Persistent Vibration 41-44 mph and again at 83 mph

[FlyingViking]

****Update****. Took it in today and was informed that rear axles and hubs are new and vibration persists. The tech said there are really no other viable parts to replace and returned to the wheel theory, right where we started......

The vibration is enough that it can vibrate your voice if your on the phone when it really washes over the car. It’s both in the steering wheel and in the seat. My gut tells me it’s in the rear but i have no idea. Most recent road force on the car had each wheel under 8lbs which is darn near the best I’ve ever seen. (Done by a local high end wheel shop)

I have an appointment in 3 weeks and the Forman is going to put a set of known good wheels and tires on to rule that out. If that does not solve the issue they explained that they are out of solutions and at the end of the day the car is “safe to drive”.

I test drove a CLA 45 AMG today, they offered me quite a bit for the trade of my S and to be honest I’m at a 50/50 point of being done with the brand. I don’t want to get caught in the “sunk cost fallacy”. I am pretty down and out about it though.

Sorry to hear about your issues Robert, I am going through the same things on my Model 3. Final service attempt to repair next week before filing lemon law claim and wiping my hands of the brand, car and everything Tesla in general, then going back to Lexus again.
Keep us posted on how things progress with your car. It’s good information for us that are dealing with the same issues, and I hope it serves as a warning to potential buyers browsing these forums.

 

[robertjarias]

Sorry to hear about your issues Robert, I am going through the same things on my Model 3. Final service attempt to repair next week before filing lemon law claim and wiping my hands of the brand, car and everything Tesla in general, then going back to Lexus again.
Keep us posted on how things progress with your car. It’s good information for us that are dealing with the same issues, and I hope it serves as a warning to potential buyers browsing these forums.

If they are able to resolve it please let us know. Would be interested to hear the outcome and am also sorry you have had issues.

 

[robertjarias]

Well left to my own devices I believe I may have resolved the vibration for the most part. I share this as I have read other threads where people had the same issue and gave up!

So to recap Tesla has replaced numerous suspension parts, control arms, integral link, drive units, axles and I have replaced wheels and tires with several road force balancing in-between to no avail.

Feeling like there was no hope I began to try and solve for this vibration. Without getting too long winded the two things that reduced the vibration nearly completely as follows:

Pinch bolt on front upper control arms is supposed to be torqued to 60 ft-lb. The driver side was around 15 and the driver side closer to 30. After tightening the to spec the vibration was reduced greatly however not resolved. How did Tesla miss this? Anyhow we were making progress and I didn't want to give up yet but I wasn't sure what to do next so I took a break.

As I sood in the front of my car, I realized I needed to vacuum the frunk out as it is always full of bugs. Then it hit me, it probably shouldn't be full of bugs and I shouldn't have to clean it out every other week. Why are bugs getting in? Probably because the hood wasn't closed tight! I looked and sure enough the driver side was slightly elevated in comparison to the left. I made several rounds of adjustments getting the hood to as close to as low as possible on both sides by turning the rubber adjustment stoppers.

You guessed it, vibration is 99% gone. Unbelievable. What vibration is left I believe is due to poor wheel balancing or alignment. Tesla SC was unable to align the car last week as they are moving and the machine was at the new location and I am scheduled to go in two weeks when they open.

 

[FlyingViking]

Well left to my own devices I believe I may have resolved the vibration for the most part. I share this as I have read other threads where people had the same issue and gave up!

So to recap Tesla has replaced numerous suspension parts, control arms, integral link, drive units, axles and I have replaced wheels and tires with several road force balancing in-between to no avail.

Feeling like there was no hope I began to try and solve for this vibration. Without getting too long winded the two things that reduced the vibration nearly completely as follows:

Pinch bolt on front upper control arms is supposed to be torqued to 60 ft-lb. The driver side was around 15 and the driver side closer to 30. After tightening the to spec the vibration was reduced greatly however not resolved. How did Tesla miss this? Anyhow we were making progress and I didn't want to give up yet but I wasn't sure what to do next so I took a break.

As I sood in the front of my car, I realized I needed to vacuum the frunk out as it is always full of bugs. Then it hit me, it probably shouldn't be full of bugs and I shouldn't have to clean it out every other week. Why are bugs getting in? Probably because the hood wasn't closed tight! I looked and sure enough the driver side was slightly elevated in comparison to the left. I made several rounds of adjustments getting the hood to as close to as low as possible on both sides by turning the rubber adjustment stoppers.

You guessed it, vibration is 99% gone. Unbelievable. What vibration is left I believe is due to poor wheel balancing or alignment. Tesla SC was unable to align the car last week as they are moving and the machine was at the new location and I am scheduled to go in two weeks when they open.

You bet I’m going to check this on my Model 3 as well! It’ll be a few days before I can dig into it, but I’ll report back after. Thanks for letting us know!

 

[Fleer]

Well left to my own devices I believe I may have resolved the vibration for the most part. I share this as I have read other threads where people had the same issue and gave up!

So to recap Tesla has replaced numerous suspension parts, control arms, integral link, drive units, axles and I have replaced wheels and tires with several road force balancing in-between to no avail.

Feeling like there was no hope I began to try and solve for this vibration. Without getting too long winded the two things that reduced the vibration nearly completely as follows:

Pinch bolt on front upper control arms is supposed to be torqued to 60 ft-lb. The driver side was around 15 and the driver side closer to 30. After tightening the to spec the vibration was reduced greatly however not resolved. How did Tesla miss this? Anyhow we were making progress and I didn't want to give up yet but I wasn't sure what to do next so I took a break.

As I sood in the front of my car, I realized I needed to vacuum the frunk out as it is always full of bugs. Then it hit me, it probably shouldn't be full of bugs and I shouldn't have to clean it out every other week. Why are bugs getting in? Probably because the hood wasn't closed tight! I looked and sure enough the driver side was slightly elevated in comparison to the left. I made several rounds of adjustments getting the hood to as close to as low as possible on both sides by turning the rubber adjustment stoppers.

You guessed it, vibration is 99% gone. Unbelievable. What vibration is left I believe is due to poor wheel balancing or alignment. Tesla SC was unable to align the car last week as they are moving and the machine was at the new location and I am scheduled to go in two weeks when they open.

Do you have a picture of the pinch bolt location? Going to check the torque on mine.

edit:
I went out to take a look, is it this nut on the left hand side?

 

[robertjarias]

Do you have a picture of the pinch bolt location? Going to check the torque on mine.

edit:
I went out to take a look, is it this nut on the left hand side?

View attachment 467148

That is correct. There is a t45 (or 50 can’t remember) and a 5/8 but on the other side. Use the t45 to hold the bolt position and turn the nut to 60 lb ft torque.

 

[dekuramen]

That is correct. There is a t45 (or 50 can’t remember) and a 5/8 but on the other side. Use the t45 to hold the bolt position and turn the nut to 60 lb ft torque.

You sure it's 60ft lbs and not 60Nm? Service manual for 2013(pre-facelift) says otherwise.