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$961 bucks to replace bushings on rear suspension upper control links?

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So I'm having my drive unit replaced for the milling noise (again, this is the 2nd time). At 73.5k miles (out of basic warranty, but obviously battery and drive unit still covered). I had to bring the car in this morning because I got the 'Car needs service. Unable to start car' error this morning combined with a '12V Battery Power Low' error but I was able to full power off and on the car twice to change the error message to 'Car needs service, reduced power' and so I drove it to the SC.

they are still looking into that specific error, but in the meantime to took them on a test drive to show them the milling sound again which they confirmed and thus are replacing the drive unit.

As they are replacing the DU and pulling down the suspension they called me to say that the bushings on the upper control arms on the rear suspension are showing excessive wear and have play and they can't guarantee alignment. They also said if not fixed it could damage other parts of the suspension. They said it would cost $961 to replace. I opted *NOT* to have this done. FWIW my first set of tires lasted 47k and my second set so far has lasted 26k miles and wear is looking fine. Since I get such good mileage out of my tires that's why I was kinda of like 'WTF?' when they said they can't guarantee that the alignment wouldl hold. I don't know...it seems to be holding quite well so far.... What do the experts here have to say about this? Does it NEED to be done? Is it dangerous or anything (like is the wheel going to crack off? lol I'm a computer guru, not a car guru).

also I had TPMS warnings for like a year. it's never seemed to work. I've had them for a long time and they never go away even after resetting. They replaced two under warranty last year so they are replacing those again for free. But the other two are going to cost me $200. Basically they said if I don't replace them that the TPMS warning will stay on my screen permanently. Kind of forced to replace those... but the upper control arm bushing things? really? is it needed or can I make due without replacing them?

and like I said still waiting on them to tell me why I got those other warnings this morning...hopefully its not more $$$$
 
Ouch. If you are getting that kind of mileage on the tires and don't notice excessive camber angle changes then I don't see why you should agree to their replacement. Also, I thought TPMS were $50 per tire.

Seems like those should be under warranty. Everything is supposed to be covered except tires...... Did you get and explaination why it was not covered?

Not with 73 k miles.
 
Does that include an alignment? i wonder if they will actually replace the rubber bushings or just replace the entire control arm with bushings installed? Toe and camber upper control arms, both sides that would be 8 rubbers @ $?? plus labor. Or 4 control arms plus labor. Sounds like typical luxury car maintenance expenses, e.g. bmw, mb
 
The bushings on the rear upper control links, if worn, will allow for uncontrolled rear toe and camber changes based on axle torque. Well, greater than normal toe and camber changes. When they wear enough, you'll start getting clunks, bangs and "drive weirdness." (Pulling one direction or another under throttle or regen) With grossly excessive wear you risk bending or shearing the bolts which go through them under shock loads which can collapse the suspension.

The price seems a little excessive if they already have things apart enough to get the drive unit out.

Now the truly interesting questions is... "Why does it have excessive wear with only 74k miles?"
 
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Well, I just had my rear upper links replaced at 33k miles under warranty a few weeks ago. And got about 25k miles on my 21" continentals, so my alignment wasn't bad. Seems to be slightly quieter, less creaky going over bumps in parking lots, or other low speed stuff. Otherwise the same.
 
The bushings should be only $50 each or $200

In my experience, the labor has been the expensive portion of maintenance & repair on high-end cars, often over $100 per hour. The $961 for this is expensive, sure, but if this was a Mercedes, I expect it would be considerably more than this if done by a dealer. Remember what Click & Clack say about sports cars: "You have to be a real sport to own one."
 
what is 'typical' if you think 74k miles is too short?
At 174 I'd raise my brows in surprise.
At 274 I'd just sighed and at 374 I'd just walk away.

Those bushings should last the lifetime, whatever it is.
Except If you drive some pretty 'interesting' roads at high speeds:
Villiage-Roads.jpg
 
I'm astonished at the mileage the OP's getting out of the tires. My 2013 S85 got 21K on the factory-installed 19" Michelin Primacys. I'd hoped for a lot more.

And no I don't drive it like I stole it; nowhere near being a hypermiler, but I'm a maniac for regen and minimal energy use, and monitoring all that stuff regularly is both (pathetically, I guess, but..) endlessly entertaining to me and maybe a tad beneficial to the planet.
 
update: the warnings I got this morning was those stuck contactors (as others have had...). they have the battery pack apart and are replacing the contactor parts under the battery warranty.

regarding the price of the bushings, they said the upper control arm links and bushing are all one part. its around $450 for them parts and about $500 for labor. I opted not to replace them...
 
regarding the price of the bushings, they said the upper control arm links and bushing are all one part. its around $450 for them parts and about $500 for labor. I opted not to replace them...


That seems fairly reasonable, similar parts on a 7-series would be singificantly more. Sucks that they are worn already though, they should easily last twice that.

Its seeming to be more and more that you don't want to own a Model S after the warranty is up.
 
It's the upper link outboard bushing (maybe inboard, too) that Tesla switched to a ball-joint. I wonder if they are retrofitting these, for repairs, or sticking with rubber. Did they say? The picture shows the bushing, when left tilted upward. That is without any force on it, and shows how the arm can allow twist without the problematic outward deflection, which effectively changes the length of the arm when side-loaded ("weirdness"). That's what rubber bushings can allow, that gets worse with wear. Your rear UL arm length is your camber setting.

I wouldn't worry about them, until I felt it. If you sometimes take a turn more quickly, look for an incrementally more precarious feeling as you load one side, and unloaded it. I doubt it affects your alignment, when you aren't cornering (apart from maybe torque steer?). So, not really a tire life issue so much as a cornering issue. Toe begins to move a little because of the geometry.

Ball Joint.jpg


At $400, since Tesla's are no longer camber adjustable (no more neck-down bolts), this isn't that tough a job. I would just be sure the hole centers were equally far apart, as what they replaced, and maybe use some of the savings to get the outer ball joint arms. 1043963-00-B UCA AWD

[EDIT: You can get BBC Speed and Machine adjustable camber arms, for about this much.]
 
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I've always done my own bushing replacements and then when necessary taken whatever car it is to have the alignment done. Did they give you a breakdown on parts and labor. Gee, do you think they'd sell you the parts? If you throw "right to repair" in their direction would that change their mind?