Opinions from Model S owners who now have a Model Y

[squarepeg77]

Hello,
I would be interested in getting the opinions of current or previous Model S owners who now have a Model Y.

I’d be particularly interested in your thoughts about the ride quality, noise levels (road/motors) and the seats.

My Model S is coming up on four years old and yesterday I found a running light is failing, after one of the door handles refused to retract on Saturday… so I’m considering my options.

Thanks!

 

[Casss]

Hi squarepeg,

I can't speak from ownership experience, but I have test driven one (and am now awaiting delivery of a MY LR), and naturally my point of comparison was my 2017 Model S with the standard air suspension, pano roof, which I have driven without the parcel shelf since I bought it.

Noise levels were just as good as the S, maybe a little better. I took notice of a lot of effort put into the design of the door seals, there is a lot of rubber between the doors and the body, the drainage channels are all new and the door and window fitment on the one we test drove made the inside feel like climbing into a small spaceship. If Tesla came out and told me to wind the window down a bit because the car is air tight I would have believed them.

The ride is fine - the key takeaway for me was that it is firmer (probably to reduce roll etc.) but was not crashing over every bump, and was supple enough. Before my S I had BMW's with performance-biased suspension setups and this was nothing like that, despite what reviewers say about how 'sporty' it feels. My experience lead me to believe that it deals with all of the common road imperfections just as well in terms of comfort and noise, but the more extreme edge cases, i.e. big holes or speed bumps at low speed, and small ridges spaced closely together at high speed are where you really notice the difference that air suspension provides in giving a more luxurious ride. The coil setup on the Y struggles with these in comparison to the S. I took my other half and our baby to make sure I wasn't blinded by the excitement of driving it. Both would have been painfully honest if there were issues with this . I think we just need to be realistic in our expectations going from an incredibly well engineered air setup, to coils. The same level of high and low speed fine adjustment for comfort, compliance and noise reduction just isn't the same when comparing air to coils, but the pro is that we then don't need to worry about air systems complexity.

I didn't notice any motor noise unless the accelerator was flat to the floor. Tyre and wind noise is still enemy number one in terms of noise isolation, and the Y does it brilliantly IMO.

 

[pgkevet]

I'm in a similar situation with a 3.5yr S. Both headlights were changed under warranty a few months ago due to the running light part fading. Currently, I have a possible problem with DC charging - in as much as it failed on two different superchargers about 10 days ago and got booked in for service. A preliminary visit failed to find the cause, and it's booked back in for a longer hunt when a loaner is available. Oddly, after a first charge failure, it then charged OK at a supercharger on the way back from service and then charged OK on a test run to a different supercharger location a few days later. Unreliable charging when dependent on it is scary.
I've been promised a Model 3 loaner in 2 weeks time, so it'll be a chance to assess the ride, seating etc and a pointer towards Y-type.
Options include abandoning Tesla and going ICE or plug-in hybrid until EV infrastructure improves and there's more competition or Tesla shows signs of delivering on their many promises.
A car is just transport and while the S is great as a comfortable performance vehicle I'd guess it's cost about £12K a year in depreciation and a total loss over FSD. Buying a 1-2 year old mid-priced car and swapping it before warranties run out may suit me better.

 

[squarepeg77]

Thanks @Casss for your detailed reply.

You are obviously more knowledgeable and experienced with suspension setups than I am and it sounds like you highly rate the Model S air suspension.

I am a bit jaded with it as I find the rattles at low speed annoying and I’ve had it repaired by Tesla. I’ve thought about asking the service centre to have another look before the warranty runs out, but as there doesn’t seem to be any permanent fix I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle. On previous experience, they’d replace some parts and then in a few months I’d be back to the same level of rattling. I have no problems with suspension comfort at high speed, but on local roads I find my partner’s BMW 320d more compliant - she just clips the edges of some raised mini roundabouts (!) and the car just soaks them up. Whereas in my S I carefully try to steer around them as I don’t like the clatter… and maybe I think I will be hastening the demise of the suspension if I don’t. I’m not sure I’d mind a firmer ride, if I knew it was reliable / tough

Last time I took my S to West Drayton, they arranged an EV taxi driver to take me home and he had an older Model S with air suspension. It sounded awful… clattering and chattering a lot. Obviously it had done a *lot* of miles, but it nags away at me that I have that to look forward to

 

[pgkevet]

Interesting - never noticed any suspension rattles on my similar age S. I did have rodent damage causing the whole left side to collapse last year and a £2K repair though, but roadside covered the pickup and 6 week rental while Tesla got around to fixing it. Out of roadside cover that'd be a PITA. RAC won't flatbed from home - apparently you have to be at least 1/4 mile away.

 

[Casss]

Same, never had any rattles. Rattles in suspension are a nightmare to force manufacturers to fix because it could be one or two of a large number of parts. Miles matter, too.

Your 320d probably has a lot more rubber between you and the road though - it's a bit difficult to compare, especially with no engine noise.

 

[squarepeg77]

I think it’s a fairly common issue - a rattle/chatter, most noticeable at low speed when you can hear it above the road/wind noise. And if you don’t have music playing, obviously

It is documented here:

Rattle noise coming from front Air Suspension (2017-18)

I have a refreshed 2017 75D with smart air suspension and only 2K miles. I recently notice some strange noise coming from the front suspension. The noise (which like clink-clunk/click-clunk, like something is loose) is most noticeable when I slowly going over speed bumps. I took the car to...

teslamotorsclub.com

Here are the notes from the service invoices where I took it in (twice):

——

Corrections: Exterior NVH General Diagnosis
Carried out exterior NVH general diagnosis. Customer complain has been confirmed. Performed road test to identify noise. Upon investigation found both front air spring modules to be at fault. Carried out replacement on both front springs modules. Check operation by performing a road test, all OK.
Corrections: Air Spring Module - Front - LH
Carried out front left air spring module replacement. Check operation by performing a road test, all OK.

———-

Concern: Rattling noise from front suspension on rough or bumpy roads - low speeds

Customer concern confirmed, carried out replacement of front struts and strut braces and carried out bulk head rivet mod. Torque checked all suspension fasteners and checked condition, all okay.Noise still present, contacted engineering and they confirmed that this issue is currently being investigated and a revised part will be available shortly. This is not a safety concern and will not effect the handling of the vehicle.

——

After that visit, I had to take it back for some other work and mentioned it again. They said they found a loose cable loom and after fixing that they said they found no other faults. I felt like they were closing out the issue at that point

 

[squarepeg77]

And of course, with my warranty due to expire I’ve looked into the extended warranty Terms and Conditions and “air spring modules” are excluded, as are lights… hard to think what IS covered, given the drivetrain and battery have their own warranty.

 

[Casss]

And of course, with my warranty due to expire I’ve looked into the extended warranty Terms and Conditions and “air spring modules” are excluded, as are lights… hard to think what IS covered, given the drivetrain and battery have their own warranty.

Always the way. I had to buy a 3rd party warranty for mine, went with AA in the end which is basically a repackaged ALA warranty with breakdown and home recovery.

I've looked through some other 3rd party warranties and for EV's and maybe Tesla's specifically, the wording on the policy document made me realise they really don't want to be bagholders for anything. (What's new).

AA came good on the one claim I have made though so they deserve props for that. Then again I've paid quite a bit for the warranty, so I don't really feel like I "won" there.

I just have to keep reminding myself how cheap the car is to run overall and the performance and comfort it offers for that price though. It's like owning a supercar from the last 10 years but with 5 seats, a huge boot and which costs peanuts to fill up and drive.

 

[squarepeg77]

Who does the repair work with a 3rd party (e.g. AA) warranty? Is it Tesla, or does the insurer specify the repair garage?

 

[Casss]

Who does the repair work with a 3rd party (e.g. AA) warranty? Is it Tesla, or does the insurer specify the repair garage?

They may have a list of approved or reputable garages but I've always taken it to Tesla. They don't quite cover their full labour rate for repair work but they do for diagnostics so it's worked quite well really as i've found their labour estimates to be spot on.

 

[BobKipper]

Hello,
I would be interested in getting the opinions of current or previous Model S owners who now have a Model Y.

I’d be particularly interested in your thoughts about the ride quality, noise levels (road/motors) and the seats.

My Model S is coming up on four years old and yesterday I found a running light is failing, after one of the door handles refused to retract on Saturday… so I’m considering my options.

Thanks!

Exactly my situation - coming up to four years old

 

[BobKipper]

I think it’s a fairly common issue - a rattle/chatter, most noticeable at low speed when you can hear it above the road/wind noise. And if you don’t have music playing, obviously

It is documented here:

Rattle noise coming from front Air Suspension (2017-18)

I have a refreshed 2017 75D with smart air suspension and only 2K miles. I recently notice some strange noise coming from the front suspension. The noise (which like clink-clunk/click-clunk, like something is loose) is most noticeable when I slowly going over speed bumps. I took the car to...

teslamotorsclub.com

Here are the notes from the service invoices where I took it in (twice):

——

Corrections: Exterior NVH General Diagnosis
Carried out exterior NVH general diagnosis. Customer complain has been confirmed. Performed road test to identify noise. Upon investigation found both front air spring modules to be at fault. Carried out replacement on both front springs modules. Check operation by performing a road test, all OK.
Corrections: Air Spring Module - Front - LH
Carried out front left air spring module replacement. Check operation by performing a road test, all OK.

———-

Concern: Rattling noise from front suspension on rough or bumpy roads - low speeds

Customer concern confirmed, carried out replacement of front struts and strut braces and carried out bulk head rivet mod. Torque checked all suspension fasteners and checked condition, all okay.Noise still present, contacted engineering and they confirmed that this issue is currently being investigated and a revised part will be available shortly. This is not a safety concern and will not effect the handling of the vehicle.

——

After that visit, I had to take it back for some other work and mentioned it again. They said they found a loose cable loom and after fixing that they said they found no other faults. I felt like they were closing out the issue at that point

You could be talking about my car here! I had exactly the same issues

 

[SuperDave]

Same here. MS is getting a bit old, ordered a MYP.
Comfort is a downgrade, but he.. got myself a new Tesla which drives great!

 

[TheManofMead]

I have a 2018 Model S 75D. Wife has 2020 M3P.
When I drive the wife's M3P 3 major differences noted:

1. Cabin noise in M3P much worse (louder) than Model S.
2. M3P suspension noticeably firmer. You really feel the bumps.
3. M3P wins only on brute 0-60 performance.

 

[rincewind]

I have a 2018 Model S 75D. Wife has 2020 M3P.
When I drive the wife's M3P 3 major differences noted:

1. Cabin noise in M3P much worse (louder) than Model S.
2. M3P suspension noticeably firmer. You really feel the bumps.
3. M3P wins only on brute 0-60 performance.

Owning an M3P and having driven a 75D for a few days, I agree. However, the M3P is more fun to drive imo as it feels more nimble, but it's too loud and the ride sometimes (quite often) feels a bit, er, agricultural.

 

[squarepeg77]

Thanks for all the opinions so far. I guess I will need to wait for more Model Ys to hit the roads to see what people make of it, longer term and comparisons with the S (and 3).

For now, I think I will get my Model S repaired and look into an extended warranty with a 3rd party. Not ready to give up on ”old” girl just yet.

But I might see about a Model Y test drive…

 

[Casss]

Thanks for all the opinions so far. I guess I will need to wait for more Model Ys to hit the roads to see what people make of it, longer term and comparisons with the S (and 3).

For now, I think I will get my Model S repaired and look into an extended warranty with a 3rd party. Not ready to give up on ”old” girl just yet.

But I might see about a Model Y test drive…

Have you checked or replaced the 12v battery since you got your S? If not, and you're going to keep it a while longer, I'd thoroughly recommend doing so.

 

[Casss]

I have a 2018 Model S 75D. Wife has 2020 M3P.
When I drive the wife's M3P 3 major differences noted:

1. Cabin noise in M3P much worse (louder) than Model S.
2. M3P suspension noticeably firmer. You really feel the bumps.
3. M3P wins only on brute 0-60 performance.

Model S is just such a waft-able barge, which is what makes it such a great car. Also the looks are pretty untouchable right now IMO, and I'm quite partial sensitive to that.

 

[mswlogo]

Thanks for all the opinions so far. I guess I will need to wait for more Model Ys to hit the roads to see what people make of it, longer term and comparisons with the S (and 3).

For now, I think I will get my Model S repaired and look into an extended warranty with a 3rd party. Not ready to give up on ”old” girl just yet.

But I might see about a Model Y test drive…

You have to be careful with test drives.

I bought a Model 3 after a test drive. Loved it. But after a year and an (old) Model S loaner I thought wow this Model S rides nice. 2 months later I had a Model X. Now 2 years later I’m waiting for an S.

The reason I say be careful is, anything “new” is refreshing. But after a couple long road trips the Model 3 loudness and firmness wears on you. Didn’t really notice how bad it was until I got the Model S loaner.

Just went for pickup of a friends Model Y. It felt pretty darn good. But I’d have to own it for months to judge. In some ways the Y is the worst. It doesn’t handle well because higher center of gravity and still not insulated as well as S/X. 3 handles the best but it’s noisy and harsh at times. The S is quiet and smooth and handles good. X is quiet and smooth but doesn’t handle as well as S/3. All pretty obvious reasons.

It’s kind of like demoing really high end speakers. Some can be refreshing sounding and great in a “demo”. But long term I can’t stand them after an hour of listening because they are to harsh. This is so similar to a firm tight handling car after driving something smooth and quiet.