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

[sorka]

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!

It just really depends on the usage. 99.9% of this Prius's mileage is freeway on a 260 mile round trip commute. It's also the touring model which only 1 in 10 were and the struts and bushings are completely different. I test drove 2004 once and decide I could never drive one because it floated around like a boat felt like it wanted to tip over when taking on and off ramps. Then the touring came out. It's not sports car but it was like night and day difference. Firm and planted enough to start drifting on off and on ramps. Compression and rebound well composed over the bumps. In some ways better than the plus suspension on my P85DL which has no forgiveness. The best suspension on any Tesla I've driven was was a P85+. Perfectly composed over road irregularities unlike my P85D which is far stiffer than the Z51 on my C5 from years ago.

 

[BostonBurley]

It just really depends on the usage. 99.9% of this Prius's mileage is freeway on a 260 mile round trip commute. It's also the touring model which only 1 in 10 were and the struts and bushings are completely different. I test drove 2004 once and decide I could never drive one because it floated around like a boat felt like it wanted to tip over when taking on and off ramps. Then the touring came out. It's not sports car but it was like night and day difference. Firm and planted enough to start drifting on off and on ramps. Compression and rebound well composed over the bumps. In some ways better than the plus suspension on my P85DL which has no forgiveness. The best suspension on any Tesla I've driven was was a P85+. Perfectly composed over road irregularities unlike my P85D which is far stiffer than the Z51 on my C5 from years ago.

Yep, I know the touring model. It does have different part numbers but the same product. Just different valving and internals I’d imagine. That combined with hwy is the secret. But your scenario is not the norm. My model S made it to 200k before I replaced everything and I didn’t remove a single part that didn’t need replacing. This 4500 lb car punishes bushings and ball joints.

 

[sorka]

Yep, I know the touring model. It does have different part numbers but the same product. Just different valving and internals I’d imagine. That combined with hwy is the secret. But your scenario is not the norm. My model S made it to 200k before I replaced everything and I didn’t remove a single part that didn’t need replacing. This 4500 lb car punishes bushings and ball joints.

If it hadn't been for Covid, I would have hit my 200K+ lifetime goal but I'm about to sell it for a Plaid X. That said, I ended up replacing the rear lower control arms because I used the wrong kind of tire chain, along with the two integral links. And then at 70K miles I replaced the upper rear control arms with BBC Speed's adjustable links. These links use factory bushings from brand new integral links. They are pressed out and then back in with a hydraulic press.

A recent inspection at 132K miles shows the remaining bushings looking nearly new. I know that eventually that torsion on those bushings, because they are sprung and clamped in will eventually tear.

It's worth noting that the refresh suspension starting last year is a huge step forward. The bushings are no longer sprung members so they should not tear or wear over time.

Refresh rear camber adjustment

Don't know if anyone has noticed this yet, but the way that the upper rear arms are mounted to the upper cradle, it should be possible to remove excess negative camber with a shim between the bracket and the cradle. The previous design had the bushing mount tabs integrated directly into the...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[BostonBurley]

If it hadn't been for Covid, I would have hit my 200K+ lifetime goal but I'm about to sell it for a Plaid X. That said, I ended up replacing the rear lower control arms because I used the wrong kind of tire chain, along with the two integral links. And then at 70K miles I replaced the upper rear control arms with BBC Speed's adjustable links. These links use factory bushings from brand new integral links. They are pressed out and then back in with a hydraulic press.

A recent inspection at 132K miles shows the remaining bushings looking nearly new. I know that eventually that torsion on those bushings, because they are sprung and clamped in will eventually tear.

It's worth noting that the refresh suspension starting last year is a huge step forward. The bushings are no longer sprung members so they should not tear or wear over time.

Refresh rear camber adjustment

Don't know if anyone has noticed this yet, but the way that the upper rear arms are mounted to the upper cradle, it should be possible to remove excess negative camber with a shim between the bracket and the cradle. The previous design had the bushing mount tabs integrated directly into the...

teslamotorsclub.com

I did my work at 200k with my Covid free time, now at 217k. It made me love the car again. I ended up “modding” the rear myself, with camber king toe arms (they’re pretty good) and camber king camber arms (total fail), ended up with N2itive rear camber arms instead, adjustable lowering links. Tire wear in back with 17k miles is even for the first time ever, traction is much improved. I’m going to upgrade my S when they do an all new S, I think.

 

[sorka]

I did my work at 200k with my Covid free time, now at 217k. It made me love the car again. I ended up “modding” the rear myself, with camber king toe arms (they’re pretty good) and camber king camber arms (total fail), ended up with N2itive rear camber arms instead, adjustable lowering links. Tire wear in back with 17k miles is even for the first time ever, traction is much improved. I’m going to upgrade my S when they do an all new S, I think.

I'm sure you already know this but on the off chance you don't, just an FYI that all the bushings need to be tightened at ride height or they'll be under constant torque at ride height and will disintegrate 4 or 5 times faster.

 

[BostonBurley]

I'm sure you already know this but on the off chance you don't, just an FYI that all the bushings need to be tightened at ride height or they'll be under constant torque at ride height and will disintegrate 4 or 5 times faster.

Of course, good for those scrolling to know.

 

[fiuzatec]

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.

Só, did do it alone? No video or pictures ? I have a no identified strange sound from front. And my bets goes for lower arms…(because I already changed other parts and without sucess to discover the sound)
I heard that you need to take off the battery because one arm bolt. Is that true???

 

[vickh]

There was a control arm design issue with both the front and rear suspension on 2012-2014 Model S. (Not sure about 2015-2016.) This caused them to fail earlier under high-pothole conditions than they should have. Some of us who lived in extremely-high-pothole regions got them replaced under warranty or extended warranty, others had them last until after the warranty period.

Here's the important thing to know: There is a *NEW DESIGN*. It is a lot beefier. Rather than just repairing it yourself, there is definite value to getting it replaced with the upgraded design, which will probably never break.

Model 3 design learned from this experience and will probably not have the same problem. It's worth understanding that Model S was in many ways a test car; the lessons learned from the Model S were incorporated into Model Y and Model 3.

so Did they make the 3 arms better? would going over speed bumps fast cause a similar problem