Brake failed and almost crashed

[junos12]

Here is the picture he sent me, he pointed at that circled part when I was there and said that’s the cause of brake failure.
Please let me know what you guys think about that damage.

Part is arriving early next week, he promised to update me on the repair status.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Here is the picture he sent me, he pointed at that circled part when I was there and said that’s the cause of brake failure.
Please let me know what you guys think about that damage.

Looks like it was rubbing against that piece of metal until it failed. Seems like it could be caused by being installed incorrectly or an impact disconnecting it from its mounting points. Hopefully they took a lot more pictures than that...

 

[Dolemite]

Looks like it was rubbing against that piece of metal until it failed. Seems like it could be caused by being installed incorrectly or an impact disconnecting it from its mounting points. Hopefully they took a lot more pictures than that...

Seriously... and agreed. I've heard of similar failures caused by stainless steel brake lines that weren't secured properly, but obviously that's closer to the hoses in the wheel well, which this isn't (for all the detectives ITT).

Is that his finger pushing it down on the left? If that's the case... something was definitely installed incorrectly as you shouldn't need any amount of pressure to "adjust" where that line belongs.

Anyone know where that is? Can't recall running across that bar in my travels. It almost looks like it's been polished the entire way around??

 

[holeydonut]

Yeah I wish he did a slightly zoomed out view so we knew what part of the front sub-frame is being depicted. Is that the cross car beam support that the brake line is rubbing against?

I guess it's time for owners to hit up home depot and zip-tie some wood splints around that friction point to prevent the rubbing... (yes, this is mild sarcasm; but it'd be helpful if someone with a Model 3 can take a look at what that area is supposed to look like.)

I have a squirrel for an avatar, so I'm still on the waitlist

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

View attachment 687246

Here is the picture he sent me, he pointed at that circled part when I was there and said that’s the cause of brake failure.
Please let me know what you guys think about that damage.

Part is arriving early next week, he promised to update me on the repair status.

Since you were there when he pointed at this, can you give info on specifically where this picture was taken (as specific as possible, for example: “with wheel splash guard/trim removed, in front wheel well, at the top of the wheel well, on the far inside of the wheel well close to chassis”)? There are a bunch of people here who want to examine this location on their own cars, to be honest…(even though it is probably fine). (To me it looks like this must be somewhere under the frunk trim but I have no idea - I’ll have to look at pictures of my HW3 install so I don’t have to disassemble anything.)

Also before they remove/discard the part you should ask them to take more pictures and provide them to you - this is for you just as much as it is for the lurkers here; it’s important for your peace of mind to understand exactly what happened, and be confident with the new install that whatever caused the failure cannot be repeated.

 

[iwannam3]

Is there a matching failure on the opposite side of the car?

 

[junos12]

I am not sure where exactly that is, but I requested for more pictures that can show the location of the damage. I will upload them when I get them.

 

[holeydonut]

Since you were there when he pointed at this, can you give info on specifically where this picture was taken (as specific as possible, for example: “with wheel splash guard/trim removed, in front wheel well, at the top of the wheel well, on the far inside of the wheel well close to chassis”)? There are a bunch of people here who want to examine this location on their own cars, to be honest…(even though it is probably fine). (To me it looks like this must be somewhere under the frunk trim but I have no idea - I’ll have to look at pictures of my HW3 install so I don’t have to disassemble anything.)

Also before they remove/discard the part you should ask them to take more pictures and provide them to you - this is for you just as much as it is for the lurkers here; it’s important for your peace of mind to understand exactly what happened, and be confident with the new install that whatever caused the failure cannot be repeated.

I don't think Juno took the photo. Seems like it was sent to him by the Tech.

 

[Dolemite]

Cool, thanks for sharing! Based on the part they are replacing, the damage is on the pressurized portion near where the system interacts with the "Electromechanical Brake Booster". This part seems to route all 4 pipes that includes a portion to get to each of the 4 wheels... but does also directly feed the front wheels.

I wonder if your experience was just 1 or 2 wheels losing pressure rapidly, or if it was all 4 because your whole system lost fluid/pressure. I hope they kept the old part and gave you photos for where the damage is. But since this part is mostly metal, it probably wasn't a squirrel chewing through the line.

Edit: updated the photo:
View attachment 686675

View attachment 686680

There's really only one place where 4 lines converge like that - shortly after they exit the ABS unit. Could it be that what we're seeing is the steering column? Might explain why there's polishing all the way around.

 

[TunaBug]

Cool, thanks for sharing! Based on the part they are replacing, the damage is on the pressurized portion near where the system interacts with the "Electromechanical Brake Booster". This part seems to route all 4 pipes that includes a portion to get to each of the 4 wheels... but does also directly feed the front wheels.

I wonder if your experience was just 1 or 2 wheels losing pressure rapidly, or if it was all 4 because your whole system lost fluid/pressure. I hope they kept the old part and gave you photos for where the damage is. But since this part is mostly metal, it probably wasn't a squirrel chewing through the line.

Edit: updated the photo:
View attachment 686675

Where do I go to view the parts catalog online? I thought I had saved a tesla.com link for that, but apparently not.

ETA: I was actually hoping I could find a picture similar to what @Dolemite just posted while I was creating this post But, still, it would be nice to know how to find that myself.

 

[Dolemite]

Where do I go to view the parts catalog online? I thought I had saved a tesla.com link for that, but apparently not.

ETA: I was actually hoping I could find a picture similar to what @Dolemite just posted while I was creating this post But, still, it would be nice to know how to find that myself.

Just go to fixyourtesla.com - an absolute godsend. I believe there are also shady Ukranian sources.

 

[android04]

View attachment 687246

Here is the picture he sent me, he pointed at that circled part when I was there and said that’s the cause of brake failure.
Please let me know what you guys think about that damage.

Part is arriving early next week, he promised to update me on the repair status.

That round metal piece that rubbed on the brake line looks like the steering column that connects the steering wheel to the power steering rack. There is a big rubber boot in the spot where it goes through the firewall. It's hard to place the exact location of the picture, but perhaps the rubber boot is missing, was damaged, or was removed for repair. It's possible that the brake line was not secured correctly to its bracket and it was rubbing.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I don't think Juno took the photo. Seems like it was sent to him by the Tech.

Yeah I know. I did not try to imply otherwise…

 

[freeAgent]

I agree with others here that that looks like the line was rubbing (and maybe/probably on the steering column). Obviously, that should never happen. Assuming that is the steering column, I can only imagine that this was an assembly issue with the vehicle, which is pretty scary. The possible assembly issue should be of concern, particularly to people whose cars were built around the same time as yours. I would definitely make sure this is reported to the NHTSA so the issue is documented. This could be a recall situation.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Could it be that what we're seeing is the steering column?

Yep. The lower shaft (?) has that notch in it.

 

[hydro 481]

That's really scary. I'm glad everyone is okay. I had a similar incident a long time ago in my Mercedes SLK on the highway. Traffic came to a sudden stop in front of me and when I tried to brake it didn't work. I had to swerve last second to avoid collision.

 

[TunaBug]

Yep. The lower shaft (?) has that notch in it.
View attachment 687348

And for the approximate location of where that's at in the car, see Tesla MODEL 3 SERVICE MANUAL: STEERING COLUMN (REMOVE AND REPLACE). We're at the forward/lower end of the steering column assembly that's shown in red in the top drawing. There's a more detailed drawing of the whole assembly in step 36 (the first step 36, in the "Remove" section, roughly 60% into the page). But I have no idea what's the best way to access that for inspection at home: starting from the frunk, or from below?

Thanks @Dolemite for the pointer to fixyourtesla.com. Great site!

 

[JDMerica]

So looks like that line was laying against the steering shaft with no chafing gear. You can see the polish on the shaft from it turning around. The line rubbed through and then burst. Seems clearly a manufacturer defect from Tesla if that's the case.

We see this stuff a lot in the navy from hydraulic lines touching things and vibration.

 

[holeydonut]

And for the approximate location of where that's at in the car, see Tesla MODEL 3 SERVICE MANUAL: STEERING COLUMN (REMOVE AND REPLACE). We're at the forward/lower end of the steering column assembly that's shown in red in the top drawing. There's a more detailed drawing of the whole assembly in step 36 (the first step 36, in the "Remove" section, roughly 60% into the page). But I have no idea what's the best way to access that for inspection at home: starting from the frunk, or from below?

Thanks @Dolemite for the pointer to fixyourtesla.com. Great site!

Nobody has a borescope or endoscope they can poke down there and snap some photos of their steering rack? I don't have a Model 3 (waitlist!) so I cannot be of assistance

I'm curious what is supposed to be there to prevent the contact/rubbing.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Nobody has a borescope or endoscope they can poke down there and snap some photos of their steering rack? I don't have a Model 3 (waitlist!) so I cannot be of assistance

I'm curious what is supposed to be there to prevent the contact/rubbing.

I think you could see it by taking off the frunk cover. You can see the lower part of the steering column and the ABS module.