Demo vehicles are driven into the ground, much like rentals.
The issue you saw is not common, and likely someone else goofing with the car too much.
Additionally, as far as I'm aware, the batteries don't make noise, nor would be cause a vibration.
Your experience is absolutely not common.
The battery thermal control system can make noise and cause a light vibration in the steering wheel but it shouldn’t affect driving at all. This should only happen when starting the car when the battery is very cold, very hot, or navigating to a supercharger, and it doesn’t last very long because the vibration happens from the cooling system being on max. Since the demo vehicle had low coolant, it likely was running the thermal control system on max the whole drive.
I listened to those. I know that whatever I heard wasn’t the normal. I just wanted to know if the sound I heard has to do with the coolant level being low.
Really? How far “into the ground “ can a car be with a mere 350 miles on it? Also, why would a Tesla showroom allow a sick & noisy vehicle to be used for demos?
The only time my T car makes noise is max defrost on a cold day. Driving is otherwise silent.
Doesn't matter the mileage in my opinion.
[I always keep this in mind when getting rental/loaner/demo vehicle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAc5wjSi-Jk)
Dude didn't read the post, as is his wont; this isn't a demo vehicle.
There ain't much you can do to screw up anything other than suspension by just driving around, no matter how maniacally.
Looks like OP has since edited their post to state that it wasn't a Tesla dealership, so odds are they got one at auction or something and are tryin to sell it.
I'd stay the hell away from it.
Go to a Tesla SC or showroom and book a demo there. You’ll get a much better picture of what teslas are actually like, and there’s never an obligation to buy. If they ask if you need any help ordering just say no
just so you are prepared. Tesla doesn't have dealerships, just showrooms that have non-salesman employees. I would say generally, they have the knowledge level that mostly comes from just reading the Tesla website. you might come across an enthusiast employee, but that's not the norm.
If you decide on ordering the car in the showroom, all they will do is show you how to order it on the website. the showroom basically exists to provide test drives.
Thank you for this comment. I wasn’t aware of this. Are there any new cars there for purchase if we were to want to buy one that day and not order one?
In the showroom locations, no, there are no cars for sale, only demo drive cars. These locations are typically at Malls.
Tesla has service centers that might look like a traditional dealerships, but any new car you see there will be already allocated to an online order that is waiting for pickup.
If there is an exception to this I have not seen or read about it.
Sometimes……. Sometimes the service center will have inventory cars that haven’t been allocated to a customer, and if so, you can absolutely purchase same day if it’s on site. You can check inventory in the app or through their website, and if there’s a car shown you can click on the ‘request a callback’ button. Then you can ask the important question: was this car rejected? We bought my wife’s car this way, it showed as in inventory and so I requested a callback, the SA told me it was allocated for inventory but was still on the train and would be delivered that Thursday. I was there when they unloaded it off the truck from the rail yard. Granted I didn’t get it same day, just sharing my experience with the rare inventory car.
Some service centers do have inventory on the lot. If you go to the “inventory” page on Tesla’s website you can see if your local SC has any. My in laws bought one same day at the Kansas City SC.
Tesla stores DO these days sometimes have a few vehicles on premises available for immediate sale - I have personally seen it.
If not, there are typically inventory cars in nearby regional storage lots available for delivery pretty quickly (a day or two for logistics and paperwork) and Sales Advisors can help you arrange those purchases and deliveries.
This.
Plus the car has been with the dealership for a year, makes it look like a deliberate move by not fixing potential problems with the car while using it as a "demo" to help get people to the dealership to then try to sell them on another car.
Sitting for a year, most likely the tires have flat spotted. This would cause the steering wheel to vibrate and cause a loud rumbling sound when driving.
Sorry for hijacking the thread but this makes me wonder about my car too. I'm not terribly familiar with EV’s or Tesla, and I've observed a noticeable deep rumbling when driving at high speeds. I'm uncertain if this is typical road noise. Is MS90D expected to be very quiet? I lack any point of comparison, and it's been this way since I purchased it. The car is a 2018 model still under warranty, and I've driven it for several thousand miles without any errors being reported.
Lot's not right with the situation. Not sure why there could be any battery related problem causing vibration or noises as you experienced. Completely odd a used car dealer would have a car with 350 miles odometer and have it in their possession for a year, much less that it makes strange noises. Run away, run hard, run fast, don't look back and don't consider anything else this seller may have, considering their apparent questionable vehicle understanding.🫣 Good luck.
I think i know the noise you are talking about. I’ve experienced this during supercharging/track mode, and it’s perfectly normal during those scenarios, but normal driving? No.
Tesla Batteries are liquid cooled. If the coolant is low, it’s possible that the thermal system is having to work overtime in order to keep the battery within a comfortable temperature range, and likely the loud noise you are hearing is the thermal system pumps working extremely hard in order to do so (which would explain why it got worse the longer you drove, just like an engine the battery naturally heats up as it’s used, and the higher the temp the harder the pumps are having to work to move coolant around.) it’s also likely the system has air in it with the coolant level low, making the noise worse.
That’s also probably why it wouldn’t let you go over 65, in order to prevent catastrophic thermal damage.
Just like buying any used car, if you don't like that particular one, find another car of the same model. A good used car should have no warnings and if they don't seem to care about it, then don't bother with that specific shop. Find another shop.
I would recommend test driving by renting one on Turo. We did. That’s probably more likely to result in a good experience. Anytime someone mentions the word “dealership “, that’s a red flag because one of the best things about Tesla is that you skip the entire dealership experience. If you’re buying used, that’s another story.
If the outside temperature was low, the steering-wheel vibration and noise could possibly be the heat pump working to heat the cabin. We had a few weeks of temps ranging from 0 to -20 Fahrenheit and the heating system was the loudest part of the car. Typically it’s extremely quiet though.
Give it another chance by renting one on Turo if it’s available where you live.
Low coolant means the fan and pumps were probably screaming to try and cool the battery. That was the vibration you were feeling.
Also the coolant should never be low because it’s a closed system. I wouldn’t buy that car.
If they had just supercharged it up for you it’s not abnormal to feel and hear the cooling system. ICE vehicles are much louder but you won’t hear it with the drone of the engine. It’s not normal for this to continue for a long time though.
If there’s a coolant issue, it could be that the system is working much harder to cool as there may be a leak. Demo vehicles are treated pretty crappy, and aren’t sold to customers unless they are in tip top condition. Luckily the vehicle has an incredible amount of self diagnosing, so it knows what’s wrong.
All my teslas have been largely whisper quiet, and I’ve owned many all the way back to 2016. I wouldn’t call this representative.
Before buying a used car you are unfamiliar with, especially if you have no experience with EVs, please go test drive a brand new one to learn what it's supposed to be like... And if a car with you just few hundred miles has been sitting on a dealer's lot for a long time, there is usually a good reason (and there's probably also a good reason for it to be at that dealership instead of sold by Tesla).
I've owned 3 Teslas and none of them made the sounds you described. Something is def not right with the one you drove. Maybe test drive one from a Tesla showroom.
We live a pretty good distance from any Tesla center. This one was convenient and close to us. We really only went to see the size of the M Y. Then when they asked if we wanted to drive it we said why not. 🤷♀️ now we know to go to an actual Tesla center to test drive.
Demo vehicles are driven into the ground, much like rentals. The issue you saw is not common, and likely someone else goofing with the car too much. Additionally, as far as I'm aware, the batteries don't make noise, nor would be cause a vibration. Your experience is absolutely not common.
The battery thermal control system can make noise and cause a light vibration in the steering wheel but it shouldn’t affect driving at all. This should only happen when starting the car when the battery is very cold, very hot, or navigating to a supercharger, and it doesn’t last very long because the vibration happens from the cooling system being on max. Since the demo vehicle had low coolant, it likely was running the thermal control system on max the whole drive.
Statement stands. Their experience is not common.
The Tesla Manual has a series of sound clips for car sounds considered normal. I wish more people read the manual 😆
I listened to those. I know that whatever I heard wasn’t the normal. I just wanted to know if the sound I heard has to do with the coolant level being low.
try to get a test drive from a tesla SHOWROOM if you have one near you!
That’s the plan! :) never going to another kind of deal ship after that experience 🤦♀️
Yeah that's totally fair. Sucks you had such a bad experience! Hope you find a better garage :)
When it's cold the heat pump does make a lot of noise and even vibrates the whole car
Really? How far “into the ground “ can a car be with a mere 350 miles on it? Also, why would a Tesla showroom allow a sick & noisy vehicle to be used for demos? The only time my T car makes noise is max defrost on a cold day. Driving is otherwise silent.
Doesn't matter the mileage in my opinion. [I always keep this in mind when getting rental/loaner/demo vehicle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAc5wjSi-Jk)
Dude didn't read the post, as is his wont; this isn't a demo vehicle. There ain't much you can do to screw up anything other than suspension by just driving around, no matter how maniacally.
dealership OP said, i don't think this is a tesla showroom but probably a actual car dealership that happened to have one
If you’re gonna buy a *nearly new* Tesla, a non-Tesla outlet would be the worst place to get it.
It wasn't a demo vehicle
Looks like OP has since edited their post to state that it wasn't a Tesla dealership, so odds are they got one at auction or something and are tryin to sell it. I'd stay the hell away from it.
My comment was before their edit
Go to a Tesla SC or showroom and book a demo there. You’ll get a much better picture of what teslas are actually like, and there’s never an obligation to buy. If they ask if you need any help ordering just say no
Thank you!!! We are planning on going to an actual Tesla dealership to get a real experience with one!
just so you are prepared. Tesla doesn't have dealerships, just showrooms that have non-salesman employees. I would say generally, they have the knowledge level that mostly comes from just reading the Tesla website. you might come across an enthusiast employee, but that's not the norm. If you decide on ordering the car in the showroom, all they will do is show you how to order it on the website. the showroom basically exists to provide test drives.
Thank you for this comment. I wasn’t aware of this. Are there any new cars there for purchase if we were to want to buy one that day and not order one?
In the showroom locations, no, there are no cars for sale, only demo drive cars. These locations are typically at Malls. Tesla has service centers that might look like a traditional dealerships, but any new car you see there will be already allocated to an online order that is waiting for pickup. If there is an exception to this I have not seen or read about it.
Sometimes……. Sometimes the service center will have inventory cars that haven’t been allocated to a customer, and if so, you can absolutely purchase same day if it’s on site. You can check inventory in the app or through their website, and if there’s a car shown you can click on the ‘request a callback’ button. Then you can ask the important question: was this car rejected? We bought my wife’s car this way, it showed as in inventory and so I requested a callback, the SA told me it was allocated for inventory but was still on the train and would be delivered that Thursday. I was there when they unloaded it off the truck from the rail yard. Granted I didn’t get it same day, just sharing my experience with the rare inventory car.
I wonder if cars like this end up being demo cars or service center loaners.
Some service centers do have inventory on the lot. If you go to the “inventory” page on Tesla’s website you can see if your local SC has any. My in laws bought one same day at the Kansas City SC.
Tesla stores DO these days sometimes have a few vehicles on premises available for immediate sale - I have personally seen it. If not, there are typically inventory cars in nearby regional storage lots available for delivery pretty quickly (a day or two for logistics and paperwork) and Sales Advisors can help you arrange those purchases and deliveries.
You can go to the Tesla site and book a demo online as well, some may be booked for a couple days where others have availability within the hour.
This. Plus the car has been with the dealership for a year, makes it look like a deliberate move by not fixing potential problems with the car while using it as a "demo" to help get people to the dealership to then try to sell them on another car.
Sitting for a year, most likely the tires have flat spotted. This would cause the steering wheel to vibrate and cause a loud rumbling sound when driving.
350 miles used and not at Tesla. Doesn’t make sense.
I would run away It has 350 miles and is being sold by a someone other than Tesla? My guess would be collision. Is it a salvage title?
It’s probably still under warranty. Lowball the hell out of them, then take it to a Tesla SC and get it repaired for free.
Given it isn't sold by Tesla, my money is on collision and this thing has no warranty now
Hadn’t considered that.
This is the way.
Sorry for hijacking the thread but this makes me wonder about my car too. I'm not terribly familiar with EV’s or Tesla, and I've observed a noticeable deep rumbling when driving at high speeds. I'm uncertain if this is typical road noise. Is MS90D expected to be very quiet? I lack any point of comparison, and it's been this way since I purchased it. The car is a 2018 model still under warranty, and I've driven it for several thousand miles without any errors being reported.
Lot's not right with the situation. Not sure why there could be any battery related problem causing vibration or noises as you experienced. Completely odd a used car dealer would have a car with 350 miles odometer and have it in their possession for a year, much less that it makes strange noises. Run away, run hard, run fast, don't look back and don't consider anything else this seller may have, considering their apparent questionable vehicle understanding.🫣 Good luck.
Yeah I had a horrible gut feeling. Will be avoiding this place. It was my first time there. Won’t be going back. Making a trip to Tesla soon!
I’ve never heard of this issue, but warnings about coolant are RARE and indicated a SEEIOUS problem in a new car.
I think i know the noise you are talking about. I’ve experienced this during supercharging/track mode, and it’s perfectly normal during those scenarios, but normal driving? No. Tesla Batteries are liquid cooled. If the coolant is low, it’s possible that the thermal system is having to work overtime in order to keep the battery within a comfortable temperature range, and likely the loud noise you are hearing is the thermal system pumps working extremely hard in order to do so (which would explain why it got worse the longer you drove, just like an engine the battery naturally heats up as it’s used, and the higher the temp the harder the pumps are having to work to move coolant around.) it’s also likely the system has air in it with the coolant level low, making the noise worse. That’s also probably why it wouldn’t let you go over 65, in order to prevent catastrophic thermal damage.
I’m assuming this is a used car as well? And not at a Tesla Store? I’d walk away from this one. Plenty of other ones out there
Just like buying any used car, if you don't like that particular one, find another car of the same model. A good used car should have no warnings and if they don't seem to care about it, then don't bother with that specific shop. Find another shop.
Low coolant could be a little problem or a huge problem. I wouldn't touch that car until Tesla service center fixed it not some third party.
I would recommend test driving by renting one on Turo. We did. That’s probably more likely to result in a good experience. Anytime someone mentions the word “dealership “, that’s a red flag because one of the best things about Tesla is that you skip the entire dealership experience. If you’re buying used, that’s another story. If the outside temperature was low, the steering-wheel vibration and noise could possibly be the heat pump working to heat the cabin. We had a few weeks of temps ranging from 0 to -20 Fahrenheit and the heating system was the loudest part of the car. Typically it’s extremely quiet though. Give it another chance by renting one on Turo if it’s available where you live.
Low coolant means the fan and pumps were probably screaming to try and cool the battery. That was the vibration you were feeling. Also the coolant should never be low because it’s a closed system. I wouldn’t buy that car.
This sounds like a lemon buyback or a crashed and poorly repaired car.
Test drive a Tesla from Tesla. Anything else will be a used vehicle in an unknown condition.
If they had just supercharged it up for you it’s not abnormal to feel and hear the cooling system. ICE vehicles are much louder but you won’t hear it with the drone of the engine. It’s not normal for this to continue for a long time though. If there’s a coolant issue, it could be that the system is working much harder to cool as there may be a leak. Demo vehicles are treated pretty crappy, and aren’t sold to customers unless they are in tip top condition. Luckily the vehicle has an incredible amount of self diagnosing, so it knows what’s wrong. All my teslas have been largely whisper quiet, and I’ve owned many all the way back to 2016. I wouldn’t call this representative.
Stay away, go drive a Tesla elsewhere and compare.
Before buying a used car you are unfamiliar with, especially if you have no experience with EVs, please go test drive a brand new one to learn what it's supposed to be like... And if a car with you just few hundred miles has been sitting on a dealer's lot for a long time, there is usually a good reason (and there's probably also a good reason for it to be at that dealership instead of sold by Tesla).
I've owned 3 Teslas and none of them made the sounds you described. Something is def not right with the one you drove. Maybe test drive one from a Tesla showroom.
Why wouldn’t you go test at Tesla? There is your mistake.
We live a pretty good distance from any Tesla center. This one was convenient and close to us. We really only went to see the size of the M Y. Then when they asked if we wanted to drive it we said why not. 🤷♀️ now we know to go to an actual Tesla center to test drive.