I bought a 2016 Tesla S in December 2016. July, 2018 there was shutter in the steering wheel when I braked. The car had 9,500 miles on it and the front brake pads and rotors had to be replaced. I own 4 cars: Tesla S, Range Rover, Ford F-150 and a Ferrari 458. I’m 66 years old and take immaculate care of my automobiles, and have never had a problem like this before with a car with such low mileage. In fact, up until June, 2018, I never driven the Tesla in the rain. Now, less than 7 months later and at 19,500 miles, I’m having the same problem again. I am perplexed as to how and why this is happening to my car. I rarely use the brake pedal, instead utilizing the regenerative braking to slow the car down. Anyone have any advice about what could be causing this problem?
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2016 Tesla Brake Issues with Low Miles.
- Thread starter trr7459
- Start date
Tam
Well-Known Member
What's the cause for pre-mature replacement?
Were yours exposed to snow and road salt for winter?
My original 2012 brakes were perfect when I sold it at about 100,000 miles but it's been in snow-free area only.
I live in Charlotte, NC. The car has never been exposed to snow or road salt. Up until last year, I never drove it in the rain. The service center in Charlotte said July 2018 that I had to have really braked hard before the brakes had warmed up. Nothing could be further from the truth. I rarely use the brakes, mostly use regenerative braking. I’m perplexed.....
Tam
Well-Known Member
I am not an expert but I think there's no problem with rain and water for brakes but in snow areas, road crews may use corrosive chemicals and salts which might pose a problem for brakes.
Do you take your car for annual check-ups? If so they would charge you extra to "clean and lubricate" your brakes as preventive maintenance in snow regions.
Usually, not using your brakes would prolong your brakes' life.
However, that might not be true with corrosive chemicals and salts that keep on accumulating on your brakes because you hardly wipe them off clean with frequent brakings.
But you are hardly exposed to snow so I have no answer. Sorry!
habanero69
I Dont Need Cialis. I Drive an EV.
I have a 2016, Sep delivered S70 that has just started to do the vibration when braking. It does not always do it, and it is not severe, but bothers me nonetheless. I am in FLorida so no extreme temps/snow. I don't think I've ever braked hard at all except once for some idiot that cut me off. I rarely use brakes and use regen almost exclusively myself. I was about to schedule an appointment to have a few other things checked. Now I know I will. I suspect maybe a pad issue since it doesn't always do and is fairly mild, but could be wrong and it's the rotors. If that's the case, I will NOT be impressed.
This is actually quite common for this car if you search the forums
There are two theories, one being that your new brakes were never properly bedded and two is that dirt builds up on the pads because you don't use them.
Your issue should be resolved by bedding the pads again.
There are many different suggestions to bed them but they're all the same concept. I did the below procedure going from 50 mph to 25 mph but here is one from Powerstop:
Turn regen to low first!
Then 5 moderate to aggressive stops from 40 mph down to 10 mph in rapid succession without letting the brakes cool and do not come to a complete stop. If you’re forced to stop, either shift into neutral or give room in front so you can allow the vehicle to roll slightly while waiting for the light. The rotors will be very hot and holding down the brake pedal will allow the pad to create an imprint on the rotor. This is where the judder can originate from.
Then do 5 moderate stops from 35 mph to 5 mph in rapid succession without letting the brakes cool. You should expect to smell some resin as the brakes get hot.
After this is complete, drive around for as long as possible without excessively heating the brakes and without coming to a complete stop (Try for about 5 minutes at moderate speed). This is the cooling stage. It allows the heated resin in the brake pads to cool and cure.
After the brakes have cooled to standard operating temperature, you may use the brakes normally.
Yes and mine were bad after rains (basically couldn't stop at all) so I switched to aftermarket slotted rotors. That way the few times I use my brakes the pads get cleaned. No issues after 6 months so far but I also put on 6 piston front brakes.
Details here:
DIY...Big Brake Kit for Under 2k
Details here:
DIY...Big Brake Kit for Under 2k
Don85D
Member
If the surfaces are clean and the pistons not seized I would check for a wrapped rotor using a dial indicator then check suspension control arms. Any suspension looseness can translate into a shudder during braking.
This is a very frustrating problem and most of time new rotors and callipers solve it. A brake specialist will find the cause as they deal with it a lot. Personally I have a theory that some new rotors are not stress relieved before final machining so this stress shows up as a warped rotor after a short time of use. I am a fan of slotted and cross drilled rotors as I think they do get stress relieved and extra attention to quality during manufacture.
This is a very frustrating problem and most of time new rotors and callipers solve it. A brake specialist will find the cause as they deal with it a lot. Personally I have a theory that some new rotors are not stress relieved before final machining so this stress shows up as a warped rotor after a short time of use. I am a fan of slotted and cross drilled rotors as I think they do get stress relieved and extra attention to quality during manufacture.
