New Model S - Very loud creaking/Squeaking when maneuvering - am I missing something?

[midnightblues]

Hi All - delighted to have just picked up my first Tesla - a Model S Standard range, and am loving it! Picked it up on the last day of the quarter and even through it was mayhem at the delivery center I must say the team there handled it very well and the experience was pretty good!

One thing I am concerned about is that when maneuvering at very low speeds - think getting in and out of the garage, involving a lot of turning and braking, the brakes and steering creak/squeak VERY loudly to the extent that it freaked my wife out, and she is normally oblivious to these things. Car is on 21s, and has about 800 miles on it (was a test drive inventory vehicle). All seems normal at regular speeds

Is there a brake setting that I am missing or something or could this be a sign of something more serious - I have 7 days to give it back if so, although it would break my heart )

Thank you for any advice in advance!

 

[Bballou]

I have a 2017 Model S and it does the same thing. I've had it checked by service plenty and it seems to be normal. Basically, because of regenerative braking, the brakes don't get used enough to clear rust. The rust causes the squeaking when turning and braking at low speeds. You can eliminate it temporarily by firmly applying the brakes at high speed (setting regen to low makes this easier), but it will always come back, especially in wet conditions.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Hi All - delighted to have just picked up my first Tesla - a Model S Standard range, and am loving it! Picked it up on the last day of the quarter and even through it was mayhem at the delivery center I must say the team there handled it very well and the experience was pretty good!

One thing I am concerned about is that when maneuvering at very low speeds - think getting in and out of the garage, involving a lot of turning and braking, the brakes and steering creak/squeak VERY loudly to the extent that it freaked my wife out, and she is normally oblivious to these things. Car is on 21s, and has about 800 miles on it (was a test drive inventory vehicle). All seems normal at regular speeds

Is there a brake setting that I am missing or something or could this be a sign of something more serious - I have 7 days to give it back if so, although it would break my heart )

Thank you for any advice in advance!

How about calling service center first? Always amazed when first maneuver is to post here

 

[JD M3]

I have the same issue on my model x. Mobile service came out and told me the same thing about the brakes but I'm not buying it since my wife is the one who primarily drives the car and she has regen set to low and always slams the brakes, and the noise has been getting louder over time. I'm taking it in to the service center Thursday for a closer look and will let you know what they say.

 

[Lukez]

How about calling service center first? Always amazed when first maneuver is to post here

When is the last time you called service?
They have made it impossible to speak with anyone now...

 

[midnightblues]

How about calling service center first? Always amazed when first maneuver is to post here

Just trying to get better informed and understand if others have had the same issue (or if its not an issue at all) before taking that step. No offense intended

 

[midnightblues]

I have the same issue on my model x. Mobile service came out and told me the same thing about the brakes but I'm not buying it since my wife is the one who primarily drives the car and she has regen set to low and always slams the brakes, and the noise has been getting louder over time. I'm taking it in to the service center Thursday for a closer look and will let you know what they say.

Thank you!

 

[Chickenlittle]

Just trying to get better informed and understand if others have had the same issue (or if its not an issue at all) before taking that step. No offense intended

Don’t read into the post. No offense taken or meant. Just curious about why people will post even about inoperable car without calling service

 

[Decibelle]

My car’s brakes squeal when on 21’s and don’t when on 19’s. Happens every time I change between summer and winter wheels. I just made the change two days ago and the squeal was gone instantly (my winters are 19’s). I even used anti squeal compound without success. Someone here on the forum suggested it might have something to do with resonance and the fact that the weight distribution is different within the wheel between the two sizes. It’s quite embarrassing when coming to a stop.

 

[Cheburashka]

It's just bad design by Tesla, but they probably don't care.

It will always sound like crap on 21s. Wait around at a Supercharger and you'll hear they all do that. I switched to 19s and the sound is gone.

That said, it's only a low speed thing, and I guess it doesn't bother most people.

 

[Ganp3140]

Call the service center and tell them the gears need to be lubricated. I had the same issue. Sounds like metal grinding metal? Literally took them no more than 15 mins

 

[JD M3]

Just dropped my car off at the service center. On initial inspection they thought it was the suspension torque but will be doing a full evaluation to confirm. I will update you if they end up finding something different.

On a side note, they said they will also be upgrading the car to HW3 today during the service visit!

 

[Cheburashka]

Just dropped my car off at the service center. On initial inspection they thought it was the suspension torque but will be doing a full evaluation to confirm. I will update you if they end up finding something different.

On a side note, they said they will also be upgrading the car to HW3 today during the service visit!

Wow, the HW3 upgrade is most interesting. When did you purchase the car?

 

[JD M3]

We got it about 11 months ago.

I picked his brain a bit today to get some more info. He said they have been getting a handful of units at a time and putting them into FSD cars as they come in to the service center. He said they are doing model x and model s first, then model 3 will happen later. Once they make some progress on the retrofits, they will start identifying eligible cars by vin and arranging appointments just for retrofit.

We llive in LA so not sure if they are just doing retrofits in California or everywhere.

 

[Electriccarnut]

Hi All - delighted to have just picked up my first Tesla - a Model S Standard range, and am loving it! Picked it up on the last day of the quarter and even through it was mayhem at the delivery center I must say the team there handled it very well and the experience was pretty good!

One thing I am concerned about is that when maneuvering at very low speeds - think getting in and out of the garage, involving a lot of turning and braking, the brakes and steering creak/squeak VERY loudly to the extent that it freaked my wife out, and she is normally oblivious to these things. Car is on 21s, and has about 800 miles on it (was a test drive inventory vehicle). All seems normal at regular speeds

Is there a brake setting that I am missing or something or could this be a sign of something more serious - I have 7 days to give it back if so, although it would break my heart )

Thank you for any advice in advance!

I have a 2013 S85 and noted a creaking/squeaking noise when turning either stopped or at very low speeds. Mine's out of warranty so I had to investigate myself. The noise I had was notable while stopped or at very low speed. When stopped, I could cause the noise by SLOWLY moving the steering wheel about 1" to the left and right. Turned out to be two bolts that secure the steering rack to the subframe which were barely more than finger tight. These bolts are not checked for tightness when Tesla performs the 12 and 25,000 mile inspections either. They are located on the top of the steering rack at both ends. Torquing them to the Tesla recommended 129 Ft. Lbs. cured the problem.