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

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The bushings are easy to press out but, as someone pointed out, Tesla does not have them and only uses/provides whole arm assemblies. Given that the new design uses a metal ball style outer joint, the SC likely needs to change both sides. It's about one hour without alignment.
 
That's an interesting statement though because technically, Tesla is currently loosing money as they are focused on growth as they should be to ramp up production... The thing is they can technically charge whatever they want for service issues at the moment and claim they are not making any money and it would be technically correct :)

The bottom line though is that this is a premium car and unlike most other premium cars, there are no independent shops. You have to take the car to Tesla, pay whatever they are asking for the repair and you really have no other choice for parts or labor. So really the only choice is to either buy the warranty or take a chance knowing you may have expensive repairs and have no choice but to pay whatever Tesla wants...

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans]Found the quotation from Elon Musk, from April 26 2013: "I've told Tesla service division that their job is to NEVER make a profit. Operate the business at the zero profit point. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans]Regular franchises make most of their profits on the service, not on the sale. This isn't good."[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans]I guess the tricky thing is spending a bunch of money to open a fancy new service center means you can charge a lot for repairs and still break even...[/FONT]
 
Found the quotation from Elon Musk, from April 26 2013: "I've told Tesla service division that their job is to NEVER make a profit. Operate the business at the zero profit point. Regular franchises make most of their profits on the service, not on the sale. This isn't good."

I guess the tricky thing is spending a bunch of money to open a fancy new service center means you can charge a lot for repairs and still break even...

That's the point I made in that given all their expenses to setup the service centers and the fact that they are technically not going to generate a profit until 2020 they can basically charge whatever they want and still not do anything contrary to the stated policy of the service centers not being for profit. IMHO the safest way to hedge your bets against having to absorb a really expensive repair out of warranty is to get the Extended Warranty. I'd rather pay the $4K and have peace of mind than face the possibility of a crazy high repair bill. Like most other premium cars, I have a feeling nothing that requires fixing in a Tesla is going to be inexpensive.

@Lolachampcar thinks this repair is about an hour to replace the stated part but the quote Tesla has given the OP suggests it takes much more time but since Tesla is the only place the OP can take the car to, he doesn't really have a choice.
 
MsE,
In fairness, Tesla may be including alignment...
If it is billable (not warranty) work, any competent shop can put the arms in and you can buy them directly from the Service Center yourself. I think they were $225 each the last time I bought some.
 
FWIW, I'd like to point out that service charges per hour can be defined in 2 ways. The 'Time and Materials' generally means that if it takes the tech/mechanic 66 minutes to actually do the job, you'll be charged for 1.1 hrs of labor.
The second way is 'Book Time'. Book time is a slippery slope for the consumer; not as much for the repair facility. If the 'book' says it takes 2.4 hrs for the job, then you'll be billed for 2.4 hrs, regardless of how much less it took to perform the repair. On the other hand, on my truck, a particularly screwy problem resulted in the quoted 'book time' to be thrown out the window, and it reverted to actual, for a total about 3 times what the book time would have been. Got a slight adjustment, but it seldom benefits the consumer. In California, the fine print shows about book vs actual time. Even if the mechanic has done this a 100 times, and can do it in 1/2 the time, you'll still be billed at the book rate. It's also 'book time' that insurance companies use when generating a quote, and it seemed to me that they were looking at book times that are particular to that make, model and year. I'd love to know if the book times for Tesla repairs are available, perhaps for those fortunate enough to live in MA (the auto right to repair state). Mechanics are generally credited with book time, and repair management usually wants to see more billable hours than actual hours.
Now, if the suspension / drive unit is out, and an alignment has to be performed as part of the DU replacement, I'd be pinging on higher-ups for a more reasonable labor charge. They could and should adjust the labor charges. Most will look and see what they can do.
In my business, I work on electric cars (not Tesla's) and generally quote flat rate repair charges, and while there's no book rate, I base it on the fastest I have done that work in the past. I typically get phone calls while work is in progress, and I don't want anyone tapping their foot, wondering if the clock is still ticking while I'm on the phone.

Now here is one more thought. In California, you have the right to the replaced parts returned to you by the repair facility, unless the price shows that there is a core fee, or exchange. I have more than 35,000 miles on my 10 month old MS, and am leaning towards the extended warranty. However, if I have to replace the screen, and I have heard it's about $5,000, shouldn't I get the old one? $5,000 for an exchange unit would be ludicrous (to quote Elon's definition of ludicrous, wouldn't the dollars fly out of my wallet at a ludicrous rate?) I would also find it even more interesting when you apply that logic to the battery pack, motor and controller, if they were out of warranty. You might not think the 8 yr, unlimited warranty would cause anyone to be concerned, but I remember someone in San Francisco using their Tesla as a limo or taxi, and the warranty is voided due to commercial use, per the owner. So, if the contactor is bad in the battery pack, why should a new pack be necessary.... if it's an exchange, it should be 100's or a couple of 1000 max. Surely, the labor of removal of the pack would be about $6, since we have all seen Elon's video of the battery swap in less than 3 minutes. Sure, opening up a pack to replace the contactor (or BMS module) should be priced as such.
be priced as such. Sure, seals and maybe a new cover, perhaps testing after repair, but you are not buying a new pack, so it shouldn't be priced as such.
Sure, replacing a defective module might be the case, but again, if 90% of the pack is not replaced, we should see fair and reasonable pricing. Makes me wonder if I might want to buy a salvage Tesla for parts. The sum of the parts could add up quickly. I'd also love to see Tesla's statement about using and flashing my car, in that event, as my car is not a salvage title.

Finally, Although I will probably start a separate thread, what are your thoughts about battery range, and setting to a percentage of range? As it decreases, at what point will you say you've crossed the line, and will decide you need it replaced, repaired, etc. When setting the charge limit, I initially thought I'd just like to set for a certain number of miles, say to charge to 240 miles range. Now, I have come to realize that since the battery pack rated range will decrease, Tesla probably doesn't want to glaringly show that setting the charge limit to a specific number of miles (which isn't an option) will show up as a higher % of charge as the pack range decreases. IE, 240 miles might be 80% today, but might be 84% in 6 months.

Scotty
 
MsE,
In fairness, Tesla may be including alignment...
If it is billable (not warranty) work, any competent shop can put the arms in and you can buy them directly from the Service Center yourself. I think they were $225 each the last time I bought some.

Understood but would they not have to do the alignment anyway when they work on the OP's drive unit? It seems the level of effort and expense for this repair perhaps could have been less given the fact that the labor to take the car apart is already covered by the warranty repair... It's great that you have such good knowledge about these components :) Could you have done this on your own if you had the parts?
 
I made a recording of the noise. would a worn bushing cause this? you can hear it the whole time , maybe it gets a little more distinguishable/clearer around 0:45. and it gets faster with increase in speed and slower with decrease in speed

I'm confused - is this video AFTER Tesla replaced your drive unit or before? That's some noise. I would have guessed its a wheel bearing or possibly if you were on a very rough road maybe tire noise. I'm no mechanic. But that's bad, whatever it is.

Where are Click and Clack when we need them!?
 
Understood but would they not have to do the alignment anyway when they work on the OP's drive unit? It seems the level of effort and expense for this repair perhaps could have been less given the fact that the labor to take the car apart is already covered by the warranty repair...

FYI they said the price they gave me was discounted since they already had the DU out and had to do an alignment. So it would have been more expensive otherwise...
 
The SC is really not looking so good here.
First, they put that drive unit in so they need to fix the noise.
Second, if they are in there and doing sufficient work to require an alignment then I'll reduce my incremental time to replace the links with the new style link to a half hour.
Something is not adding up. This is beginning to sound like one of the kids at the SC is not being properly supervised by an adult.
 
The SC is really not looking so good here.
First, they put that drive unit in so they need to fix the noise.
Second, if they are in there and doing sufficient work to require an alignment then I'll reduce my incremental time to replace the links with the new style link to a half hour.
Something is not adding up. This is beginning to sound like one of the kids at the SC is not being properly supervised by an adult.

So this is a tricky situation, as it seems they are wanting to overcharge the OP. What would you do if this was you? Call them out on the fact that the repair cost can't be justified or perhaps escalate the matter higher up?

And then there is this whole thing about keeping a good relationship with the SC. If there is only once SC for the area and you get into a bad relationship with them I can see how that could affect the entire ownership experience... I don't see any good options other than sucking up and paying it but then it means unless you get the warranty you have no choice but to pay whatever they ask you to pay even in cases where they might be overcharging you.

I wish Tesla within their company had a position for a "customer advocate" who can review a repair quote or other situation and possibly consider an adjustment to make the situation fair to an owner. Does such a role exist within Tesla? Could the OP take this matter up with the Regional Service Manager? Mercedes for example has a position called an SPOM (Service & Parts Operations Manager) who can intervene on your behalf and make things right if you feel something is not right. I once had to contact the Mercedes SPOM for an issue and he resolved the whole thing. The next day I got a call from the dealer saying the issue will be resolved as a goodwill repair.

With an ICE dealer sometimes I have negotiated the cost of repairs down. I suppose this is not something Tesla would do?
 
I would also check the tires for severe cupping (noisy) by rubbing my hand fore-and-aft along the inside tread block lying on the ground for the rear and with the steering wheel max turned for the fronts so that this is NOT performed blindly and one can see the tire as well, so as to insure there are no sharp objects in the tread that may cut/injure. Our heavy, high cambered Ses are prone to excessive cupping which is exsaserbated by a "same side" (front to rear) rotation strategy.
 
I made a recording of the noise. would a worn bushing cause this? you can hear it the whole time , maybe it gets a little more distinguishable/clearer around 0:45. and it gets faster with increase in speed and slower with decrease in speed
Yobigd20... That sounds like a wheel bearing.
I would also check the tires for severe cupping
Good suggestions here, it sounds like a wheel bearing or tire cupping to me as well - or a combination of both.

Just went through a combination of cupping and wheel bearing on my Prius - thought it was the tires which were cupping, replaced the tires and nearly all the noise was still there. Tracked it down to the front-left wheel bearing, replaced that and now it's all good. Didn't expect a wheel bearing to go out after 88k miles - and it really started going probably 20k miles earlier but I put it off because I thought it was the tires and didn't want to replace tires that still had half their tread left.
 
Good suggestions here, it sounds like a wheel bearing or tire cupping to me as well - or a combination of both.

Just went through a combination of cupping and wheel bearing on my Prius - thought it was the tires which were cupping, replaced the tires and nearly all the noise was still there. Tracked it down to the front-left wheel bearing, replaced that and now it's all good. Didn't expect a wheel bearing to go out after 88k miles - and it really started going probably 20k miles earlier but I put it off because I thought it was the tires and didn't want to replace tires that still had half their tread left.

Is a bearing the same as a bushing? (I'm guessing not). Where is the bearing?
 
The upper control arm (with the bushings) is a horizontal link between the inner part of the car and the upright (the assembly your tire/wheel bolt to). The bushings are the rubber isolation bits on the end of the control arm where it is bolted on both sides.

Wheel bearings are ball bearings (usually a pair of them) in the upright (that cast aluminum casing that houses what you bolt your wheel to) that allow the spindle (the actual steel part your lung nuts screw into) to rotate (thus allowing the car to rotate). These take the full weight of the car and are metal to metal bearings. When they start to go, they normally will either howl (minor imperfections) or grind like a coffee bean grinder (macro imperfections).

The thing on the top with "driftmission.com" is doing the upper control arm function while the blue bit on the right is the upright. Your suspension will not look like this but the elements are pretty much all the same.
http://driftmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/odtrk02.jpg

Here are some pictures of the Tesla Model S upper control arms along with some bushing pressing tools (thus showing the bushings themselves) I built.
Adjustable Length Control Arm for Model S Rear Suspension

Here is a shot of the Model S rear suspension which, by now, you should be able to pick out the upper control arm (the longer of the two trellis links - the shorter one is the toe link used to control the direction the rear wheel is pointing) and the upright.
http://www.jeffchan.com/cars/ev/tesla/model-s/model-s-left-rear.jpg
 
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