RWD whine on hard acceleration... normal?

[schofer]

We just took delivery of a blue LR RWD Model 3 today! Reserved in 2017 and ordered in August.

Overall, the experience was great. I was at the "dreaded" Costa Mesa, CA store that people complain about, but they were very nice and didn't rush us at all. (They were late for our appointment... but they were packed so I was kinda expecting that.)

The fit and finish seem great. Found a few infinitesimal surface scratches and 2 microscopic paint irregularities; and the glass roof isn't 100% perfectly aligned... but I only noticed because I've been reading this forum while waiting for the car and learned to pay attention to such things. A normal person would never ever notice...

The only quirk is that I notice a mild but very noticeable whine from the rear of the car ONLY during hard acceleration... for instance when I accelerate onto the highway or I'm already at highway speeds and floor it. I googled and found lots of posts about front motor whine... but this is definitely coming from the rear. It is a high pitched electrical whine ("eeeeeee"), not a mechanical whirring sound, and seems to relate to the amount I press the accelerator, not the speed of the motor.

Is this normal? I'm curious if others experience the same thing... or if it is something I should get checked out. Thank you!

 

[Derek Kessler]

Normal. That's what electric cars do instead of a roaring V8 or turbo whine.

 

[schofer]

Normal. That's what electric cars do instead of a roaring V8 or turbo whine.

Thanks, I really appreciate it. I was worried there could be something not quite right... so this is reassuring.

I definitely noticed a whine when we test drove a Nissan Leaf, but I didn’t notice it in the model 3... but maybe I didn’t accelerate that much... and I was paying attention to the salesperson.

Just curious... does anyone know where the noise comes from? Is it the motor? Or the electronics pumping juice to the motor? Or something else?

 

[Lasttoy]

I dont agree its normal. I floor it off a light at least once a week in a race. I've never heard a whine. Or any noises.
I would go to SC and ask to drive another car. See if you hear it? I have raced every other muscle car and a 488, mine is so silent it freaks passengers out. That is the most lasting thing people remembered is silence. Mine is so old the doors and windows fit perfect, no wind noise.

 

[Raider1284]

The electric motors in our cars absolutely make noise when accelerating quickly. Most people just have the music or AC going so you cant hear them over that. But if you turn the music and climate control off you will 100% hear the engines everytime you accelerate quickly.

 

[CarterStC]

... *If* you got a lemon ... LOL!

 

[RSL2020]

Yeah anything past half throttle elicits a very high frequency sound out of the front of our AWD. Its actually kinda cool in the turbo spool kinda way.

 

[csshih]

every single electric car I've driven has made an electric whine when accelerating

 

[Kirby64]

Pretty sure the whine everyone hears is the inverter unit converting DC -> AC. Given it's built directly into the motor pack, it's pretty much impossible to tell if it's the motor itself or the inverter unit though. Agreed that it's normal - I only hear mine under harder acceleration (>50% throttle or so)

 

[SD_Engnr]

Is it a high pitch sound like a squeal? Or a futuristic sound like an electric motor ramping up? Have you tried to drive around with no music on, and the windows down? Is it at all speeds?

 

[schofer]

Is it a high pitch sound like a squeal? Or a futuristic sound like an electric motor ramping up? Have you tried to drive around with no music on, and the windows down? Is it at all speeds?

It is a high-pitched squeak/squeal. It does not sound like a motor spinning up. It seems to be totally related to high throttle (like Kirby64 said -- above half or so). It is loudest when I floor the car and goes away the instant I let off the throttle.

It kinda bugs me (the only thing about the car that I'm not 100% thrilled about), but I've always hated electronic whines. My wife has a USB charger that whines and it drives me crazy. (Come to think of it, my wife is neither bothered by her USB charger nor high throttle on our model 3! I guess everyone's ears are different.) But, I figure I'll get used to it. And otherwise the main motor seems very quiet... impressively so.

Anyhow, I appreciate all the responses! If I need to bring it in for service at some point, I'll ask about it... just to see what they say.

 

[AltLogic]

Are your rear seats folded down when you hear the noise?

 

[schofer]

Are your rear seats folded down when you hear the noise?

Nope. But the sound definitely comes from the rear. Maybe I'll try putting the seats down and see if it is louder.

 

[Tummy]

I occasionally hear a loud whine on hard acceleration, but it comes from the passenger seat followed by slaps on the arm.

 

[forkee]

[Useless post]
My front motor, back motor, myself, and any passengers all go

Weeeeeeeeeeeee!



[/useless post]

 

[TeeEmCee]

It is a high-pitched squeak/squeal. It does not sound like a motor spinning up. It seems to be totally related to high throttle (like Kirby64 said -- above half or so). It is loudest when I floor the car and goes away the instant I let off the throttle.

It kinda bugs me (the only thing about the car that I'm not 100% thrilled about), but I've always hated electronic whines. My wife has a USB charger that whines and it drives me crazy. (Come to think of it, my wife is neither bothered by her USB charger nor high throttle on our model 3! I guess everyone's ears are different.) But, I figure I'll get used to it. And otherwise the main motor seems very quiet... impressively so.

Anyhow, I appreciate all the responses! If I need to bring it in for service at some point, I'll ask about it... just to see what they say.

Same sound here, quite normal (albeit unpleasant if you're one with good hearing in the higher frequencies).