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

[TOCBoston]

May 2019 Raven. I had shudder at around 4K miles sometime around November 2019 and Half shafts replaced shorty thereafter with moderate pressure on SC. Noise gone but came back a few months later. Called SC and they said about the same everyone here is reporting except now the theory was that cold weather was a contributing factor. Would not replace half shafts a second time (for now).

Somewhere around May 2020 the noise disappeared for the entire summer without any SC intervention. Late September as temps dropped, noise returned. On the occasional warm days in October and even November, noise is gone. We're in Boston, fyi.

I use Standard height + auto lowering customarily. However, if I drop to Low on the cold days it disappears.

Using SC's latest theory about temps, my experience does seem to concur that the mechanical issue introduced by the height is further complicated by cold (aka thicker) lubrication within the affected parts.

 

[TypeRx]

Yeah, I heard this same thing. I translated it as "this should hold him off for a while."

Sure enough, even though my shudder problem was ultra minor, after visit to the service center now my wife says the car is scary to drive on the freeway as the vibration/shudder is very noticeable and concerning. Argh. May need to push for a replacement even if it is a bandage fix.

 

[TeeeeeeDub]

Sure enough, even though my shudder problem was ultra minor, after visit to the service center now my wife says the car is scary to drive on the freeway as the vibration/shudder is very noticeable and concerning. Argh. May need to push for a replacement even if it is a bandage fix.

Yikes...I see you're in OC. Which service center? I pick up my 2021 pretty soon.

 

[TypeRx]

Sure enough, even though my shudder problem was ultra minor, after visit to the service center now my wife says the car is scary to drive on the freeway as the vibration/shudder is very noticeable and concerning. Argh. May need to push for a replacement even if it is a bandage fix.

Wow, so I took the X for a spin last night and after 55 mph, the shudder begins in a subtle way. At 70 mph+ it feels like the wheels/tires are massively unbalanced due to the vibration. The car does not feel safe to drive at freeway speeds. It will go back to the service center next week but not sure what, if anything, they will do. It is odd that the problem became markedly worse after it went to the service center. It is almost like they removed the half-shaft or something to inspect and in the process of re-installing something got worse.

We are lucky to have multiple cars so the X can sit for a bit of time but like you all, we didn't spend 6 figures (on a car built in Dec 2019!) to have a big hunk of aluminum and batteries to sit in the garage. Tesla needs to make good on this ASAP.

 

[STAR172E]

Have a pre Raven MX 100D.

Shudder appeared after about 10km. SC said wait for new parts. Did so and had them replaced in March 2020 at about 20k km.

Drove in low most of the time up to that point. Avoided hard acceleration when cold. Since then usually dropped to low before accelerating hard at lights, but after about 5km started to notice vibration at German motorway speed 120-150km/h. So booked in for service as worried front motor was loose.

SC agreed that half shafts needed replacing again. BUT that they usually only replaced them once under warranty, but that as it had only been 5000km they would replace again, but as they could not guarantee even the mark 2 parts would solve the problem permanently advised me to wait as long as I could before replacing them. (Implied there may be a mark 3, worth waiting for) So I got them to make a note in the system stating they would replace the drive shafts under warranty even if I wait untill after the warranty period. So now trying to make them last by setting suspension to low before flooring the car or when driving at more than 100km on the motorway.

In very low and when car warm, no noticeable vibration at 190kmh. Have not dared to go faster even though legal to do so here until they are replaced. Hard acceleration in low /very low and warm not noticeable.

 

[Vitaman]

Can someone define Shudder?
I have had a grinding noise daily for the last 5 months that is brought on by brisk acceleration. At first it was only was I was accelerating rapidly up a steep hill...now it is all the time.
Super annoying. Really sounds like something is broken. Service says that there is no fix. Going to try again next week to see if they can diagnose it better. The Covid atmosphere has ended being able to drive along with a tech.
Sounds a lot like having a high performance BMW or Porsche that requires the highest possible octane gas ....and then filling up with absolute cheapest petrol. In other words the sound mimics engine knock.
Is this an aspect of "Shudder" or something different?

 

[n1h1]

@TypeRx how did the service appt go

@Vitaman that sounds like the symptom.

In my case I get the vibration after about 30mph, which stabilize at 50pm or so. Everytime even in low on hard accel. With hard accel I get a definitive solid knock most of the time. I first experienced this after 5k miles.

 

[n1h1]

@ElectricSteve are the 2nd Generation half shafts still smooth for you or has it come back?

 

[Hodginator]

I now have about 3k miles on the new half shafts and they are still silent/smooth. I’ve left it in low and haven’t really been flooring it though. Time will tell...

 

[n1h1]

I now have about 3k miles on the new half shafts and they are still silent/smooth. I’ve left it in low and haven’t really been flooring it though. Time will tell...

I'm hoping they fixed it for good. In my case I have a performance model, and what's the point if you can't occasionally decide to punch it.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Can someone define Shudder?
I have had a grinding noise daily for the last 5 months that is brought on by brisk acceleration. At first it was only was I was accelerating rapidly up a steep hill...now it is all the time.
Super annoying. Really sounds like something is broken. Service says that there is no fix. Going to try again next week to see if they can diagnose it better. The Covid atmosphere has ended being able to drive along with a tech.
Sounds a lot like having a high performance BMW or Porsche that requires the highest possible octane gas ....and then filling up with absolute cheapest petrol. In other words the sound mimics engine knock.
Is this an aspect of "Shudder" or something different?

Yes, that's sort of what we have on our 2019 Raven Model S Performance.

FWIW, our local SC ordered the half-shafts on request yesterday, thus allowing us to the luxury of just one repair visit, instead of two.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

FWIW, there’s a group on FB devoted to this problem and a legal firm has joined the group and is looking for members (presumably to join the class).

Any details on this?

Elon: you and Tesla in general should be ashamed that people have to resort to potential legal action to get their cars fixed. While our SC has been helpful, thus far, it appears that's not the case across the company. Fix this. Now please.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Any advice on how to get Tesla to address my front axle vibration problem? I feel an occasional shudder on acceleration, but this is not my main issue. From day 1 my 2020 MX had a slight imbalance in front tires which I attributed to a imbalanced tire. I didn't balance the tires until about 15k miles, which didn't take care of the imbalance, which pointed to a axle problem, so they said at the Fort Worth, TX Service Center. Since it wasn't that bad, Tesla declined to replace them. Now it looks like at 25k miles the front axles or one of them had deteriorated the left adaptive air spring module, which will be replaced. I am also increasingly hearing a grinding noise at the front left side during slight-to-medium acceleration, which is likely to be a ball bearing. I shifted to the Dallas Service Center and they have wasted a lot of my time and drives to their center, also. The constant slight vibration in the left front axle, especially at 75-95 mph is deteriorating other parts and these guys are either clueless or just plain slow to understand. It seems like Tesla has a culture of arrogance, and especially some of the service advisors in the customer service (you are dealing with a Tesla here and you don't get it). The technicians are not motivated to find problems and fix them, either, unless the tires fall off. I am stuck. I regret buying this car. Any advice or info I could use to get these axles replaced so I could just drive this car and enjoy it? Many thanks.

Give Alex T. (at FW SC) the part numbers from this thread for the latest and greatest front half-shafts; he'll order them and hopefully install when they come in as well . . . .

Warranties exist for a reason!

 

[TSLA Pilot]

@ElectricSteve are the 2nd Generation half shafts still smooth for you or has it come back?

Also, just to be clear: for the Raven MS's, it is JUST the front half-shafts that are replaced as part of this campaign?

Are there any other parts that need to be replaced?

Thanks!

 

[TypeRx]

@TypeRx how did the service appt go

@Vitaman that sounds like the symptom.

In my case I get the vibration after about 30mph, which stabilize at 50pm or so. Everytime even in low on hard accel. With hard accel I get a definitive solid knock most of the time. I first experienced this after 5k miles.

Went back to service because there was a significant oscillating vibration >65 or 70 mph as well as a lot of binding/spring noise when accelerating from a stop, etc. Diagnosis was a bent front wheel (bizarre considering the car only had 50 miles on it since the last service visit and wife said she didn't hit anything) as well as required re-torquing of the suspension bolts. We were charged for both items - diagnosis fee of 2 hours total basically. They re-torqued the suspension bolts and I swapped back on factory 20" wheels after getting the car back.

Vibration at highway speeds is gone and I am having my 22" wheel repaired (no visible bend and holding air fine but I believe the Tesla tech). 90% of the spring noise is gone but there is still some small noises here and there....almost sounds like it is coming from the passenger front now whereas before it was the driver's side front (and rear?).

In any case, half-shaft issue still not addressed. It is very minor so we will wait for revised parts.

I am unhappy that less just a couple days after the car was in for service and the spring binding/noise was acknowledged, we bring the car back and they say we need to have all the suspension bolts retorqued which is a normal maintenance item and not covered under warranty. This car is 11 months old and has just under 10K miles on it (2020 X-LR...took delivery Dec 28 2019).

We still have the half-shaft issue - guess we will wait until the SC states updated parts are available or the whirring noise becomes louder/more problematic. Will tell the wife to keep the car in low for the time being.

 

[VikH]

Can someone define Shudder?
I have had a grinding noise daily for the last 5 months that is brought on by brisk acceleration. At first it was only was I was accelerating rapidly up a steep hill...now it is all the time.
Super annoying. Really sounds like something is broken. Service says that there is no fix. Going to try again next week to see if they can diagnose it better. The Covid atmosphere has ended being able to drive along with a tech.
Sounds a lot like having a high performance BMW or Porsche that requires the highest possible octane gas ....and then filling up with absolute cheapest petrol. In other words the sound mimics engine knock.
Is this an aspect of "Shudder" or something different?

Shudder and grinding are separate issues.

Grinding does not have a fix, but should not occur in Low or Very Low. I assume you are driving in Standard. It may occur in low when the car is cold, but goes away after the car warms up.

Shudder has a TSB for pre-Raven. No official TSB for Raven, but may be a new part.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Shudder and grinding are separate issues.

Grinding does not have a fix, but should not occur in Low or Very Low. I assume you are driving in Standard. It may occur in low when the car is cold, but goes away after the car warms up.

Shudder has a fix for pre-Raven. No fix for Raven.

I could be wrong, but I was nearly certain we had a Raven MS owner post on an earlier page with new front-half shaft part numbers, and that that had solved his noise/shudder issue?

It's the same part numbers that our SC has ordered for our mid-2019 MS Performance so we'll see in a few weeks.

 

[VikH]

I could be wrong, but I was nearly certain we had a Raven MS owner post on an earlier page with new front-half shaft part numbers, and that that had solved his noise/shudder issue?

It's the same part numbers that our SC has ordered for our mid-2019 MS Performance so we'll see in a few weeks.

You are right. I updated my post.

 

[blove]

Just a heads up that this is still a problem for the 2021 MX. Just picked up my 2021 MX Performance a couple of weeks ago, and with around 800 miles on the vehicle, I'm already getting the dreaded shudder. I ONLY drive on Very Low. Had a 2018 MX before this with 29K miles and no issue, so somewhat disappointed that we're back to this again. It is winter here in Colorado, so I supposed cold could be a contributing factor, but I guess I'll let you know next spring lol.

 

[johnking]

I have asked for my Model X to be delayed but if you are experiencing this in a new 2021 Model X, I might as well cancel my order. I am sorry you are dealing with it in a new car. I hope Tesla issues a service bulletin that can resolve this.