My 12,500 service

[ADN_ModelS]

My P+ has a whine under high acceleration as well. I've spent hours diagnosing it, and realized it only happens when my wife is in the passenger seat. I think I'm zeroing in on the cause

I'll spend a few more hours this weekend doing high acceleration tests to see if I get more data.

It doesn't have the drive inverter electrical noise that mine does, so I'll see if there's something that can be done about that. It's quite noticeable (embarrassing really) with windows down and passing by anything that reflects sound. I wonder what it sounds like to pedestrians.
I wonder if the loaner felt more solid because it's a better factory build or if it's 'cuz it's so new (doesn't have the wear and tear on it) ...

 

[mknox]

Note that the HVAC noise is still there and still considerable. It's normal right now to be loud. Mine was a little extra loud (especially in the cabin)

Mine is loud too. I was in the driveway the other day with the door open (and hence a/c on) and a passerby stopped to admire the car and asked me if the engine was running. Kinda embarrassing explaining that it's an electric car.

I have found using Range Mode significantly reduces this noise, and still provides adequate cooling. It's been mid-90's with high humidity and the car is still plenty cool -- even in Range Mode.

 

[Al Sherman]

When the rotated and rebalanced mine I believe that they did not have to reset the TPMS Al.

Thanks Roger. In that case I may just have it done locally. Front to back, same side I assume?

 

[Liz G]

Regarding the drive inverter noise (this might deserve another thread at this rate!) -- it's not the balloon squeal, nor the gear drone, nor anything else I've read anywhere else on TMC. From inside the car with the windows up, it sounds like faint electrical interference -- an AC sine-wave electrical sort of thing. With the windows down and something to reflect the noise back at the car, I'm not sure how to describe the sound. An almost metallic cricket noise with a side of metal scraping. Heh. I gotta find a way to record this sound now

Yeah what you describe definitely doesn't sound like what I was hearing. Hope they figure out what it is.

 

[pilotSteve]

Well, there's the whine, but now (for me) this sounds like the whine is starting to morph into the balloon squeal... Almost. I've heard others talk about the squeal as really bad/embarrassing. Mine isn't to this level yet. But it makes me consider not flooring it with guests/test-drives for the neighbors.

Is that what you're referencing Ben?

The "balloon whine" was only occasionally present in my car for the first 3k miles or so; most of the noise was the "warp drive" sound when getting on it, power above 80-100 kW.

However for the most recent 3k miles (I'm at 6500) I hear the balloon whine more than 50% of the time when accelerating in normal driving. :frown: As it makes my wife crazy it make ME crazy to have to accelerate like a prius to avoid the noise.

Oh yes, sometimes I just launch into warp drive and get the nose over quickly :wink:

I really do think Tesla needs to address this problem. If it gets worse over time (my experience) this is going to become a big deal.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

Didn't even think of that. It's not in the receipt and I didn't notice a change in that area when I drove home (though I wouldn't be surprised if my dumb arse missed it :smile -- I'll ask, because it did cause me problems a couple times this past winter.

Ben, I would think twice about the defroster vent upgrade. Here's why...

• The new vent assembly is gray, while the perforated area around it is black. As a result, you'll see the vent's reflection in the windshield.

• One of the recent firmware updates included new default defrost settings. You might find that it works better now. This past March (before the firmware update), I drove my car in the rain at 33F, and the defroster was able to keep up with the driver's side fogging by simply modifying the airflow settings. (A little more fan speed, and air directed up & forward only.) Since the firmware update, the AUTO settings seem to work better.

• There is also the risk of getting a new rattle inside the dash as a result of the vent upgrade. Some owners have.

 

[Blurry_Eyed]

Ben, I would think twice about the defroster vent upgrade. Here's why...

• The new vent assembly is gray, while the perforated area around it is black. As a result, you'll see the vent's reflection in the windshield.

• One of the recent firmware updates included new default defrost settings. You might find that it works better now. This past March (before the firmware update), I drove my car in the rain at 33F, and the defroster was able to keep up with the driver's side fogging by simply modifying the airflow settings. (A little more fan speed, and air directed up & forward only.) Since the firmware update, the AUTO settings seem to work better.

• There is also the risk of getting a new rattle inside the dash as a result of the vent upgrade. Some owners have.

I have the defroster vent retrofit and I would second Todd's suggestion. At least wait until the winter months and see if the problem reveals itself after trying out the new defroster settings on the touch screen.

The rattling we have experienced has been significant. The service center is taking a look at it (My car is also in for it's 12k service) and I'll see if they can resolve the issue. Also it does cause a fairly significant reflection in the windshield (But my wife and I are used to it and as I look at other cars that have vents in the front, they have the same issue, so it's not unique to the Model S).

 

[mitch672]

The improved vents work far better than the open grill did, even before the dual defroster settings where availble
The reflection doesn't bother me. My recommendation is to get the defroster vent mod, it is much better than it was without it.
I've actually had to use it for defogging when it's just humid and moisture is collecting inside on the windshield, and it's much better.

 

[MichaelS]

I have been butting heads with Tesla for quite some time over the "balloon squeal" noise. To be clear, this is the ragged sounding noise that occurs under heavy acceleration above about 80 kW. I just recently had my car in for service for specifically that reason and here is what happened.

They brought in an engineer to listen to the noise. First service tried to tell me the noise was "normal". I refused to accept that. I asked to talk to someone technical to discuss this issue. About an hour later I received a call from the service manager at Fremont. He acknowledged that there is a problem, the noise is not "normal" and Tesla is aware that quite a few cars have this issue. But, Tesla cannot do anything about this issue because of some patent situation. I was told that problem would be fixed, but it was low on the priority list and could not be fixed until the patent issue was resolved. He also said that the oscillation would not harm the inverter, which was a big relief.

I agree the noise is an embarrassment, and I avoid high accelerations so I don't hear it. My car did not start doing it until after about 2-3 thousand miles. Then it's been steadily getting worse. Now it does it 98% of the time. I'ts puzzling that some cars have the problem but I guess most cars don't.

I also have the soft whine when accelerating between 20 and 40 mph. That noise has been there since day one and does not bother me.

The "balloon whine" was only occasionally present in my car for the first 3k miles or so; most of the noise was the "warp drive" sound when getting on it, power above 80-100 kW.

However for the most recent 3k miles (I'm at 6500) I hear the balloon whine more than 50% of the time when accelerating in normal driving. :frown: As it makes my wife crazy it make ME crazy to have to accelerate like a prius to avoid the noise.

Oh yes, sometimes I just launch into warp drive and get the nose over quickly :wink:

I really do think Tesla needs to address this problem. If it gets worse over time (my experience) this is going to become a big deal.

 

[qwk]

I'ts puzzling that some cars have the problem but I guess most cars don't.

I also have the soft whine when accelerating between 20 and 40 mph. That noise has been there since day one and does not bother me.

I would bet that the majority of cars if not all have these noises. Mine was absolutely stone silent until just under 1k miles. Now there is a faint inverter squeal when it is in the 20kw regen and acceleration range, and a louder squeal when in the 80+kw acceleration range. Not that loud or bothersome, but it does seem louder on some days.

 

[mnx]

Interesting. I'm beginning to understand why this is an issue for you and some others. On my car it's been there since day 1, is fairly faint and only occurs above 160kW power usage. (So it's somewhat rare). If I had it at 80kW it would be more of an issue....

I have been butting heads with Tesla for quite some time over the "balloon squeal" noise. To be clear, this is the ragged sounding noise that occurs under heavy acceleration above about 80 kW. I just recently had my car in for service for specifically that reason and here is what happened.

They brought in an engineer to listen to the noise. First service tried to tell me the noise was "normal". I refused to accept that. I asked to talk to someone technical to discuss this issue. About an hour later I received a call from the service manager at Fremont. He acknowledged that there is a problem, the noise is not "normal" and Tesla is aware that quite a few cars have this issue. But, Tesla cannot do anything about this issue because of some patent situation. I was told that problem would be fixed, but it was low on the priority list and could not be fixed until the patent issue was resolved. He also said that the oscillation would not harm the inverter, which was a big relief.

I agree the noise is an embarrassment, and I avoid high accelerations so I don't hear it. My car did not start doing it until after about 2-3 thousand miles. Then it's been steadily getting worse. Now it does it 98% of the time. I'ts puzzling that some cars have the problem but I guess most cars don't.

I also have the soft whine when accelerating between 20 and 40 mph. That noise has been there since day one and does not bother me.

 

[gaswalla]

For the folks that don't have the service plan, I have to say that I have had most of these issues taken care of proactively by Tesla under warranty when I brought the car in for other (very minor) issues.

 

[Todd Burch]

My understanding is that the 12,500 service is not required at 12,500....you can bring the car in at the end of the first year of ownership, correct? I am getting close to 9,000 miles in 6 months, so will be at 12,500 before 9 months of ownership.

 

[ChadS]

I asked ownership that question, and they confirmed that they have changed the plan so you don't have to bring the car in by a certain mileage to use the prepaid service plan.

Two sentences just focused on the mileage limit. Another also mentioned the time limit, and seemed pretty clear that I could use my prepaid services any time I want without regard for miles or time. That wasn't the question I asked and didn't line up with what I had heard elsewhere, so I sent email asking for clarification on time restrictions.

That was probably about a month ago, and to date no clarification. So to be safe I will bring it in once a year, but I will not worry about miles. (Though I would like to bring it in less often as we don't drive that much).

 

[stevezzzz]

It's VIN 11,XXX. cinergi just wrote it with dashes which made it look like VIN 00011...

Doh! Totally misread that...

 

[apacheguy]

9) TSB - rotate HVAC clamp (reduce HVAC noise)

Note that the HVAC noise is still there and still considerable. It's normal right now to be loud. Mine was a little extra loud (especially in the cabin) -- this helped a LITTLE.

Is this the loud humming noise that sounds like a jet engine firing up when you first turn on the A/C? That's what I have. Then it seems to quiet down after about a minute.

Also, I don't see anything about rotating an HVAC clamp on my service invoice (took my Sig in this past weekend for 12k inspection).

 

[cinergi]

1) Let's not turn this into a balloon-squeal thread -- there's another thread for that; plus it's NOT the problem I'm talking about
2) Loaner was a P85, not a P85+
3) The HVAC noise is the same as the video in this thread: Loud AC sound from outside (video))
4) Defrost vent update: thanks for the feedback! Some of the same concerns I had but I'd forgotten about the reflection
5) As far as recording the drive inverter sound -- it's not likely I can capture it from inside the car; I'd need to mount something externally or pass by someone recording it externally ... will just take time to setup/figure out.

 

[brianman]

My P+ has a whine under high acceleration as well. I've spent hours diagnosing it, and realized it only happens when my wife is in the passenger seat. I think I'm zeroing in on the cause

This reminds me of a test drive video. The name "Joe" comes to mind. Repeatedly. With varying volumes and urgency.

Edit: Weird. Rereading my post it sounds like fortune teller speak. Wasn't intended, but amusing (to me at least) nonetheless.

 

[eelton]

Since the TSB items are warranty issues and would be taken care of for free whether you're paying for service or not, it sounds like your $600 service fee gets you tire rotation, key fob batteries, wiper blades, and a cabin filter replacement.

(I know, $475 prepaid, but that's still not much of a bargain.)

 

[mknox]

My understanding is that the 12,500 service is not required at 12,500....you can bring the car in at the end of the first year of ownership, correct? I am getting close to 9,000 miles in 6 months, so will be at 12,500 before 9 months of ownership.

I'm in the same boat. Just about 8,000 miles after about 3 1/2 months. I bought the 4 + 4 plan and after the "annual service is no longer required to maintain warranty" announcement, I was thinking of bringing it in once a year on or about the purchase anniversary date.