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News for Model X owners with the dreaded shudder

rhc19

Member
Oct 13, 2019
14
18
USA
In your circumstance I would suggest Always Low, then set a geofenced High for your home. The small distance of wear from the High section compared to the lower wear from Low everywhere else should get you the best possible wear, I suspect.

Perhaps, but I'd prefer to see how the redesigned assembly works before taking that step.

As an engineer, I find the notion of a drivetrain "shuddering" itself apart under load to be rather disturbing. Other car companies have produced variable-height suspensions that overcame these problems, and I think we should hold Tesla to similar standards. It does Tesla a disservice by giving them a "pass" on this kind of design flaw. I love the technology and fully support the direction, and I have nothing but superlatives for the way the vehicle drives - but creating workarounds for design mistakes doesn't help improve the vehicle.

Hopefully, they have learned from the mistakes and feedback, and the redesigned setup will resolve the problem ;)
 

TOCBoston

Member
Sep 6, 2019
9
6
Boston, MA
Perhaps, but I'd prefer to see how the redesigned assembly works before taking that step.

As an engineer, I find the notion of a drivetrain "shuddering" itself apart under load to be rather disturbing. Other car companies have produced variable-height suspensions that overcame these problems, and I think we should hold Tesla to similar standards. It does Tesla a disservice by giving them a "pass" on this kind of design flaw. I love the technology and fully support the direction, and I have nothing but superlatives for the way the vehicle drives - but creating workarounds for design mistakes doesn't help improve the vehicle.

Hopefully, they have learned from the mistakes and feedback, and the redesigned setup will resolve the problem ;)
Any news on the new parts? Did they get installed?
 

rhc19

Member
Oct 13, 2019
14
18
USA
My apologies - I should have updated. Yes, I finally did get the parts installed in Sept - and the shudder is completely eliminated, even at higher suspension settings!

So I have to take my hat off to the Tesla engineers. It may have taken a long time, but they have indeed finally solved the "shudder" problem.
 

spaghetti

Member
May 10, 2013
298
36
Silicon Valley
My apologies - I should have updated. Yes, I finally did get the parts installed in Sept - and the shudder is completely eliminated, even at higher suspension settings!

So I have to take my hat off to the Tesla engineers. It may have taken a long time, but they have indeed finally solved the "shudder" problem.
Do you have the part numbers? Please post if you do. TIA
 

DarkMatter

Active Member
Jul 13, 2016
1,126
870
Olympia, WA
Do you have the part numbers? Please post if you do. TIA
On my mid-2017 X the shudder was fixed with

CLVS ASSY,DBL ISO,LHS MTR MNT,SDU-F(1055366-00-H)
HALFSHAFT, FR RH, MODEL X(1027115-00-D)
HALFSHAFT, FR LH, MODEL X(1027111-00-D)
NUT HF M24x1.5 [8.8] ZnFl-W(1020297-00-A)
WASHER SAFETY M24x39(1020296-00-B)

Given that the clevis is a -H part it looks to have been through a few revisions. Low and Standard are now smooth like when I first took delivery. It was an ear to ear grin moment the first time I stepped on it back from Service, as the silent power I remembered was back. I haven't tried hard acceleration on High or Very High, and honestly can't think of a reason to. I still run Always Low because tire wear in that setting has been great all around and I don't have a need for the extra half inch of clearance in daily driving. I'm only 1300 miles in since July so unfortunately don't have a ton of miles to confirm everything yet. The original issue showed up by 5k and was bad by 15k so I expect I'll know before the warranty is up next summer. Either way between this and ongoing FWD issues I'll probably end up picking up the ESA in the spring.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: spaghetti

rhc19

Member
Oct 13, 2019
14
18
USA
My part numbers differ slightly:

FRONT HALFSHAFT, MODEL X, LH PM(1027113-00-B)
RIGHT HALFSHAFT, MODEL X, RH PM(1027119-00-B)

The nut and safety washers are the same and somewhat irrelevant here. Note that I did not have a Clevis assembly change.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: spaghetti

DrComputer

Active Member
Jan 29, 2009
1,122
353
Sherman Oaks, CA
Sorry to break your bubble, but these parts won't fix the issue. I had them installed on my 2016 P90DL on December 6, 2019 and the shudder/growl problem has returned again...

Correction: Inspect Vehicle, Replace LH Front Drive Unit Clevis Mount And Both Front Halfshafts (Model X)
CLVS ASSY,DBL ISO,LHS MTR MNT,SDU-F(1055366-00-H)
HALFSHAFT, FR RH, MODEL X(1027115-00-D)
HALFSHAFT, FR LH, MODEL X(1027111-00-D)
Correction: Perform Validation Test Drive
 

rhc19

Member
Oct 13, 2019
14
18
USA
How many miles before it showed up again? It is also possible that the 2019 model has some modification that helps the new parts to last longer (note that I didn't have the clevis assembly changed), but I will obviously keep an eye on it!
 

DrComputer

Active Member
Jan 29, 2009
1,122
353
Sherman Oaks, CA
How many miles before it showed up again? It is also possible that the 2019 model has some modification that helps the new parts to last longer (note that I didn't have the clevis assembly changed), but I will obviously keep an eye on it!
Seemed to last the usual 6 months or 6k miles before slowly starting to shudder again. Once it gets cold (like now) it also groans while it shudders. Tesla keeps trying, but I think it's just a poor design that can't really be "fixed".
 

VikH

Supporting Member
Nov 23, 2015
941
770
Midwest, USA
Seemed to last the usual 6 months or 6k miles before slowly starting to shudder again. Once it gets cold (like now) it also groans while it shudders. Tesla keeps trying, but I think it's just a poor design that can't really be "fixed".

Do you drive in Standard all of the time?
 

DarkMatter

Active Member
Jul 13, 2016
1,126
870
Olympia, WA
Seemed to last the usual 6 months or 6k miles before slowly starting to shudder again. Once it gets cold (like now) it also groans while it shudders. Tesla keeps trying, but I think it's just a poor design that can't really be "fixed".
The cold thing doesn't seem like it's universal. It's fifteen degrees colder here than in LA right now and I've had zero issues with groaning, either before or after the repair.
 

phildas1

Member
Jun 27, 2018
51
61
Long Beach, CA
Yes, I keep my car in "standard" and have it set to go to low at 50mph

Had the dreaded shudder fixed on my 2018 100D MX in August 2019 at about 13,00 miles. Shudder was totally gone at all height settings on acceleration. I've continued to keep it in low setting because the car suspension settings automatically puts it there. I recently changed it to Standard height for a softer ride. Now at 28,000 miles. Have tried accelerating and the shudder is back at standard not in low. Not quite sure what to do at this point. Suggestions?
 

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