Okay, this is not good. I got my April '18 build Model 3 LR RWD in May '18. And for the first 50,000 miles, it was great. Any problems, something need updated, recalled, or repaired? No problem. I'll go to the Wexford Service Center and hang out in the waiting room, listening to the fast paced techno-bop music and watching the tvs full of videos saying how great Teslas are, with the other Tesla Elite owners. Ain't full warranty coverage GREAT?
Then... I hit 50,000 miles. Warranty EXPIRED! Instantly, I had to go from "Ah, it's free, it's under warranty, for what this car cost I should have free coverage for life", to "Oh damn, I gotta find ways to save on this! These people are insane with their $175 an hour shop rate plus the cost of new parts!!!".
First real issue came at 60,000 miles. Left side upper ball joint began creaking and squeaking like crazy. I'm sure the Pittsburgh roads had something to do with it. Well whatever, I'll bite the proverbial bullet, change the upper control arm assembly (Why not just the ball joint, what am I, made of money over here?!?!?!) and change the right side control arm as well, it is probably about to go.
So I went from Revision A control arms to a Revision G and H. Or maybe it was an F and G. Search my old ball joint posts if you really want to know.
But hey, no problem, I have REVISED versions now, they should be good for 400,000 miles, right?
Wrong. Only 43,000, yes, 43,000 miles later, the left side ball joint began creaking and squeaking again. WTF.
My first observation was a common event. My Tesla had been into Wexford for service, and the very next day, the creaking begins. TWICE IN A ROW now!!! We are moving from bemusement to outright suspicion, that someone there may be sabotaging parts to wear them out, so I have to come in and pay more money to buy more parts, to make the Service Center's numbers look better.
I will be watching very carefully the next time my 3 goes in for something. If the next day, another part goes bad, words will be exchanged. You hear me, Wexford Service Center? I'm paying attention now.
For 43,000 miles on the part, it should be covered, what's the warranty on Tesla parts? I'm sure it is some common design ball joint, and not a Tesla-proprietary design. Can we get the joint out of the arm or is it welded in? Planned obsolescence, you know.
But now I'm gonna regrease the damn thing myself. I had a tub of red Mobil 1 grease downstairs, along with syringes from a semi-successful printer ink refilling experiment (see video of it HERE):
. So with the ball joint being over top of the wheel, it was easy. I poked a hole in the boot with a nail, and loaded a syringe with the grease, found the hole, and pushed it in there. Five times. Felt good, pushing the syringe, knowing it was getting a good load of grease injected, Kinda like "OOooohhh yeah, get that D in the P!!!" After 3 loads of grease and a quick drive around the neighborhood to distribute it, then 2 more loads, I held the hole shut and pushed all around the joint to spread the grease. Some came back out, that's how I know I had a good amount of grease in there. We will drive the car today and see if it quiets down.
Maybe that's part of the problem. The ball joint is right over top of the tire, getting blasted with every bit of water and dirt and road salt. There should be a plastic shield covering the ball joint. My 1971 Plymouth Valiant, like all cars of the time, had the ball joints INSIDE the wheel, out of the direct impact of water and dirt and stuff.
The manufacturer won't put grease fittings in because that's not good for profits, they can't sell more parts if the old ones don't wear out!
Back when I had my old 1971 Plymouth Valiant, I think I might have changed ball joints ONCE in 127,000 miles of driving it over 6 years, and it was a 25+ year old 73,000 mile car when I got it. They were greased once or twice a year, maybe more often.
Then... I hit 50,000 miles. Warranty EXPIRED! Instantly, I had to go from "Ah, it's free, it's under warranty, for what this car cost I should have free coverage for life", to "Oh damn, I gotta find ways to save on this! These people are insane with their $175 an hour shop rate plus the cost of new parts!!!".
First real issue came at 60,000 miles. Left side upper ball joint began creaking and squeaking like crazy. I'm sure the Pittsburgh roads had something to do with it. Well whatever, I'll bite the proverbial bullet, change the upper control arm assembly (Why not just the ball joint, what am I, made of money over here?!?!?!) and change the right side control arm as well, it is probably about to go.
So I went from Revision A control arms to a Revision G and H. Or maybe it was an F and G. Search my old ball joint posts if you really want to know.
But hey, no problem, I have REVISED versions now, they should be good for 400,000 miles, right?
Wrong. Only 43,000, yes, 43,000 miles later, the left side ball joint began creaking and squeaking again. WTF.
My first observation was a common event. My Tesla had been into Wexford for service, and the very next day, the creaking begins. TWICE IN A ROW now!!! We are moving from bemusement to outright suspicion, that someone there may be sabotaging parts to wear them out, so I have to come in and pay more money to buy more parts, to make the Service Center's numbers look better.
I will be watching very carefully the next time my 3 goes in for something. If the next day, another part goes bad, words will be exchanged. You hear me, Wexford Service Center? I'm paying attention now.
For 43,000 miles on the part, it should be covered, what's the warranty on Tesla parts? I'm sure it is some common design ball joint, and not a Tesla-proprietary design. Can we get the joint out of the arm or is it welded in? Planned obsolescence, you know.
But now I'm gonna regrease the damn thing myself. I had a tub of red Mobil 1 grease downstairs, along with syringes from a semi-successful printer ink refilling experiment (see video of it HERE):
Maybe that's part of the problem. The ball joint is right over top of the tire, getting blasted with every bit of water and dirt and road salt. There should be a plastic shield covering the ball joint. My 1971 Plymouth Valiant, like all cars of the time, had the ball joints INSIDE the wheel, out of the direct impact of water and dirt and stuff.
The manufacturer won't put grease fittings in because that's not good for profits, they can't sell more parts if the old ones don't wear out!
Back when I had my old 1971 Plymouth Valiant, I think I might have changed ball joints ONCE in 127,000 miles of driving it over 6 years, and it was a 25+ year old 73,000 mile car when I got it. They were greased once or twice a year, maybe more often.
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