Need help figuring out vibration

[Kristoffer Helle]

Cold grease in the halfshaft. Tesla knows it.

 

[SDRick]

If it is cold grease at what temperature does the vibration go away?

 

[aerodyne]

I am trying to figure out if the vibration I have in my 2021 Plaid is the typical shudder or something else. My 9/2021 delivered Plaid drove fine until it developed a vibration after a skidding incident on the highway at 3k miles in 4/2022. I was acceleration along a slight curve and the car lost traction for a bit and it almost slid in to the median barrier. At the same time it skid, I heard a sound and vibration that felt like a tire coming of the wheel in the front. I had 20" signature wheels with All weather pilots that were 2 months old.

I pulled over and the wheels looked fine, and driving was fine as well. I couldn't figure out what happened. The next few days after this incident I started noticing a vibration through the accelerator, floor of the car in the front, and through the yoke. There was a certain audible quality as well since I had non-foam tires.

I noticed it happening under acceleration only at any speed from 39+ mph, and it would disappear in track mode with power going to the rear wheels only. I had the wheels balanced twice to make sure this was not related to the wheels. They found one wheel lost balancing for some reason and didn't notice any damage to it.

I changed the wheels back to my 21" arachnids, and had them balanced. The vibration got slightly better, and less audible, but the vibration was still there.

I took it to Tesla in May and they kept the car for three weeks and gave it back to me stating they didn't notice anything, but they did tighten up the "bolts." I assume this was something on the shafts.

For the first week it vibrated less but got worse as I drove the car during Summer 22 with the
I am at a loss and don't know whether this is the shudder that everyone talks about in the Plaids or if it is something else. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If it is cold grease at what temperature does the vibration go away?

Doubt it. Try this thread:

"Refreshed" Model S model VIBRATION tracking and information thread!!!

I am on the same version. I don't think the vibration changes while turning. I've only replicated it in a straight line, under light acceleration. You can go into track mode and rear torque bias and it will disappear. I definitely notice the vibration through light-ish corners at ~40mph versus...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[scrapps]

Cold grease in the halfshaft. Tesla knows it.

Cold grease they say for the shudder under hard acceleration. I don't think this applies to the vibration under gentle acceleration.

 

[Whoze]

Hey, I had a similar problem in my ICE Ford Explorer. It only happened when I exceeded speed of 60mph, or slower speeds if I drove for a long time. I had a partial wheel bearing failure. It was solved by replacing the wheel bearing. The old tractor mechanic explained to me that when the bearing heated up (high speed driving or driving for a long time), the heat would build up, expanding the hub allowing the bearing holders to move just slightly in the space vacated by the busted ball bearing, thus causing a "bump" every time the wheel rotated. I just didn't notice it at the lower speeds because of the sound insulation.
I was even more impressed that this old tractor mechanic managed to replace the bearing on a "sealed" bearing hub for $150, when dealers and all the mechanics wanted $450 to replace the entire hub. He even apologized for taking so long because he disassembled the wrong bearing hub and was going to let me off with the labor costs! I paid him $250. Ford Explores are notorious for early wheel hub bearing failures.
Anyways, it's worth looking into. Have the car raised and run, a stethoscope-thingy can pickup any grinding in the bearing.

 

[Kristoffer Helle]

Cold grease they say for the shudder under hard acceleration. I don't think this applies to the vibration under gentle acceleration.

vibration comes if you put it in neutral and just roll also. Have nothing to do with acceleration etc.

 

[ra123]

Thank you to all the members for your input. I had a small dent on my car that is being repaired by a quality shop in my area that is tesla certified. I am thinking about asking them to look in to the vibration. I will compensate them for their time.
I am sick of this BS, but note that all corporations are in it to make money and have as little accountability as possible unless a mass of people file a class action lawsuit. My audi dealer for a Q7 just tried to rip me off on brake pads and rotors for a brake sensor issue had I not inspected the brakes through a 3rd party before taking the car to the audi dealer (long story why I had to take it to the audi dealer anyway). BMW pulled the same *sugar* on me for a 440xi I had with MPPSK they installed incorrectly. I love my Tesla model S plaid. It is perfect in every way except for this vibration.

 

[bruce3]

Anyone else notice vibration at higher speeds in the Plaid?

I get a constant vibration/shake in steering wheel, seats, and footwell when driving 55-85mph. Peak intensity 65-70 mph. Can be seen in left mirror. Can be heard; sounds like wind buffeting if leaving window open. Vibrates regardless of accelerating, maintaining speed, or decelerating. Increases in frequency in relation to speed. Wheels rebalanced but issue persists.

Inspected all the wheels and they look fine.

Swapped wheels from side-to-side, but vibration still centered around front left of vehicle.

This is the first time I've heard someone else describe one of the (possibly 3 distinct????) vibrations my 04/2023 Model S Plaid has. I only have 250 miles on the car so haven't spent much time on the highway, but I think I've noticed something that feels like a low frequency buffeting / ear pressure thing except it is a consistent low frequency without the thunderous whacks if a rear window were to be left open. I sense this as low as 45 mph but need to try to correlate to a vibration in footwell (that is most noticeable to me in first few minutes going only 25 mph or so and feels like something is warming up). I'll try to do a little more analysis and see if I have 3 distinct vibrational issues, or just 2...

 

[RedlineTuning]

This has been the issue and resolution for those who have done it...
Alignment Kit 1 - Acceleration Shudder & Inner Tire Wear - Tesla Model X & S

 

[bruce3]

This has been the issue and resolution for those who have done it...
Alignment Kit 1 - Acceleration Shudder & Inner Tire Wear - Tesla Model X & S

Thanks for the reference... I don't have shudder and certainly not yet experienced any abnormal wear. I have been in a couple of Performance Xs that had the shudder, and Tesla replaced parts under warranty for the owners in both cases. I have two much mellower vibration issues than the half-shaft-destroying shudder I've felt in Raven Performance X and P95D X. One issue at ~25 mph feels like a warmup / pump / condenser issue and only happens for a while... The other issue happens at a bit higher speed but feels much more like some air pressure / reverberation issue than anything mechanical.

 

[GarthK]

Thanks for the reference... I don't have shudder and certainly not yet experienced any abnormal wear. I have been in a couple of Performance Xs that had the shudder, and Tesla replaced parts under warranty for the owners in both cases. I have two much mellower vibration issues than the half-shaft-destroying shudder I've felt in Raven Performance X and P95D X. One issue at ~25 mph feels like a warmup / pump / condenser issue and only happens for a while... The other issue happens at a bit higher speed but feels much more like some air pressure / reverberation issue than anything mechanical.

Which rims are you running? Since I last posted I bought a set of 19in wheels from Ebay. This helped GREATLY.


I still have the vibration around 40-45mph that other people mention. I don't think there's any way to get rid of that. It feels like a vibrator in the footwell, lol. I believe it's a characteristic of the carbon wrapped rotor inside the motor. To me, feels fast enough to be synced with the speed of the motor before gearbox reduces it 8x.

The smaller wheels have solved my vibration from 55-70 on smooth stretches of highway. Service originally thought maybe the tires on my arachnids were defective.

I only SLIGHTLY notice a vibration at 80mph+ now. But since it's still there, it makes me think neither my arachnid rims nor tires were to blame. I think the lower profile tires may be firmer and somehow just amplify whatever vibration was occurring. It's my 3rd tesla but first time with low profile tires, so I don't have a much reference points.

Since my vibrations are felt most strongly in the steering wheel, service took this as a hint that the issue is on the front of the car. My current theory is half shafts or warped rotors because the speed of the vibration feels like once per rotation. I don't think it's a motor because the vibrations would be 8x faster than wheel rotation.

Your 3rd vibration is indeed likely a pump or condenser. put it in drag strip mode and see if it gets louder! I can hear a buzzing but I think that's normal.

 

[VTC32AMG]

I am trying to figure out if the vibration I have in my 2021 Plaid is the typical shudder or something else. My 9/2021 delivered Plaid drove fine until it developed a vibration after a skidding incident on the highway at 3k miles in 4/2022. I was acceleration along a slight curve and the car lost traction for a bit and it almost slid in to the median barrier. At the same time it skid, I heard a sound and vibration that felt like a tire coming of the wheel in the front. I had 20" signature wheels with All weather pilots that were 2 months old.

I pulled over and the wheels looked fine, and driving was fine as well. I couldn't figure out what happened. The next few days after this incident I started noticing a vibration through the accelerator, floor of the car in the front, and through the yoke. There was a certain audible quality as well since I had non-foam tires.

I noticed it happening under acceleration only at any speed from 39+ mph, and it would disappear in track mode with power going to the rear wheels only. I had the wheels balanced twice to make sure this was not related to the wheels. They found one wheel lost balancing for some reason and didn't notice any damage to it.

I changed the wheels back to my 21" arachnids, and had them balanced. The vibration got slightly better, and less audible, but the vibration was still there.

I took it to Tesla in May and they kept the car for three weeks and gave it back to me stating they didn't notice anything, but they did tighten up the "bolts." I assume this was something on the shafts.

For the first week it vibrated less but got worse as I drove the car during Summer 22 with the 21" arachnids. I noticed the vibration got worse in hot weather, and when going uphill. It also only happens under acceleration, light or hard. During 90 deg days it felt almost like there was an axle hitting the floor of the car when accelerating hard. It felt like something was going to break. Once my 8 year old daughter was with me in the car and I had to accelerate hard, and she said she even felt the vibration through the floor in the rear passenger area.

Using track mode to send power only to the rear motors did not mitigate the vibration anymore. Now it vibrates consistently at 39mph+ when the car has been warmed up for at least 7-10minutes of travel.

I took the car in October and it started getting colder so the intensity of the vibration lessened. I let the SA drive the car home and keep it for a day and he comes back and tells me he figured it out. I was excited.

He says it is you lane departing avoidance causing it. I was just so frustrated but I played along. They just wasted my time.

I picked up the car and found the car damaged in a hit and run in the Tesla service center parking lot which was like throwing salt on my wounds. It was a major waste of time trying to figure out the plate of the person from the crappy 720P cameras.

Well when I took it home I unsurprisingly discovered that it was not the lane departure avoidance. The vibration is still there. As it got in to 50F the vibration is less, but now the car makes clunking noises when I turn the wheels all the way and reverse or go forward in any direction at slow speeds. Also the car's tires feel wobbly when on the highway at high speeds like it is getting pushed around.

Oh and the vibration is still there even in cold weather at any speed from 39mph, though less noticeable compared to the summer hot weather. Sometimes it is only noticeable since I know how butter smooth it felt before this all began.

I am at a loss and don't know whether this is the shudder that everyone talks about in the Plaids or if it is something else. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure if anyone posted this yet. Did you hit a big pot hole and the wheels are bent? Try getting your tires rebalanced. That’s what happened to my wheels. There are wheel shops that can fix bent alloys. Just look around and Google it. Good luck.

 

[AudiA4]

I still have the vibration around 40-45mph that other people mention. I don't think there's any way to get rid of that. It feels like a vibrator in the footwell, lol. I believe it's a characteristic of the carbon wrapped rotor inside the motor. To me, feels fast enough to be synced with the speed of the motor before gearbox reduces it 8x.

It’s not the carbon wrapped rotor because this 40-45 MPH vibration is also common in the standard MS Long Range. I have a 2022 MSLR with this same issue.

 

[SDRick]

It’s not the carbon wrapped rotor because this 40-45 MPH vibration is also common in the standard MS Long Range. I have a 2022 MSLR with this same issue.

Have you updated to 2023.44.1?

 

[AudiA4]

Have you updated to 2023.44.1?

Yes, and I’m not fully convinced it made much of a difference, if anything.

 

[SDRick]

Yes, and I’m not fully convinced it made much of a difference, if anything.

I would double check that the update was successful. There's no doubt 2023.44.1 took care of the vibration experienced under very light acceleration in the 38 to 48 mph range. At least in my case, after several days of trying to re-create the vibration this particular vibration is no longer an issue.

 

[AudiA4]

I would double check that the update was successful. There's no doubt 2023.44.1 took care of the vibration experienced under very light acceleration in the 38 to 48 mph range. At least in my case, after several days of trying to re-create the vibration this particular vibration is no longer an issue.

Yes, I have 2023.44.1. I also have the Long Range, not the Plaid. There appears to be some question about whether or not this “fix” was applied to non-Plaids.