The Model S continues to be one of most desirable EVs in the market and still boasts class-leading range, performance and tech.
Being more like a computer on wheels, the Model S has more beeps, chimes and audible alerts than most modern vehicles.
If you’re not why your Model S is beeping, this article is here to help.
Table of Contents
1. Autopilot Alerts
Beeps and chimes from the Model S’s Autopilot feature are the most common ones you’ll hear while you’re driving.
Aside from adjusting the car’s speed and detecting other vehicles on the road, the Autopilot’s autosteer will detect lane markings and follow the road on its own.
The car will beep whenever you turn on Autopilot and also when autosteer is about to be disengaged to let you know that you should take over control of the steering wheel.
You’ll know when autosteer is active when the steering wheel icon turns blue on the main display/touchscreen.
The Autopilot will also beep in the following situations:
- Take your hands off the wheel too long
- Manually change lanes
- Jerking the wheel aggressively
- A vehicle cuts in front of you
- Another vehicle is in your blind spot
- Stepping on the brake while in Autopilot
- Speeding through a stop sign or a red light
- Autopilot has trouble navigating/detecting the road
When Autopilot detects an issue, there will usually be a warning on the screen that accompanies the beep to let you know exactly what is going on.
If you didn’t notice any warnings on the screen, you can tap on the bell icon on the upper right of the Controls screen to see the most recent alerts.
2. Lane Departure Warning
Even if you don’t have Autopilot turned on, the Lane Assist will steer you back into your lane.
If you keep driving erratically and are constantly drifting towards the lane markers, the car will beep continuously to alert you that you have to take control of the wheel and pay attention to the road.
You can turn Lane Departure Avoidance off by going into the Controls menu and selecting the Autopilot settings.
On this screen, you can also select whether you just want the steering wheel to vibrate or allow the car to actively steer you back into your lane.
3. Camera Issues
The Model S’s cameras can have trouble seeing what’s ahead in certain conditions like if there’s too much glare from the sun or during heavy rainstorms.
Debris can also block the cameras, which the car relies on to detect lane markings, vehicles and road obstacles.
In such situations, the car will beep and warn you of the camera or Autopilot issues. The beeping is usually intermittent and goes away after a few seconds.
Here’s how owners on TeslaMotorsClub.com descried their experience:
“When I use auto pilot to head to work about 10 AM and depending on the Tesla [software] release, auto pilot works great or I get something like ‘auto pilot does not work if the camera is blocked or blinded.’”
“I’ve been getting an intermittent error that says “left door pillar camera blocked or blinded”. This seems to happen on the driver’s side only, and only when that side of the car is facing the sun. This does not seem like normal behavior. However, once I’m out of the direct sunlight, the error message goes away.”
“I have had one situation during very heavy rain and poor visibility, Auto Pilot declined to engage citing ‘poor visibility.’”
“I get the exact same message on my passenger side, fairly regularly, when the sun is in the “right” place. Usually the message disappears within a few seconds. I think sometimes the message can be triggered by a very brief sun-glare event… perhaps only for an instant… Which triggers the alert.’
If you’re constantly getting errors, warning messages and alerts, check the cameras for any debris or condensation that could be affecting its performance.
You might also have a faulty camera module if everything looks ok but you’re still getting constant errors.
4. Collision Warning
Even if you don’t engage the Autopilot, the Model S Collision Warning feature will beep three times if it detects a dangerous situation.
Along with the rapid beeping, the screen will also flash red.
Warnings from the front collision avoidance system are pretty obvious since you can immediately see what’s causing it to go off.
The side collision system can also be triggered if you’re driving too close to another car or if the side of the car gets sprayed with water.
A lot of newer Teslas no longer have radar and just use the cameras to detect obstacles. Many owners have complained that the camera-based system is not as reliable and causes too many false alarms.
Here’s how a few owners described their experience on TeslaMotorsClub.com:
“It’s no mystery that Forward Collision Warning is way too sensitive. There are some roads I drive on frequently that trigger it fairly consistently just from a curve. However, I have noticed that even when selecting Off for the setting, I am still getting the errant warnings.”
“Every FCW I have ever been issued has been false. Several were as I slowly crept forward to be able to swipe my card to enter my workplace parking lot.’
“At least twice now in the same location, while in Autosteer/TACC driving close to my house, my MS flashes a “Forward Collision Warning” with nobody around me at all. It is right as I am approaching a small bridge. There is nothing that should be setting this thing off.”
Another owner on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit also shared their thoughts:
“I get FCW on a narrow neighborhood street. I am traveling 18 MPH and as the street curves to the left, if there is someone parked in the bend, I get the FCW.”
“Almost all my FCW are on narrow streets with cars parked on each side and gaps in parking, basically 3 cars wide. You can only cross where there are no parked cars/driveway.”
If you get too many false alarms, you turn down the sensitivity of the Forward Collision Warning in the Autopliot settings. You can also turn the warnings off completely.
You have to turn off this setting every time you drive the car if you don’t want to be constantly bothered by the collision warnings.
Related: Tesla Model S Alarm Going Off? (12 Common Causes)
5. Driver Monitoring System
The Model S has a Driver Monitoring System and cabin camera that detects your eye movements and what you’re doing inside the vehicle to make sure you’re paying attention to the road at all times.
It no longer just relies on your hands putting pressure on the steering wheel to verify whether or not you’re alert and able to take over control of the vehicle when the Autopilot disengages.
The Driver Monitoring System will beep twice and display a warning that says ‘Please pay attention to the road’ if you’re not looking straight ahead at the road.
If you repeatedly ignore the warnings, the car will continuously beep until you take control of the wheel and Autosteer will be completely disabled for the rest of the drive.
Some of the things that can trigger the Driver Monitoring System include:
- Staring at the touchscreen too long
- Holding your phone while driving
- Driver posture
Many people have complained that new software updates have made the Autopilot completely unusable since it constantly disengages even if you turn your head for a few seconds.
Here’s how owners on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit described their experience:
“It randomly disengages FSD with the red steering wheel and beeps and says “Cabin camera blinded or covered. I have to move the wheel and wait 15-20 seconds and FSD is available again, for another 1/4-1/2 mile… rinse and repeat.”
“The nagging is incessant. Just navigating the music menu while driving gave me so many back to back “red hands on the wheel” warnings that autopilot shut off.”
Some owners have said that wearing sunglasses helps alleviate the problems brought about by the aggressive driver monitoring system.
Covering the camera with tape can disable the system completely and reverts back to the old method of detecting that your hands are on the steering wheel to keep Autopilot turned on. However, this workaround disables the Full Self Driving mode.
Older models also didn’t come standard with infrared night vision for the cabin camera. This causes the FSD to stop working when it’s pitch black outside.
Switching on the interior dome lights can often provide enough illumination to help the cabin camera see better at night.
It’s also important to note that the Model S only got equipped with a cabin camera some time in mid 2021, so older cars do not have driver monitoring at all.
In some cases, the false alarms were caused by defective camera modules. If you suspect that this is what’s causing your issues, you’ll need to contact Tesla Service and have it diagnosed and/or replaced.
6. Speed Limit Warning
The Model S has a speed limit warning that will chime if you go over the set threshold.
The Speed Assist feature also detects speed limits using traffic sign recognition and navigation data, but you can also manually set your desired speed limit in the Autopilot settings.
From the same menu screen, you can turn off the speed limit warning completely or choose to just display a warning instead of a chime.
Speed Assist won’t work properly in certain situations such as:
- Poor visibility
- Sign is blocked by traffic or objects
- Inaccurate GPS data
7. Green Light Chime
The Model S will alert you with a soft chime if you’re stopped at an intersection and the traffic light turns green.
The car will also play the chime even if you’re several vehicles behind that car that’s directly in front of the intersection.
It’s quite useful if you want to take a short break and avoid continuously staring at the traffic light to anticipate when it will turn green.
You can enable or disable this feature by going to the Autopilot settings and scrolling to the bottom of the menu.
This feature is only available in cars with Hardware 3.0 and newer which was released in 2019.
8. Gear Chime
After a recent software update, the Model S will emit a sound when you shift into Drive, Reverse, Neutral or Park.
This feature can’t be turned off in the Model S and Model X, unlike in the Model 3 and Model Y where you can disable it by going to Controls and then tapping on Safety.
Here’s how owners described their experience on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit:
“On 2023.38.6 and I just noticed the chime when swiping into drive or reverse, can I get rid of it? I didn’t see an option in settings.”
“Same issue on a 2022 Model S with the same software version, no option to turn off gear chimes and it’s equally loud with Joe Mode on or off.”
The car will still alert you with a chime if you try to shift into another gear that’s dangerous for the driving conditions.
For example, if you’re driving on the highway, it will chime if you intentionally or accidentally shift to reverse.
9. Park Assist
Like a lot of modern luxury vehicles, the Model S has Park Assist that can emit beeps to help you avoid fender benders when parking in tight spaces.
Although new Teslas made from October 2022 onwards no longer have ultrasonic sensors, which is similar to sonar, to detect nearby objects, recent software updates made it possible for the park assist to use the car’s cameras instead.
However, the camera-based system has been criticized for being unreliable and not very accurate:
Here’s how one owner on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit described their experience:
“I have a tight garage with roughly 1.3 feet of distance leeway. I find the Parking Assist to be wholly inaccurate on when to actually stop. In order to park inside my garage I have to park ~4 inches past when it says “STOP.” In addition, I back into my garage (better placement of the charging box, and easier to get out, and easier to get dogs in and out), but I have to go up a 45 degree curb. It detects the curb as a wall, and yells at me accordingly.”
Newer software updates might eventually make the camera-based park assist more reliable. You can also turn off the park assist chimes by going into the Controls menu and selecting the Safety settings.
Related: Tesla Model S: 11 Common Problems (Solution Guide)
10. Seat Belt Warning
If the Model S detects that there’s an occupant in one of the seats and the seat belt is not buckled in, it will make a continuous dinging or beeping sound as soon as you exceed 14 mph.
It will also emit a much louder beeping noise if you unbuckle your seatbelt while Autopilot is engaged. Unbuckling your seatbelt will also completely disable the autosteer function and the screen will flash red.
The seat belt warning will also be triggered if you put some weight on the seat such as a child’s car seat or a gym bag.
You can disable the warning for the rear seats by tapping the red warning icon for that particular seat on the touchscreen.
However, it can’t be disabled for the front passenger seat.
The seat belt warning can also go off for no reason if there’s an issue with the seat sensor or the seat itself.
Here’s how owners on TeslaMotorsClub.com described their experience:
“Driving to work today I got the seat belt warning symbol and chimes for the passenger seat despite it being empty. The same thing happened on the way home, but it does go off if you put the seatbelt into the buckle.”
“Had this problem when I picked up my car… seatbelt alarm was going off as soon as I pulled away and stopped if I fastened the front passenger seat belt. Drove back to the delivery centre and they got me to do a reboot (foot on brake and both steering wheel buttons) and it fixed it!”
A software glitch can sometimes also occur and cause the seatbelt warning to go off even if you’re buckled in.
You can try turning off the car, opening the door and locking it up again to try to clear out the software glitch. Buckling and unbuckling the seatbelts can also fix any sensor issues.
In some cases, a warning on the screen that says “Safety restraint system fault’ usually appears along with a beeping sound.
If you suspect there’s a hardware or wiring issue, you can take the car to a Tesla service center for a proper diagnosis.
11. Trunk Issues
When you press the button under the trunk’s exterior handle to close it, a single beep is emitted.
This serves as a simple reminder to get anything out of the way as the powered trunk goes down.
If the trunk detects an obstruction while it’s opening or closing, it will stop and beep twice.
It can also beep and not open if the temperature is too cold and the mechanism is frozen.
In some cases, the liftgate can also beep and stop opening halfway even if there is nothing in the way, which could indicate a software issue.
If this happens all the time, you can try to reset the trunk’s opening height by opening it completely and holding the trunk button under the handle for a few seconds until it beeps.
The struts can also fail which causes the liftgate to just open partially then beep.
The trunk latch can also fail and prevent it from being properly closed and locked.
Here’s how one owner described their experience on TeslaMotorsClub.com:
“2020 Tesla Model S. Out of the blue, the trunk would not close after putting some groceries inside. There was no obstruction. It just beeps 3 times and doesn’t move whether pushing the button on the hatchback, or using the dashboard control or the app or the key fob. You can manually push it almost closed, but it is not actually latched and the dashboard shows alert trunk is not locked.”
If the liftgate has trouble opening or closing completely and you’ve already tried resetting the trunk opening height, contact Tesla Service so they can properly diagnose the problem.
If it unlatches and then latches back closed immediately, some owners have found that manually latching it closed with some force gets the liftgate to work normally again.
Many Model S owners have also had issues where the cinch actuator fails which makes it impossible to open up the trunk, and you’ll only hear beeps when you try to open it.
12. Faulty Latch or Sensors
Just like any other modern vehicle, the Tesla Model S will start beeping if you drive with an open door or frunk.
If the doors, frunk and liftgate are securely latched, but the car is still beeping and warning you that they’re open, it’s most likely caused by a faulty latch or sensor.
One owner on TeslaMotorsClub.com shared their experience:
“Just recently I have been getting alerts flashing on the screen of my 2015 Model S. I get a double beep and the screen flashes a frunk unlatched warning. The screen warning is very brief (fraction of a second). I’m also getting frequent car alarm triggered warnings.”
A faulty frunk latch is a fairly common problem on the Model S.
Some owners were able to fix it by adjusting the alignment of the latch by themselves, but in most cases, it can only be fixed by replacing the entire latch.
The car’s door and frunk sensors can also malfunction if they get wet after a heavy rainfall or after going through a car wash.
You can try wiping off and drying out the latches, then spraying some WD-40 or electronics contact cleaner on them to get rid of any moisture that could be causing the error.
If the issue persists, you should contact Tesla and book a service appointment to get a proper diagnosis.
13. Software Glitches
Random software glitches can often cause random alerts and beeps even if all of the Model S’s hardware is working properly.
You can try to clear out the software issue by holding down the two scroll wheel buttons on the steering wheel for a few seconds until the touchscreen boots up again. This forces the car’s computer to restart.
If this doesn’t solve the issue, you can try getting out of the car, and unlocking/locking the car a few times. In some cases, just leaving the car alone for a few hours can resolve minor software problems.
Some software updates can also mess up features that were working fine before and cause the car to start randomly beeping.
Here’s how a few owners on TeslaMotorsClub.com described their experience:
My 2022 Tesla S Plaid is beeping constantly after latest software update. When is the fix coming?
“My 2021 MSLR just started doing this. Got in the car after leaving a store and it’s beeping away. It beeps all the time. Beeps in the garage When everything is shut down and you can hear from the outside. There are no warning lights or anything.”
If you contact Tesla, they can sometimes manually force a software update to get rid of the problems that the previous software version caused.
14. Hardware Failure
A few Model S owners have had their car suddenly display a “Vehicle Shutting Down, Pull Over Safely” error that’s often accompanied by continuous beeping.
When this message appears and the car continuously beeps, there might be an issue with an essential component like the drive unit or the high voltage battery.
Here’s how one owner described their experience on TeslaMotorsClub.com:
“I just bought a Tesla Model S Long Range (2021). It has 4,500 miles. Have had it for about 2 months. This morning, the car flashed a warning while I was driving ‘Pull Over Safely – Car Shutting Down.’ 30 seconds after the warning – the car was disabled and stopped in the middle of the street.”
“Very similar issue just happened to my 2021 Model S LR (10,200 mi) only I had less than 10 seconds to respond. I traveled about 60 yards from the moment the first error message appeared to when it completely shut down while halfway pulled into a parking lot.”
To get rid of the beeping, you can try the typical troubleshooting steps that would normally fix a software glitch such as:
- Holding down the steering buttons until the screen restarts
- Locking and unlocking the doors
- Disconnecting the 12-volt battery
- Letting the car sit for a couple of hours.
In some cases, a weak 12-volt battery can also cause random beeps and errors to appear, so try getting your battery checked at an auto parts store.
If this doesn’t fix the issue, it’s best to contact Tesla Service for a proper diagnosis.
15. Charger Issues
If your Model S is beeping while it’s being charged in your garage, it might not be the car at all and could be coming from your home charger.
Chargers can have errors and start beeping if they encounter a power outage, an electrical fault or a wiring issue.
You can try plugging in the charger using another electrical socket to make sure there’s no problem with the electrical circuit.
You can also check the charger’s manual for any troubleshooting steps or contact the manufacturer for more advice.
Other devices like a garage door opener can also beep incessantly if it’s low on battery and make you think that it’s coming from your Model S.
Related: 6 Most Common Problems With Tesla Model S (Explained)
Additional Steps to Consider
Check the Notification History
Analyzing your notification history can help you identify what’s causing your Model S to beep randomly.
To access the notification history, simply go to the Service menu and select Notifications.
This will show you any errors or notifications that you may have missed, including the exact time and date that they occurred.
Doing this might give you helpful clues as to what’s causing the mysterious beeping.
Use a Diagnostic Scanner
Although the Model S doesn’t have a traditional OBD2 port, you can use an adapter cable to hook up an OBD2 scanner and see if you can find any trouble codes.
You can connect the adapter cable to the connector that’s hidden behind a panel under the main touchscreen.
Once connected, you’ll need to download a compatible app to read the codes. You can research the codes online or consult vehicle-specific forums for more advice and further troubleshooting steps.
Check for Recalls or TSBs
Check for recalls for your vehicle by going to the NHTSA or Tesla Service recall page to see if there are any outstanding issues with your car that may affect the alarm system.
Entering your VIN on the NHTSA website’s Safety Issues and Recalls page will also show you a list of TSBs (Technical Service Bulletin) for your specific vehicle. Look out for any known problems with the doors, electronics or software that may be related to your alarm issues.
A recall is issued by a vehicle manufacturer for issues that are safety-related, while a TSB covers components that may be malfunctioning but don’t compromise the safety of the vehicle.
Disconnect the 12-Volt Battery
Although some software glitches can be cleared out by holding down the steering wheel buttons, disconnecting the 12-volt battery completely powers down the car’s computers and allows you to do a full power cycle.
A weak 12-volt battery can also cause random errors and glitches to appear, so replacing it with a brand new one might be in order if the car is already a few years old.
How to Test the Battery:
- Before testing, remove the surface charge from the battery, this allows for an accurate reading.
- Power down the car and leave it unplugged for several hours
- Set the multimeter dial to the ’20 Volts’ setting.
- Make sure the car is turned OFF.
The multimeter will have a red probe and a black probe.
- The red probe is for making contact with the positive terminal.
- The black probe is for making contact with the negative terminal.
Measure across the battery terminals.
The meter should display a reading, if the battery is fully charged the voltage should be between 12.2 and
12.6 volts.
Anything under 12V and the battery should be charged or replaced.
Contact Tesla Service
If you’ve run out of ideas trying to troubleshoot the problem on your own, you can schedule a service appointment through the Tesla app.
You can either take it to the nearest Tesla service center or have a mobile tech come out to your location.
Once you schedule an appointment, you can start talking to a representative about your problem.
If you’re able to resolve your issue after consulting with a representative, you won’t be charged for the service as long as you cancel the appointment at least 24 hours in advance.
Sources
- https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/models/en_us/
- https://www.tesla.com/support/service-visits
- https://service.tesla.com/vin-recall-search
