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The high-pitched whine during acceleration...
- Thread starter gg_got_a_tesla
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
kinddog
Banned
i didn't have the whine for the first 3 weeks.
i've had it steadily the past week and currently.
that said, i like the whine.
i've had it steadily the past week and currently.
that said, i like the whine.
(No whine when the orange arc is small.)
ModelS1079
Member
Heading in to Service tomorrow - the whine which I described above a few weeks ago, has not abated. Different than the whine that is supposedly only at high acceleration, this whine occurs only between about 10 kWh and 40 kWh, is easily heard at say 20 or 30mph. Present but harder to hear at say 60mph due to road noise. This is a buzzkill as it ruins that silent slow speed driving. Here's the deal: gave a test drive to a serious Tesla Nation candidate Sunday and the guy was so annoyed by it. So I guess I am not crazy or suffering from one too many Dead concerts from age 15. Will keep you updated. And we'll get my friend into Tesla Nation...
mnx
2018 M3P
Mine like many others has had it since day one, although it is much quieter than I remember from my Get Amped test drive.
Not at all. Earlier in this thread (I think it was this one) I noted I had the noise and how disappointed I was with it. Just stating that my dislike hasn't changed after having had the car a while.
(Or did you mean the tone of the noise has changed? It's actually the same ... might kick in a bit earlier in the power consumption band than it used to but basically the same)
Yes I meant your 'tune' or opinion of the car, not tone of the whine. So to clarify this is bothersome to the extent you are dissatisfied with the car?
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mnx
2018 M3P
Yours must be quite a bit louder than mine.
Does anyone else's car make an awesome but barely audible whine (sci-fi type noise) under regen around 15km/h? Love that sound!!
It's the same as I've heard in other cars and videos ... it's not loud ... but my "taste" in hearing is such that when the silence is disrupted, it bothers me personally.
I'm not dissatisfied with the car at all. It's one of the nitpicks I'd add to a list of dislikes I'd have about any product I own. This one's probably one of the higher-priority items for me.
I'm not dissatisfied with the car at all. It's one of the nitpicks I'd add to a list of dislikes I'd have about any product I own. This one's probably one of the higher-priority items for me.
Chgd Up
Sig 1004
Was service able to do anything for you on this? I know there is supposed to be a fix in the works for the general high power whine but I don't think it is available yet.
EarlyAdopter
Active Member
... is friggin' awesome!
I've been waiting to see how my car turned out after a couple of months and if it ever got on my nerves. I can say my car has a very slight whine under max throttle only, it hasn't gotten any louder over time, and I totally love it.
To be fair, I loved the sound of turbos and superchargers on my previous cars. Really adds a visceral component to the "ok, now we're really going fast" experience of flooring it. Just in the Model S it's a futuristic, electrical sound instead of a mechanical sound.
A buddy of mine who does a lot of work with electric motors says it sounds like coil wine to him - the copper windings around the motor can vibrate under heavy current loads. I think it's PWM harmonics from the inverter. Only Tesla knows for sure.
I also get a teeny tiny, even fainter electronic sound under regen, only noticeable at slow speeds with the radio completely off. Not too dissimilar to the hybrid car regen sound I hear on any passing Toyota hybrid. Sounds like the future to me.
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rlpm
S P85 | Sig X _P90D_
I also used to love the turbo spool sound in my Nissan 300ZX. It wasn't very evident in my BMW 335i.
I gladly await hearing the "warp whine" in my S.
Is the regen sound the EV equivalent of the "sneeze" of blow-off valves releasing pressure, just not nearly as wasteful?
Or is that wastegate-ful? Bah dum bum! :wink:
ModelS1079
Member
Originally Posted by ModelS1079
Heading in to Service tomorrow - the whine which I described above a few weeks ago, has not abated. Different than the whine that is supposedly only at high acceleration, this whine occurs only between about 10 kWh and 40 kWh, is easily heard at say 20 or 30mph. Present but harder to hear at say 60mph due to road noise. This is a buzzkill as it ruins that silent slow speed driving. Here's the deal: gave a test drive to a serious Tesla Nation candidate Sunday and the guy was so annoyed by it. So I guess I am not crazy or suffering from one too many Dead concerts from age 15. Will keep you updated. And we'll get my friend into Tesla Nation...
Service has kindly listened as they drove with me; I suspect this is not an easy fix - this is different than the high-pitched sound one hears at high acceleration, likely plug vibration between motor and inverter or bettery - whatever we all decided was the caise of that common and not intrusive sound. This is a high-pitched whirr at 7-30kWh acceleration, appears to be independent of speed except that the tone steps up a little higher above 30mph - steps up in one step, rather than rising continously - so I really htink this is purely accelration-related, at rather low acceleration, heard best at low road noise/low speed. Tesla is working with engineers to get this right. I'll "keep you posted". Else, the car is A DREAM.
Heading in to Service tomorrow - the whine which I described above a few weeks ago, has not abated. Different than the whine that is supposedly only at high acceleration, this whine occurs only between about 10 kWh and 40 kWh, is easily heard at say 20 or 30mph. Present but harder to hear at say 60mph due to road noise. This is a buzzkill as it ruins that silent slow speed driving. Here's the deal: gave a test drive to a serious Tesla Nation candidate Sunday and the guy was so annoyed by it. So I guess I am not crazy or suffering from one too many Dead concerts from age 15. Will keep you updated. And we'll get my friend into Tesla Nation...
Service has kindly listened as they drove with me; I suspect this is not an easy fix - this is different than the high-pitched sound one hears at high acceleration, likely plug vibration between motor and inverter or bettery - whatever we all decided was the caise of that common and not intrusive sound. This is a high-pitched whirr at 7-30kWh acceleration, appears to be independent of speed except that the tone steps up a little higher above 30mph - steps up in one step, rather than rising continously - so I really htink this is purely accelration-related, at rather low acceleration, heard best at low road noise/low speed. Tesla is working with engineers to get this right. I'll "keep you posted". Else, the car is A DREAM.
Zapped
Model S - PURE EV
I haven't heard it either but if it's anything like the old Star Trek, "give me more power Scotty" acceleration, I'm sure the passengers might like it as well :biggrin:
Mayhemm
Model S P85+ "Lola"
Just curious, it's been a few months; any resolution to this issue one way or the other?
I'm inclined to think the sound would not bother me as I almost always drive with music on. However, the first car I owned had a transmission issue that caused a persistent, high-pitched whine at about 80kph. As such, this kind of issue leaves a disproportionately bad taste in my mouth (past trauma and all) and would probably end up bothering me as a result.
I'm inclined to think the sound would not bother me as I almost always drive with music on. However, the first car I owned had a transmission issue that caused a persistent, high-pitched whine at about 80kph. As such, this kind of issue leaves a disproportionately bad taste in my mouth (past trauma and all) and would probably end up bothering me as a result.
deonb
Active Member
The whine is not persistent. It's only there for a couple of seconds if you put your foot down hard. As such, it's not the same as a persistent high-pitched whine from a transmission. It's also avoidable by not driving like a hooligan... or so I've heard.
I personally like the noise, however, there are definitely different noise levels for different cars.
Mine is about as loud as a BMW engine when you accelerate hard. It's there to let you know it's alive and it means business, but it isn't obnoxious about it. However, I also drove a loaner once that were REALLY loud - it will interrupt a conversation (but so will the G-force of that level of acceleration though).
So it really depends on the car you get. But in all cars, it's avoidable and you don't hear it every day. It's only at the times when you want to flex some muscle, in which case you're not just out for a Sunday afternoon drive listening to Barry Manilow.
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