Noise when switching from high beam to low beam and other issues

[taurusking]

Dear All

Its been close to 2 months since I bought the car and I already put 5K miles on it.

Few issues that I have been experiencing lately:

1. I have been hearing a loud noise when switching high to low beam and vice versa and it appears to be like tennis ball hitting a wall. The noise is so loud that I can hear it sitting inside the car.
2. Also lately I have noticed that the seat moves a little bit when brakes are applied. Rarely used hard braking except on few occasions
3. Front sensors works intermittently.

Anybody have any thoughts?

I called the service center and have set up an appointment but just wondering if anyone had same experience.

Thanks

 

[DDotJ]

The 'thud' sound from the high beams are normal. I found them quite comical in my car. It's weird hearing all the mechanical noises when there is no engine noise.

And the front sensors in my car work, but sometimes has a slight delay. I just have to remember to pull in extra carefully

 

[AoneOne]

1. The headlight noise is normal: switching between low and high beams requires mechanical movement.
2. Play in the seat mount isn't normal. See if you can move the seat when you're not sitting in it. If so call service.
3. Please define "intermittently" for you. Many people have noted that the front sensors don't work very well to detect parking curbs, but they should work very well when pulling up to a wall. Is that what you mean?

 

[taurusking]

AoneOne and DJung:


The headlight noise was not there or may be I did not notice it being so obvious. Seems to be little strange that I am hearing it while sitting in the car

Regarding the front sensors: Intermittently: Works 50% of the time or less when I am parking in my garage and when pulling up to a wall.

 

[DDotJ]

AoneOne and DJung:


The headlight noise was not there or may be I did not notice it being so obvious. Seems to be little strange that I am hearing it while sitting in the car

Regarding the front sensors: Intermittently: Works 50% of the time or less when I am parking in my garage and when pulling up to a wall.

You probably didn't notice the high beam headlight noise. It happens on every Model S. I can also hear it when I am sitting in my car without music on.

You should get the sensors checked by service, it should easily detect a wall.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I sat in a quiet, closed garage and flipped my high beams on and off. No noise. None. I don't believe there is any mechanical movement to the headlights when you turn on high beams. This is the first I've heard anyone mention a noise while turning on the high beams, let alone others saying it's normal. Why don't I hear this?

 

[jerry33]

I sat in a quiet, closed garage and flipped my high beams on and off. No noise. None. I don't believe there is any mechanical movement to the headlights when you turn on high beams. This is the first I've heard anyone mention a noise while turning on the high beams, let alone others saying it's normal. Why don't I hear this?

Your audio system is on, or old ears. I've never heard it either but there is certainly a mechanical component to switching between low and high.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Xenon headlights typically have a diverter shield that flips up and down to mask off the upper half of the beam in low mode.

I've never noticed any noise in my old P85. I'll check the new P85D when I get a chance.

 

[GSP]

For what it is worth, the Volt makes a pretty loud mechanical "thunk" noise when switching from low to high beam and back. So it is not just a Model S thing.

GSP

 

[taurusking]

Last time I took the car to the service center they did tell me it had a mechanical component.

I was checking to see why there was a delay when switching from high to low beam but at that time the noise was not this loud at all.

 

[bradhs]

There is noise. Also, the switch between high/low beams is awful slow. I'm curious if the P85D or newer Tesla's resolve this.

I recorded a Slo-Mo video of it on my iPhone while the car was facing the garage at night. You can see in the video the headlights popping up and back down. (and here the noise.)

 

[CHG-ON]

I have that slight tunk when going to high beams. Never really thought much about it. I assume it is the change on voltage, as zenon are so high. The lights work fine. I have found that if I pull the lever back too hard from brights that there is definitely a delay before they drop to low. But if I pull gently, it seems to be instantaneous. I expect it is the electronic switching thinking that I am flashing my brights. I do think that the delay for flashing is way too long and most likely very annoying for those in front of me.

Have your seat checked. I had a squeak from mine in cornering and they said that the bolts were not torqued correctly. No problems since.

Get your front sensors checked after making sure that are clean and free of any debris, such as snow, etc. Mine work like a charm. Though I do pull in slowly and carefully as I do not want to mar the front spoiler. My rear sensors work quite well too.

Hope this helps.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Tried the high beams on my P85D for the first time last night. Didn't hear anything other than the click of the switch itself.

 

[bradhs]

Tried the high beams on my P85D for the first time last night. Didn't hear anything other than the click of the switch itself.

What's your VIN series? I tried it on a 65xxx and still heard the thunk and they were slow to flash. Basically, try double flashing your high beams. You can't. It's too slow to flash someone. You'll piss them off instead.

 

[wk057]

Xenon headlights typically have a diverter shield that flips up and down to mask off the upper half of the beam in low mode.

I've never noticed any noise in my old P85. I'll check the new P85D when I get a chance.

For what it is worth, the Volt makes a pretty loud mechanical "thunk" noise when switching from low to high beam and back. So it is not just a Model S thing.

GSP

Both my P85D, my fiance's P85, and my traded P85 made the high-beam thud. Same for my 2012 Chevy Volt. It is the physical movement of a piece inside the headlight housing that moves to unblock or block some of the light from the bulb. The piece is the reason for the sharp horizontal cutoff of the light when in low beam mode, and the noise when it moves is normal.

I think only cars with the tech package may have this though, no? Don't you need the tech package to have xenon bulbs with this setup? Could be wrong.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

What's your VIN series? I tried it on a 65xxx and still heard the thunk and they were slow to flash. Basically, try double flashing your high beams. You can't. It's too slow to flash someone. You'll piss them off instead.

63xxx

I'll try it again in a little bit in the garage with the window down.

 

[bradhs]

If you have an iPhone do a slow mo video of it. You'll see what I mean. Yes, it is a physical lens that refocuses the beam. I'm not sure what BMW does, but it's insanely fast. There is 0ms lag time from enable and disable from the stick. That's what I want to see, that way I can properly flash oncoming if necessary.

63xxx

I'll try it again in a little bit in the garage with the window down.

 

[wk057]

Some more expensive assemblies use some kind of LCD type piece for the damper IIRC.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

63xxx

I'll try it again in a little bit in the garage with the window down.

Ok, with the car parked in the garage and the HVAC and radio off I can hear a slight "thunk." With either the HVAC on, radio on, or driving I cannot.

Pulling the stalk back to flash the brights transitions quick enough.

 

[bradhs]

The problem is that it is not fast enough to flash oncoming traffic. It holds the high-beams for a tad too long. I was hoping that this was something they'd resolve by now. Maybe we have to wait for LED lights.

Ok, with the car parked in the garage and the HVAC and radio off I can hear a slight "thunk." With either the HVAC on, radio on, or driving I cannot.

Pulling the stalk back to flash the brights transitions quick enough.