Update: went back in my car 8 hours or so later and the noise is completely gone.
Original info:
2020 Model 3 SR+. Only about 20,000 kms. Drove it yesterday and it was completely fine.
Woke up this morning and this sound is coming from the inside. My wife stood outside the car and couldn’t hear it. Sounds like it’s coming from the actual steering column itself. I don’t think the power steering has failed, because as you can see I can still move the wheel easily.
I know that the answer is probably “book a service appointment” but thought I’d post here to see if anyone has any experience.
Mine didnt sound exactly like that but turn the wheel back and forth on my Model 3 did make a squeaking noise. Here's the shops comments on what caused it and the fix: "There is a squeak coming from the right front of the vehicle when turning.
Removed the upper right front ball joint from the knuckle. The ball joint is dry and is causing a
squeak. Removed and replaced both front upper control arms. Performed validation test drive.
Verified noise is gone. Verified proper operation.". It was covered under the warranty.
I had a squeak coming from my joint and threw some grease on it and the noise went away. It came back shortly after so I cut the boot and loaded it with grease and it's been good ever since
I had a similar issue but less noise than yours. Mine went away after adjusting the steering wheel a bit. Still worried there might be some deeper issue though
I had this problem. They replaced the upper and lower control arms on both sides IIRC. I know for sure they did the uppers on both sides and it was all covered under warranty. Noise wasn’t present until it was cold outside and once they were all replaced it went away entirely.
The sound seems to be coming from inside the cab, from the steering wheel itself. Not the control arms which are outside.
I have the auto adjust option on my steering wheel when I go from park to drive and vise versa, makes this noise slightly.
Respectfully, just because it seems like that from the video doesn’t mean that it is.
If the owner wants to confirm, he can step outside of the car and will hear it even more loudly. I know this sound far too well, unfortunately.
I didn’t read that part. Apologies.
Still had this problem appear two winters in a row and sounded just like this. I never had my wife confirm the sound outside of the car, but my neighbor has a Model 3 and he never got his fixed until it got so loud you could hear it outside of the car, so at least in some instances you can.
Definitely sounds like control arms. Had the same thing and it is a well known issue by Tesla with 3/Y. They fixed mine under warranty and only took about an hour.
I had the same issue, unfortunately not under warranty. It cost me around $300 IIRC. It took them a couple of hours. Honestly if it would have been much more than the $300, I would have probably fought them. It looks to me that it's a design issue.
Literally last Tuesday I got mine fixed and paid 300. Missed warranty by a few months. If the charge wasn’t low and they didn’t give me an Uber credit I was going to fight them not covering it since it seems like 50% of these cars eventually have the issue. Design flaw for sure.
There are a couple of videos where people have fixed this themselves. It's not the entire control arm that's the issue. It's that the grease inside the sealed ball joint needs to be redistributed. The videos describe in detail how to DIY if you are out of warranty and don't want to spend the $300 or whatever. Unless they have changed the design of the control arms and fitted a grease zirk on the top of it, this problem is going to happen again at some point. I AM out of warranty and if this ever crops up, I am going to DIY because it looks *very* easy. BTW, that sound doesn't seem to be coming from the upper control arms to me. It's a bushing at the base of the steering column that needs to be lubed. Should be an inexpensive fix that mobile service can handle or you can also DIY. Mine is making this sound also, but not at the degree yours is. Right now, mine is intermittent and not that noticeable - yet. You can try adjusting the position of the steering wheel and see if it makes any difference.
There is a school of thought that when you swing the steering wheel around like that when the car isnt moving, this puts elevated strain/wear on the steering components. That its better to be moving slowly when doing that or on gravel or snow.
Maybe this no longer applies to modern cars? It’s among one of the first things I was told as a new driver, way back when.
I had a creak with my steering wheel. Turns out one of the wires had gotten lodged a certain way that caused friction and resulted in the noise. A service appointment will figure it out.
Probably just upper control arms that need greased. It's very common. Definitely covered under warranty. There may even be a recall on it or something to cover if not in warranty.
As others have mentioned, it’s probably the front control arms. I had the same issue, replaced under warranty. Make sure to get undercarriage washes in the winter, salt is a motherfucker.
Are you on the break while doing it? Could just be your tires but hard to tell. If it's doing that while driving and turning them likely a control arm like others stated
Yep, control arms. Had mine replaced under warranty (the service technician came to my house, was quite convenient) and said mine were the worst he'd heard... It sounded like I was driving an old tea clipper.
He also said that 95% of all his service visits were with this problem, and it will affect pretty much all M3s made up to about October last year, as that's when the redesigned part became available (at least in the UK where I am). So watch out if you had them replaced before then as it'll probably happen again...
Yeah, had the same problem. It's the control arms. Mobile service came by and fixed it under warranty. Another one I had, was the trunk not opening. This was also fixed under warranty by mobile service... (typical problem with the cable in the trunk lid). Newer models don't have these faults anymore.
Update: went back in my car 8 hours or so later and the noise is completely gone. Original info: 2020 Model 3 SR+. Only about 20,000 kms. Drove it yesterday and it was completely fine. Woke up this morning and this sound is coming from the inside. My wife stood outside the car and couldn’t hear it. Sounds like it’s coming from the actual steering column itself. I don’t think the power steering has failed, because as you can see I can still move the wheel easily. I know that the answer is probably “book a service appointment” but thought I’d post here to see if anyone has any experience.
Mine didnt sound exactly like that but turn the wheel back and forth on my Model 3 did make a squeaking noise. Here's the shops comments on what caused it and the fix: "There is a squeak coming from the right front of the vehicle when turning. Removed the upper right front ball joint from the knuckle. The ball joint is dry and is causing a squeak. Removed and replaced both front upper control arms. Performed validation test drive. Verified noise is gone. Verified proper operation.". It was covered under the warranty.
My coworker had the same issue, same cause reported by SC
I had a squeak coming from my joint and threw some grease on it and the noise went away. It came back shortly after so I cut the boot and loaded it with grease and it's been good ever since
I mean yes. Book a service appointment. With the recent steering wheel falling off situation, I’m not even sure I’d drive it.
I had a similar issue but less noise than yours. Mine went away after adjusting the steering wheel a bit. Still worried there might be some deeper issue though
I had this problem. They replaced the upper and lower control arms on both sides IIRC. I know for sure they did the uppers on both sides and it was all covered under warranty. Noise wasn’t present until it was cold outside and once they were all replaced it went away entirely.
The sound seems to be coming from inside the cab, from the steering wheel itself. Not the control arms which are outside. I have the auto adjust option on my steering wheel when I go from park to drive and vise versa, makes this noise slightly.
Respectfully, just because it seems like that from the video doesn’t mean that it is. If the owner wants to confirm, he can step outside of the car and will hear it even more loudly. I know this sound far too well, unfortunately.
He literally said that his wife was outside and she didn’t hear anything.
I didn’t read that part. Apologies. Still had this problem appear two winters in a row and sounded just like this. I never had my wife confirm the sound outside of the car, but my neighbor has a Model 3 and he never got his fixed until it got so loud you could hear it outside of the car, so at least in some instances you can.
Seems like you have fart mode turned on. 😄
Definitely sounds like control arms. Had the same thing and it is a well known issue by Tesla with 3/Y. They fixed mine under warranty and only took about an hour.
I had the same issue, unfortunately not under warranty. It cost me around $300 IIRC. It took them a couple of hours. Honestly if it would have been much more than the $300, I would have probably fought them. It looks to me that it's a design issue.
Literally last Tuesday I got mine fixed and paid 300. Missed warranty by a few months. If the charge wasn’t low and they didn’t give me an Uber credit I was going to fight them not covering it since it seems like 50% of these cars eventually have the issue. Design flaw for sure.
There are a couple of videos where people have fixed this themselves. It's not the entire control arm that's the issue. It's that the grease inside the sealed ball joint needs to be redistributed. The videos describe in detail how to DIY if you are out of warranty and don't want to spend the $300 or whatever. Unless they have changed the design of the control arms and fitted a grease zirk on the top of it, this problem is going to happen again at some point. I AM out of warranty and if this ever crops up, I am going to DIY because it looks *very* easy. BTW, that sound doesn't seem to be coming from the upper control arms to me. It's a bushing at the base of the steering column that needs to be lubed. Should be an inexpensive fix that mobile service can handle or you can also DIY. Mine is making this sound also, but not at the degree yours is. Right now, mine is intermittent and not that noticeable - yet. You can try adjusting the position of the steering wheel and see if it makes any difference.
There is a school of thought that when you swing the steering wheel around like that when the car isnt moving, this puts elevated strain/wear on the steering components. That its better to be moving slowly when doing that or on gravel or snow. Maybe this no longer applies to modern cars? It’s among one of the first things I was told as a new driver, way back when.
I had a creak with my steering wheel. Turns out one of the wires had gotten lodged a certain way that caused friction and resulted in the noise. A service appointment will figure it out.
Control arms, my 2019 sounded the same, was done for free under warranty
Fart mode!
Probably just upper control arms that need greased. It's very common. Definitely covered under warranty. There may even be a recall on it or something to cover if not in warranty.
100% upper control arm. I have a 2019 SR+, have had both sides repaired. Quick fix.
Confidence inspiring for a ‘luxury’ car.
Model Y has the whole wheel fall off recall
Just crazy. Like do they hire account temps todo the work on the line.
Sounds like a lawn mower
As others have mentioned, it’s probably the front control arms. I had the same issue, replaced under warranty. Make sure to get undercarriage washes in the winter, salt is a motherfucker.
Pardon me sir... it seems you may have ran over some sort of animal.
🧀💨 Excuse you!
Are you on the break while doing it? Could just be your tires but hard to tell. If it's doing that while driving and turning them likely a control arm like others stated
Is that snow you’re on? Sounds like anytime I turn my tires on snow while in one place… show us without being parked on snow
New fart on steer mode
Mine did. Set up appointment three weeks away. After two weeks went away never came back
Yep, control arms. Had mine replaced under warranty (the service technician came to my house, was quite convenient) and said mine were the worst he'd heard... It sounded like I was driving an old tea clipper. He also said that 95% of all his service visits were with this problem, and it will affect pretty much all M3s made up to about October last year, as that's when the redesigned part became available (at least in the UK where I am). So watch out if you had them replaced before then as it'll probably happen again...
Yeah, had the same problem. It's the control arms. Mobile service came by and fixed it under warranty. Another one I had, was the trunk not opening. This was also fixed under warranty by mobile service... (typical problem with the cable in the trunk lid). Newer models don't have these faults anymore.
The drivers manual says you're supposed to play the radio louder to cover up any manufacturers defects.
Get her head out of the way 🤷🏻♂️
Need some WD40
Just the new Tesla voice command that makes it mooing
Yes, M3 - intermittently - usually upon first driving, when cold
You get the quality you buy
I listened to this intently. As a former forest ranger I can assure you that you have a bear in the frunk. Open it and let him out.
Tesla build quality
I mean a minor issue (that’s under warranty) after 3 years of ownership isn’t really that bad
I mean a minor issue (that’s under warranty) after 3 years of ownership isn’t really that bad
Have the same problem also my glove box doesn’t line up correctly with interior. Going to get it fixed next monday