"Refreshed" Model S model VIBRATION tracking and information thread!!!

[jebinc]

I'm just posting facts and the basis for an opinion. Insult again and you are ignored. Please ignore me in any case if you will continue to get triggered when your vibration jihad is undermined by posting of contrary facts and opinions.

Also just stating fact. And for the last time, “to each”. Enjoy your vibrating MS and I will enjoy my non tocking and non vibrating Rivian.

 

[Workmailman]

I am pessimistic and would say most S refresh vibrate and if you find one that doesn't then It is a happy accident as this is a design issue. mine is very subtle and hard to notice unless you pay attention and know what to look for.

We had 3 Plaids (2 22s and one 23) parked in our club house last weekend for Spring event done by our community for the kids. I was chatting with there owners and discussing what we like and we do not about them, when I mentioned the vibration, they said they do not have it so we went for a drive in both cars and I showed them how to get it (lite foot on the acceleration, slight uphill and viola). needless to say they both hate me now

I bet if someone say they do not have it then 99% they are either heavy footed on the acceleration and they blew through the zone quickly or never cared about slight imperfection. My wife had her MYP for a week with the rear mirror rattling and she never cared till I drove it and was WTF!!!

I'm thinking about ordering a 23' Plaid MS and I'm scared about this issue, would this detract you from buying a Plaid now that you know it's an issue? I drove the LR MS and I absolutely just love the car, but I want the Plaid acceleration. Thoughts?

 

[Maaz]

I'm thinking about ordering a 23' Plaid MS and I'm scared about this issue, would this detract you from buying a Plaid now that you know it's an issue? I drove the LR MS and I absolutely just love the car, but I want the Plaid acceleration. Thoughts?

Nope. Doesn’t bother me.

 

[SnowFlyer]

I'm thinking about ordering a 23' Plaid MS and I'm scared about this issue, would this detract you from buying a Plaid now that you know it's an issue? I drove the LR MS and I absolutely just love the car, but I want the Plaid acceleration. Thoughts?

I have never driven a refresh so don’t know about the medium speed vibration on the refresh MS but in regards to the front end acceleration shudder it’s a pretty annoying unless you want to lower your car and scrape at driveways and large bumps (which is also annoying). My 2017 MS and all normal height, all-wheel drive MS and MX have the design defect where it will develop rattle/ shudder during acceleration over time unless you modify the car by lowering the suspension.

The S is fun to drive and the refresh has that sweet 400ish miles of range but I don’t recommend it after my 5 years of ownership, headaches with acceleration shudder recurring 3 times (after it being “repaired”), spending days of my life getting the car to and from service to diagnose and temporarily repair the issue only to have it return (I live about a 5 hour round trip to the nearest service center), and now with he refresh add this new mid speed vibration of which no one knows how bad it’ll get over time, .

It’s ultimately a very personal choice. As you can read in this thread, some people are happy to pay over $100,000 for a car with multiple design defects but some of us are not. If you want the most trouble free, versatile car Tesla builds get a Model Y.

 

[jebinc]

I have never driven a refresh so don’t know about the medium speed vibration on the refresh MS but in regards to the front end acceleration shudder it’s a pretty annoying unless you want to lower your car and scrape at driveways and large bumps (which is also annoying). My 2017 MS and all normal height, all-wheel drive MS and MX have the design defect where it will develop rattle/ shudder during acceleration over time unless you modify the car by lowering the suspension.

The S is fun to drive and the refresh has that sweet 400ish miles of range but I don’t recommend it after my 5 years of ownership, headaches with acceleration shudder recurring 3 times (after it being “repaired”), spending days of my life getting the car to and from service to diagnose and temporarily repair the issue only to have it return (I live about a 5 hour round trip to the nearest service center), and now with he refresh add this new mid speed vibration of which no one knows how bad it’ll get over time, .

It’s ultimately a very personal choice. As you can read in this thread, some people are happy to pay over $100,000 for a car with multiple design defects but some of us are not. If you want the most trouble free, versatile car Tesla builds get a Model Y.

^^^ This ^^^

I had a 2021 Model Y, Performance - and it was problem free. Sold it for the Rivian, but only because I didn’t have a four car garage. The 3/Y are better build, due to higher volume and due to the fact Wall Street tracks the “revenue drivers”. Because of this, Tesla largely neglects the S/X and it’s niche customers.

 

[12Pack]

I have never driven a refresh so don’t know about the medium speed vibration on the refresh MS but in regards to the front end acceleration shudder it’s a pretty annoying unless you want to lower your car and scrape at driveways and large bumps (which is also annoying). My 2017 MS and all normal height, all-wheel drive MS and MX have the design defect where it will develop rattle/ shudder during acceleration over time unless you modify the car by lowering the suspension.

The S is fun to drive and the refresh has that sweet 400ish miles of range but I don’t recommend it after my 5 years of ownership, headaches with acceleration shudder recurring 3 times (after it being “repaired”), spending days of my life getting the car to and from service to diagnose and temporarily repair the issue only to have it return (I live about a 5 hour round trip to the nearest service center), and now with he refresh add this new mid speed vibration of which no one knows how bad it’ll get over time, .

It’s ultimately a very personal choice. As you can read in this thread, some people are happy to pay over $100,000 for a car with multiple design defects but some of us are not. If you want the most trouble free, versatile car Tesla builds get a Model Y.

OTOH I have had a 2013, 2015 and now a 2020 Raven MS's which have all been smooth as silk - at all ride heights and speeds. Palladium RHD drive models for the UK are still just a glimmer in someone's eye, so hopefully these issue will be resolved by then.

 

[SnowFlyer]

OTOH I have had a 2013, 2015 and now a 2020 Raven MS's which have all been smooth as silk - at all ride heights and speeds. Palladium RHD drive models for the UK are still just a glimmer in someone's eye, so hopefully these issue will be resolved by then.

The acceleration shudder/vibration happens on the all-wheel drive versions of the MS but not the rear drive variants to my knowledge and starts around 20,000 miles give or take. If your first two MS’s were RWD they won’t have it. In the AWD variety if they are lower mileage, or you drive conservatively then it may not have shown up yet.

Experts believe the acceleration shudder is due to the premature wear of front CV joints from being under too much load while at too great an angle. Many of us suspect that is likely to show up sooner for those of us who like to feel g-forces when we depress the accelerator, later for the more mild drivers. Vibration is initially is only felt during very hard acceleration then gradually begins to show up more during less spirited acceleration.

On my 2017 MS LR it first showed up around 18k mi. while accelerating up a hill while carrying a heavy load, which is the perfect regime to maximize the raising the front end and squat the rear. This suspension orientation maxes out the angles of the front CV joints which is where they are most finicky. I finally had a successful repair by replacing front half shafts at about 25-30k miles. Now it’s at 60k mi and the vibration has returned meaning the CV joints wore out in about 18k mi. initially and about 30k mi. after the “improved” replacement parts were installed. I certainly drove much harder my first 18k miles than my last 42k so hard to know if the longer mileage to symptom interval is due to better parts or more conservative driving.

I test drove a Car Max Raven LR with 25k mi. It was in great shape and felt find during normal driving but when I put the pedal to the metal boom, there was the vibration. Reproducible 100% of the time by hard acceleration.

 

[n2mb_racing]

The acceleration shudder/vibration happens on the all-wheel drive versions of the MS but not the rear drive variants to my knowledge and starts around 20,000 miles give or take. If your cars were RWD they won’t have it. In the AWD variations if they are lower mileage, or you drive conservatively then it may not have shown up yet.

Experts believe the acceleration shudder is due to the premature wear of front CV joints from being under too much load while at too great an angle. Many of us suspect that is likely to show up sooner for those of us who like to feel g-forces when we depress the accelerator, later for the more mild drivers. Vibration is initially is only felt during very hard acceleration then gradually begins to show up more during less spirited acceleration.

On my 2017 MS LR it first showed up around 18k mi. while accelerating up a hill while carrying a heavy load, which is the perfect regime to maximize the raising the front end and squat the rear. This suspension orientation maxes out the angles of the front CV joints which is where they are most finicky.

I test drove a Car Max Raven LR with 25k mi. It was in great shape and felt find during normal driving but when I put the pedal to the metal boom, there was the vibration. Reproducible 100% of the time by hard acceleration.

I think we're talking about a different, but perhaps related vibration in the '21 refresh model S. This vibration occurs between 40-50 mph, under very light acceleration. It doesn't seem to be related to wear, because I've had new half shafts installed and the vibration comes back within days.

However, the potential good news is that I have received an engineering sample of new half shafts that so far have eliminated the vibration. I'll keep posting, but it has been 600 miles so far and ~3 weeks and the vibrations haven't returned. That's pretty good news, since after the last two half shaft replacements, the vibrations came back within a week.

 

[SnowFlyer]

I think we're talking about a different, but perhaps related vibration in the '21 refresh model S. This vibration occurs between 40-50 mph, under very light acceleration. It doesn't seem to be related to wear, because I've had new half shafts installed and the vibration comes back within days.

However, the potential good news is that I have received an engineering sample of new half shafts that so far have eliminated the vibration. I'll keep posting, but it has been 600 miles so far and ~3 weeks and the vibrations haven't returned. That's pretty good news, since after the last two half shaft replacements, the vibrations came back within a week.

Yes you are correct. For clarification, I am referring to the hard acceleration vibration that starts when accelerating hard from most normal speeds as one of two design defects on the refresh MS. I discuss both in my previous posts.

The other vibration that you are referring to (and purpose of the poll) is the reportedly more moderate speed, light acceleration.

Which vibration do these new half shafts possibly solve, the any speed, hard acceleration one or the moderate speed, light acceleration one?

 

[n2mb_racing]

Yes you are correct. For clarification, I am referring to the hard acceleration vibration that starts when accelerating hard from most normal speeds as one of two design defects on the refresh MS. I discuss both in my previous posts.

The other vibration that you are referring to (and purpose of the poll) is the reportedly more moderate speed, light acceleration.

Which vibration do these new half shafts possibly solve, the any speed, hard acceleration one or the moderate speed, light acceleration one?

I only have the light acceleration vibration, so I don't know about the hard acceleration vibration. The new design seems to solve the light acceleration vibration on my car. I have a '21 Plaid.

 

[SnowFlyer]

I only have the light acceleration vibration, so I don't know about the hard acceleration vibration. The new design seems to solve the light acceleration vibration on my car. I have a '21 Plaid.

How many miles on your ‘21 Plaid?

 

[jebinc]

The acceleration shudder/vibration happens on the all-wheel drive versions of the MS but not the rear drive variants to my knowledge and starts around 20,000 miles give or take. If your first two MS’s were RWD they won’t have it. In the AWD variety if they are lower mileage, or you drive conservatively then it may not have shown up yet.

Experts believe the acceleration shudder is due to the premature wear of front CV joints from being under too much load while at too great an angle. Many of us suspect that is likely to show up sooner for those of us who like to feel g-forces when we depress the accelerator, later for the more mild drivers. Vibration is initially is only felt during very hard acceleration then gradually begins to show up more during less spirited acceleration.

On my 2017 MS LR it first showed up around 18k mi. while accelerating up a hill while carrying a heavy load, which is the perfect regime to maximize the raising the front end and squat the rear. This suspension orientation maxes out the angles of the front CV joints which is where they are most finicky. I finally had a successful repair by replacing front half shafts at about 25-30k miles. Now it’s at 60k mi and the vibration has returned meaning the CV joints wore out in about 18k mi. initially and about 30k mi. after the “improved” replacement parts were installed. I certainly drove much harder my first 18k miles than my last 42k so hard to know if the longer mileage to symptom interval is due to better parts or more conservative driving.

I test drove a Car Max Raven LR with 25k mi. It was in great shape and felt find during normal driving but when I put the pedal to the metal boom, there was the vibration. Reproducible 100% of the time by hard acceleration.

Yes, also, originally the MS was not designed to have a drive unit up front. That thought came later at Tesla and they introduced it on top of the original chassis design that didn’t expect one. As a result, the drive unit, and shaft angles are higher, than say a Model 3/Y AWD, because those models were designed with dual motors in mind. The Refreshed MS in 2021 was more hype than design improvements - at the front drive unit remains too high, relative to the wheels. Junk.

 

[Workmailman]

Yes, also, originally the MS was not designed to have a drive unit up front. That thought came later at Tesla and they introduced it on top of the original chassis design that didn’t expect one. As a result, the drive unit, and shaft angles are higher, than say a Model 3/Y AWD, because those models were designed with dual motors in mind. The Refreshed MS in 2021 was more hype than design improvements - at the front drive unit remains too high, relative to the wheels. Junk.

Do you have a Plaid?

 

[jebinc]

Do you have a Plaid?

Yes

 

[Workmailman]

Yes

So I’m assuming you’re unhappy with it :/

 

[jebinc]

So I’m assuming you’re unhappy with it :/

Yes. I’m the OP of this 43 page thread. There are many who are unhappy with these cars (and FSD beta).

 

[n2mb_racing]

How many miles on your ‘21 Plaid?

12,000

 

[SnowFlyer]

12,000

The hard acceleration vibration (not the topic of this thread for clarification) typically develops around 20k miles. Your MS will very likely develop this one too by 20k- 30k miles from the mileage of your last half shat replacement. It seems to be a function of half-shaft CV joint wear.

You mentioned earlier that you had a newly engineered version of the half shafts installed. This could keep the hard acceleration shudder from developing, but I’m not too hopeful because Tesla has installed supposedly stronger re-engineered shafts on my MS (and many others) in the past and the vibration eventually returns. Mine were replaced around 25k-30k mi. I’m now at 60k and the vibration is returning.

 

[lbowroom]

The hard acceleration vibration (not the topic of this thread for clarification) typically develops around 20k miles. Your MS will very likely develop this one too by 20k- 30k miles from the mileage of your last half shat replacement. It seems to be a function of half-shaft CV joint wear.

You mentioned earlier that you had a newly engineered version of the half shafts installed. This could keep the hard acceleration shudder from developing, but I’m not too hopeful because Tesla has installed supposedly stronger re-engineered shafts on my MS (and many others) in the past and the vibration eventually returns. Mine were replaced around 25k-30k mi. I’m now at 60k and the vibration is returning.

That's assuming they did no engineering changes to the front drive system on the refresh....

 

[n2mb_racing]

That's assuming they did no engineering changes to the front drive system on the refresh....

It is an entirely new front drive unit, I can't imagine why they wouldn't fix that. Maybe they'd have to crash test it again? Beats me.

I previously had a 2016 p90dl with 25k miles that didn't have the vibration, but I probably returned it before it developed.

I'll make sure to sell mine before the warranty is up...