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

[Doanster1]

Really interesting!
I complained about suspension noises and ratlles in February this year and they have already replaced the upper and lower front suspension arms on my S85 and it's now due to replace the lower rear suspension arms and the rear parking brake calipers, because although the replacement of the front suspension arms certainly improved some of the noises and ratlles i was complaining about, it did not eliminate them all.
I think it makes sense to replace the lower rear arms suspension now, but i'm not so sure about the parking calipers... i will let the guys at my service center know this about the hubs.

Wow, they are really open to getting your rattle fixed! That’s a lot of replacements, which is good for you. Hubs are easy/cheap for them to swap so hopefully they’ll try that and it solves your issues once and for all. Keep us posted.

 

[Transporter73]

Sure, but there is not too much left where the mats can be attached. It is also not easy to apply in mounted position even when you lift the car to the highest position. Of course you must clean the parts fat-free and depending by the product you will apply it in warm status (the mats).

When tapping the upper aluminium part of the strut which in my "theory" acts like a resonance body with your finger nail, before and after applying a layer you will hear the difference.

I thought that since this mod can be done within 5-10min without costs (the mats I got in a bodyshop) , it would be worth to be checked by others to confirm (or not) my result

Thanks for the suggestion, and a different way to silence the noise. If Tesla SC refuses or cannot find a fix, this will be an alternative to try.

 

[T.R.T.e.s.l.a.]

Wow, they are really open to getting your rattle fixed! That’s a lot of replacements, which is good for you. Hubs are easy/cheap for them to swap so hopefully they’ll try that and it solves your issues once and for all. Keep us posted.

Yes, i got those parts replaced, but still haven't eliminated all the rattles....
Fortunately i had bought extended warranty and those replacements have been covered by it.

 

[hroussel]

I finally got my notification from the service center that parts had arrived. Scheduled for Nov 27th. I'll report back once it's done.

Also I'll try to find out whether they consider the fix to be permanent or not. I'm curious to see what they have to say about it.

 

[hroussel]

Just a followup on my previous post. I got the car serviced last week. In addition to the air spring modules I got the upper control arm replaced,

So far so good, but it's only been a few days. Let's see if it returns in the next weeks/months.

 

[Jcarlson]

Just wanted to add as a data point that even pre-facelift cars suffer from this like a previous poster from Denmark said.
Mine is S85D built 8/2015 (117k km) with air suspension and has had the rattle since I have owned the car (from 97k km).
Just got the car back from Tesla service center, they put in new lower front control arms and upper track arms in the rear but no change in the rattle (mostly noticeable on cobblestones or ice bumps). Sounds like sway bar drop links or upper shock mounts to me from experience but the service center thought that the drop links were fine.

Link to my video with the noise:

 

[Jcarlson]

Anyone who wants to try this? I feel the rattle became less but it could be also placebo effect. I don't know exactly which brand/type I got, it looks like alubutyl or something like "fat mat rattle trap"

Thank you for the good idea. I tried it and this actually works. Dampened the rattle noise by a significant amount so that now it is barely audible.

In my out-of-warranty car I'm not going to buy new struts out of pocket simply to get rid of the noise since there is no drivability issue. Attached images show how I did it, tried to maximize the amount of mat around the strut and used the best damping STP Diamond mat. Still only cost less that 300 SEK (30 euro / $) and half an hour of my time including cleaning when the car was on the lift anyway. Cleaned also the parking brake pads and slide pins that were rusted stuck - also didn't feel paying Tesla for a new caliper either for a little over 4 year old car.

 

[Dragetreneren]

Anybody has tried this new product? Launched about 3 month ago by an industry-respected manufacturer: Arnott New Front Air Strut - 16--> Tesla Model S w/AWD
Made in USA

 

[Nick70d]

Same here, SC said you should drive with your suspension in low setting. They are not fix mine.
Here is the sound that I showed them.
Tesla model S dual motor

 

[daktari]

Same here, SC said you should drive with your suspension in low setting. They are not fix mine.
Here is the sound that I showed them.
Tesla model S dual motor

That sound in the video is worn drive shafts.
It is not the rattle on uneven roads in low speeds, which is usually only audible when being very light on the accelerator.

 

[Zishan]

Same here, SC said you should drive with your suspension in low setting. They are not fix mine.
Here is the sound that I showed them.
Tesla model S dual motor

WOW, I just got mine back and told them about the front suspension rattle. I was told I should NOT be driving in the low setting!!!

They noted "Customer Education" and gave the car back to me. Ask me to make a video of the sound to help them.

 

[BjoHof]

Thank you for the good idea. I tried it and this actually works. Dampened the rattle noise by a significant amount so that now it is barely audible.

In my out-of-warranty car I'm not going to buy new struts out of pocket simply to get rid of the noise since there is no drivability issue. Attached images show how I did it, tried to maximize the amount of mat around the strut and used the best damping STP Diamond mat. Still only cost less that 300 SEK (30 euro / $) and half an hour of my time including cleaning when the car was on the lift anyway. Cleaned also the parking brake pads and slide pins that were rusted stuck - also didn't feel paying Tesla for a new caliper either for a little over 4 year old car.

Are you still happy with the fix? If yes, whre did you get the STP Diamond mat here in Sweden?

 

[Jcarlson]

Are you still happy with the fix? If yes, whre did you get the STP Diamond mat here in Sweden?

Unfortunately it didn't fix the issue completely. It did get a lot better back when I tested, but the clatter seems to get worse as the temperatures drop. The car can be almost silent if it's plus centigrade outside but with colder temperatures and packed snow bumps it's still very audible and irritating. The only good thing is that there is no noise when driving at highway speeds, only at low speeds <50km/h.

I have an appointment booked at Tesla so among other things I'm really hoping they can find and fix it this time. I wouldn't completely rule out the steering rack as the source but there is no harshness or impacts that can be felt through the steering wheel, only noise.

I bought the STP mat from Finland during my trip there so I don't know where it can be found here. But unfortunately it's not a real solution even if it did dampen the clatter especially when it's a bit warmer outside.

 

[Mhoepfin]

Unfortunately it didn't fix the issue completely. It did get a lot better back when I tested, but the clatter seems to get worse as the temperatures drop. The car can be almost silent if it's plus centigrade outside but with colder temperatures and packed snow bumps it's still very audible and irritating. The only good thing is that there is no noise when driving at highway speeds, only at low speeds <50km/h.

I have an appointment booked at Tesla so among other things I'm really hoping they can find and fix it this time. I wouldn't completely rule out the steering rack as the source but there is no harshness or impacts that can be felt through the steering wheel, only noise.

I bought the STP mat from Finland during my trip there so I don't know where it can be found here. But unfortunately it's not a real solution even if it did dampen the clatter especially when it's a bit warmer outside.

It’s the bladder inside the shock that is rattling agains the metal surrounding. There is no fix other than to replace the shock and wait until it happens again. It’s the unfortunate design of this type of air strut.

 

[Dragetreneren]

Good there is a manufacturer and people who are eager to try one of the few products to compete with OE: Arnott Air Suspension Replacement Parts

 

[Buster1]

WOW, I just got mine back and told them about the front suspension rattle. I was told I should NOT be driving in the low setting!!!

They noted "Customer Education" and gave the car back to me. Ask me to make a video of the sound to help them.

Why would they say that? The car automatically goes to low via a selectable speed setting that the driver can set. I have mine set to go low when above 75 mph.

Makes no sense that you shouldn't use that feature.

 

[firstsnow]

YES!!!

2017 75D w/ ~2500 miles. I *think* I have the same thing. It's hard to capture on video, but listen closely to this video I recently captured and lmk if you hear something similar to what you have in your car:

IMG_1134 - Streamable

Confirmation would be super helpful.

I have the same exact sound and just posted about it here Anyone get Tesla to fix clicking noise from center dash?

Here is a video I took. https://photos.app.goo.gl/PDLeUWPFtvPNMYQMA

The suspension also does sound a bit rattly/thunky on low speeds going over bumpy roads.I didn't think there was a connection.

Were you able to get this resolved at all? I've went in 3 times for it and they're telling me it's normal. But I just complained about a noise. I should go in and complain about the suspension being unsafe. Maybe that'll make them prioritize it more

 

[Kkastroid]

I'm having same issue. low speed everytime when i step on the break it makes clunk noise and when i go voer speed bumps something rattle from front. errrr.. i made appointment at Fremont SC we will see that they would say. i have 2018 100D dual motor. it's so annoying considering my car only has 10000 miles on it.

 

[ILLCOMM]

I have the same exact sound and just posted about it here Anyone get Tesla to fix clicking noise from center dash?

Here is a video I took. https://photos.app.goo.gl/PDLeUWPFtvPNMYQMA

The suspension also does sound a bit rattly/thunky on low speeds going over bumpy roads.I didn't think there was a connection.

Were you able to get this resolved at all? I've went in 3 times for it and they're telling me it's normal. But I just complained about a noise. I should go in and complain about the suspension being unsafe. Maybe that'll make them prioritize it more

Nope. Still does it. Had a service person acknowledge it once but said none of the solutions worked.

 

[mike25]

I have the same exact sound and just posted about it here Anyone get Tesla to fix clicking noise from center dash?

Here is a video I took. https://photos.app.goo.gl/PDLeUWPFtvPNMYQMA

The suspension also does sound a bit rattly/thunky on low speeds going over bumpy roads.I didn't think there was a connection.

Were you able to get this resolved at all? I've went in 3 times for it and they're telling me it's normal. But I just complained about a noise. I should go in and complain about the suspension being unsafe. Maybe that'll make them prioritize it more

You have two sounds in this video, the first one come from the air suspension struts and the second, the clicking sound, service fixed that one for me by placing some material similar to dynamats between the shock tower brace and the shock tower. This need to be done on both sides to work.

If you look at the part catalog: https://epc.tesla.com/#/systemGroups/60166?partNumber=1064611-00-B&partId=11236048

It sound proofing need to go between item 9 and 11 on one side and the corresponding parts on the other side.