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Another front suspension control arm failure
- Thread starter RDoc
- Start date
Can you be more specific on what you man by bad on a Model3 control arm. Can you post the work order please.
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
FYI, I took my car in to the SC for some front suspension issues last month, and was told by the tech that this Service Bulletin has been "closed out and is no longer valid."
I don't quite understand what that means, unless they only responded to that issue for a set time period and then said "all bets are off," but that's what I was told.
And yet another member of this elusive club, S70D, January 2016, 125,000km. Three weeks ago the passenger door handle failed, last week the tail gate lock and two days later the drivers door handle. Today I got the replacement cog paddle from the US and fixed the passenger door ( how I wished I had ordered four of the things!) and almost immediately the left fore link failed when backing out of the driveway. Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!
I'd click a "Sorry, dude" rating if there was one. Instead you get a "Helpful".
Okay, that one was unexpectedly simple to sort out. As I‘m 250 miles from the nearest SC and the car couldn’t go on a flat bed truck due to floppy wheel syndrome, I tried to get the new fore link from Tesla. Turns out they don’t sell spare parts directly here in Australia and pointed me to a Tesla approved workshop who could. I asked the workshop Wednesday morning to let me know how long and how much and I still haven’t heard back from them. Well yeah...
Meanwhile I found a recyclers who stripped a low mileage 2016 S, ordered the fore link yesterday and it arrived today 5 pm, in pristine condition.
So I hacksawed off the bent fork that had jammed on the the ball joint, unbolted the arm and ball joint stump and bolted the replacement part straight in. Took me an hour and the test drive was uneventful without funny noises or clunks. Still have to get the front wheels aligned on Monday but so far so good. $150 plus half a nervous break down got me out of trouble. Easiest suspension repair I ever did on a car, so nice to work on.
Next thing on the list is the drivers door lock...
Meanwhile I found a recyclers who stripped a low mileage 2016 S, ordered the fore link yesterday and it arrived today 5 pm, in pristine condition.
So I hacksawed off the bent fork that had jammed on the the ball joint, unbolted the arm and ball joint stump and bolted the replacement part straight in. Took me an hour and the test drive was uneventful without funny noises or clunks. Still have to get the front wheels aligned on Monday but so far so good. $150 plus half a nervous break down got me out of trouble. Easiest suspension repair I ever did on a car, so nice to work on.
Next thing on the list is the drivers door lock...
The fore arm is held by a grand total of two bolts, it’s suspension, not rocket science. And I used to run my own car workshop, which is of help if you drive a Tesla. Of course I could have paid $1200 to have the car towed to the next SC and waited a few weeks for the part to arrive, super.
Have you been to Australia, mate? We’re 25 million people on the other side of the Pacific on a continent the size of the US, so go figure...
Have you been to Australia, mate? We’re 25 million people on the other side of the Pacific on a continent the size of the US, so go figure...
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I don't doubt that you are capable of bolting on that part safely.
What I doubt is that the part is strong enough for the purpose.
Have you actually read this thread and seen all the reports of these same parts breaking?
Is my problem the same. Whenever I made a left u-turn (all the way steering wheel) I would get a clunk and felt like the right front wheel was flipping sideways. Almost like going into a pothole - right front would dip with a clunk. I had it flat-bedded to SC where they said they could not duplicate the problem. They said they had 3 techs try to find the problem but also could not. I picked the car up, tried to replicate it myself before I took out of the SC area but couldn't. It seems odd that the problem stopped while at SC, 3 techs couldn't find it, and it was gone when I picked it up. What do you guys think?
EDIT: I have a MS 75, 2017, 11,000 miles.
EDIT: I have a MS 75, 2017, 11,000 miles.
Yes, I read all 14 pages after my control arm broke. If I had done that earlier I would have recognised the warning signs, metallic clicking noise when driving backwards over the curb. I’ve heard that for a few weeks and was starting to wonder about the shock absorber bushes. So in the future I’ll be listening with pointed ears when reversing. The part I got is from a late 2016 rear drive MS with 30,000 miles on the clock which was written off due to flooding damage, can’t get much better than that for a second hand part.
Sure I would have preferred to fit two upgraded arms and eliminate the problem, but beggars can’t be choosers when the car is stuck in the driveway. And now a week later I’m still waiting to hear from Tesla’s workshop about cost and availability.
On a more positive note I fixed my last door handle today, so I just need to get the tailgate lock done at the SC next week and everything will be ship shape...
Does this look like the same problem? My wife and I were backing up yesterday and the front driver tire got buried in the back of the wheel well. No sound or anything, car just stopped because wheel was not rubbing, but jammed in the wheel well. We were able to turn the wheel and raise the car, then drive it home slowly, but haha, basically can't turn left more than a couple degrees before the tire gets jammed up.
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Can't be sure 100% but the forelink breaking usually results in the wheel going back like that, so 99% sure this is what happened to you.
Pease be sure to file an NHTSA vehicle complaint. It's the only way that Tesla will eventually have to retroactively cover these repairs.
To be sure it was the forelink, stick your cell phone very low down in front of the wheel so the camera can get around the back of the wheel and shoot a picture slightly upward.
I was able to take another picture this morning. Looks like the lower control arm at a ball joint. Not sure, but looks like the housing for the ball joint failed. Sent it off to the service center today. I'll keep you posted and I'll file an NHTSA complaint, if warranted.
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