Should I (we) be worried about Suspension Failure?

[ohmman]

I thought I read in a different thread that suspension height setting (eg. set to 'high' or 'very high') was responsible for rumbling during hard acceleration. I have felt it myself just yesterday and now that's twice in 2 weeks. I did have my suspension set to automatically raise to 'very high' in the park I was visiting, but I would have thought it would have lowered to 'standard' by the time I was leaving the park, but based on the rumbling, it was still probably on 'very high'.

I'll just have to monitor my suspension setting a little more closely the next time I feel the rumble. The best way I can describe it, is that feeling when you hit the brakes hard on a slippery surface and the ABS brakes kicks in to prevent skidding. Also, about 3 weeks ago I had my vehicle at the SC for a seat belt issue and they also checked my suspension (on their own initiative) and found that it was fine.

It's funny, because we are on "very high" when we leave our gravel driveway. The car lowers once we reach speed. And this is where my wife complains about the noise under hard acceleration.

I'm driving the X later this afternoon and will try to drop it first, see how that goes.

 

[DrivingTheFuture]

I recently came across a couple of complaints on the forums and NHTSA regarding suspension failure on the X, normally I would dismiss it, like the unattended acceleration complaints but I do have a rumbling/rattling noise I noted previously in my: 5 Month Model X Experience + Build Quality

As mentioned in my 5 month review, I kind of gave up on resolving it since Tesla couldn't fix it after two service appointments but I plan on trying again, once I am due for the annual inspection as I assume Tesla would have a better understanding on diagnosing the X with more time (and I am tired of frequently visiting the SC, 3 appointments for me so far, I am sure others have done more but I want to enjoy the car and miss not having it.....).

The rumbling is evident on some drives and not a super big deal as it doesn't prevent the car from being driven. However, I recall that someone on the Tesla forums reported that replacing the strut resolved this similar issue, so this leads to my concern about a possible suspension failure.

The issue is a rumbling noise most prominent at low speeds over bumps (e.g., when entering and exiting driveway, shopping center entrances and speed bumps, etc.). It appears sometimes as though the noise is coming from the drivers’ side door or perhaps under the drivers’ side seat itself, as a vibration seems to be felt along with the noise to the driver. Sometimes it sounds like it is coming from the left passenger door area (behind the drivers’ seat).

What do you think, Tesla already knows I have this issue so am I good??

You probably already checked this, but ensure that the lane departure vibration warning is turned off... I was alarmed by it our first week of ownership because it really feels and sounds like a suspension issue when it's on

 

[vandacca]

I thought I read in a different thread that suspension height setting (eg. set to 'high' or 'very high') was responsible for rumbling during hard acceleration. I have felt it myself just yesterday and now that's twice in 2 weeks. I did have my suspension set to automatically raise to 'very high' in the park I was visiting, but I would have thought it would have lowered to 'standard' by the time I was leaving the park, but based on the rumbling, it was still probably on 'very high'.

I'll just have to monitor my suspension setting a little more closely the next time I feel the rumble. The best way I can describe it, is that feeling when you hit the brakes hard on a slippery surface and the ABS brakes kicks in to prevent skidding. Also, about 3 weeks ago I had my vehicle at the SC for a seat belt issue and they also checked my suspension (on their own initiative) and found that it was fine.

I drove the exact same route I did the last time I felt the rumbling/shudder and sure enough, when I left the park, my suspension was still on "Very High". I had it set this way because of the gravel road in the park and I didn't want to get stone chips. Looks like the suspension will not auto-lower until speed is reached (vs exiting a GPS-fence location). Therefore, in my scenario, the suspension height was responsible for the shudder.

 

[Coolcarx]

You probably already checked this, but ensure that the lane departure vibration warning is turned off... I was alarmed by it our first week of ownership because it really feels and sounds like a suspension issue when it's on

Thanks, was about to take car in for service with vibration noise.

 

[ohmman]

I drove the exact same route I did the last time I felt the rumbling/shudder and sure enough, when I left the park, my suspension was still on "Very High". I had it set this way because of the gravel road in the park and I didn't want to get stone chips. Looks like the suspension will not auto-lower until speed is reached (vs exiting a GPS-fence location). Therefore, in my scenario, the suspension height was responsible for the shudder.

My X is at the Service Center. When I dropped it off, I drove with a knowledgable tech who gave me a fairly detailed explanation of the work they put into resolving this shudder. According to the tech, Tesla mounted cameras trained on the suspension in order to figure out what was going on. They also had some parts precision machined to see if that resolved the issue. No matter what they did, they found that the combination of torque and front suspension architecture would result in this particular kind of shaking/shuddering. He said it's specifically on the highest setting(s) of the suspension.

I have to imagine on a P100DL it would be pretty intense.

 

[outie]

My X is at the Service Center. When I dropped it off, I drove with a knowledgable tech who gave me a fairly detailed explanation of the work they put into resolving this shudder. According to the tech, Tesla mounted cameras trained on the suspension in order to figure out what was going on. They also had some parts precision machined to see if that resolved the issue. No matter what they did, they found that the combination of torque and front suspension architecture would result in this particular kind of shaking/shuddering. He said it's specifically on the highest setting(s) of the suspension.

I have to imagine on a P100DL it would be pretty intense.

Would you mind inquiring about how the different suspension heights will affect tire wears? Not sure if you've seen the youtube video about someone saying (and video demonstrating it) that the Low setting creates negative chamber which effectively causes extra wear on the inner tread. Thanks.

Tesla Model X Air Suspension Tire Wear • /r/teslamotors

 

[vandacca]

My X is at the Service Center. When I dropped it off, I drove with a knowledgeable tech who gave me a fairly detailed explanation of the work they put into resolving this shudder. According to the tech, Tesla mounted cameras trained on the suspension in order to figure out what was going on. They also had some parts precision machined to see if that resolved the issue. No matter what they did, they found that the combination of torque and front suspension architecture would result in this particular kind of shaking/shuddering. He said it's specifically on the highest setting(s) of the suspension.

I have to imagine on a P100DL it would be pretty intense.

I wonder if this kind of shudder at high suspension setting will cause premature wear 'n tear and/or cause things to become loose?
If so, then I also wonder if Tesla will update software to limit power when suspension setting is set to high or very high?

 

[ohmman]

I also wonder if Tesla will update software to limit power when suspension setting is set to high or very high?

I wondered this same thing. Seems like an easy workaround, but probably a difficult decision internally.

 

[vandacca]

I wondered this same thing. Seems like an easy workaround, but probably a difficult decision internally.

Since the shuddering is not a great experience and it will likely cause complaints/headaches for the service department, I would expect that Tesla will eventually issue a (temporary?) software update to reduce power at higher suspension levels (unless they can find a different work-around or stabilize whatever is shuddering).

Unfortunately when someone accelerates quickly at high suspension level, I don't think it's possible to lower suspension quick enough to eliminate the shudder. But quick acceleration should also be a trigger to lower suspension, rather than only using the current speed.