Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

2019 awdLR

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I’m getting ready to buy tesla #4. The one I’m looking at is from Tesla used a 2019 LRawd. Is there anything about this year I should keep my eyes open about when looking at it? I have a 2022 so know I won’t get the power liftgate or heated steering which I’m fine with but any potential issues I should know about from
This year?
 
I know that when I bought FSD in 2021 (I think) they gave me a HW3 upgrade as part of the deal.

Also: I sold the 2018 M3 last year and bought a replacement 2023 version. The 2018 got a bad case of the front-end squeaks when the left control arm bushing apparently ran out of grease.

The "control arm" is a little triangular piece of heavy metal that, on one side, connects to the body of the car and, on the other side, has a little ball-and-socket attachment for the top side of the steering knuckle. (In other words, this is one of the pieces of metal/plastic that holds the front wheel to the car.) The ball-and-socket connection has a rubber cover over it. Older cars that I've owned had a grease fitting on this bit; one could connect a grease gun and, at manufacturer's recommended intervals, squeeze a bit of heavy grease in there and in other grease spots for the suspension.

In recent years car manufacturers, not just Tesla, have gone to Lifetime versions of this thing that don't have a grease fitting. Unfortunately, 2018 to (I think) 2021 versions of M3 and MY have either dried-out grease or leaked-out grease and develop these $DIETY-loud squeaks whenever one goes over the least bump on the road, or turns the steering wheel. In early 2023 that's what happened to that 2018 M3.

Tesla's approach was (in my case) to send out a mobile tech who replaced both of the front end control arms for around $140 apiece. Other ambitious people around here chug over to their local auto parts stores and buy a little, what, $20 kit that has a needle, grease, and plunger, which one inserts through that rubber cover and greases up the joint, thus fixing the problem. Except, of course, one now has a pinhole in that cover. This is, apparently, the appropriate way to grease these kinds of joints on things like tractors, which is why auto parts stores carry the things.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: KenC
If the car is an early 2019 model, it might not include AP, since basic AP didn’t become standard until April 2019 or so. If that matters to you, check into it.
I think this was around march / april of 2019, when autopilot was made standard on Tesla model 3s. If the OP is buying from Tesla it likely wont matter since Tesla would likely add AP before selling the car themselves.

If its private party, the OP would have to check to see if autopilot is included. Most people expect at least autopilot on a Tesla now, so even if the OP isnt interested in FSD, not having having autopilot might be strange.
HW3? When did that become standard?
Thats somewhat of a loaded question. It was around the same time in 2019 that Tesla switched from HW 2.5 to HW3... HOWEVER... I remember pretty clearly there were people who waited to purchase their cars until after that April (ish) swap over time, to get HW3.

If you ordered FSD during that time, you definitely got HW3. If you didnt order FSD, you "sometimes did, sometimes didnt" get HW3". I seem to remember that being especially prevalent on lower trim (read RWD / SR+) model 3s but its not like I kept a spreadsheet or anything, thats just from memory / feel.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: KenC