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Loud air flow coming through the air vent area at higher speeds

kennyea87 | 2025-12-28 19:03 | 55 views

Hey everyone! Just picked up a 2026 M3LR and absolutely love it! I do have a question about something I just noticed last night, and was hoping ya'll can tell me if this is normal or not. The cabin noise when I drive locally is great, especially coming from an older Prius. My concern occurred while I was on the freeway. Speeds were in-between 65-75mph, and there would be times where I can clearly hear cars passing by and outside air/noise coming through the front of my car, like through the air vents. It wasn't just a muffled sound of a car passing, it sounded like I had my window open(none of them were) and can clearly hear it. My initial thought was that the vents would randomly "open", the noise flows through, then shortly after, it goes back to normal. It would happen for roughly around 15 seconds. Then repeat at some random time later on. Some extra info if it helps: * Did not have my A/C or heater running * Had FSD on * Outside temp was about 65 degrees F * Going down 91E to the 5 freeway Thanks in advance!

Comments (32)
[deleted] 2025-12-28 19:06

[removed]

kennyea87 2025-12-28 19:12

😂hahaha almost spit out my coffee. I definitely wasn't raw dogging it, had my music on the whole way and was still able to hear the outside noise flow through

wesblog 2025-12-28 19:19

Tesla engines are so quiet that it is easy to notice noises that you wouldnt in an ICE vehicle.

kennyea87 2025-12-28 19:22

That would make sense! Maybe I'm just overthinking it😅

AllCapNoBrake 2025-12-28 19:26

Just gotta slow down until it goes away.

kennyea87 2025-12-28 19:29

true true. I be zoomin

huh_say_what_now_ 2025-12-28 20:30

A car still has to do stuff it can't be just totally silent

Bnwrich16 2025-12-28 20:40

Was it a really windy day? Or no wind?

shiftyeyedgoat 2025-12-28 20:42

[Not a new phenomenon](https://ridebrief.com/tesla-road-noise-in-the-real-world-why-teslas-can-sound-loud/), with previous iterations of teslas having poor cabin road sound protection. However, the Juniper MY [reduced sounds by up to 30%](https://www.diywrapclub.com/a/blog/how-quiet-is-the-model-y-juniper-we-put-it-to-the-test?srsltid=AfmBOoohTbYnHPt-5ZOA2oqdsRs-1uMFn0Y1JfKd913I3JYv4gWKQfns) in informal testing.

kennyea87 2025-12-28 20:42

It wasn't a windy night, just cold

kennyea87 2025-12-28 20:43

Yeah, I do get that. It could be I'm not used to it since it's my first Tesla. I just want to make sure I'm not trippin out haha

kennyea87 2025-12-28 20:45

Thanks for this! I'm probably just overreacting and it's normal

Bnwrich16 2025-12-28 21:07

No harm since it’s brand new. I put in a service for it and got them to check it because yes, you will hear road noise you never did because of no engine revving, but that doesn’t sound like that. It’s new, so no harm in getting the service center to check it out for free. They have good coffee. I go 75 where I live, and there’s no real noise, and we have rough roads. I get wind noise when it’s super windy, but that’s different than what you’re getting.

kennyea87 2025-12-28 21:13

Yeah. I do get coming from an ICE car, I'll hear different noises since it's much quieter, but this particular noise just seemed a little too much. And since it wasn't consistent, it made me feel like it wasn't normal. But I'll definitely put in a service request. Thank you for the advice!

Bnwrich16 2025-12-28 21:15

Your welcome my thing is this it is brand new and you have all this covered better to put in the service call for it just to make sure let me know if you get it in and if they have to do anything or find anything. I’m curious now. If you remember that is if not it’s cool but year get it checked no harm no foul.

IHateAntifaLoserz 2025-12-28 21:47

What engine?

DameLasNalgas 2025-12-28 23:07

I had this problem with my 2025 M3P and what I found is that over time the rubber seals need time to settle in with heat. It took all summer for my car to bake in the California heat before the wind noise went away and now I barely hear anything at even 70 mph.

kennyea87 2025-12-29 00:25

Ohh interesting! I'm in Los Angeles, and it's been cold/raining constantly, so this could be it

JuJuBee- 2025-12-29 00:36

I have a 2023 practically brand new. Only 12k on it. But I noticed it was as noisy of a drive as my 25 year old Odyssey. When I accounted for the fact that there is no engine noise I surmised it’s actually less noisy, I just hear everything now. But I LOVE driving this car sooooo much it could sound like a freight train and I’d still be happy. 🤣 it’s a smooth FUN ride.

kennyea87 2025-12-29 00:49

I think I could be overreacting with the noise haha. And I agree though, I'm still happy with driving this car 😁😁

Suvi2k 2025-12-29 04:34

It’s probably on auto mode and blowing air in at a higher rate is all.

Present-Ad-9598 2025-12-29 09:00

Raw dogging???? Hope you’re on FSD

PhilosophyCorrect279 2025-12-29 14:50

Check all your windows seals and whatnot, just to be sure! We went from a Civic to our model 3, and it was like we had gone from riding a bike to then being chauffeured in a Bentley, especially in terms of cabin noise. The Civic was awful. Our Tesla is still significantly quieter, BUT we are now used to it so we hear more things now lol! Maybe you are just now used to it! Not having an engine and transmission to cover up extra noises is funny because you don't realize how much noise there really is.

kennyea87 2025-12-29 16:25

You telling me to check the window seals actually reminded me that I didn't notice the sound before I got tint installed... I started noticing the noise after. It could be possible the tint shop didn't put the seals/panels/clips back properly? I'll give them a call to have them check it out before I put in a request. Thanks for your input! Hopefully this is the problem

lilt0210 2025-12-29 19:38

cars so quiet you’re not use the wind and road noise lolol

kennyea87 2025-12-29 19:40

I'm honestly starting to think I'm overreacting 😂

lilt0210 2025-12-29 19:50

hahaha, my buddies that have never been in a tesla just gone on a road trip with me in my car and they were all saying how it’s so weird to hear all wind and road and 0 Engine

kennyea87 2025-12-29 19:57

Haha this could definitely be it. The only thing im trippin on is how the outside noise came through randomly, and then it'll stop. The car is definitely quiet and I absolutely love it, and I hear the outside noise being muffled from the seals, but those spurts of hearing cars pass by clearly throws me off

PhilosophyCorrect279 2025-12-29 19:59

Glad to help! Yes, sometimes the seals can get misaligned and cause more noise!

lilt0210 2025-12-29 21:33

There’s aftermarket fender liners that have better sound proofing if you’re into that! I haven’t tried any of those yet but i’ve heard they do work a little. Even after owning tesla for the past 6 years, sometimes my finger will touch the back window buttons and it’ll crack open just the slightest bit where you can’t see it opened but hear wind whistling through the gap. sometimes check for any slightly opened window that can be it haha. If the noises are really there and persistent i’d def ask tesla service to check it out! These cars are so quiet if you have your music muted you can hear like everything

kennyea87 2025-12-29 21:46

I ended up putting in a service request. Might as well have them check it out. I don't know how they'll recreate the issue, but at least they can check if all the seals are proerply aligned. But appreciate the advice and rec!

erclark99 2025-12-30 02:31

The gas one directly under the drivers seat. It’s so small and efficient you don’t notice it running. Every night, a bunch of Tesla engineers run out and fill your car up. When you plug in your car to the wall it’s just arcing the electricity and it’s not being used. That’s how a Tesla actually works, so just like all EVs it’s a total scam /s

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