The shudder problem: Current status (end of February 2020)

[Phil Seastrand]

So, is the shudder harmful? Can it cause problems in out-years? Usually a vibration or a noise are indications of problems and problems left unsolved usually become bigger issues.

He did say it's not causing any damage, but I find that hard to believe.

 

[TexasTeslaRacing]

Left unchecked it can’t be good launch after launch.

 

[5JMJ]

I think more effective route is to bring this to attention of regulators or media outlets like consumer reports who focus on safety, I am concerned about long term affects and the chances for sudden complete failure. Would love to know what other think consequences could be.

Tweet Elon or the higher ups about it, that's the best way to get a response. However if there is no fix then there is no fix. If the local service center does not have a fix from HQ then I am not sure how you would deal with it. You could always escalate it to HQ.

 

[Super_Popular]

 

[Super_Popular]

I think more effective route is to bring this to attention of regulators or media outlets like consumer reports who focus on safety.

Doubtful, but try it. Nothing will happen unless someone speaks up.

Elon responds to Tweets if you bring it up enough.

 

[Phil Seastrand]

As I understand it, if we set the suspension to "Low" the shudder disappears because the half-shafts are near alignment (i.e., they are close to horizontal to the wheel hubs and differential). But doing this causes the inside of the tires to wear more because of the tow-in set in the suspension. Would it be possible to have the car's suspension aligned in the low position and eliminate this problem? What am I missing?

 

[Hodginator]

As I understand it, if we set the suspension to "Low" the shudder disappears because the half-shafts are near alignment (i.e., they are close to horizontal to the wheel hubs and differential). But doing this causes the inside of the tires to wear more because of the tow-in set in the suspension. Would it be possible to have the car's suspension aligned in the low position and eliminate this problem? What am I missing?

You could try that but it may impact stability. With that said it won’t stop the shudder and grinding from getting worse in my experience. It will definitely lesson from whatever you experience on normal. Mine now does it even on very low.

I’m also surprised that if this is all about half shaft angle that they didn’t just make the normal setting lower via a software update.

 

[K2500Z71]

Ditto on making the standard setting lower. In fact, they really only need to lower the front. That way the rear tires wouldn’t be affected. It would probably look better too... to my eye, the front of the X has always looked a little high.

 

[Krazaak]

As I understand it, if we set the suspension to "Low" the shudder disappears because the half-shafts are near alignment (i.e., they are close to horizontal to the wheel hubs and differential). But doing this causes the inside of the tires to wear more because of the tow-in set in the suspension. Would it be possible to have the car's suspension aligned in the low position and eliminate this problem? What am I missing?

It's definitely a misconception that all Model Xs wear the inner edges of their tires at low setting. I bought a demo P100D with 7500 miles, so a car that was likely floored at every opportunity (not that it changed any once I bought it) and I had the front axles replaced shortly after purchasing it. They had me switch the car from lower at 55 to always low and I've since been through 2 sets of tires that wore perfectly evenly. Now, I still burn through tires in 14k miles because I have a lead foot, but the tread is worn evenly from inside to out.

The Model X rear camber (in low) isn't any worse than my BMW X5M or X6M were, excessive wear is due to bad toe. Coincidentally, I get pretty much the same mileage out of tires on the X as I did in the X5M or X6M. Shouldn't be much of a surprise because they have similar weight and power.

Now, all that said, my shudder has returned after another 30k miles even on always low. I've asked them to perform the clevis mount fix when I go in for the MCU2/HW3 upgrade.

 

[Phil Seastrand]

Thanks. I'll try low for awhile and keep an eye on the tires.

 

[kskog]

It's very strange that Tesla didn't discover this issue during development/testing. At least during Plaid testing.. wonder if Plaid will be released with this issue too..

 

[Red-X]

I know that some Volvo AWD SUVs are using another solution for the driveshafts with a ball spline and other type of CVJ:s at both wheel and transmission side. This solution is much better for SUVs with higher angles between shaft and the other transmission parts. Why are not Tesla using this ?

https://www.gknautomotive.com/globalassets/downloads/sideshaft-datasheet/sx-ballspline-en.pdf

 

[jewilson2]

Doubtful, but try it. Nothing will happen unless someone speaks up.

Elon responds to Tweets if you bring it up enough.

I've been trying this on every one of his tweets lately. Starting to get hate from the community for asking. That's one thing I dislike about Tesla twitter. You cannot be intellectually honest without being dubbed a "hater". It's an Elon praise contest to a degree.

The cars are not perfect, but are better than everything else on the road. Both things can be true.

 

[CrewKize]

Well finally got alignment. Went to firestone because Tesla pissed me off and they did a good job on my 3 after installing coilovers. Short story took them 3 times to get it right and damn this thing is finally nice to drive ! I suggest you demand an alignment at deliver. Save yourself the pain of dealing with Tesla. Top pic is last one they did bottom pic is first try.

 

[CrewKize]

Well finally got an alignment, much better drive now. Should of been more aggressive with Tesla when I asked for one the first week of ownership.

 

[jewilson2]

Well finally got an alignment, much better drive now. Should of been more aggressive with Tesla when I asked for one the first week of ownership.

Maybe i missed something. Are you saying the alignment had an impact on a shudder problem?

 

[Krazaak]

Maybe i missed something. Are you saying the alignment had an impact on a shudder problem?

I would suspect the alignment solves the issue of increased tire wear on low and staying on low mitigates the shudder problem.

 

[CrewKize]

I would suspect the alignment solves the issue of increased tire wear on low and staying on low mitigates the shudder problem.

Alignment is more then just tire wear, can make a brand new car drive like junk box. Shutter isn’t gonnna go away. I simply posted in the wrong place. I strongly suggest anybody with an X to get alignment.

 

[jerry33]

Alignment is more then just tire wear, can make a brand new car drive like junk box. Shutter isn’t gonnna go away. I simply posted in the wrong place. I strongly suggest anybody with an X to get alignment.

Absolutely. It appears that Tesla aligns the cars for maximum handling. The practical side to this is that there is lots of toe-in on the front. This will wear the tires rapidly and also reduce range.

 

[CrewKize]

Absolutely. It appears that Tesla aligns the cars for maximum handling. The practical side to this is that there is lots of toe-in on the front. This will wear the tires rapidly and also reduce range.

mine was aligned toe out so drove like a lost goose.