Bought a high mileage Model S!

[uktes1a]

Hi all,

I’m a new Tesla owner who paid £20k for a used 2014 Model S 85 with 220k miles; free supercharging for life & Autopilot 1…

New battery a few months ago & a new motor last year…

Anyway - really enjoying the car so far but a annoying faults I wanted to ask about… any tips are greatly appreciated

- The brake pedal makes a creaking noise when I push it down most of the times… should I try spraying some PTFE spray somewhere? Some old posts refer to a dust boot somewhere that may need lubricating?
- There’s an odd clunk/knock sound from the front suspension at slow speeds, which goes away when travelling on the motorway etc and the car drives fine.
- The instrument cluster screen is bubbling around the corners - apparently this will end up needing replacing if it’s gets too bad which seems fair enough…

Apart from these faults it’s actually very smooth to drive and with the new motor & battery I’m hoping to get another 200k out of it

Many thanks

 

[kg7jo-]

MCU 2.0 upgrade will replace the instrument cluster screen. it will make your car feel new again. I believe it's $1500 in the US for AP1 cars. not sure how much it costs in UK tho.

 

[PCMc]

The front suspension clunk sounds like what might likely be the front control arms. That's a common item needing replacement, especially on earlier Model S at higher miles/years.

There also was an issue around bolts that held the steering assist motor in place on Model S built prior to 2016. In the US that ended up being a voluntary recall by Tesla, but don't recall what they did on a global basis. You probably should confirm if that's been addressed. If not, I'd recommend getting it done even if it is not the source of your clunk. Can be a little inconvenient when the steering motor decides to separate from the rack.

 

[Tomilett]

+1 on upper control arms - mine did this as well. can be done yourself if you're mechanically inclined. from memory about £250 for the part (1 side) from Tesla but I think you can get new ones on Ebay for much less. If you want a garage to do it then try Cleevely EV in Cheltenham (if you're that side of the country) or another HEVRA garage should be able to do it.
+1 on MCU2 - replacing the MCU1 screen on its own will cost less but MCU1 is going to fail at some point, and performs so badly its painful. it's £1400 without radio tuner (but of course you can get radio on tunein) and another £500 for radio. lot of money but like the poster above said, it's like having a new car.
Good luck!

 

[rickyjb]

Hi all,

I’m a new Tesla owner who paid £20k for a used 2014 Model S 85 with 220k miles; free supercharging for life & Autopilot 1…

New battery a few months ago & a new motor last year…

Anyway - really enjoying the car so far but a annoying faults I wanted to ask about… any tips are greatly appreciated

- The brake pedal makes a creaking noise when I push it down most of the times… should I try spraying some PTFE spray somewhere? Some old posts refer to a dust boot somewhere that may need lubricating?
- There’s an odd clunk/knock sound from the front suspension at slow speeds, which goes away when travelling on the motorway etc and the car drives fine.
- The instrument cluster screen is bubbling around the corners - apparently this will end up needing replacing if it’s gets too bad which seems fair enough…

Apart from these faults it’s actually very smooth to drive and with the new motor & battery I’m hoping to get another 200k out of it

Many thanks

others have pointed to the suspension parts and the mcu as good things to have done , as you are in the uk id highly recommend taking it to cleevely ev for any maintenance work and servicing. probably a good idea to have it booked in for a service to see if they find anything else.

id only take it to tesla if its warranty work or mcu upgrade , anything else i wouldn't bother with them.

join one of the owners clubs on facebook for a good source of knowledge tips and advice.

 

[uktes1a]

Hi guys - thanks so much for all the tips..
I thought the MCU upgrade was only for the centre screen? I’m referring to the one directly in front of the steering wheel.. or are they both changed?

Thanks!

 

[PCMc]

Hi guys - thanks so much for all the tips..
I thought the MCU upgrade was only for the centre screen? I’m referring to the one directly in front of the steering wheel.. or are they both changed?

Thanks!

The MCU upgrade is primarily for the processor that runs the center screen, ... HOWEVER, the architecture for MCU2 system is that the instrument panel runs as a slave device off of central MCU2 processor. That's where the instrument panel also gets replaced as part of the MCU2 upgrade to be compatible with the next MCU2 center screen/processor unit.

You will also find that with MCU2 the dual scroll reset now resets both screens. This is different from MCU1 where you can reset the IP by the two upper buttons on the steering wheel while the scroll wheels reset just the center screen.

That's why I totally support the recommendation for anyone that needs either screen replaced to go ahead and just do the MCU2 upgrade. That's also my own personal strategy for my mid-2016 MS90D AP1 that still has it's original MCU1 and both screens.

 

[uktes1a]

Thanks!

Car booked into Cleevely for the brake pedal creak & the annoying clunk from the front end for a fortnights time… this will be the priority and then I’ll look into the MCU upgrade and get the car fully detailed

Are Cleevely reasonably priced? Do they use Tesla genuine parts or aftermarket?

Cheers!

 

[rickyjb]

Thanks!

Car booked into Cleevely for the brake pedal creak & the annoying clunk from the front end for a fortnights time… this will be the priority and then I’ll look into the MCU upgrade and get the car fully detailed

Are Cleevely reasonably priced? Do they use Tesla genuine parts or aftermarket?

Cheers!

very reasonably priced compared to tesla , hourly labour rate @ tesla is £145 . They are more customer focused being a family run business and show far better attention to detail in my experience of tesla vs cleevely ev . Had some suspension work done there last year ,camber arm Supply and fit £285+VAT
,not sure if they used oem tesla parts . doesn't hurt to ping them a email to ask

 

[uktes1a]

very reasonably priced compared to tesla , hourly labour rate @ tesla is £145 . They are more customer focused being a family run business and show far better attention to detail in my experience of tesla vs cleevely ev . Had some suspension work done there last year ,camber arm Supply and fit £285+VAT
,not sure if they used oem tesla parts . doesn't hurt to ping them a email to ask

Sounds great. I’ll see what they say. Hopefully it’ll be sorted on the day it goes in… have booked it in for the end of week after next!

 

[DiyEvRepair]

+1 for the MCU2 upgrade. If you plan to keep the car for awhile just do it.

 

[uktes1a]

Update it was the antiroll bar drop link, £115 fitted