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2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited September 2014 in Tesla

image2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Our 2013 Tesla Model S is making an ominous noise under acceleration and deceleration. It originates from the rear of the car.

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Comments

  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    The flux capacitor is going bad.
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    Sounds like the diff on a 1962 Land Rover.
  • kirkhilles_kirkhilles_ Member Posts: 151
    Looks like you need a "tune up". Maybe you need to change your oil and spark plugs. Oh wait...
  • bayoubaerbayoubaer Member Posts: 9
    I hear a 2 hour burnout while plugged in will fix it!
  • hybrishybris Member Posts: 365
    It is the sound of evil. But seriously considering that the rear end alignment was off lord knows what could be going on under the hood.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    There is just volumes they don't know about powering a 4,700-lb. car with a very high-torque electric motor. I suspect all EVs are going to have to come to grips with the instantaneous loads placed upon their transmissions (even one-speed transmissions) by a 100%-of-torque-at-0-RPM powerplant. I don't care how beefy the gearset is...getting hit with that when the gears are completely immobile is going to cause issues. No clutch slip, no torque converter, just...wham.
  • duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    @fordson1: They DO use controllers to control off the line torque and to build a smooth horsepower curve. Otherwise EVs would be almost undriveable!
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Thanks, duck87 - but I still bet the answer here is the tranny. Or the diff.
  • gtiguy3gtiguy3 Member Posts: 12
    I'm completely with fordson1 here; sounds like the diff, and I'm even more convinced because of the exact same reason he just gave.
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    @fordson1: Umm, engineers know how to design gearsets that can accept instantaneous torque. Trains and elevators do this every day.

    That said, even though the S may be suffering from a gear problem, it isn't necessarily due to it being an EV.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Yeah - they know how to do it in weight-and-size-is-no-object applications. This is an application where the battery (the fuel tank) is huge and heavy and everything else has to be flyweight to compensate.
  • andyr2andyr2 Member Posts: 11
    Well maybe the video didn't do it justice (and I don't have a model S so I may not be qualified to give an opinion) but is the sound really that bad or is it just a minor annoyance? Perhaps this is comparable to how an internal combustion engine develops a bit more noise as it gets older?

    Though I understand it's certainly it's not something you'd be happy with with such an expensive car at only 10,000 miles.
  • rysterryster Member Posts: 571
    Sounds like the gearbox in an electric R/C car as it ages and starts to loosen up.
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    It's been 4 days - where's the update?
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    +1 - they said they were getting it in on the 21st. So now there is an update about putting it into park and it makes the driver's door come unlatched - ?
  • temoore_temoore_ Member Posts: 10
    Wonder if it's related to the alignment issue?
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    Mustn't have been too ominous; it's been a week now with no update.
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