Terrifying Noise from Driver's Side

[LoveMX]

This was terrifying because I never heard anything so loud while driving - I had just gotten on the freeway and started to speed up. At about over 55 mph I heard 3-4 extremely loud noises, kind of "thuds". It sounded like it came from the driver's side of the car. I pulled over to check and couldn't find any visible damage to the tires or the car.

I am concerned about driving the car now and getting an SC appointment isn't going to happen anytime soon where I live.

Has anyone had this experience? What could that noise be - battery exploding maybe, something underneath the car or something else? I didn't hit anything on the road. I immediately looked in the camera and wasn't anything on the road. Could it be the tires? I have 41K on the tires, but they are still fine as I drive over 90% on AP.

 

[dannycamps]

Read up on the half-shaft shudder. Common issue with the S and X. According to Tesla it's not a safety concern and does not affect the drivability of the car.

There is a TSB for it to replace the half shafts and clevis mount for pre-raven models but does not appear to be a permanent fix.

 

[Seattle Tom]

I think you ran over something not big enough to show up (perhaps a road button came loose and was kicked up by the tire into the inner fender?). If the battery exploded, you’d have bigger more noticeable problems.

(Your tires are getting up there. While 40K is below the 50K limit most folks would accept for a normal car, the Model X is a heavy vehicle that puts a lot of pressure on tire rubber. I assume you checked the tire tread too? Use a penny with the old Lincoln’s head measurement.)

I had a very odd noise from the bash plate (something got caught underneath it) that required a Service Center fix. But that was at low speeds so doesn’t quite match your situation.

All that said, the X is such a heavy vehicle the best solution is a Service Center appointment. Impossible to rule out an air suspension or other more substantial issue.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Read up on the half-shaft shudder. Common issue with the S and X. According to Tesla it's not a safety concern and does not affect the drivability of the car.

There is a TSB for it to replace the half shafts and clevis mount for pre-raven models but does not appear to be a permanent fix.

I'm going to take a guess it is something else. I haven't heard that prior problems with half-shaft cause the type of noise that the OP is describing, yet, I suppose it could be. For what it is worth, I had the issue (like many other people) with shutter on a pre-raven X, and after the half-shafts and clevis mounts were replace, I never had the problem again. Done last year, about 15,000 miles ago. So for me it was a permanent fix.

 

[LoveMX]

Read up on the half-shaft shudder. Common issue with the S and X. According to Tesla it's not a safety concern and does not affect the drivability of the car.

There is a TSB for it to replace the half shafts and clevis mount for pre-raven models but does not appear to be a permanent fix.

Yea I know all about the half-shafts, but that doesn't really explain the kind of noise I heard and I do not have the shudder issue (or at least, never noticed it). I am due to get the tires replaced next week and will be sure to inform SC about this noise.

The rear tires are remarkably still good while the front tires won't survive long but I am getting all tires replaced.

 

[bayx]

Could be a small part of something that fell off that you couldn't spot in the rear camera?

 

[X Fan]

41k tires, wow! Be careful and constantly check them.