Brake and caliper cleaning

[Sir Guacamolaf]

2nd annual service, less than 12k miles, always garaged. Tesla wants to charge me an extra 150 for brake and caliper cleaning.

Why is this not included in the service in the first place? What good is a service if they are going to add these extras?
And should I do it? Or not worth it?

 

[Tam]

...should I do it...

I imagine that depends whether your car has been running in a place without snow and salt or not.

 

[JohnnyG]

... Why is this not included in the service in the first place? What good is a service if they are going to add these extras? ...

The thing which is most irritating about this is that, if Tesla felt that it wasn't needed with an annual service, then why do most SC push you to do it when you bring your car in for the annual??!
If the SC's feel that strongly about it, then they should be pushing it up the channels to get it incorporated into the annual service...

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

@JohnnyG because once the honeymoon is over, you realize that Tesla is just another damned car dealer, just a bigger one.

 

[Max*]

@JohnnyG because once the honeymoon is over, you realize that Tesla is just another damned car dealer, just a bigger one.

They're worse. Car dealers don't pretend to be the good guys.

 

[Brass Guy]

For what it's worth, last summer my son and I spent a few hours freeing up my front right caliper. The pistons were fine, but the pads' edges froze to the caliper. It had probably been that way a while, as it took quite a bit of hammering and wedging to free them up. It seems like a design flaw to me. They should use those thin sheet metal spacers - I see them called "pad support plate", it probably keeps them from corroding to the caliper. So it might be a good idea to do it, but they definitely should just include it.

I surmise it has to do with the lack of use. They probably just don't get to move as often as they were designed for. Since then, once in a while I stomp on the brake while stopped to make sure they all get to move at least a little.

Tesla quoted over $2,800 to replace both front calipers, all rotors, pads, and parking brake pads. Pads are not worn, rotors are smooth, all calipers work. I did have pad separation on one parking brake pad though, that seems inevitable: as I was working on it, the other pad of the pair fell off its backing too. They quoted $220 for the parking brake pad set - before labor. You can get them on line for about $80.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

Thanks @Brass Guy how many miles apprx. before you ran into that problem?

I am not happy that Tesla wants to charge me for this. I don't see the point of paying for service, and then being nickled and dimed into this nonsense.

 

[green1]

Considering that the several hundred dollar service basically just gets you a new keyfob battery and wiper blades, they should clean anything they need to!

 

[Brass Guy]

I think around 70-80k miles, but I'm fairly sure they were struck long before that.

I brought it in during warranty long ago and mentioned squishy brakes. They just flushed the brake fluid and said it got a little better, but I didn't think so. Should have pushed the issue.

 

[Az_Rael]

Reference of the service manual entry for this from another thread:
Service manual and wiring diagrams

It notes the service is for cold weather regions and is not included in the annual service.

 

[Qbenjamin]

Paying someone to clean the brakes and calipers..?

Set aside a couple of hours on the weekend and do it yourself. All that's really required is removing the wheels, and then go at it with some actual brake cleaning solution (unless of course you plan to remove the caliper(s) which is a totally different story).

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

@Qbenjamin yep! I am not going to pay for it. And if they tell me that the car will explode if I don't do it, I'll sell the damn car and call it an end to my Tesla experiment. I am not happy that Tesla is behaving like a cheap car dealer. If this is what I wanted, I would have not paid 2x of what I usually pay to other car dealers.

 

[CHG-ON]

Never had an issue. But I do use my brakes fairly often. And they work like a damn dream every time! I guess I just drive too damn fast.

Seriously though, it is good to nail them every so often to keep everything moving.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

Chg-on - but where you live, you don't have a lot of salt on the roads.

 

[Vitold]

2nd annual service, less than 12k miles, always garaged. Tesla wants to charge me an extra 150 for brake and caliper cleaning.

Why is this not included in the service in the first place? What good is a service if they are going to add these extras?
And should I do it? Or not worth it?

Yes, if your brakes are noisy - it is worth it. If it is due to appearances than it is up to you.

As to why it is not included - brakes wear out at different rates depending on a driving style and road conditions - why make everyone pay for something most do not need.

 

[Lukez]

My parking brake pad fell apart yesterday, I've seen at least 1 other instance on the forums as well. Have the parking brake pads checked!

 

[Brass Guy]

One of my parking brake pads fell off too, late last year some time. Since they're only used when stopped, I delayed working on them.
About 2 weeks ago, I pulled the driver's side parking caliper off and was working on the pins, and the other pad surface fell off.
(Still struggling with one of the pins by the way, I may have to drill.)

Just 2 days ago I was investigating a sheet metal sounding rattle, which turned out to be a parking brake pad on the passenger side. It too fell off and was between the rotor and shield. So now 3 out of the 4 have separated.
To paraphrase our commander in chief, these parking brake pads are a complete disaster.
I've worn out disk brake pads, but never had them fall apart. I sure hope the service brake pads hold together, or it will be a disaster - a complete disaster.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

Phew. I've never heard of a car having such issues until now. Incredible.

 

[Lukez]

One of my parking brake pads fell off too, late last year some time. Since they're only used when stopped, I delayed working on them.
About 2 weeks ago, I pulled the driver's side parking caliper off and was working on the pins, and the other pad surface fell off.
(Still struggling with one of the pins by the way, I may have to drill.)

Just 2 days ago I was investigating a sheet metal sounding rattle, which turned out to be a parking brake pad on the passenger side. It too fell off and was between the rotor and shield. So now 3 out of the 4 have separated.
To paraphrase our commander in chief, these parking brake pads are a complete disaster.
I've worn out disk brake pads, but never had them fall apart. I sure hope the service brake pads hold together, or it will be a disaster - a complete disaster.

Yes this! I had a rubbing sound for about a month so I was planning on replacing the pads and servicing the brakes when it got warmer outside. The rubbing turned into a metal clanking sound like yours last week. It would rattle or clank every time I hit a bump. It turned out to be the brake pad like described above.

Anyone that has a metal rattle in the back, it's your parking brake pad talking.

 

[Max*]

Great, another thing to worry about.