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What's normal AWD Front Motor Sound?
- Thread starter rorrim
- Start date
Thanks for the feedback. I dropped off at SC this morning and they gave me a Model S loaner. It's super quiet and I can barely head motor even during acceleration and Regen braking...I mean it's night and day vs. what I'm hearing in my car. Should a model S be that more quiet or should the motor noise be similar?
I have your noise in my 3, at around 36k miles. Its not quite as bad as yours.
The 'beeping' you describe is the sound coming and going as the motor goes from loaded to unloaded and back, either in acceleration or deceleration.
My 3 is getting the V3 AP computer on Friday and I'll ask about it then.
The 'beeping' you describe is the sound coming and going as the motor goes from loaded to unloaded and back, either in acceleration or deceleration.
My 3 is getting the V3 AP computer on Friday and I'll ask about it then.
That was me. The video is linked below. The SC told me to pound sand. They don't care about the pitch/frequency of the noise. As long as the vehicle sounds remain within a certain decibel range that Tesla Engineering intentionally made a wide range, then there is nothing they will do. Folks like us who either A) have super sensitive ears or B) have slightly noisier/whinier motors/inverters will just have to suffer. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. Spend $56k on a vehicle to be bothered by the piercing sounds it makes. From an annoyance level, I equate it to the sound of nails on chalkboard.
VID_20200605_064939~2.mp4
The S uses in an induction motor, whereas the rear motor in a Model 3 is a permanent magnet motor, which inherently is a noisier motor in this regard. The 2013 Model S 85 loaner with 60k miles they gave me was silent compared to my LR RWD 2018 Model 3 with 23k miles.
I cannot wait to hear what the SC told you. If it's anything different than what mine said, I'll be livid!
This was what was in my invoice, including my statement of the issue:
Concern: Noise & vibration - other - customer states: I have a high pitch whining sound coming from the drive unit while
cruising/maintaining speed between 25 and 50mph.
Tesla: Test drove vehicle, was not able to verify any abnormal noises, Test drove vehicle with similar build to compare and both
vehicles operated the same. Nothing to further address at this time.
Did you test drive another vehicle admit states and the sound was different or did the service tech do that? I'm barely hearing any noise in the S loaner, so unless it's insulated completely different, I think it's already proven my point. Both are AWD.
SSonnentag
埃隆•馬斯克
That's the normal sound. It does away (gets drowned out by tire noise) when speeds exceed about 20 mph.
That is definitely not normal. That almost sounds like air blowing past an obstruction causing the whistling. If that's from the motor, that can't be right. I also didn't hear any sound like that when I test drove the show room AWD.
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I might have something different. I don't hear the motor much (other than acceleration or Regen) under 20mph. It's when I get over 30 and really into the 40s and higher that it starts to get really loud. On the highway, it's still there, but performance tires and wind overtake it.
I'm worried that they didn't insulate properly at the factory (I've seen reports of missing or improper insulation in the A pillars for example which can amplify noises from the front. Do you think that could be what's going on here? It seems that the types of noises it's making could be normal, but shouldn't be hearing it at the level I am under normal circumstances. Thoughts?
I did not hear anything on the video except at the edge of my perception. However, my hearing rolls off precipitously at around 4.5-5K now (I am 60). When I was younger, I could hear up to 18-19K. High pitched sounds could be very annoying and would sometimes drive me out of buildings. If it really bothers you, it would be worth getting a sound level reading that encompasses your hearing range to get a true idea of how loud it is. It is likely that you are hearing the inverter. They all make noise and the transistors (Telsa uses FETs) are usually embedded in a gel to suppress the noise. Toyota uses IGBTs in their inverters, and without the gel, they are loud as hell. You could be hearing the fundamental frequency or a harmonic.
SSonnentag
埃隆•馬斯克
I just noticed I'm in the Model 3 forum, but it doesn't match the sounds I get from my S. In the S I can only hear the front motor whine under very light throttle, when moving very slowly, mostly right around +/1 1% throttle while coasting in stop-and-go traffic. I suspect it's the inverter making the sound and not the motor too.
The video doesn't capture it like it sounds in real life but my car didn't always make this sound. It's slowly has been getting louder and louder.
@rorrim - I did not drive in another new Model 3, but I have driven in two coworkers. One that is 27k vins away from mine, same build, sounds almost identical and he states his didn't always make the noise either. The other coworker has a AWD and is 400k vins newer than ours, and his does not make a peep. The AWD has only half of the miles that we have though.
Here is my post on the other thread with all of the details:
High pitched noise from drive unit
@rorrim - I did not drive in another new Model 3, but I have driven in two coworkers. One that is 27k vins away from mine, same build, sounds almost identical and he states his didn't always make the noise either. The other coworker has a AWD and is 400k vins newer than ours, and his does not make a peep. The AWD has only half of the miles that we have though.
Here is my post on the other thread with all of the details:
High pitched noise from drive unit
No, as I said above they said it was normal.
The fact there are also people in this forum saying it's not an issue is a part of the problem. Just because their car doesn't make a noise or makes a less annoying noise, doesn't mean it's okay that ours make a more obnoxious noise.
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