Has Tesla Changed its Suspension Supplier?

[jacobp]

Hello all. I've been told by a Tesla salesperson that Tesla used to outsource its suspensions from a third-party, but has recently decided to insource the suspension manufacture. Does anyone know if any of this is true? I ask because i have heard at least one complaint that a suspension on a brand new 75D was very wobbly and nearly nausea inducing at highway speeds on certain types of pavement. When asked about this, the salesperson gave the explanation above. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ande]

Sounds like bs, just an employee with loyalty problems.
Reason: even if they made a part themselves, there is no reason to change geometry for the worse, or change at all.

 

[Walpan]

Ande, you are incorrect. I have also experienced horrible suspension issues on my new 75D. The SC acknowledges that the ride is bad but that there is nothing they can do about it. The matter was elevated to the engineers and they are aware of the issue, but claim that it is still within their specs. Great...but maybe their specs are wrong. This issue is far from BS.

 

[davidc18]

they will report "in specs" for any issue that they don't understand or know how to fix. It is teslas way of kicking the can. They hope you will eventually give up trying.

You would be well served to keep a printed record of all of your interactions with Tesla while you work for a solution. If you are in the US and in a state with a decent lemon law it is always an option. In florida one lemon law case was for a noisy air conditioner. Tesla was ordered to buy it back.

 

[Walpan]

The first steps have already been taken. I hope they can repair the car, if not.......

 

[Doug_G]

Possible causes:

- Bad alignment, especially rear toe out (should be zero or slight toe in)
- Loose or excessively soft bushings

 

[aus]

Elon is crazy if he wants to make his own suspension pieces. It's got to be cheaper to outsource that. ALL the performance manufacturers outsourse suspension.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I just had a suspension vibration issue fixed... The good folks at service informed me that they replaced my rear axle (I'm at 68,000 miles) to fix a vibration issue at 65 MPH under acceleration. A possible data point for this discussion?

 

[Veggen]

The air suspension used to be made by Continental. These seemed to be good quality and few issues were reported, but were probably quite expensive.
For the last year or so they changed to Firestone. It seems like the number of suspension issues appears to have increased quite significantly since the change.
Note this is just my impression from forums, no hard data to support.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Just an update that my vibration issue persists, so it is not the rear axle. Disregard as a data point.

 

[Dragetreneren]

This is now a long story which affected owners hope will turn to a success and not a disaster: Rattle noise coming from front Air Suspension (2017-18)

 

[The Duke]

Hello all. I've been told by a Tesla salesperson that Tesla used to outsource its suspensions from a third-party, but has recently decided to insource the suspension manufacture. Does anyone know if any of this is true? I ask because i have heard at least one complaint that a suspension on a brand new 75D was very wobbly and nearly nausea inducing at highway speeds on certain types of pavement. When asked about this, the salesperson gave the explanation above. Thanks in advance.

First step, test drive another vehicle and go the same route. Make notes, take videos and whatever else you want to convince yourself it's just your car.
Second step, get Tesla to fix it. You need to lock the car on low ride height so your results are consistent and check it is there and stays there. Then get Tesla to check the bushings in all the arms and align it sitting on the low setting. Don't accept any alignment that is barely in the green, the Tesla tolerance for alignment is too wide, get it right.
Third step, if this does not fix it get a third party shop to do the same checks. Should not cost too much and if they find soft suspension or misalignment take the findings back to Tesla and raise hell.

On the other hand if you are running around in high or even medium height you can not get the best ride and handling. Don't expect it.