Failed Rear Lower Control Arm / Service Bulletin SB-19-31-001

[TSLA Pilot]

They did of course not offer to cover any of this, and I will keep the invoice, but I doubt that they will ever cover this repair.

Well, they will eventually as this very much appears to be a safety related defect and the EU NHTSA equivalent should take action.

Please report this failure as it won't be addressed until there's a recall. You could save a few lives so please do this!

 

[AikiJim]

So, this just happened to my car. Scary as I felt a small shimmy on the freeway the night before, then the next morning my backend kicked over a foot when going over some railroad tracks. I got to my destination, and it completely failed when I was slowly backing up (seems this is the same for many). So glad this did not happen at freeway speeds!

My P85 was delivered in Feb 2013 and has a VIN in the low 4000s.

My service center said:
1. SB does not address my VIN (says vehicles approximately June 2013 to Feb 2014)
2. Right side link is also corroded and needs to be replaced.
3. Don't see any signs of stress or damage to left side.
4. I've never seen a rear control arm crack before

I replied that it was clearly the same issue, the SB said both need to be replaced, the problem is corrosion - not outright damage, and this is all over the forums and the NHTSA site. I got no reply for 24 hours until my third follow-up. I finally got a quote to fix the one side for about $2k (he said he emailed it the day before, but did not), and I approved it in order to get my car back. I'll have to decide if I want to proactively replace the other side later.

I will submit a NHTSA complaint after repairs are complete.

Overall, like others, I am frustrated that Tesla does not take more ownership of these obvious defects.

 

[aerodyne]

So, this just happened to my car. Scary as I felt a small shimmy on the freeway the night before, then the next morning my backend kicked over a foot when going over some railroad tracks. I got to my destination, and it completely failed when I was slowly backing up (seems this is the same for many). So glad this did not happen at freeway speeds!

My P85 was delivered in Feb 2013 and has a VIN in the low 4000s.

My service center said:
1. SB does not address my VIN (says vehicles approximately June 2013 to Feb 2014)
2. Right side link is also corroded and needs to be replaced.
3. Don't see any signs of stress or damage to left side.
4. I've never seen a rear control arm crack before

I replied that it was clearly the same issue, the SB said both need to be replaced, the problem is corrosion - not outright damage, and this is all over the forums and the NHTSA site. I got no reply for 24 hours until my third follow-up. I finally got a quote to fix the one side for about $2k (he said he emailed it the day before, but did not), and I approved it in order to get my car back. I'll have to decide if I want to proactively replace the other side later.

I will submit a NHTSA complaint after repairs are complete.

Overall, like others, I am frustrated that Tesla does not take more ownership of these obvious defects.

This is unacceptable. A engineering student could see at once the parting plane for this forging is going the wrong direction, and the adverse short transverse grain direction is very susceptible to stress corrosion cracking.

Oh, and no protective finish at all on the suspension parts. And a absurdly small lug to hole diameter ratio. 0.875 is off the charts, and this is smaller than that!

Pull a copy of the SB off the NHTSB site. I believe your serial number is covered. Only the cars with redesigned links should be exempt.

Find another SvC and confront them with the facts.

 

[aerodyne]

The parting plane is the wrong direction on the front links, not the rear. The other comments still apply.

Should be only a few hundred to fix the other side.

 

[David.85D]

So, this just happened to my car. Scary as I felt a small shimmy on the freeway the night before, then the next morning my backend kicked over a foot when going over some railroad tracks. I got to my destination, and it completely failed when I was slowly backing up (seems this is the same for many). So glad this did not happen at freeway speeds!

My P85 was delivered in Feb 2013 and has a VIN in the low 4000s.

My service center said:
1. SB does not address my VIN (says vehicles approximately June 2013 to Feb 2014)
2. Right side link is also corroded and needs to be replaced.
3. Don't see any signs of stress or damage to left side.
4. I've never seen a rear control arm crack before

I replied that it was clearly the same issue, the SB said both need to be replaced, the problem is corrosion - not outright damage, and this is all over the forums and the NHTSA site. I got no reply for 24 hours until my third follow-up. I finally got a quote to fix the one side for about $2k (he said he emailed it the day before, but did not), and I approved it in order to get my car back. I'll have to decide if I want to proactively replace the other side later.

I will submit a NHTSA complaint after repairs are complete.

Overall, like others, I am frustrated that Tesla does not take more ownership of these obvious defects.

Did they list all the parts and labor in your quote? I’d be interested to see the breakdown

 

[AikiJim]

Annoying that after accepting a quote in the Tesla system, you can no longer view it.

I got another email saying they ordered these parts. There could be other parts that they had in stock, but these do look like the main ones.

1. BOLT HF M12x1.75x100 [10.9]-U-G720
   Part #: 2007075
2. RR SUSP INTEGRAL LINK ASSY - S3, S2
   Part #: 6006895-00-A
3. BOLT HF M12x1.75x70 [10.9]-U-G720
   Part #: 2007078
4. RR SUSP STABAR LINK ASY
   Part #: 6007100-00-A

I can verify when I get the final invoice.

 

[airsailor]

It's really extraordinary that this part is failing in exactly the same way on multiple vehicles. Also amazing that some service centers are replacing the control arms gratis and others are not. But what is most amazing to me is that the letters I sent via FedEx to Tesla in Palo Alto, on Sept 2, 2020 and on Oct 20, 2020, have not been responded to whatsoever. I own 100 shares of TSLA and have high hopes for the company, but I'm dumbstruck at this utter failure in terms of customer relations. Totally unacceptable.

 

[airsailor]

BTW, apparently the only way to actually register a complaint about the vehicles or service is by snail mail to:

Tesla Motors, Inc.
3500 Deer Creek Road
Palo Alto, California 94304
Attention: Vehicle Service

Amusing that everything else in the Tesla universe happens via the app, or by text or email -- when you want to register a complaint only snail mail will do!

 

[Bill Foster]

Sucks, but this is
1. Why they give you a warranty (which you are out of)
2. Tesla identified certain production range where they had an issue and issued a TSB (which tells the tech what to do when the car is in warranty), and the TSB doesn't apply to your car.

 

[airsailor]

This TSB was issued after all the affected cars were out of warranty. The TSB applies to my car based on VIN and date range, which was confirmed by the manager of the Paramus service center. If you look through this thread, you'll see that a number of service centers are replacing the control arms at no charge, while others are charging full freight.

 

[KalJoMoS]

I got another email saying they ordered these parts. There could be other parts that they had in stock, but these do look like the main ones.

1. BOLT HF M12x1.75x100 [10.9]-U-G720
   Part #: 2007075
2. RR SUSP INTEGRAL LINK ASSY - S3, S2
   Part #: 6006895-00-A
3. BOLT HF M12x1.75x70 [10.9]-U-G720
   Part #: 2007078
4. RR SUSP STABAR LINK ASY
   Part #: 6007100-00-A

I can verify when I get the final invoice.

This list does not correspond to the items that others have mentioned when they made their repairs. I believe these are the levelling links on air suspension as all the parts previously mentioned by others have different part no.

 

[yobigd20]

I’ve had to have the control arms replaced 4 times. $1000 each time. Tesla says these are normal wear items and need to be replaced every 50k miles. I call bullshit but whoami. This should really be a recall.

 

[David.85D]

I’ve had to have the control arms replaced 4 times. $1000 each time. Tesla says these are normal wear items and need to be replaced every 50k miles. I call bullshit but whoami. This should really be a recall.

Are you really at 200k miles? That’s impressive. .. what other parts have worn out?

 

[cduzz]

I’ve had to have the control arms replaced 4 times. $1000 each time. Tesla says these are normal wear items and need to be replaced every 50k miles. I call bullshit but whoami. This should really be a recall.

Fancy German cars typically have over-complex suspensions with soft bushings to minimize NVH. They sometimes only last 50k miles and often the only way to replace the bushing is to replace the metal part as well as the bushing. In Germany, someone puts the car on a lift and uses a microscope to inspect everything for wear annually. In the US, even with "inspections" the wear is identified by tremendous clunking sounds or broken ball joints that haven't had boots for 3 years. My wife's 2013 Q5 has had some front bushings / a-arms replaced at 70k miles because of clunking.

It's my understanding that the earlier S platform has an almost entirely Mercedes Benz derived suspension.

I've had my car (pre-facelift 90D) in for service where I said "do the annual inspection and do whatever's necessary" and they didn't suggest replacing anything. I'd much prefer paying $1000 every 4-6 years or 50k miles to having a wheel whomp around or worse.

That said, "the metal part breaks and the wheel falls off" is not a good failure mode.

Are newer parts prone to these same failures?

 

[Gixx1300R]

 

[MP3Mike]

The first lawsuit I have seen related to this has come to a conclusion: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.369266/gov.uscourts.cand.369266.44.0.pdf

The claims were dismissed as the failures were outside of the period the limited vehicle warranty covered. (Arguments for unconscionability and fraud were dismissed as well.)

 

[No CO2]

I have one of the lower control arms for sale for $55 plus $30 shipping.

Tesla Model S rear suspension, lower control arm - auto parts - by...

Lower control arm for Tesla Model S, part number 1027459-99-A If you own an older Model S, your lower control arms may fail See Service Bulletin here...

sandiego.craigslist.org

Reply via the CL ad

Brian

 

[Evbwcaer]

My 2014 S 85 with about 99,000 miles just had its rear passenger lower control arm break while maneuvering in a parking ramp. I’ll let you all know how this goes……

 

[aerodyne]

My 2014 S 85 with about 99,000 miles just had its rear passenger lower control arm break while maneuvering in a parking ramp. I’ll let you all know how this goes……

How this is not a mandatory recall is beyond me...

 

[AaronE]

Suspension parts seem to not be Tesla's strong suit. This was the rear upper (camber) control link from my 2015 P85D. "Standard wear and tear" was the claim.

Pretty cheap extrusion to me. At least it was only $100 for a used part and 20 minutes for the repair, which I did myself *in the Tesla Service Center parking lot.*

As for the OP's lower link, it's clear the engineers didn't expect it to take any tensile loads. There's no way that tiny ring around that huge bore takes any pull force. At least it looks like the rear link is under compression for forward driving, hence why I'm guessing these all happen while in reverse.