whirring sound - am I being too picky?

[Happychaos]

Hi, my "new to me" (CPO) car has a whirring sound at low speeds (almost none on brake regen) but we also have the rear jump seats out so that may not be muffling the motor's noise as much.

It's a little annoying until tire noise or wind noise (or my radio) drowns it out but this car is still the quietest car I've ever driven. Am I being paranoid/too picky? I think SOME noise is to be expected from a motor so I'm not sure if it's just a normal noise made louder because most Model S cars have jump seats down and the parcel shelf installed which should muffle things down a bit.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[TexasEV]

yes

 

[Wuggado?]

Hi, my "new to me" (CPO) car has a whirring sound at low speeds (almost none on brake regen) but we also have the rear jump seats out so that may not be muffling the motor's noise as much.

It's a little annoying until tire noise or wind noise (or my radio) drowns it out but this car is still the quietest car I've ever driven. Am I being paranoid/too picky? I think SOME noise is to be expected from a motor so I'm not sure if it's just a normal noise made louder because most Model S cars have jump seats down and the parcel shelf installed which should muffle things down a bit.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Do you have a dual motor model? I get a whirring sound on my 90D at lower speeds upon acceleration. I can best describe it as the same sound I used to get from a cheap car stereo I had in my first car, some sort of electrical interference coming through the speakers. Just to be clear, I don't have any reason to believe it is electrical interference in the MS, it's just a similar sound to my ears. When trying to decide between a 70 and a 70D, I came across at least one opinion on this forum that you would hear more motor noise in the D because the front motor is closer to the driver's seat. That would seem to jive with your thinking that jump seats open put less muffling between the rear motor and the cockpit.

 

[davidc18]

I would as the SC about it.

 

[Happychaos]

Hmmm I will put it on the list to have checked out at the SC. My car is RWD and pretty plain jane compared to everyone else's cars but it's still the best car I've ever driven. Thanks all!

 

[Eclectic]

Hi, my "new to me" (CPO) car has a whirring sound at low speeds (almost none on brake regen) but we also have the rear jump seats out so that may not be muffling the motor's noise as much.

It's a little annoying until tire noise or wind noise (or my radio) drowns it out but this car is still the quietest car I've ever driven. Am I being paranoid/too picky? I think SOME noise is to be expected from a motor so I'm not sure if it's just a normal noise made louder because most Model S cars have jump seats down and the parcel shelf installed which should muffle things down a bit.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Of course you're not being too picky, I'm sure that even with the CPO program you paid a ton of money for the car and you have every right to expect that it will not have odd noises.

The unfortunate thing is that in my experience, you're going to get a lot of noises from your Tesla. The first Tesla we owned (a P85) started to develop a host of rattles, squeaks, whirs, moans and groans in the year or so we had it. The P85D that replaced it has been somewhat better with the moans and groans, but it has had incurable wind noises from windows that drive me nuts and the interior squeaks and rattles are pretty bad. It's been back for service but no solutions, just the typical "they all make these noises."

Maybe so.

I know that the Audi, Mercedes, BMWs and Lexus we've owned have not had such rampant noise issues. Even my F150 truck is quieter than the Tesla.

Build quality and quality control are not a Tesla strong point, in my experience.

 

[Happychaos]

Of course you're not being too picky, I'm sure that even with the CPO program you paid a ton of money for the car and you have every right to expect that it will not have odd noises.

The unfortunate thing is that in my experience, you're going to get a lot of noises from your Tesla. The first Tesla we owned (a P85) started to develop a host of rattles, squeaks, whirs, moans and groans in the year or so we had it. The P85D that replaced it has been somewhat better with the moans and groans, but it has had incurable wind noises from windows that drive me nuts and the interior squeaks and rattles are pretty bad. It's been back for service but no solutions, just the typical "they all make these noises."

Maybe so.

I know that the Audi, Mercedes, BMWs and Lexus we've owned have not had such rampant noise issues. Even my F150 truck is quieter than the Tesla.

Build quality and quality control are not a Tesla strong point, in my experience.

I'm a techie geek so this is my dream car even if compared to everyone's performance models, or your F150 (which I think has active noise cancellation which I wish the Tesla had to quiet cabin noise).

You're right, this was my second largest expense (first being the mortgage), and is sort of a "mid-life crisis/been working so long and needing to treat myself" car. Still don't regret it but I agree that cabin noise is annoying, and the YouTube videos of motor noise at high speeds concern me (my noises come at low speeds then disappear so I've decided to live with it for now unless it gets worse).

Warts and all though, I hope you're happy with your car which is a model we just couldn't afford. I love my car but my OCD and "new car owner" syndrome is having me make sure everything is "normal". My new annoyance is when the autopark works (or doesn't detect a spot). Ha.

Thanks again!

 

[Jtrader]

I get it but like it. It sounds kind of futuristic. All the ones I've ridden in, have it. I just assumed that's the normal sound.

 

[ecarfan]

my "new to me" (CPO) car has a whirring sound at low speeds (almost none on brake regen)

Teslas are not completely silent. It is possible to hear the motor when moving at low speeds or when accelerating. At higher speeds tire noise and wind noise tend to drown out the motor.

I suggest you try to find other owners local to you with a similar S and ride in their cars to decide if yours is atypical or not.

 

[apacheguy]

My S85 was completely silent after they replaced the DU. Problem is that the DU developed the milling noise again and it is increasing in intensity.

 

[gzerninplatz]

depends on the volume and type of noise - bring it in! My S85 makes a slight, low whirring at low speed and they are going to replace the drive unit...bearings, they say....

 

[Dithermaster]

My RWD P85+ makes a faint inverter noise under low speed and normal driving, and a more aggressive inverter whine and gear whir when under full pedal acceleration (0-60 in 4 seconds!). Having had a Volt before, it feels completely normal to me and I don't think anything is wrong with the drive unit. By contrast, an S85 loaner I had a couple weeks ago sounded like a gas car when at highway speeds. It wasn't the tires because it went silent if you lifted the accelerator pedal. I let them know about it just in case it is not normal (didn't seem so to me).

 

[Shock-On-T]

Hmmm I will put it on the list to have checked out at the SC. My car is RWD and pretty plain jane compared to everyone else's cars but it's still the best car I've ever driven. Thanks all!

No such thing as a plain jane Tesla
The motors aren't totally silent, but I personally love the sound. Not sure if yours is the 'normal' amount of noise or not. Take it to the service centre, maybe try a loaner for comparison?