Another front suspension control arm failure

David.85D · Oct 4, 2019

rafacq said:
I bought my 2015 S85D with 12,004 miles, from Tesla last April. Love the car, but since I got it have been concerned if I have a problem with the front end.

When I’m pulling out of a parking in reverse and turn the wheel, I hear a clicking noise from the front end as the car turns. Sometimes I feel some bump/slip on the front tires as if they cannot do a smooth turn.

I had a Tesla Ranger come to replace a bad FOB and asked them and they said it is normal. Because I’m concerned it may be a front end issue, I avoid full wheel turning when backing up, and go super slow.

Does anyone else has this symptoms on their 2015 S? Should I take it in to be checked at the SC? TIA.

Definitely ask Tesla to do the inspection. You need to be vigilant. That said, mine does this too, sometimes, and each time I ask them about it, they inspect it for me and say it is all fine.

AmpedRealtor · Oct 4, 2019

Has anyone filed a petition with NHTSA? Apparently that could get you some traction. A petition was filed by an owner regarding #batterygate and now the NHTSA is investigating. Might be a good idea.

NHTSA reviewing claims 2,000 Tesla vehicles should have been recalled

cucubits · Oct 4, 2019

Is there a way to tell if these are about to fail (before the noises and clunking).

Thinking about buying a used S and it would be great to be able to tell if it's somewhat safe before driving it.

howardc64 · Oct 4, 2019

David.85D said:
FWIW, I asked my service center about getting these parts replaced as owner-paid rather than under warranty since they say mine look fine. They did mention that they see very few broken "aft links" and they do see more bad "fore links" "upper control arms" (which is really a ball joint issue - the arm is steel) and sway bar end links. The quote to replace both sides of fore links, upper control arms, sway bar end links - with parts, labor, taxes was about $1900. I am considering it. Would have paid $1000 without much thought for the peace of mind. My gut feeling is that the sway bar end links are a driveability issue and won't cause the wheels to go bonkers. May not be worth the preventative replacement - comments on that?

Lower wishbone fore arm failure seems to be ball joint sleeve cracking without much warning (and maybe poor quality parts batch in 2015? Seems like most failures have been 2015 cars) So your peace of mind solution seems sensible. Unless of course Tesla still have parts QA problems going forward. Also make sure the strut bolt on the aft arm is updated to the shorter version so it doesn't use the fore arm as a steering stop (see pics in post 150 and 157) I've also seen reports of bushing wear on the fore arm so probably need to follow the usual ~100k suspension refresh interval similar to European sedans. Might even be less as we gather wear statistics (depend on suspension geometry, bushing designs on this heavy car)

Upper wishbone ball joint wear should be checkable given its so accessible (can just peek between the fender liner and tire on the ground) Might even be able to check for slack using a pry bar with the whole car on ground. Regardless, worth checking at least annually. Wear is surely more frequent in salted road regions given how debris collects on the joint (see my post 138)

howardc64 · Oct 4, 2019

David.85D said:
Definitely ask Tesla to do the inspection. You need to be vigilant. That said, mine does this too, sometimes, and each time I ask them about it, they inspect it for me and say it is all fine.

PMed the OP suggesting to check the steering motor bolt recall (performed mostly in 2018). Mine had random steering popping noise backing out of parking after the recall. The recall procedure loosened and retighten the passenger side rack mount bolt on the aluminum subframe, not a very good idea. Here is the whole summary (post #4 is the remedy)

Random steering popping noise after steering motor bolt recall

Deltaflaze · Oct 8, 2019

Joined this club today:

December 2014 - Tesla Model S 60, about 80k miles.
Power steering failed on me this week. I had an appointment to fix all recall issues and to look into "clunking noises while turning."
While at service center, they found that the "upper control arms and the front lower control arms are extremely worn and knocking."
Cost is about $1800 including parts and labor. They covered the power steering in full since it was related to the other recall.

Disappointed to learn what I thought was all going to be covered due to a recall is now a $2400 bill once you include AC fluid replacement, filter, and brake fluid flush.

The service center has been professional and efficient to work with.

cucubits · Oct 8, 2019

With all these things failing, isn't there any aftermarket beefed up option for those out of warranty?

howardc64 · Oct 8, 2019

cucubits said:
With all these things failing, isn't there any aftermarket beefed up option for those out of warranty?

Haven't seen any yet. Only aftermarket front suspension components I've seen is the 2 lower ball joints for the fore and aft control arm.

https://www.amazon.com/Front-Lower-Control-Joint-2012-2016/dp/B01M27BJXY

As for fore arms with beefier sleeve where the ball joint goes, haven't seen any aftermarket either. I wonder if the newer Tesla fore arms has more beef in this area.

On the fore arm subframe bushing. Its a design I'm familiar with (2001-2007 Volvo XC70/XC90s) and easily fails at <= 100k miles. Just imagine the arm bouncing up/down and twist that bushing CW and CCW with the 2 rubber bridges, thats where they rip. Powerflex ( Home ) makes a lot of poly replacement bushings and probably have an existing one that fits. Just need to measure proper diameter size and bolt sleeve length. If none exist, then Model S might not have enough volume or aftermarket DIY customer base for them to dedicate design effort.

Upper control arm ball joint is integrated with the arm so have to replace the whole thing. Since the ball joint is directly in the tire's debris path, I suspect the only solutions are to clean off the cumulative dirt/salt often or make a shield to block the debris path off the ball joint. Not sure any beefier here would help as the damage is surely caused by debris/salt accumulating and eating into the whole assembly.

sorka · Oct 13, 2019

howardc64 said:
Haven't seen any yet. Only aftermarket front suspension components I've seen is the 2 lower ball joints for the fore and aft control arm.

https://www.amazon.com/Front-Lower-Control-Joint-2012-2016/dp/B01M27BJXY

As for fore arms with beefier sleeve where the ball joint goes, haven't seen any aftermarket either. I wonder if the newer Tesla fore arms has more beef in this area.

On the fore arm subframe bushing. Its a design I'm familiar with (2001-2007 Volvo XC70/XC90s) and easily fails at <= 100k miles. Just imagine the arm bouncing up/down and twist that bushing CW and CCW with the 2 rubber bridges, thats where they rip. Powerflex ( Home ) makes a lot of poly replacement bushings and probably have an existing one that fits. Just need to measure proper diameter size and bolt sleeve length. If none exist, then Model S might not have enough volume or aftermarket DIY customer base for them to dedicate design effort.

View attachment 464018

View attachment 464019

Upper control arm ball joint is integrated with the arm so have to replace the whole thing. Since the ball joint is directly in the tire's debris path, I suspect the only solutions are to clean off the cumulative dirt/salt often or make a shield to block the debris path off the ball joint. Not sure any beefier here would help as the damage is surely caused by debris/salt accumulating and eating into the whole assembly.

Mine are still fine at 100K miles although I have the one that breaks that is the topic of this particular thread.

DrHoon · Oct 16, 2019

mike_j said:
My car was making noises when turning full lock. See below for a picture. It appears to me that once the bushing wears a little, full lock means the arm rubs against the wheel bolt and slowly starts to weaken until it breaks.

howardc64 said:
BTW, my service record shows tech noticed same marring on my fore arm and replaced the strut bolts. My strut bolt seems shorter than yours and maybe redesigned for this exact reason. See attached, might check with your SC.

I see some fore arms for sale on ebay where the seller points out the marring so this seems quite common.

I just bought a second hand Model S that has failed a registration inspection for transfer because one of the inspectors picked up on this exact problem. Left hand side. I’m in Australia so RHD car, not sure that makes a difference. 2014 Model S 85.

DrHoon · Oct 25, 2019

cucubits said:
With all these things failing, isn't there any aftermarket beefed up option for those out of warranty?

so this is the only ones I’ve come across, anyone tried them? https://www.galemotorsport.com/product-page/tesla-model-s-control-arm-bushings-kit

The workshop I was directed to send my Model S to is having difficulty sourcing a part from Tesla (no surprise). Interesting to see what happens with the relevant lemon laws if I can’t register the vehicle because Tesla won’t supply a part.

ParasP90D · Oct 26, 2019

So this just happened while reversing out of my garage. 75k p90d

ParasP90D · Oct 26, 2019

ParasP90D said:
So this just happened while reversing out of my garage. 75k p90d

found this on the driveway

dark cloud · Oct 26, 2019

ParasP90D said:
So this just happened while reversing out of my garage. 75k p90d

Bummer. How far are you from a service centre?

ParasP90D · Oct 26, 2019

dark cloud said:
Bummer. How far are you from a service centre?

about 40km. Was going to use roadside assistance on app to get it there tomorrow. Good thing it happened in my driveway!

TLej · Oct 26, 2019

ParasP90D said:
about 40km. Was going to use roadside assistance on app to get it there tomorrow. Good thing it happened in my driveway!

Make sure you report it to Transport Canada, it really seems Tesla should be recalling these parts.

alloverx · Oct 26, 2019

They should at least be made to do inspections, and then replaced if needed or showing unusual wear; this assumes this is visible ahead of it breaking.

ckoval7 · Oct 27, 2019

ParasP90D said:
So this just happened while reversing out of my garage. 75k p90d

Looking back, were there any warning signs? Weird sounds or anything?

sorka · Oct 30, 2019

For those of you, which is most of you, that have filed NHTSA reports, can you please post a link to your specific complaint? This is for the fore link failure only.

sorka · Oct 30, 2019

Another front suspension control arm failure

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