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

[james kim]

Hi guys
Same suspension rattle front right on my S75D, with 1000+ Mls
VIN is F237XXX, manufactured in February 2018.
SC in Switzerland knows the Problem, but has no solution.

Cheers Harry

I have Jan. 2018 built S75D, have that persistant ‘rattle’ at front, SC here in korea replaced some $3000 worth steering wheel parts, and it did not solved. The center admits it is not resolved and they said are searching for answers themselves.
VERY ANNOYING FOR A CAR COSTED ME MORE THAN $100,000.

 

[mangoesbananas]

I have Jan. 2018 built S75D, have that persistant ‘rattle’ at front, SC here in korea replaced some $3000 worth steering wheel parts, and it did not solved. The center admits it is not resolved and they said are searching for answers themselves.
VERY ANNOYING FOR A CAR COSTED ME MORE THAN $100,000.

Not only annoying for a $100G "luxury" car, but also shameful for Tesla to have let this rattling problem go on for so long without fixing it, and to not tell any potential new buyers about it. If I had known, when I was configuring my Model S, that I was buying a car that sounded more like a Model T, I never would've bought this jalopy!

 

[Raechris]

“Interestingly the day before we got temps into the 70's and the noise was very much reduced. Anyone else notice a temperature dependence?”

Yes, I had glass roof popping at literally 50f and it was a “known issue corrected” by SC. Was as bad or worse upon return. Did not have them address suspension rattle yet as there does not appear to be fix and don’t want them ripping my car apart. I have not heard any safety related issues from what appears to be a widespread suspension problem over the last year plus, but agree this is extremely frustrating on a 100k car. OTOH every high priced car I have owned has had an annoying issue like this. Never had a problem with a 200k mi Camry but I’ll keep the Tesla

Point is temps recently cracked 65 in Boston and both noises appear to have reduced significantly. Waiting on some more warm days to test this theory.

I also wonder if the air springs at low speed may be rattling off the strut wall due to low air pressure needed at low speeds? I am no mechanic though.

 

[rcslw]

Mine makes the same rattle noise. 2017 Jan Model S 75D.

Also I noticed that if I stop the car (I have a junction with rough road that I stop at everyday) when this rattle noise comes and shake the steering wheel left and right I can hear a similar rattle noise. It cannot be reproduced other times. Could this be something in steering related parts? Also when this rattle noise comes if I give small force to the steering either left or right noise goes a way.

First time I went there I was told the same story that engineering is working on a solution. My car is at SC now for the second time. They are replacing front structs. Hopefully they know what they are doing.

The loaner I got is almost brand new 75D. No noise coming from it yet.

I am also concerned that this could be a safety issue. Seems like they are still replacing parts without knowing the problem. If this does not solve the problem I have to look for legal actions.

 

[james kim]

Mine makes the same rattle noise. 2017 Jan Model S 75D.

Also I noticed that if I stop the car (I have a junction with rough road that I stop at everyday) when this rattle noise comes and shake the steering wheel left and right I can hear a similar rattle noise. It cannot be reproduced other times. Could this be something in steering related parts? Also when this rattle noise comes if I give small force to the steering either left or right noise goes a way.

First time I went there I was told the same story that engineering is working on a solution. My car is at SC now for the second time. They are replacing front structs. Hopefully they know what they are doing.

The loaner I got is almost brand new 75D. No noise coming from it yet.

I am also concerned that this could be a safety issue. Seems like they are still replacing parts without knowing the problem. If this does not solve the problem I have to look for legal actions.

I am with the same problem, changing some steering wheel parts didn’t work for mine. Could you please let me know if replacing of front structs worked or not??.... If it does, I have to bring this as an evidence for correcting mine !! I really wish it works...!

 

[aptekcom]

Try driving at exactly 7 mph, and see if the issue is consistently reproduced. Mine does. I took it to the SC last week, and they said this was a new one. They were going to do some research and get back to me. My struts have already been replaced multiple times.

 

[Nosken]

Here is a post from Facebook, possible resolution, at least for his case.
Log into Facebook | Facebook

 

[ishareit]

No "Loud clicking noise on turns" for me... so not sure if this is the same issue.

 

[Electric_Zen]

Same here no clicking; this is a rattle noise when driving over any uneven road.

 

[Drlev]

Mine’s in the service center now for this. I’ll report back once I get the car back.

 

[DukeofURL]

Definitely subscribing to this thread, I have the same rattle in the front when driving over uneven pavement at parking lot speeds. I don’t know if it’s just not audible at higher speeds, or it in fact goes away. 9/2017 production S100D w/air suspension.

 

[Electric_Zen]

Definitely subscribing to this thread, I have the same rattle in the front when driving over uneven pavement at parking lot speeds. I don’t know if it’s just not audible at higher speeds, or it in fact goes away. 9/2017 production S100D w/air suspension.

I agree I do suspect that the noise becomes inaudible as road/tire noise increase at higher speeds.

 

[daktari]

I have a feeling that the sound is more prominent when he chassis twists a bit, when both sides suspension must work independently. I also get this feeling that the car suspension is not very compliant when the sound is worse. (Not correlated to ride height, also in standard)
Funny enough, for a week now it has been pretty silent, but now it is back.
What has changed? I put on the summer wheels and and used jack mode. -> Silent suspension. Plush. Today we loaded the family and drove some high speed highway -> sound is back.

 

[birdy]

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 the service center in Costa Mesa, CA to have it looked at. I did a ride along with a technician and was able to easily reproduce the noise. I left the car at the service center (SC) for them to further investigate.

Later that day i received a call from SC informing me that what I'm hearing is a known issue specific to dual motor with smart air suspension. The problem comes from the front struts. They said other customers have brought up the same issue in the past, they replaced the struts and the problem comes back a couple of weeks later. They said Tesla engineer are aware of the issue, but no ETA on when/if a fix will be available.

Was wondering if any one else are experiencing this and have gotten some explanation/fix for the issue.

OMG! YES! Model S 75D, delivered in Sept 2017. Couldn't replicate it but I' just stumbled upon this forum and this problem is the real deal. I thought I was going crazy. It's that low frequency rattle, going over bumpy roads at slow speed. The noise just started to become audible in March 17. Never heard it before. It's really taking the enjoyment our of driving the car. I'm going back into the service center here in Toronto. I'll let u know...

 

[OhLookItsRandy]

Per the Dallas SC Assistant Service Manager:

As far as the rattling noise. We have pinpointed the issue as being related to the front struts, if this were something Tesla could resolve, there would have already been a rollout fix. We confirmed that there is nothing wrong by performing a test, the front strut brace is removed, which eliminates the noise. As we determined it is related to the front struts, we are waiting to hear from Bilstein on what the resolution is.

 

[TMeister]

Per the Dallas SC Assistant Service Manager:

As far as the rattling noise. ... the front strut brace is removed, which eliminates the noise. ... waiting to hear from Bilstein on what the resolution is.

My service ranger indicated the strut brace acts to transmit the sound but is not the cause. So yeah you could eliminate that way. Also, most of the problem struts are Firestone branded. My REAR struts are Bilsteins. So maybe your SC is not all that knowledgeable. OTOH, my ranger has ordered new struts and a steering rack to get on the list for these hard to get parts. I told him I'm not inclined to just throw parts at this problem until a known fix is available but it ain't my dollar.

There is quite a bit of variability of causes, built dates, suspension types, solutions. Still just a total unknown at this point.

 

[Drlev]

December 2017 S75D. Service center’s pretty sure the steering rack is my issue, so they’re sourcing a new one now. We’ll see.

 

[ptekngo]

I escalated my case via MyTesla and received the following response:

I am still frustrated but hopeful.

 

[james kim]

I escalated my case via MyTesla and received the following response:

View attachment 298304

I am still frustrated but hopeful.

I got exact same letter from “customer feedback escalation” on 4/9th. As far as I know, I have been heard this exact complain was made about a year ago already, and they respond with same stuff. I strongly believe ‘changing parts not knowing the cause..’ proves that they don’t even know whether this is related to “safety” issue or not. I am leaning toward legal action for this. I received my brand new car only 6 weeks ago.

 

[rcslw]

Got my car back today. They replaced the "air spring module" left hand side. I don't think they know the problem and a solution either.

Corrections: Air Spring Module - Front - LH
Replaced the front left hand strut, and torqued front suspension.

However the rattle noise is gone now. I will continue to monitor.