]

Cross post from official Tesla forums:

So I was showing off my car on Tuesday, and the balloon squeal was as obvious as it's always been (approaching 12k miles since last April, VIN 83XX). However, with the 5.8.8 update late Wednesday night, the squeal is gone, replaced instead with very quiet Jetson's-like electric car sound. while it's possible it's coincidence, if it's not then this is what's obscenesly cool about Model S. It doesn't just get better, it gets better remotely, overnight.
Could anyone else--ideally with a 60 that had the squeal--confirm that 5.8.8 did indeed fix the squeal?

 

[FredTMC]

Cross post from official Tesla forums:

So I was showing off my car on Tuesday, and the balloon squeal was as obvious as it's always been (approaching 12k miles since last April, VIN 83XX). However, with the 5.8.8 update late Wednesday night, the squeal is gone, replaced instead with very quiet Jetson's-like electric car sound. while it's possible it's coincidence, if it's not then this is what's obscenesly cool about Model S. It doesn't just get better, it gets better remotely, overnight.
Could anyone else--ideally with a 60 that had the squeal--confirm that 5.8.8 did indeed fix the squeal?

i still have squeal with 5.8.8

 

[riceuguy]

i still have squeal with 5.8.8

Interesting...in that case I wonder what made mine stop?! Ideas welcome...

 

[AndreyATC]

With my recent 5.8.8 squeal is gone too
I can still hear it tiny bit at very max acceleration, but the sound is a lot quieter than it used to be
It's completely gone under all other conditions
The side effect in my case is different though
I'm now getting 287whm on the same commute from previous 400+
Yes, the temperatures are now in 30s vs 20s, but my car is always in heated garage (60F)

 

[zwede]

No change in motor sound with 5.8.8 in mine. I'm glad since I love the whine!

 

[MS60]

Cross post from official Tesla forums:

So I was showing off my car on Tuesday, and the balloon squeal was as obvious as it's always been (approaching 12k miles since last April, VIN 83XX). However, with the 5.8.8 update late Wednesday night, the squeal is gone, replaced instead with very quiet Jetson's-like electric car sound. while it's possible it's coincidence, if it's not then this is what's obscenesly cool about Model S. It doesn't just get better, it gets better remotely, overnight.
Could anyone else--ideally with a 60 that had the squeal--confirm that 5.8.8 did indeed fix the squeal?

Balloon squeal is also gone in my car (60kwh, Vin49xx, 29k miles, Feb 2013 delivery) after 5.8.8 update. I did get a new power train around 9k miles, both old and new power train had the balloon squeal.

 

[anthony]

My whine is gone with 5.8.8 as well, I have an 85, had a new inverter at about 14k miles, and a new heater the same time the SC updated me to this version (20k miles).
I get a little almost unnoticeable noise all the time now, which I prefer a lot more.

 

[Kraken]

I have noticed to separate sounds in my car. It's possible people are hearing two different things, and one was removed. Some are still hearing the one that wasnt removed.

 

[zwede]

Yeah, I don't know of any "balloon sound". Mine makes a turbine whine under loud. Sounds just like when a big jet is getting ready for take-off and they rev up. I love the sound.

 

[Doug_G]

I still have the balloon/squeal sound, but I swear it's quieter. My drive train was replaced simultaneously with the upgrade, so who knows if there was some impact from that.

 

[tokuro]

I just had mine upgraded as well to 5.8.8. It's not gone but it is much less/quieter now especially when I am driving around 5 - 30 kw.

 

[yobigd20]

Warmer weather. Ambient temperatures effect whether or not this sound will occur. I seriously doubt this is fixed. You can't magically make the electrical contactors tighter through software.

 

[tokuro]

Well, I knew about this report and was paying extra attention to noise last few days. it's actually colder today for me here. personally, I don't think it's noise from the motor itself but an inverter or other items associated with it. There's conversation from DC to AC and software can take a part in how it's done (frequency, modulation etc.). my guess is that's where the noise is and how it changed.

 

[yobigd20]

 

[Btrflyl8e]

Well, I guess I have to go out driving, with a little extra "spirit" as I have a 60 and just got 5.8.8 yesterday. Darn...:tongue:

 

[Todd Burch]

I wish this kind of stuff was normally publically available. It would clear up so much about the car.

Can I see the one about battery balancing now?

 

[Doug_G]

Warmer weather. Ambient temperatures effect whether or not this sound will occur. I seriously doubt this is fixed. You can't magically make the electrical contactors tighter through software.

I agree - I can't see how a firmware update could affect this. I do find it kicks in at a lower power level in very cold conditions, and it has been milder lately.

I also find the sound varies randomly over time.

 

[Mayhemm]

I don't think there's much question as to whether the "balloon" sound is a normal consequence of a powerful electric drive-train.

Where Tesla and I disagree is whether said sound is desirable. Tesla is of the the view that we should just relax and learn to love the balloon. I think they should be trying to minimize it with the EV equivalent of a muffler.

 

[howardc64]

Motor whine (sounds like that high revving motorcycle behind you) is definitely reduced after 5.8.8 for me. Both wife and I notice at around highway speeds. Much quieter.

 

[JohnnyMac]

I don't think there's much question as to whether the "balloon" sound is a normal consequence of a powerful electric drive-train.

Where Tesla and I disagree is whether said sound is desirable. Tesla is of the the view that we should just relax and learn to love the balloon. I think they should be trying to minimize it with the EV equivalent of a muffler.

+1!