Has anyone had Front Upper Control Arms replaced for free out of warranty?

[HCassidy]

Long story short, I have a relatively high mileage Model 3 that is covered by a 3rd party warranty with Marshalls (administered by Car Care Plan).

My front upper control arm ball join on the near side has just started to squeak, and so I went to the warranty company to get them to agree the repair. They stated that as suspension items are classed as normal wear and tear that they wouldn't cover this item. I thought that they had already replaced these before I bought the car but it was actually the rear knuckles.

I spoke to a Tesla technician recently who advised, as per the EPC, that the FUCA's have been replaced with a new part (128831-00-A for RH side, 128836-00-A for LH side) which are now cast aluminium arms rather than the the over-wrapped steel arms from before. Although these have a better contraction, they need to be replaced both at the same time when changing from old to new version.

Has anyone had the replacement of the arms out of warranty comped? I see some people have posted they got the labour comped, which would be nice as I am willing to do the repair myself but would save some time and happy to pay part cost.

 

[Pagemakers]

Yep had both uppers replaced in July on my 2019 3P with 30,000 miles. Today (November) Tesla mobile service said the lower ones are on their way out and they are returning next week to replace those too.

 

[HCassidy]

View attachment 990740

Yep had both uppers replaced in July on my 2019 3P with 30,000 miles. Today (November) Tesla mobile service said the lower ones are on their way out and they are returning next week to replace those too.

But were you still in warranty when you had the repair done?

 

[Pagemakers]

Yes. First repair of both upper joints took the mobile technician about 15 mins. No idea how long the lowers will take.

 

[MrBadger]

Our lower ones also came with a 4 wheel alignment check and adjustment - far longer job than the tops - they were very reluctant to say car would be ready by the end of the day even though it was an early afternoon appointment (also included install of speaker which was listed as a few minutes of time). Thankfully, just snuck in within warranty. Would at very least been an MOT advisory. Got picked up during a Cleevely EV service ahead of MOT and warranty expiry. Full delamination of the bush.

Still not convinced things are not starting to squeak again though.

I'm interested to hear a bit more about this. Our top arms were replaced about a year ago. Clearly front suspension is a bit of an Achilles heel and some parts are lasting far shorter time periods than you would expect - for us, bodge job regrease at 2 years, top replacement at 3 years/20k, bottoms at 4 years/30k - this seems to be similar to what others are experiencing, empirically, its almost as if temperature and age seem to be the driving factors. You only have to look at the part number revisions to see how many attempts are being made to sort the issue.

I spoke to a Tesla technician recently who advised, as per the EPC, that the FUCA's have been replaced with a new part (128831-00-A for RH side, 128836-00-A for LH side) which are now cast aluminium arms rather than the the over-wrapped steel arms from before.

 

[Lance From Jax]

View attachment 990740

Yep had both uppers replaced in July on my 2019 3P with 30,000 miles. Today (November) Tesla mobile service said the lower ones are on their way out and they are returning next week to replace those too.

Wait, what? Tesla replaces control arms via mobile service?

 

[Pagemakers]

Yep. They did my uppers in July and coming next week to do my lowers.

 

[HCassidy]

Had my FUCA's replaced today. Nice quick service. Only cost £179 for both nearside and offside arms to be done. Asked them specifically to use the new part numbers for the cast aluminium arms, Service Tech said he didn't even know they had them.

Hopefully won't need to be replaced for the lifetime of the car.... I wish.

 

[MrBadger]

Asked them specifically to use the new part numbers for the cast aluminium arms, Service Tech said he didn't even know they had them.

Did they actually use them? Did you get a chance to see the difference?

Quite reasonable cost if ours goes again a couple of years out or warranty and it’s a long term fix. Would be rather pissed off if it, as has happened so far, front suspension needed replacement parts every couple of years.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

A few of us take our Model 3s on track, which inevitably leads to bushes wearing out due to the higher loads, although I also know of relatively low-mileage cars which are only used on the road and the bushes (front and rear) have worn to the point where they are an advisory when MOT'd and are noisy.

I've replaced my own front upper arms (FUCAs) with aftermarket ones even though the car is still in warranty. I just didn't want to deal with the same issue coming back. I've now got some noises coming from the front lower arms.

A friend with the same problem (car out of warranty) had his lower front arms replaced with some aftermarket ones his garage got from Euro Car Parts. They lasted about 2000 miles before the bushes were knackered! German-made but obviously not up to the job.

In the last few months, Powerflex released some uprated bushes pre-installed in arms to fit Model 3/Y/S/X. I used theirs to replace my FUCAs and now I'm going to use their lower arms to sort out my new noises. They come with a lifetime warranty but regardless of that their poly bush tech. has been around a long time and I've used them on ICE cars in the past when the OE ones failed. They are much more durable than rubber but aren't so 'solid' that they increase NVH, so for me it's the best solution and I don't mind paying for them if I know they'll outlast the rest of the car!

 

[Plagued]

I've had both the front and rear upper arms fail.
Only the one rear one was done within warranty as they "couldn't find an issue" with the others at the time, despite being noisy.
I probably could have kicked up a fuss, but I don't have the energy.
So I've paid them to replace the fronts and just got them to supply the part for the rear and I'll fit it myself when I have a chance.
The reason why the fronts are cheap is that as it's a known defective part, they only charge for the part, they do not charge for fitting.

 

[HCassidy]

Did they actually use them? Did you get a chance to see the difference?

Quite reasonable cost if ours goes again a couple of years out or warranty and it’s a long term fix. Would be rather pissed off if it, as has happened so far, front suspension needed replacement parts every couple of years.

Yes, made sure they used the new part. Confirmed that its the new part as well after I left.

 

[HCassidy]

A few of us take our Model 3s on track, which inevitably leads to bushes wearing out due to the higher loads, although I also know of relatively low-mileage cars which are only used on the road and the bushes (front and rear) have worn to the point where they are an advisory when MOT'd and are noisy.

I've replaced my own front upper arms (FUCAs) with aftermarket ones even though the car is still in warranty. I just didn't want to deal with the same issue coming back. I've now got some noises coming from the front lower arms.

A friend with the same problem (car out of warranty) had his lower front arms replaced with some aftermarket ones his garage got from Euro Car Parts. They lasted about 2000 miles before the bushes were knackered! German-made but obviously not up to the job.

In the last few months, Powerflex released some uprated bushes pre-installed in arms to fit Model 3/Y/S/X. I used theirs to replace my FUCAs and now I'm going to use their lower arms to sort out my new noises. They come with a lifetime warranty but regardless of that their poly bush tech. has been around a long time and I've used them on ICE cars in the past when the OE ones failed. They are much more durable than rubber but aren't so 'solid' that they increase NVH, so for me it's the best solution and I don't mind paying for them if I know they'll outlast the rest of the

Thanks for the info. I hadn't really looked at other options other than Tesla. I still have 3 years left on an extended warranty from the dealership I bought the car from so I have to get it repaired at Tesla.

 

[HCassidy]

I've had both the front and rear upper arms fail.
Only the one rear one was done within warranty as they "couldn't find an issue" with the others at the time, despite being noisy.
I probably could have kicked up a fuss, but I don't have the energy.
So I've paid them to replace the fronts and just got them to supply the part for the rear and I'll fit it myself when I have a chance.
The reason why the fronts are cheap is that as it's a known defective part, they only charge for the part, they do not charge for fitting.

I assumed they weren't charging for labour at the FRT for the replacement says 1.15 hours but value was zero.

 

[MrBadger]

Looks like the suspension issues have not gone unnoticed.

The records reveal persistent problems with low-tech suspension connections, such as upper and lower control arms, and fore and aft links. These parts are relatively inexpensive for Tesla and largely invisible to most consumers. But they play a critical role in safely connecting a car’s axle and wheels to its body and steering apparatus.

source: Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective