A lot of older cars are better maintained and have owners who are aware of the "warning signs" for things like this happening. This has NOTHING to do with it being a Tesla...
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My wheel literally fell off
- Thread starter mrspaghetti
- Start date
A lot of older cars are better maintained and have owners who are aware of the "warning signs" for things like this happening. This has NOTHING to do with it being a Tesla...
dbeiler
Member
Each type of suspension requires a specific method of ball joint inspection. Some must be checked with suspension unloaded, some must be checked with the suspension loaded. Checking the front upper ball joint on a model S requires the suspension to be loaded. Put a floor jack under the wheel hub and jack up the suspension. Grasp the upper link and attempt to move it up and down to detect ball joint free play. Grasp the knuckle/spindle right under the ball joint and attempt to move it inward and outward to detect ball joint free play. If you leave the suspension drooping (unloaded), the weight of the suspension and the tension of the spring will be pushing the ball against the socket and the ball joint will FEEL tight and good even though it might be worn and loose.
Most cars on the road now use a mcpherson strut front suspension. Unlike the model S, those ball joints must be checked with suspension UNLOADED. Suspension design and geometry dictates whether ball joints get checked with suspension loaded or unloaded.
Make that 40-50k if your area has lots of potholes, speed bumps, manholes, railroad crossings, steel plates, and all other road shenanigans that over time can and will damage your car's suspension.
Anecdotally, during my road trip.I noticed that the roads in big cities tend to be really.bad, especially in states with no/very little state income tax. Let's just say driving around Houston, Memphis, and Nashville is not fun lolChicago roads come to mind
brainhouston
Active Member
Pretty sure most suspension components need to be checked Loaded ie normal car resting on wheels position.
On this subject, OP did u drive in Normal height (if air suspension)?
For air suspensions, riding in anything but Normal will act as unloaded (not normal position) n can hide some noises...
NewbyMaybe
Newby1Kenowby
Little state income tax?
Really?
Chicago government is on a mission to literally chase every person and business out of here
Cheburashka
Active Member
Same here, it feels like I'm driving through Bakhmut and not San Jose sometimes.
That said, my S has 105K now and no front suspension work so far.
Which major suspension components? Just the ball joints? And what should that cost? I’m at 130,000 miles in six years, so probably overdue.
Any moving suspension part that has rubber/polyurethane sleeves.
Ball joints, A-Arms, swaybars, etc.
Balljoint failure is the one with potential catastrophic results. The others is road noise and additional stress / wear on tires.
Things like this happen as vehicles get near the 200,000 mile mark. Not just a Tesla thing.
Things wear and loosen little by little, and often dismissed by their owners.
This is a good post that may alert high mileage Tesla (and other) high mileage vehicles to have their suspensions specifically attended to.
Replacing ball joints and other suspension parts subject to wear should be part of regular maintenance.
This owner did the right thing with regular annual servicing. Tesla simply missed this critical component.
Things wear and loosen little by little, and often dismissed by their owners.
This is a good post that may alert high mileage Tesla (and other) high mileage vehicles to have their suspensions specifically attended to.
Replacing ball joints and other suspension parts subject to wear should be part of regular maintenance.
This owner did the right thing with regular annual servicing. Tesla simply missed this critical component.
NewbyMaybe
Newby1Kenowby
Can the BJ's be replaced or the whole control arm? Can it be done without special spring compressor?
had exact same thing. Fortunately it was in my driveway. They just repaired it for free. Was my first 2016 Tesla.. with 16k miles
Cheburashka
Active Member
BTW,
My daughter complained about a grinding noise coming from back wheels on her 2012 Chevy Volt. I thought to myself - no way the pads are out at 120K miles. After all - VOLTS are known for barely using brakes, specifically rears.
What i found was - friction media completely missing on two pads with the other two falling apart during disassembly.
This is due to age, and really lack of use resulting in corrosion.
Im speculating that Tesla is using brakes a bit more with its HOLD feature and frequent phantom braking on autopilot ( ), but still not enough to heat cycle the pads on regular basis. I'd be definitely checking brake pads for age / weather related damage
My daughter complained about a grinding noise coming from back wheels on her 2012 Chevy Volt. I thought to myself - no way the pads are out at 120K miles. After all - VOLTS are known for barely using brakes, specifically rears.
What i found was - friction media completely missing on two pads with the other two falling apart during disassembly.
This is due to age, and really lack of use resulting in corrosion.
Im speculating that Tesla is using brakes a bit more with its HOLD feature and frequent phantom braking on autopilot (
), but still not enough to heat cycle the pads on regular basis. I'd be definitely checking brake pads for age / weather related damage
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
But "broken control arm" doesn't get enough attention. He should have used this as the title "I almost died in a horrible crash due to Tesla's FSD and battery fire" for maximum amount of eyeballs on his thread.
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