Vendor Have you had worn or failing/failed suspension bushes/arms replaced on your Telsa?

[B Slocum]

We have replaced the bushings on a 2018 Model 3 in November of 2021 ($800) and they will need to be done again now, there must be a manufacturing defect. Bushings should never fail and to have them fail twice in a 4 year old car is wrong.

 

[LavanyaLea]

My car is model 3 2019 model, the first ones to hit UK roads…

Front right and left upper arms replaced under warranty in 2022 after some 40k miles for squeaking.

This year I noticed a different problem just after 50k (out of warranty), and when I took it to an independent garage, they noticed the front right lower suspension a bit loose, but couldn’t get parts and advised me to get them from Tesla. Tesla mechanic explained to me that one of the bolt nuts have split, so wear and tear basically.

The other wear and tear issue is the rear undershield plate. It’s made of plastic and it has been damaged, and last month a part had become loose and rubbing on the ground. Tesla said this is also quite common (!!!) and they think it happened when going over puddles of water at speed and it’s caused by the water. Like seriously? I would’ve put my money more on the gravels but Tesla thinks it’s the water. The new replacement part is supposed to have higher speed rating than the older part. For this I can see there are some 3rd party models made from aluminium instead of plastic.

Now that Red Baroness is becoming a mature lady, I’d be interested in 3rd party replacement parts… because it seems my local independent garage is good but they have trouble sourcing parts.

 

[Adopado]

My car is model 3 2019 model, the first ones to hit UK roads…

Front right and left upper arms replaced under warranty in 2022 after some 40k miles for squeaking.

This year I noticed a different problem just after 50k (out of warranty), and when I took it to an independent garage, they noticed the front right lower suspension a bit loose, but couldn’t get parts and advised me to get them from Tesla. Tesla mechanic explained to me that one of the bolt nuts have split, so wear and tear basically.

The other wear and tear issue is the rear undershield plate. It’s made of plastic and it has been damaged, and last month a part had become loose and rubbing on the ground. Tesla said this is also quite common (!!!) and they think it happened when going over puddles of water at speed and it’s caused by the water. Like seriously? I would’ve put my money more on the gravels but Tesla thinks it’s the water. The new replacement part is supposed to have higher speed rating than the older part. For this I can see there are some 3rd party models made from aluminium instead of plastic.

Now that Red Baroness is becoming a mature lady, I’d be interested in 3rd party replacement parts… because it seems my local independent garage is good but they have trouble sourcing parts.

The composite material used for the underside aero panels was updated for later cars… maybe late 2020? There were some instances of coming adrift due to loose fastenings and some that appeared to have torn when hitting deep puddles, presumably at speed. Mine has grounded a few times and has waded through a flood nearly up to the bottom of the doors and the panels are still where they should be. I did see video of someone in USA who routinely drove on dirt roads and the rear panel would accumulate quite a weight of dirt/mud up there! My brother had an instance of working underneath a huge Merc suv, removing the bolts of the panel and nearly being crushed by the sheer weight of accumulated rubble when the panel dropped!