Very loud fan noise from frunk area with AC on...

[Blastphemy]

Upon entering the vehicle and powering it up, a new objectionably loud fan noise coming from behind the front dash began. It did not seem to be correlated with the climate control fan speed, or the selection of outside air, recycled air, or biodefense filtered air within the climate control pop-up. It was clearly distinct from the noise of rushing air that I consider "normal" when the climate control is operating at a high fan speed. Turning the climate control off did not seem to affect the noise. It was loud enough that it interrupted conversational speech with my passenger in the front seat, and could be heard over the radio.

We recently starting hearing what can only be described as a hollow metal tube vibrating noisily from behind the dash. Normally it's very quiet inside the car, even with the A/C on, but this noise is loud and does not sound right. To my ears, it sounds like there's something loose that's just waiting to break. Turn off the A/C, and that noise disappears completely. At first I thought the noise only happened on very hot days, but yesterday we didn't have any extreme heat and we still heard the noise. Still, it doesn't always happen (maybe 40% of the time?), so I'm not sure what's going on.

We've made an appointment at our local Tesla service center, just to be safe.

 

[cclaygo]

I went in for the seat repair and told them about the loud a/c. They made a note in the paperwork that it was normal. Yet another issue at the same appointment required them to change the a/c compressor. Now the noise is gone. So normal not normal?

 

[K-MTG]

I went in for the seat repair and told them about the loud a/c. They made a note in the paperwork that it was normal. Yet another issue at the same appointment required them to change the a/c compressor. Now the noise is gone. So normal not normal?

Really, they got rid of the noise??? What did they fix, I need my compressor to shut-up. It is louder than a aventador on steroids.

 

[xkwizit]

I went in for the seat repair and told them about the loud a/c. They made a note in the paperwork that it was normal. Yet another issue at the same appointment required them to change the a/c compressor. Now the noise is gone. So normal not normal?

@cclaygo - can you give more details on the issue that required changing the compressor? And let's make sure that the fan is no longer making the loud noise when it's really hot outside.

 

[cclaygo]

I am currently in Orlando so I can assure you it is quite hot still. Some background on the a/c: I thought it was working fine...just very loud. Then one day I stopped to charge at a supercharger and stayed in the car on the phone. When the supercharger was plugged in the A/C only blew hot air. When I unplugged the supercharger it blew cold air again. I also had a very slight 'squeaky' noise by the front suspension on the left hand side.

When I went in for the seat repair I notified them of these two issues. The response was this is a normal sound. However, they said the squeaky sound was coming from the A/C line rubbing on something and it had to be replaced. After a week the part finally came in. Then they said the car was still not ready. I waited another week and the car was complete.

After going over my paperwork I noticed that they noted the following:

Lines routed to condenser reversed, causing high refrigerant pressure and lack of cooling. High pressure pipe from compressor to condenser was rubbing against sway bar end link and caused squeaking noise requiring replacement of pipe. Condenser replacement and pipe required to restore air conditioning functionality.

The two parts replaced were:

MX Cooling Fan Module
ACLine Asy, Discharge, MDL X

So when all was said and done, the loud noise is gone. I can only say the sound is the same normal sound (if not quieter) than the compressor on the model S. I think the main issue is that the A/C is functioning more efficiently and is not running at such high speed as before. I will test it today with max A/C and see if the sound is still loud. But I think if others are having a loud sound constantly (which I was), they should have this looked at. My only other guess is that the new compressor is just quieter.

 

[chloedog]

I am currently in Orlando so I can assure you it is quite hot still. Some background on the a/c: I thought it was working fine...just very loud. Then one day I stopped to charge at a supercharger and stayed in the car on the phone. When the supercharger was plugged in the A/C only blew hot air. When I unplugged the supercharger it blew cold air again. I also had a very slight 'squeaky' noise by the front suspension on the left hand side.

When I went in for the seat repair I notified them of these two issues. The response was this is a normal sound. However, they said the squeaky sound was coming from the A/C line rubbing on something and it had to be replaced. After a week the part finally came in. Then they said the car was still not ready. I waited another week and the car was complete.

After going over my paperwork I noticed that they noted the following:

Lines routed to condenser reversed, causing high refrigerant pressure and lack of cooling. High pressure pipe from compressor to condenser was rubbing against sway bar end link and caused squeaking noise requiring replacement of pipe. Condenser replacement and pipe required to restore air conditioning functionality.

The two parts replaced were:

MX Cooling Fan Module
ACLine Asy, Discharge, MDL X

So when all was said and done, the loud noise is gone. I can only say the sound is the same normal sound (if not quieter) than the compressor on the model S. I think the main issue is that the A/C is functioning more efficiently and is not running at such high speed as before. I will test it today with max A/C and see if the sound is still loud. But I think if others are having a loud sound constantly (which I was), they should have this looked at. My only other guess is that the new compressor is just quieter.

Many thanks for this info!

 

[xkwizit]

I am currently in Orlando so I can assure you it is quite hot still. Some background on the a/c: I thought it was working fine...just very loud. Then one day I stopped to charge at a supercharger and stayed in the car on the phone. When the supercharger was plugged in the A/C only blew hot air. When I unplugged the supercharger it blew cold air again. I also had a very slight 'squeaky' noise by the front suspension on the left hand side.

When I went in for the seat repair I notified them of these two issues. The response was this is a normal sound. However, they said the squeaky sound was coming from the A/C line rubbing on something and it had to be replaced. After a week the part finally came in. Then they said the car was still not ready. I waited another week and the car was complete.

After going over my paperwork I noticed that they noted the following:

Lines routed to condenser reversed, causing high refrigerant pressure and lack of cooling. High pressure pipe from compressor to condenser was rubbing against sway bar end link and caused squeaking noise requiring replacement of pipe. Condenser replacement and pipe required to restore air conditioning functionality.

The two parts replaced were:

MX Cooling Fan Module
ACLine Asy, Discharge, MDL X

So when all was said and done, the loud noise is gone. I can only say the sound is the same normal sound (if not quieter) than the compressor on the model S. I think the main issue is that the A/C is functioning more efficiently and is not running at such high speed as before. I will test it today with max A/C and see if the sound is still loud. But I think if others are having a loud sound constantly (which I was), they should have this looked at. My only other guess is that the new compressor is just quieter.

Thank you for the details. Much appreciated. Now I wonder if we need to make noise louder than the cooling fan to make them find a solution. As of now, they seem to be considering it normal operations which is really annoying.

 

[cclaygo]

I agree, I was really upset when they said it was normal. I even asked for the A/C blanket that they put on the Model S A/C units to cut down on sound and they said it wasn't available. I was very happy when I got it back and the noise was not an issue anymore.

 

[Greg]

I agree, I was really upset when they said it was normal. I even asked for the A/C blanket that they put on the Model S A/C units to cut down on sound and they said it wasn't available. I was very happy when I got it back and the noise was not an issue anymore.

Thanks a ton for this info. For me this is a big issue, our car idling with the AC on is twice as loud as ICE cars idling with their AC on. It's embarrassing when this happens... everyone knows that it's an electric car and it should be super quiet and they stare at you when it is much louder than other cars. A couple of weeks ago I was at the beach doing work from the car with the AC running and after about an hour someone came by and said nice X. I told them I love the car, but my biggest complaint is the fan noise and he said yeah, I heard that from the beach. He had to be at lease 50-75 feet away when he heard my car over all the other ambient noises happening at the beach (wind, waves crashing, people talking, etc). Unfortunately I have had a couple of other issues happening such as doors closing on their own and middle seat not locking so it cannot hold a passenger which needs to get resolved, but if I can get this noise issue resolved it would be a big step in the right direction.

 

[CaliX]

I agree, I was really upset when they said it was normal. I even asked for the A/C blanket that they put on the Model S A/C units to cut down on sound and they said it wasn't available. I was very happy when I got it back and the noise was not an issue anymore.

Same for me just got my X back and can barely hear my fan now and the A/C works perfect. They said there is a service bulletin on this issue now.

 

[ohmman]

They said their is a service bulletin on this issue now.

The joy. The absolute joy.

 

[chloedog]

Same for me just got my X back and can barely hear my fan now and the A/C works perfect. They said there is a service bulletin on this issue now.

man that's awesome! regarding the bulletin do you know if it's a quick fix or you have to actually get your AC compressor changed out?

 

[CaliX]

man that's awesome! regarding the bulletin do you know if it's a quick fix or you have to actually get your AC compressor changed out?

I don't think it is quick and it has something to do with the A/C lines. But what a difference in cooling my X down and fan noise.

 

[cclaygo]

Took two weeks to get mine done, but I think that was due primarily to incompetence.

 

[K-MTG]

Taking mine in later this week for the 3rd SC appointment, will mention to get the compressor fix

 

[ccutrer]

I just set up my first service appointment (not until August 1st!). My primary complaint is that about a week after delivery the A/C stopped working as well. The air is just mildly cool, not the ice cold it was when we got it (though it's always been loud). The reduction in effectiveness also coincided with a LOT of fluid on my garage floor. I had at first just assumed it was water that had condensed on the compressor. But the reduced effectiveness the next day leads me to believe it was leaking something more important. Honestly I'm guessing I have the same reversed hoses problem, and the extra pressure blew them. Hopefully when I get it back (possibly with replaced fans) it will be cold and quiet.

 

[sukhi]

I have the loud AC problem as well. It is not normal and it concerns anyone standing next to my car. In fact at times embarrassing as you are trying to show your car to someone and the jet engine starts roaring.

It is on my punchiest of the current service visit. I will know more when I get it back at the end of the month .(My choice as I am out of town)

 

[Lancew]

Just had my X a/c serviced in Raleigh today and the lines were crossed. Fixed in several hours. Quiet as can be now.

 

[chloedog]

Just had my X a/c serviced in Raleigh today and the lines were crossed. Fixed in several hours. Quiet as can be now.

My SC says they haven't heard of this lines crossed issue and says the ac is louder than the model S because the fan is bigger or something. Anybody have a bulletin number about this issue? Or willing to take a picture of their paperwork from the SC detailing the problem and the fix so I can pass along the info to my SC?

 

[xkwizit]

I have also asked my service advisor to check on the service bulletin but it will be helpful to get specifics like a bulletin number and/or date that I can send to them.

I have a feeling that lacking more info from the factory, the SCs have little to go on and hence they are advising this as normal operations.