Bought a S85 and all four front lower control arms need replacement.

[sorka]

Bought a used 2014 S85 and all four front lower control arms need replacement.

i have a new 3 but with this 5 yrs old S, I am really disappointed and concerned about the quality and longevity of my 3 now.

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It is out of warranty. I am going to DIY on my driveway. This will be fun.

Not that difficult to do. I've done the rear lowers on both mine due to damage I caused them from tire chains. They are the most difficult ones to replace but still pretty easy.

Make sure to use the factory service manual for torque values. And absolutely do not tighten any bushings until the suspension is at ride height or what you see in those bushings will happen within a few K miles.

Obviously an alignment afterwards.

Some minor tearing of those bushings is acceptable. I would not have automatically replaced them based on your pictures. What was the symptom or issue that precipitated this?

FYI, I never actually replied to the OP in my first posts in this thread, so doing so now

 

[fixingstill]

I was told the battery pack needs to come down in order to remove a bolt or the aft arm, did u see that as true?

 

[petersv]

@fixingstill, according to the manual, but can be cut and entered the opposite direction without dropping the pack.

 

[sorka]

I was told the battery pack needs to come down in order to remove a bolt or the aft arm, did u see that as true?

Interesting and apparently true:

 

[sorka]

@fixingstill, according to the manual, but can be cut and entered the opposite direction without dropping the pack.

Also interesting but the manual doesn't say that. Is that what some have done? I wonder why Tesla didn't assemble it like that in the first place if all you have to do is turn the bolt the other way?

 

[sorka]

If I ever had my battery replaced, I will definitely have the arms done at the same time at my own expense.

 

[Loco_Nomad]

I mean... 5 years... all cars need suspension work after 5 years and also depends how you drive it/previous owner drove it just because it is EV/Tesla doesn't mean it doesn't need any attention

 

[realvvk]

I have never owned a European car for good reason. All the cars I've ever owned have been mostly Japanese with a few American models. None of them have ever had premature suspension component wear or failure. Not even my P85D with 100K miles on it, but from the reading I've done in this forum, I do see a lot of suspension issue reports.

In the priuschat forum, it's rare to see suspension issues mentioned even with 2nd gen Prii hitting 600K+ miles.

Japanese cars are simple as a nail. Nothing fails because there is nothing to fail. Also, new Toyota suspension feels the same as worn Toyota suspension.

Speaking from experience.

 

[sorka]

Japanese cars are simple as a nail. Nothing fails because there is nothing to fail. Also, new Toyota suspension feels the same as worn Toyota suspension.

Speaking from experience.

The opposite of my experience. I may have not owned european cars but I've driven many over the years. The "simple as a nail" comment is just flat out made up BS.

 

[petersv]

Also interesting but the manual doesn't say that. Is that what some have done? I wonder why Tesla didn't assemble it like that in the first place if all you have to do is turn the bolt the other way?

Yes, it's a common practice at some independent shops. One could argue that the penetration risk of the bolts into the pack in case of a collision is slightly higher, but they only stick our a few mm from the nut.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I mean... 5 years... all cars need suspension work after 5 years and also depends how you drive it/previous owner drove it just because it is EV/Tesla doesn't mean it doesn't need any attention

Really? Funny... my 7 year-old Prius needed no suspension work other than occasional alignments. My Acura needed no suspension work other than occasional alignments in the 10 years and 250,000 miles I drove it. My VW Jetta needed no "suspension work" after the 5 years and 100,000 miles that I owned that car.

What vehicle does need to have suspension parts replaced after only 5 years? Oh yes, Tesla.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Japanese cars are simple as a nail. Nothing fails because there is nothing to fail. Also, new Toyota suspension feels the same as worn Toyota suspension.

Speaking from experience.

Opposite of my personal experience also. I think Tesla suspension will hold up better than Toyota’s. I haven’t seen many people complaining about Tesla suspension issues.

 

[sorka]

Opposite of my personal experience also. I think Tesla suspension will hold up better than Toyota’s. I haven’t seen many people complaining about Tesla suspension issues.

You haven't been reading. There are lots of long running threads with new ones every day. I just spent $1000 on a new airspring to fix the rattle that EVERY model S made prior to the factory installing the redesigned part will have. In one shot, that one spring cost me 5 times the dollar amount in repairs my Prius had over the last 314K miles.

The other three airsprings will develop the same issue. I'm essentially going to have to spend $4K on airsprings alone. The bushings on the arms I haven't replaced show very minor tearing. It's not bad yet and may yet still go for another 100K miles, but they will all eventually need to be replaced long before the 314K miles I have on my Prius which shows NO tearing at all in any of the bushings.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

You haven't been reading. There are lots of long running threads with new ones every day. I just spent $1000 on a new airspring to fix the rattle that EVERY model S made prior to the factory installing the redesigned part will have. In one shot, that one spring cost me 5 times the dollar amount in repairs my Prius had over the last 314K miles.

The other three airsprings will develop the same issue. I'm essentially going to have to spend $4K on airsprings alone. The bushings on the arms I haven't replaced show very minor tearing. It's not bad yet and may yet still go for another 100K miles, but they will all eventually need to be replaced long before the 314K miles I have on my Prius which shows NO tearing at all in any of the bushings.

I’ve been following that. I just didn’t think it affected very many people.

That’s why I didn’t get air suspension. I built my car as simple as I could with the idea I would keep it running for at least twenty years. Unfortunately you don’t have a choice anymore if you want an S or X.

I’ve never owned a Prius, but I have owned five other Toyota’s and shopped for used ones. They often need suspension work after 100,000 miles.

 

[jrleyva23]

So there is a lot of experience from what it seems with Lower Control Arms.

I have a Service appt on Friday and I suspect that the Lower Arms on my 2013 S


85 are bad. I hear a knocking sound every time the Driver's front wheel suspension is engaged. Is that knocking sound a symptoms of the Lower Arm Bushing knocking against one another?

I also experience some Shuddering of the Front wheel when the Front brakes are engaged at high speed (60 MPH +) I thought that the front brakes where to blame but with how little we engage the front brakes I find it hard to believe that they would be warped. Would a bad Lower Control Arm cause this Shuddering when engaging the brakes at high speed?

I want to make my case to Tesla to get these replaced under warranty while I still have it. CPO Warranty ends NOV 2019.

So there is a lot of experience from what it seems with Lower Control Arms.

I have a Service appt on Friday and I suspect that the Lower Arms on my 2013 S 85 are bad. I hear a knocking sound every time the Driver's front wheel suspension is engaged. Is that knocking sound a symptoms of the Lower Arm Bushing knocking against one another?

I also experience some Shuddering of the Front wheel when the Front brakes are engaged at high speed (60 MPH +) I thought that the front brakes where to blame but with how little we engage the front brakes I find it hard to believe that they would be warped. Would a bad Lower Control Arm cause this Shuddering when engaging the brakes at high speed?

I want to make my case to Tesla to get these replaced under warranty while I still have it. CPO Warranty ends NOV 2019.

Did you ever get the shudder figured out?

 

[Man's EV]

I had to replace shocks, control arms bushings and suspension related parts on my Audi, Porsche, BMW & Acura. My thing is how much do you drive every month/year and what are the road conditions to where you live?. 5 years is a bit immature but it could happen... I believe it.

 

[EastCoast85D]

My Accord had failed front control arm bushings on both sides at 120k miles and it was 6 years old. So to say Japanese cars never wear out suspension components is untrue.

 

[BostonBurley]

In over 2 million miles of driving cars each between 100k to 350k miles, I've never had a suspension component be fail. Not even a bushing or strut. My current 2009 Prius has 311k miles and I'm the original owner.

It is possible that it comes down to your tolerance for what “be fail” means to you. 350k miles you’re gonna want (and need) basically everything replaced long before that milestone. I was ASE Cert in wheel/tire/brake/susp about 20 years ago and I distinctly remember suspension components ALL being defined as wear parts. All brands. People tend to let them go. Micro tears surely exist on many Tesla’s, unbeknownst to the owner. I did my suspension in entirety about 10 months ago, and found that all four wheel bearings were scraping and even felt loose. I ended up changing my pads and rotors and found caliper seals torn. The problems are there even if we don’t acknowledge them.

 

[sorka]

It is possible that it comes down to your tolerance for what “be fail” means to you.

My tolerance is basically zero. A dozen sports cars over 35 years always with the performance suspension options or cars I built myself. 50+ track days. I'd notice if there was even the slightest change in handling dynamics. Also ultra sensitive to tire pressure and temperature changes.

 

[BostonBurley]

My tolerance is basically zero. A dozen sports cars over 35 years always with the performance suspension options or cars I built myself. 50+ track days. I'd notice if there was even the slightest change in handling dynamics. Also ultra sensitive to tire pressure and temperature changes.

I believe you, I really do. I still don’t believe Prius struts were within their service life at 350k. Just based on experience and the like. I’ve changed many long before 100k and they all had stiction and weak resistance. For what it’s worth!