News for Model X owners with the dreaded shudder

[Peteski]

I actually asked them if the specifications changed, since aligning in standard with ne specifications would effectively be the same as aligning in low, and they indicated that they have not. I also had them check my treadwear (I use standard except for automatic lowering above 65mph, which isn't much of my driving), and it was pretty uniform all the way around. I'd be happy to drive in always low if my tire wear would be even there.

Have you actually seen the alignment specifications? I have them here in front of me. The acceptable rear camber range is anything from -0.5 to -2.5 degrees! This applies to all Model X air suspension 2016-18 according to the document. So your information seems correct in that the specification hasn't changed, but the allowable camber range is a joke and goes a long way in explaining why some people have horrendous tyre wear and others perfectly even. For those who are not technically minded a range of 2 degrees in static camber is very wide and would make a huge difference to your tyre wear profiles. Probably way more change than you would see when going from standard to low ride height, which is probably less than 1 degree camber change (although I don't have data for camber change vs ride height for this vehicle).

 

[mxnym]

Is it true that this issue shows itself from flooring the accelerator?

In my x100D, with the shudder starting around 5,000 miles without a whole lot of hard accelerations, I can feel the shudder when the output graph reads 150kW (half power) or greater between 35mph and 55mph. Starting in September with closer to 15,000 miles, I now hear a growl that sounds like bad bearings when the output graph reads 75kW during acceleration at higher speeds (45+?). Service center has seen both issues and still isn't replacing parts. Growl and shudder don't appear to be noticeable in low for me yet, but I'm not switching to Always Low while I'm getting good tire wear in Standard.

 

[mxnym]

Have you actually seen the alignment specifications? I have them here in front of me. The acceptable rear camber range is anything from -0.5 to -2.5 degrees! This applies to all Model X air suspension 2016-18 according to the document. So your information seems correct in that the specification hasn't changed, but the allowable camber range is a joke and goes a long way in explaining why some people have horrendous tyre wear and others perfectly even. For those who are not technically minded a range of 2 degrees in static camber is very wide and would make a huge difference to your tyre wear profiles. Probably way more change than you would see when going from standard to low ride height, which is probably less than 1 degree camber change (although I don't have data for camber change vs ride height for this vehicle).

No, I haven't seen the specifications, I only reported what I asked the service center and what I was told. That having been said, how do those specifications compare to most other vehicles? In my experience having cars aligned at third party shops that will give you a readout, and assuming my understanding and memory are correct, the acceptable range is always pretty big compared to the ideal range, and they usually try to align within the ideal range.

 

[Peteski]

No, I haven't seen the specifications, I only reported what I asked the service center and what I was told. That having been said, how do those specifications compare to most other vehicles? In my experience having cars aligned at third party shops that will give you a readout, and assuming my understanding and memory are correct, the acceptable range is always pretty big compared to the ideal range, and they usually try to align within the ideal range.

I wasn't trying to contradict what they told you. I was just adding some background detail for reference. Tesla don't appear to specify an "ideal" camber range, only the massive range I mentioned above. As for other vehicles, Porsche typically specify a +/- 0.25 deg tolerance on camber, so a 0.5 degree range. I was surprised (or maybe not!) at how wide the Tesla tolerances are.

 

[hill]

You have to laugh, the OP is talking /starts a thread about "great news", even as everyone brings up Horror Stories of the inexplicable things that happened at the SC with a known problem/defect that hasn't been fixed now for a couple years. So, remind me of what that great news is?
.

 

[Xminus6]

Other posts on here about SC saying 60D Xs cannot be software unlocked to 75D battery, SCs making up stuff on Hepa filter retrofits, no longer replacing yellowed MCU screens and now charging to diagnose a well known issue.....

By the looks of it Tesla service is rapidly going down hill with Model 3 release .

Ironically, they did replace my MCU screen on that trip with no resistance at all. It was barely yellowing, again, from when I had it replaced earlier this year.

 

[outie]

You have to laugh, the OP is talking /starts a thread about "great news", even as everyone brings up Horror Stories of the inexplicable things that happened at the SC with a known problem/defect that hasn't been fixed now for a couple years. So, remind me of what that great news is?
.

Exactly. That’s what I have been saying but moderator isn’t changing the title as it’s so misleading as it is now.

Meanwhile we even have people who’s charged for diagnosis with no replacement done!

 

[Pandamoanium]

Recently took our X in for a couple of items, this being one of them. Originally, it was only on the passenger side of the vehicle or when turning right and accelerating. Recently it has begun with the left as well. So now the whole front does it. Ride along with the tech confirmed it, though we didn't get a chance for a hard acceleration. It was enough for him to confirm it. As those above me, there is no fix for it currently, only ways to alleviate it. Also like others, it is being relayed that this is not causing hard to any mechanical parts or could cause a safety issue.

I don't care enough to chase into it but if y'all want to, you can. At this point it seems like the choices are to live with it or move on to another car.

 

[SpudLime]

Thank you MOD for updating the title of the post from my report.

 

[valentin_s90d]

hello. have agreed my visit to SC Berlin on 21/01 with mentioned problem. It's closer SC here (arnd 1200 km).
but I have big doubts that the replacement of half-shafts will fix the problem
any ideas from our club's owners X abt?

 

[Jaro73]

hello. have agreed my visit to SC Berlin on 21/01 with mentioned problem. It's closer SC here (arnd 1200 km).
but I have big doubts that the replacement of half-shafts will fix the problem
any ideas from our club's owners X abt?

Hi, wow, you drove far buddy! SO what did they do or tell you? I'm going tomorrow to have alignment fixed (it's off per independent shop) and to report the grinding/shudder issue with car which has JUST 6k Kilometers.

 

[Vrso]

hello. have agreed my visit to SC Berlin on 21/01 with mentioned problem. It's closer SC here (arnd 1200 km).
but I have big doubts that the replacement of half-shafts will fix the problem
any ideas from our club's owners X abt?

I put 80.000km on my TMX P100D. They replaced first time both halfschafts at 20.000km and since then one more time with no success. I have next warranty appointment in Tesla Linz again with shuddering issue. A year ago they sent me email with text "We can try to reduce it a bit but we can´t reduce it to no vibration" but cannot publish all text due to small letters at the and of email

 

[gchill]

Try putting your car in standard suspension height and accelerate you should be able to feel ...by setting SAS to low /“always” was the Tesla “solution”

OP do you know if this is a a recall or as requested ?

I figured this out on my own, low has no shutter but standard and higher almost always shutters during strong acceleration. My question is, is there any safety reason for trying to get rid of the shutter?

 

[outie]

Thank you MOD for updating the title of the post from my report.

It's better, but to me there's simply no news and it's merely a discussion of the issue.

 

[Peteski]

I figured this out on my own, low has no shutter but standard and higher almost always shutters during strong acceleration. My question is, is there any safety reason for trying to get rid of the shutter?

I don't believe this shudder is considered to be a safety issue, but speaking as a mechanical engineer, excessive vibration like this is not generally good for component wear. In particular it is quite likely to accelerate the wear of driveshaft joints.

 

[steilkurve]

Anyone got news from Tesla on this recently? Is there a fix in sight?

 

[clyjr]

I had bad shudder on mine and got it fixed last week. Mine would shudder on moderate acceleration in all suspension heights.
Parts replaced :
JACKSHAFT ASSY, FR (1030632-00-A) - 1
HALFSHAFT, FR RH, MODEL X (1027115-00-B) - 1
HALFSHAFT, FR LH, MODEL X (1027111-00-B) - 1
NUT HF M24x1.5 [8.8] ZnFl-W (1020297-00-A) - 2
WASHER SAFETY M24x39 (1020296-00-B) - 2

No shudder now, hopefully it stays that way...

 

[commasign]

I had bad shudder on mine and got it fixed last week. Mine would shudder on moderate acceleration in all suspension heights.
Parts replaced :
JACKSHAFT ASSY, FR (1030632-00-A) - 1
HALFSHAFT, FR RH, MODEL X (1027115-00-B) - 1
HALFSHAFT, FR LH, MODEL X (1027111-00-B) - 1
NUT HF M24x1.5 [8.8] ZnFl-W (1020297-00-A) - 2
WASHER SAFETY M24x39 (1020296-00-B) - 2

No shudder now, hopefully it stays that way...

Interesting, that's exactly the parts they used for mine 1 year ago so there hasn't been a fix or revision yet. Shudder came back after about 6 months but it's pretty mild right now so I'm holding off getting another replacement until it gets worse.

 

[gavine]

My shudder came back after replacing those parts, but I then set the suspension on “always low” and after a while the shudder went away and didn’t come back. It still shuddered on “always low” at first but it seemed to have fixed itself after a few weeks. It has been almost a year and it was smooth as silk.

I’m talking in past tense because I sold it two weeks ago (the day before the price drop announcement).

 

[ohmman]

I’m talking in past tense because I sold it two weeks ago (the day before the price drop announcement).

Nice timing.

I'm starting to feel relatively certain that there is not going to be a fix other than warranty replacement of half-shafts until they're out of warranty.