Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Control Arm Replacement

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Should control arm replacement require realignment?
Both Left and Right are to replaced by Mobile Service, but they do not have alignment capabilities...

Parts to be replaced, from the Service Estimate:

NUT,HF,M12-1.75, [10],ZNNI,PTP(1111543-00- A)
NUT,HF,M10-1.5, [10],ZNNI,PTP(1111145-00- A)
NUT&WSHR[SW],M14X1.5, [10],ZNFL,PTP(1109263- 00-B)

FR UPR CTRL ARM ASSY, RH(1044326-00-J)
FR UPR CTRL ARM ASSY, LEFT HAND(1044321-00-J)
 
No, in most cases they mark the control arms in relation to the bolt holes and install the new ones in the same spot. Alignment is not included as part of the warranty service. I haven't seen a need for it, they are dimensionally the same. Never heard of anyone having an issue after a non-aligned control arm service either.

Even when this job is performed at a service center, they do not do an alignment.

Kind of funny, they absolutely refused to do my control arms as part of mobile service here in New York, when all you need is to put the front on jackstands. They insisted that it needs to be done on a lift. (It doesn't) You're lucky they're coming to your house to do it!
 
No, in most cases they mark the control arms in relation to the bolt holes and install the new ones in the same spot. Alignment is not included as part of the warranty service. I haven't seen a need for it, they are dimensionally the same. Never heard of anyone having an issue after a non-aligned control arm service either.

Even when this job is performed at a service center, they do not do an alignment.

Kind of funny, they absolutely refused to do my control arms as part of mobile service here in New York, when all you need is to put the front on jackstands. They insisted that it needs to be done on a lift. (It doesn't) You're lucky they're coming to your house to do it!
The margin of error from matching the visual marks on the FUCA mount vs the car's body is likely pretty significant, probably on the order of +-0.1 degrees of camber. Just because Tesla's service is saving a buck from skimping on the alignment, doesn't mean the owner shouldn't get one anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: buckets0fun
No alignment is needed. The control arm mount does get removed/reinstalled and does have the ability to adjust both camber and caster, but neither is very important and as @dsgerbc points out, the tech can easily reinstall the mount to within 0.1 degree or so - which is on par with an alignment machine.

Note that alignment shops don't even adjust camber/caster anyway, unless you pay the extra $50 on account of Tesla being a "foreign car". And even then, they still won't bother adjusting it, they just take your $50 and mock you for not buying an American car, like a Fiat or something. Camber and caster both have an "acceptable range" of 1 degree but the mount only allows them to be adjusted by a fraction of a degree. Look at the many examples of posted alignment specs and you'll see that camber and caster are randomly misaligned both before and after the alignment but remain within the 1 degree range.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DrGriz
Alignment shops don't bother setting camber too carefully, but they do dial in toe settings pretty well.
A 0.1 degree _change_ in camber can result in an extra ~0.1 degree of toe-in or -out, and put one out of spec, depending on pre-replacement specs.

Checking the total toe at home is pretty easy/cheap. I'd do it, and them, if it's too much outside the reasonable range, get it fixed.
 
As long as the bolts are marked before removing them from the FUCA mount, and are then placed back in the same spots, I would be comfortable not having an alignment done.

But, to @dsgerbc point, if they are removed and installed all willy-nilly then there is a chance that the toe could change due to changes in the camber/caster.

All that being said, as @tm1v2 pointed out, if you haven't' had an alignment done in the last ~12,000 miles or more, may make sense to just do it regardless.