AWD front wheel bearing - excellent serviceability

[OK_3AWD]

I decided to replace one of my front wheel bearing hubs after listening to a rumble in left turns for several months (an especially severe pothole impact). I have a car lift in my home workshop, so it made sense to indulge my curiosity and do it myself. What I'm glad to report is service on these cars is very well thought out. First, the parts from Tesla were less expensive than I'm used to paying for questionable aftermarket parts on my other cars, and much less than dealer sourced parts for typical cars. So Tesla is clearly not trying to gouge us with parts costs. But the cheap parts are a minor part of the good news.

Everything in the front suspension was so well thought out for easy serviceability. Everything was reachable without major contortion, including the bolts on the back side of the steering knuckle that were holding the hub on. It's a big deal, because on a lot of cars half shafts and control arm bolts have to come off to reach hub bolts, making it much harder to put things back together under spring tension at the end. It's basically like the service personnel were valued members of the team, advising the engineers through the design.

I realize it won't be a big deal for most of you until warranties are up, but it should bode well for long-term servicing costs if the jobs are made as easy as possible. Honestly, it made me want to take a Tesla engineer to dinner.

There are obviously some things about Tesla that aren't perfect, but I'm a happy customer tonight.

2019 AWD Model 3. For future reference, the tools needed are:

32mm socket for the axle bolt, with a breaker bar or impact wrench to get it loose
21mm socket for the nuts holding the wheel on
10mm socket for the brake rotor retention bolt and a clip securing the brake line to the steering knuckle
e18 socket for the bolts holding the brake caliper to the steering knuckle
18mm socket for the 3 bolts securing the bearing hub to the steering knuckle
hub or pulley puller to push the half shaft out of the hub as you are pulling it off.

Parts: bearing hub, 32mm axle bolt (one time use, tightened to 245 nm), anti seize paste for the splines on the axle. Total cost: $126.

 

[UncleCreepy]

I had a similar issue with my M3 AWD. There was a humming/grinding sound that appeared to come from the front right wheel. I suspected a failing wheel bearing and contacted service via the app. It took less than a week before a ranger came and fixed the problem. I wasn't even at home at the time. He was supposed to be there in the morning but got delayed, so he called me to ask if afternoon is okay. We arranged everything so that he could work on the car while I was gone and it took him only about half an hour overall.
The car is once again quiet, repair was done in a timely manner and it was covered by the warranty. I couldn't be happier with the outcome

 

[Watts_Up]

Would the wheel bearing hubs replacement be covered by the warranty?


Note: I have the following work scheduled for my car, is it some sort of recall?

Correction: Reseal Area Around Both Front Upper Control Arm Ball Joints With Urethane(Model 3)​

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Parts Replaced or Added​

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PRIMER, BETAPRIME,10ML(1059658-00-A)​

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SEALANT, BETASEALEXPRESS/EXPRESS +(1048645-00-A)​

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Pay Type: Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty​

 

[UncleCreepy]

Would the wheel bearing hubs replacement be covered by the warranty?

[...]

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Pay Type: Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty​

As I said, my repair was covered by the warranty. Looking at what you wrote it seems that your repair is covered, too.