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Another bad ball joint after 43,000 miles

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timk225

Active Member
Mar 24, 2016
2,139
2,483
Pittsburgh
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.
 
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You are correct that Tesla has had issues with the front upper control arm ball joints. The problem is that water penetrates the seal between the arm and the ball joint, eventually working its way into the ball joint, causing corrosion and seizing. The problem has finally been fixed with the latest revision from what I have seen, though I'm not 100% sure what it is, -J maybe?

The issue with your solution is that it's not a permanent fix, and you will have to continually re-grease them. I'm fairly confident Tesla is replacing them these days for very cheap money - like $200 or so, with the corrected part. Sure, it may be frustrating, but over the nearly 100k miles you've driven the car if this is the only issue you have had I would say you're doing pretty well! If you want to feel better, talk to any BMW owner with 100k miles on their car.

I've also found Tesla's labor times to be surprisingly low, much lower than any dealership would ever charge, and their parts are extremely cheap compared to any other premium brand.
 
Sure, it may be frustrating, but over the nearly 100k miles you've driven the car if this is the only issue you have had I would say you're doing pretty well!
I have no idea if that is the case, though. This OP is also perfectly content to drive around with a big crack in their window, for at least a year, so we have no idea if they have had other problems or not:

 
Aren't there going to be some new fully revised upper control arms released later in the year?
You are correct that Tesla has had issues with the front upper control arm ball joints. The problem is that water penetrates the seal between the arm and the ball joint, eventually working its way into the ball joint, causing corrosion and seizing. The problem has finally been fixed with the latest revision from what I have seen, though I'm not 100% sure what it is, -J maybe?

The issue with your solution is that it's not a permanent fix, and you will have to continually re-grease them. I'm fairly confident Tesla is replacing them these days for very cheap money - like $200 or so, with the corrected part. Sure, it may be frustrating, but over the nearly 100k miles you've driven the car if this is the only issue you have had I would say you're doing pretty well! If you want to feel better, talk to any BMW owner with 100k miles on their car.

I've also found Tesla's labor times to be surprisingly low, much lower than any dealership would ever charge, and their parts are extremely cheap compared to any other premium brand.
What's this permanent fix? Given the location of the ball joint I don't see a permanent fix unless they are going with sealed spherical bearings like MPP is using on their FUCA.
 
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Aren't there going to be some new fully revised upper control arms released later in the year?

What's this permanent fix? Given the location of the ball joint I don't see a permanent fix unless they are going with sealed spherical bearings like MPP is using on their FUCA.

I mean technically all of the factory ball joints should be sealed. There's ball joints in both lower arms, and I've never seen them fail. I think the issue was where the arm housing connected to the ball joint housing the sealant was failing and letting moisture in. As long as they fixed the seal, it shouldn't be an issue.
 
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I have no idea if that is the case, though. This OP is also perfectly content to drive around with a big crack in their window, for at least a year, so we have no idea if they have had other problems or not:


Hey, I have three good reasons for not changing the rear window.

1. I'm cheap. Well, not cheap, I'm "economically efficient". :)
2. The crack has never leaked water... yet.
3. Anyone really knowledgeable about Teslas knows that the roof glass coatings that appear as orange when it gets wet was only on the early model 3's. so if I changed the rear glass I'd likely lose that and have mismatched coatings.
 
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Progress update on the ball joint regreasing. After one day of driving, the creaking was still there, but a little less. On the second day post-regrease, I noticed that the creaking was nearly entirely gone. So it's fixed for a while. I tried to make the nail hole in the rubber boot way up in the folds to keep water out of it. But I am sure I will have to redo it, probably monthly at best.

A simple plastic shield should nearly eliminate this problem. Keep water from blasting right onto the ball joint. That's all it should take.

Does anyone have a part number for the upper ball joint or the rubber boot? I'm sure it is not a Tesla-specific item, they probably just took a common model of ball joint and used it. No need to engineer a whole new one.
 
Umm, not to be difficult here, but I don’t think it’s a ball joint issue. I have had both of my front upper control arms replaced (for the cost of the part only, $90) due to this same known squeaking issue (should be a free recall IMO). But my point is, I believe it is the upper control arm bushing (vehicle attachment end of the control arm), not the ball joint (wheel end of control arm). Messing with the seal around the ball joint isn’t going to solve this issue.
 
Umm, not to be difficult here, but I don’t think it’s a ball joint issue. I have had both of my front upper control arms replaced (for the cost of the part only, $90) due to this same known squeaking issue (should be a free recall IMO). But my point is, I believe it is the upper control arm bushing (vehicle attachment end of the control arm), not the ball joint (wheel end of control arm). Messing with the seal around the ball joint isn’t going to solve this issue.
I don't believe the ball joint is designed to be replaceable in the OEM part (I will find out when I replace my own). I don't currently have any creaks on mine, but I will be replacing them with the Meyle HD control arm replacements that should be available for sale sometime this year. See here for what they believe to be the cause of the issue and how they solved it in their product HD-Control Arm Tesla
 
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I don't believe the ball joint is designed to be replaceable in the OEM part (I will find out when I replace my own). I don't currently have any creaks on mine, but I will be replacing them with the Meyle HD control arm replacements that should be available for sale sometime this year. See here for what they believe to be the cause of the issue and how they solved it in their product HD-Control Arm Tesla
Are there any reviews of this product? I haven't heard of this.
 
Umm, not to be difficult here, but I don’t think it’s a ball joint issue. I have had both of my front upper control arms replaced (for the cost of the part only, $90) due to this same known squeaking issue (should be a free recall IMO). But my point is, I believe it is the upper control arm bushing (vehicle attachment end of the control arm), not the ball joint (wheel end of control arm). Messing with the seal around the ball joint isn’t going to solve this issue.
Even when my car was not moving, if I just turned the steering wheel back and forth a little bit, I'd hear the squeaking. The upper control arm mounting points aren't the problem. I see what you mean that the problem wasn't caused directly by the ball joints themselves, but rather by other flaws letting water in to wash out the grease.

The Meyle HD control arm video below did point out one way to help resolve the issue. They showed where the plastic and steel meet on the original control arm. Okay, the solution there is to give it a good heavy layer of RTV silicone, which will flex and not let water in if the plastic and steel separate. I'll have to go out and get a few tubes of RTV and super seal mine, then replace the rubber boot if I can, and refill it with grease, then maybe it'll be good for a while.
 
If you were still under warranty they would come apply the service bulletin which is
...where the plastic and steel meet on the original control arm. Okay, the solution there is to give it a good heavy layer of RTV silicone, which will flex and not let water in if the plastic and steel separate.

Yeah if you were still under warranty they would have come out to do exactly that. They squeeze some urethane sealant onto a gloved finger and reach up inside the wheel arch to smear it along the inboard edge of that plastic/steel transition. Here's what it looks like when done:

1675047314334.png
 
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.
Unfortunately this is a whole lot of polemic for not a whole lot of information. Most of us have experienced this issue. Puncturing with a nail is not desirable, and a fine hypodermic needle doesn't create the larger opening for water to get in and exacerbate the existing issues, but you are better off just getting it replaced. You might get some traction if you appeal to Tesla and mention that the other side failed just under warrantee. As Masterc17 has mentioned this was a known point of vulnerability within the Model 3, and we had both upper control arms on both cars replaced under warrantee for free. And the new ones appear to be much less vulnerable to failure. So next time maybe less polemic and more research?
 
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Nah, I like to get into the details, so someone new to the situation can more fully understand it.

Anyway, an update. It's been a week or so, and no more squeaks or creaks. I only wonder how long until it happens again. I'll have to see if I can get a replacement boot for the ball joint, then in the spring I'll clean it, seal up the upper surface where the plastic meets the metal, then refill and replace the boot.
 
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My 2022 M3P only makes the noise when I am pulling into my garage having to turn slightly right on an incline entering the garage. It's a clicking noise from the left front wheel. Repeatable daily but makes no noise when driving around or in parking lots. Is this a typical sign of water in the ball joint?
 
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