Tesla Model 3 2018–2019 — technical service bulletin
Bulletin SB-19-16-010 · NHTSA communication 10163736 · issued Jul 17, 2019
Technical service bulletin
communication type
Electrical System
component
2018–2019
model years
2
vehicle entries
Official summary
The HV battery on some Model 3 vehicles might produce a subtle "thunk" noise when ascending or descending a mountain, or during Supercharging in colder climates. The "thunk" noise occurs when the air pressure outside the battery is different than the air pressure inside battery. The "thunk" noise does not indicate a fault or affect the performance of the HV battery.
Vehicles covered
What a TSB means. Technical service bulletins are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls, and repairs are not automatically free (warranty extensions are an exception worth checking). The full document is available via NHTSA’s vehicle lookup.