Control arm under warranty? [when over 50k miles on car]

[darktides]

Hi, got around 60k on my 2019 Model 3 control arm is starting to creak and squeak around the ball joint.

I have been told this is prevalent issue with Tesla’s with the control arm rubber boot not disbursing the grease around the ball joint evenly.

Will Tesla still honor this. Setup an appointment at SC, but if it’s as simple as apply new grease inside the boot I can easily do this. I have some mechanic experience from my past military life.

Do you think Tesla will honor this, since it’s a widespread issue with previous revisions of the control arm?

 

[jjrandorin]

Hi, got around 60k on my 2019 Model 3

Unlikely because you are over the warranty period. I certainly wouldnt expect them to just cover it. Its possible, but very unlikely.

 

[mehingle14]

2018 Performance 3. 86k out of warranty. Tesla service center says that the bushings on both lower control arms are worn and need to be replaced.

Q 1 Does anyone know if the part has been revised? Or are they putting in the same part that obviously fails fairly quickly?

Q 2 Does anyone know why there has not been a service bulletin yet to replace these failing parts for free, even if out of warranty?

 

[calidreamz808]

What are the price quotes for out of warranty fixes for these control arm issues? I'm coming up on my warranty end and terrified by the control arm and 12v issues people are having. Lets not mention my tires are wore out after 20k.

 

[mehingle14]

lower control arms are 175 each, so $350.00 for parts, $367.50 for labor. Labor on the left side is only $115.50, but the right side is $252.

 

[JayNJ]

2018 Performance 3. 86k out of warranty. Tesla service center says that the bushings on both lower control arms are worn and need to be replaced.

Q 1 Does anyone know if the part has been revised? Or are they putting in the same part that obviously fails fairly quickly?

Q 2 Does anyone know why there has not been a service bulletin yet to replace these failing parts for free, even if out of warranty?

It has been revised many times over. They are up to Rev J. Not sure if that fixes the issue though. They do seem to be more aware of it now as they have a service bulletin on it and are sealing the working joints with urethane now to prevent issues.

 

[calidreamz808]

lower control arms are 175 each, so $350.00 for parts, $367.50 for labor. Labor on the left side is only $115.50, but the right side is $252.

ouch. could be worse i guess. I made an appt for service in an unrelated issue but i'm going to have them check my control arms and 12v battery to be sure everything is ok before my warranty ends.

 

[ry-ballz]

You're asking if your warranty coverage is good after the warranty expires?

No.

 

[afadeev]

lower control arms are 175 each, so $350.00 for parts, $367.50 for labor. Labor on the left side is only $115.50, but the right side is $252.

That is ~2 hours of labor on LHS, 1.5 hours on RHS.
If you own a jack, and torque wrench and a set of sockets, you can definitely DIY this job out of warranty over a weekend.
OTOH, ~$600 may, or may not be, worth the bother.

You're asking if your warranty coverage is good after the warranty expires?

No.

It's a fair ask - most luxury service departments would go to bat for the customer over a "known defect", and get OEM to cover all or parts of the repair.
There is no such delineation with Tesla, so the chances of anyone taking your side in this matter are slim-to-none.

Sorry.
Service and good-will are NOT Tesla's forte.

a

 

[HOOMANAKA]

I got my 2018 LR serviced under warranty with 62k miles early August this year. I’m assuming it’s free because of the known issue.

 

[TomT]

It's a fair ask - most luxury service departments would go to bat for the customer over a "known defect", and get OEM to cover all or parts of the repair.
There is no such delineation with Tesla, so the chances of anyone taking your side in this matter are slim-to-none.

Yep, we had a 2002 Acura MDX. They had a known transmission issue. It failed at 77,000 miles and 7 years. Acura covered every cent for a new transmission under goodwill even though it was long out of warranty! Think Tesla would ever do something that?! Ha!

 

[67King]

Had the same issue, out of warranty. Tried mobile service, said couldn't do it. Tried to send me 3.5 hours away. Sent me quote, attached. Goodwill, great! Except I didn't have a day. So the local service center opened up between the two. They would NOT honor the goodwill, claiming they only were giving me the diagnosis. Okay, I see that quote, but all the correspondence was about the known, published issue. And I can't believe they'd send me out of state for a fix saying no charge, and then charge me, but whatever.

Anyway, I ended up buying both arms. The "J" suffix is the latest, but the local dealer only had J for the left side, they had 25 "G" suffix for the right. Knoxville isn't big, so that tells you how big the issue is. At any rate, I found a G on ebay for $70. I did both arms in 1:50. Labor rates are $185/hour, so the 2 hour estimate reported above is probably about right. But it was not a tough fix (granted, I've got a lift at home).

 

[RSpanner]

 

[Occhis]

Had the same issue, out of warranty. Tried mobile service, said couldn't do it. Tried to send me 3.5 hours away. Sent me quote, attached. Goodwill, great! Except I didn't have a day. So the local service center opened up between the two. They would NOT honor the goodwill, claiming they only were giving me the diagnosis. Okay, I see that quote, but all the correspondence was about the known, published issue. And I can't believe they'd send me out of state for a fix saying no charge, and then charge me, but whatever.

Anyway, I ended up buying both arms. The "J" suffix is the latest, but the local dealer only had J for the left side, they had 25 "G" suffix for the right. Knoxville isn't big, so that tells you how big the issue is. At any rate, I found a G on ebay for $70. I did both arms in 1:50. Labor rates are $185/hour, so the 2 hour estimate reported above is probably about right. But it was not a tough fix (granted, I've got a lift at home).

Is the right side harder to do than the left? Just wondering why the labor charge is so much more for the right.

 

[Jordangregoryy]

I got my 2018 LR serviced under warranty with 62k miles early August this year. I’m assuming it’s free because of the known issue.

I have a 2018 with 55k miles and I just started hearing the squeak. I just requested an appointment and they sent me an estimate for about $1,000 with the repairs they did for you. Before you got there did they quote it free or full cost then cover it upon repair?

 

[akidesir]

I got both of mine replaced under warranty last week.. Got the H variant on right side, and J variant on the left side.

 

[JayNJ]

My left one was done at 54,000 miles. Not covered under warranty, $391. They sealed the right one for free at some point after that. Now it is squeaking too at 89,000 miles and less than a year later.

 

[OliverM3]

Yep, we had a 2002 Acura MDX. They had a known transmission issue. It failed at 77,000 miles and 7 years. Acura covered every cent for a new transmission under goodwill even though it was long out of warranty! Think Tesla would ever do something that?! Ha!

You got lucky my Landrover's rear ate itself at 60k miles. Known issue and the new rear was a complete redesign it wasn't covered.
I tried to fight it how can a rear fail before it's first scheduled fluid change. It was my wife's car not like she off-roaded it.
no luck I was out the $5k next the electronic steering lock failed shortly after locking the wheel. I was done they wanted to replace the whole column for the $300 module. they wouldn't replace just the module. I popped it off sprayed some wd-40 in it and sold the car

 

[Stanwood Steve]

Hi, got around 60k on my 2019 Model 3 control arm is starting to creak and squeak around the ball joint.

I have been told this is prevalent issue with Tesla’s with the control arm rubber boot not disbursing the grease around the ball joint evenly.

Will Tesla still honor this. Setup an appointment at SC, but if it’s as simple as apply new grease inside the boot I can easily do this. I have some mechanic experience from my past military life.

Do you think Tesla will honor this, since it’s a widespread issue with previous revisions of the control arm?

Just had my 2018 P3D Upper Control Arms replaced with 73,500 miles on the odometer, and they did not charge me. I was a bit surprised and was ready to try to convince them to share the cost with me, but they never ever suggested that should pay for the work. Again, my experience with Tesla Service Centers has been exemplary. I. know this is probably not a common opinion.

 

[ODWms]

You got lucky my Landrover's rear ate itself at 60k miles. Known issue and the new rear was a complete redesign it wasn't covered.
I tried to fight it how can a rear fail before it's first scheduled fluid change. It was my wife's car not like she off-roaded it.
no luck I was out the $5k next the electronic steering lock failed shortly after locking the wheel. I was done they wanted to replace the whole column for the $300 module. they wouldn't replace just the module. I popped it off sprayed some wd-40 in it and sold the car

Absolutely ridiculous. I swore off Land Rovers for good after my one and only ownership experience back in the early 2000s. They make some good looking vehicles today, but they are a disaster area ownership-wise.