Mystery 90D Thumping Sound

[fictionlab]

I posted this on the FB forum with little feedback - hoping the TMC would have an idea.

Name that sound? The Loch Ness of Tesla

I have been chasing a mystery sound that comes out of the front left hand side of my late-2015 90D. First-owner. Approximately 16,000 miles now.

I have taken the car into the SC to investigate - they said it was a loose inner-liner in the wheel well. The sound never went away.

The sound occurs during a left hand u-turn or right hand turn onto the street with normal acceleration. It sounds like a thumping sound. From a dead stop to hard acceleration forward it does NOT occur. Only during turns and much more pronounced in the morning.

In the attached audio clip, it comes in around the 6 second mark. You can hear my turn signal followed by a thumping sound. You might hear my grocery bag moving a bit, ignore that.

Curious if I am chasing something real or just a 90D characteristic. Thoughts?

 

[murphyS90D]

Turn the steering wheel from lock to lock with the car not moving. If that causes the sound tell the service center to tighten the bolts on the steering rack. It's a well known problem.

 

[whitex]

I get that sound on my P85D when accelerating and turning and the air suspension is transitioning from high to standard. Took me a while to figure it out but it always happened at this one set of lights where I would turn left at the lights after coming out of a strip mall. If I lower the suspension to standard height while waiting at the light, no sound. The strip mall has speed bumps so the car automatically goes into "high" when I'm there, and doesn't go back down until the car goes above whatever speed which I don't usually reach before the lights in question.

 

[fictionlab]

I get that sound on my P85D when accelerating and turning and the air suspension is transitioning from high to standard. Took me a while to figure it out but it always happened at this one set of lights where I would turn left at the lights after coming out of a strip mall. If I lower the suspension to standard height while waiting at the light, no sound. The strip mall has speed bumps so the car automatically goes into "high" when I'm there, and doesn't go back down until the car goes above whatever speed which I don't usually reach before the lights in question.

Ill try adjusting the suspension down one level and see if the thumping goes away. It would could make sense the angle of the CV joint at the 'high' setting and angle of steering might cause the sound.

Can you replicate the sound at all hours of the day? My car seems to produce the thump earlier in the day when the car is first used as opposed to have been driven for hours.

 

[whitex]

Ill try adjusting the suspension down one level and see if the thumping goes away. It would could make sense the angle of the CV joint at the 'high' setting and angle of steering might cause the sound.

Can you replicate the sound at all hours of the day? My car seems to produce the thump earlier in the day when the car is first used as opposed to have been driven for hours.

I never noticed any correlation between time of day, but I do know if I put the car down to standard height before turning and accelerating, it doesn't happen. Also, even with suspension at high, it's not 100% reproducible. My theory was that is might have been the combination of suspension above standard, turning and accelerating, suspension transitioning as I accelerate past 20mph (or whatever the max u can go on high is) and possibly ABS/stability control kicking in as possibly the wheel loses tradition because I'm accelerating, and turning hard, and the suspension is "retracting" the wheels.