RIP to my tires after two SC visits

[basilray]

My 2016 P90D had just crossed the 100k mark and it developed a creaking at low speeds.

Local SC replaced the lower control arms, and suggested I do the brakes and rotors. I realized pretty quickly after that my efficiency was off, as I was suddenly up 60 to 80 wh/mi over my current average. When I called roadside, they noted that my pack temp was a bit high at 105F but was still "within spec". My tires measured a symmetrical 5/32 all around. This lead me to chasing cooling system issues. I also noticed after it was done that I had some odd suspension noises, and I assumed a new wheel bearing was in order.

Second trip the SC to address the "wheel bearing noise" and the efficiency concerns, and they found a backing plate for the brakes needed some adjustment. Nothing else was deemed wrong, but they recorded my tread at 3/32 after only a few hundred miles of driving. I didn't catch the discrepancy in tread depth, which is my fault.

Still fighting efficiency concerns, I realized the noises were still present. I gave Tesla two chances, so I took it to a local shop that specializes in German cars and also Tesla. By this time, we were two weeks and 800mi out from the first SC visit.

My tires are shot. Based on the paint marks, the local shop doesn't believe an alignment check was ever done. The thrust arm bushings are also worn out and ripped, so those should have been caught/addressed between the two visits. Now, on top of more suspension parts, I will need to purchase new tires.

Here's an "in spec" bushing on the thrust arms.

It should go without saying I'm pretty disappointed. I called the SC and they assure me it was put on the alignment rack and everything was perfectly aligned. I explained that couldn't be the case based on what I'm seeing, and the massive tire wear on my Michelin Pilot Sports, which began this journey at 5/32 and are now showing wear bars in the rear and significant feathering up front. "If you went from 5/32 to wear bars in 800 mi because of the alignment, you wouldn't have been able to drive the car". That was the reply from Tesla.

So, I'm now up to $5k between the SC, local shop to get it right, and new tires.

Just disappointing.

This tire was 5/32 800mi ago...

 

[ngng]

It does not surprise me that Tesla is skimping. When they did a bunch of suspension work they did not align the car because I didn't ask...that's absurd. I wonder if your increased energy use is a result of a bad alignment?

That being said, I don't think a bad alignment would have worn your insides that quickly. How long have you had those tires on? It could be a bad timing of events.

 

[basilray]

It does not surprise me that Tesla is skimping. When they did a bunch of suspension work they did not align the car because I didn't ask...that's absurd. I wonder if your increased energy use is a result of a bad alignment?

That being said, I don't think a bad alignment would have worn your insides that quickly. How long have you had those tires on? It could be a bad timing of events.

They were on the car when I purchased back in October. I believe last fall, before I swapped to my winters, they were at around 8/32. I would have expected 5/32 to get me through the fall until my winter wheels/snow tires went back on.

I have to believe it's a huge part of my efficiency concerns.

The SC I had it at has generally been very good to me, so this is a pretty big letdown. I get mistakes happen, but they basically washed their hands and said it wasn't possible for there to be a problem such as I have described.

 

[MP3Mike]

Still fighting efficiency concerns, I realized the noises were still present. I gave Tesla two chances, so I took it to a local shop that specializes in German cars and also Tesla. By this time, we were two weeks and 800mi out from the first SC visit.

My tires are shot. Based on the paint marks, the local shop doesn't believe an alignment check was ever done. The thrust arm bushings are also worn out and ripped, so those should have been caught/addressed between the two visits. Now, on top of more suspension parts, I will need to purchase new tires.

Did your local shop show you an alignment report showing how far out of alignment it was? If so, have you showed that to Tesla?

 

[basilray]

Did your local shop show you an alignment report showing how far out of alignment it was? If so, have you showed that to Tesla?

That's a good idea. I'll ask them to print one out.

 

[kchau]

All of the service procedures call for an alignment check (at minimum) every time suspension components are touched. This has been my experience as well (with my Model 3), it sounds like this was an issue with your specific SC or tech.

 

[ngng]

All of the service procedures call for an alignment check (at minimum) every time suspension components are touched. This has been my experience as well (with my Model 3), it sounds like this was an issue with your specific SC or tech.

Tesla ignores procedures all the time.

 

[DCGOO]

They were on the car when I purchased back in October. I believe last fall, before I swapped to my winters, they were at around 8/32. I would have expected 5/32 to get me through the fall until my winter wheels/snow tires went back on.

I have to believe it's a huge part of my efficiency concerns.

The SC I had it at has generally been very good to me, so this is a pretty big letdown. I get mistakes happen, but they basically washed their hands and said it wasn't possible for there to be a problem such as I have described.

I took delivery of a new 2022 X LR in June, replacing a 2018 100D. I expected improved energy consumption with the new car due to all the design improvements over the years. But did not see any, in fact the new car consumed somewhat more energy than my 2018. It felt great on the road and drove perfectly straight. It just sucked too many watts.

So I scheduled an alignment at the service center. The service adviser told me “wheel alignment has very little to do with energy consumption” I didn’t say anything, but I was thinking, Wha? Where did they get this guy? He wrote an order for alignment and balance. “I don’t need a balance, the wheels are perfectly balanced. Just do an alignment check, if anything is out, fix it please. I’ll even pay for it if I have to“ (brand new car). When I picked it up, he told me that one wheel needed a slight caster adjustment. He seemed to think I would not notice anything different. Charged me $275, and called it a day. The tech left a copy of the alignment results in the car.

The car felt the same to me, and drove perfectly straight (I am hardly a performance driver, so I probably don’t know what I don’t know). Anyway, I drove the same 50+ mile circuit I used before. I was stunned with the extraordinarily low energy consumption. I was running 310-340 wh/mile before, now seeing 220 - 240 on the same route, similar conditions. Later I took a longer trip (240 miles). At 80 mph, I was only consuming 300 - 310, which I found totally amazing.

I documented my performance observations in a lengthy email to my local SC, thanking them for the enormous improvement. Also asking them for a refund of my $275, since the car was obviously delivered with a problem. …Crickets

This was done using only the trip odometer, with frequent resets, since there is no longer an energy graph available in the current software (2022.20.6). Actually the energy graph was available by voice command when I started down this path, but it was removed with 2022.20.5. I am still trying to get back on the FSD Beta wagon. But no luck with that, even though I am back up to a Safety Score of 100 (it is really beginning to get old to maintain that though).

 

[kchau]

I took delivery of a new 2022 X LR in June, replacing a 2018 100D. I expected improved energy consumption with the new car due to all the design improvements over the years. But did not see any, in fact the new car consumed somewhat more energy than my 2018. It felt great on the road and drove perfectly straight. It just sucked too many watts.

So I scheduled an alignment at the service center. The service adviser told me “wheel alignment has very little to do with energy consumption” I didn’t say anything, but I was thinking, Wha? Where did they get this guy? He wrote an order for alignment and balance. “I don’t need a balance, the wheels are perfectly balanced. Just do an alignment check, if anything is out, fix it please. I’ll even pay for it if I have to“ (brand new car). When I picked it up, he told me that one wheel needed a slight caster adjustment. He seemed to think I would not notice anything different. Charged me $275, and called it a day. The tech left a copy of the alignment results in the car.

The car felt the same to me, and drove perfectly straight (I am hardly a performance driver, so I probably don’t know what I don’t know). Anyway, I drove the same 50+ mile circuit I used before. I was stunned with the extraordinarily low energy consumption. I was running 310-340 wh/mile before, now seeing 220 - 240 on the same route, similar conditions. Later I took a longer trip (240 miles). At 80 mph, I was only consuming 300 - 310, which I found totally amazing.

I documented my performance observations in a lengthy email to my local SC, thanking them for the enormous improvement. Also asking them for a refund of my $275, since the car was obviously delivered with a problem. …Crickets

This was done using only the trip odometer, with frequent resets, since there is no longer an energy graph available in the current software (2022.20.6). Actually the energy graph was available by voice command when I started down this path, but it was removed with 2022.20.5. I am still trying to get back on the FSD Beta wagon. But no luck with that, even though I am back up to a Safety Score of 100 (it is really beginning to get old to maintain that though).

Post pics of the alignment results.

I don't believe caster or even camber would affect consumption as much as toe, so I'm curious to see what the results are.

For reference, here's what I have through TeslaFi:

 

[ngng]

Post pics of the alignment results.

I don't believe caster or even camber would affect consumption as much as toe, so I'm curious to see what the results are.

For reference, here's what I have through TeslaFi:

View attachment 833429

More negative camber is going to reduce the tire contact patch, not great for tires, but I would guess it would actually reduce consumption. Caster affects the self centering effect of steering, but won't affect consumption. Toe will basically result in the car dragging the tire over the asphalt.

 

[Gumball]

All of the service procedures call for an alignment check (at minimum) every time suspension components are touched. This has been my experience as well (with my Model 3), it sounds like this was an issue with your specific SC or tech.

and weird enough mobile service can change upper control arms on the M3. No alignment needed after that…….

 

[DCGOO]

Post pics of the alignment results.

I don't believe caster or even camber would affect consumption as much as toe, so I'm curious to see what the results are.

For reference, here's what I have through TeslaFi:

Caster basically is toe-in, and not separately shown on the attached printout. I would think an incorrect caster, would be extremely impactful. Which was born out by my experience

.

 

[ngng]

Caster basically is toe-in, and not separately shown on the attached printout. I would think an incorrect caster, would be extremely impactful. Which was born out by my experience

.View attachment 833501

No, caster is caster and toe is toe.

"Caster involves only the front, steering end of the car. I generally think of it as the angle between the centerline of the upper and lower ball joints. It is responsible for the "self-centering" effect when you are driving: in a high perf car, if you're sliding the rear and let go of the wheel and it recenters; or if you're making a turn out of a parking lot and let go of the wheel and it recenters/unwinds. You want both sides to have similar, positive caster"

Breaking down the excessive rear, inner tire wear

I had a bunch of warranty work done at the dealer, some of which included replacement parts for the shudder. The entire front end of the car was apart. After I picked the car up I noticed that it was pulling right and immediately suspected an improper alignment (or, in this case...no alignment)...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[kchau]

No, caster is caster and toe is toe.

"Caster involves only the front, steering end of the car. I generally think of it as the angle between the centerline of the upper and lower ball joints. It is responsible for the "self-centering" effect when you are driving: in a high perf car, if you're sliding the rear and let go of the wheel and it recenters; or if you're making a turn out of a parking lot and let go of the wheel and it recenters/unwinds. You want both sides to have similar, positive caster"

Breaking down the excessive rear, inner tire wear

I had a bunch of warranty work done at the dealer, some of which included replacement parts for the shudder. The entire front end of the car was apart. After I picked the car up I noticed that it was pulling right and immediately suspected an improper alignment (or, in this case...no alignment)...

teslamotorsclub.com

Correct.

Caster basically is toe-in, and not separately shown on the attached printout. I would think an incorrect caster, would be extremely impactful. Which was born out by my experience

.View attachment 833501

No before values?

 

[basilray]

Model X is back with new Cross Climate 2's.

My efficiency is back down to about 380wh/mi mixed driving on my daily kiddo drop-off. I couldn't get it below 450 wh/mi prior to getting everything back in line, no matter how gently I drove it.

The independent shop that got me sorted out said I'm still about 1.6 degrees off in the rear, because they couldn't adjust the rear lower control arm any further due to the eccentric bolt having stretched a bit. They suggest going to the Unplugged Performance control arms in the rear that would allow them to get it fully lined back up. Still, much better driving and handling, and my efficiency appears to be back down to where I expect it, or close to it.

From what I've read, early miles on the Cross Climate 2's are touch high. I expected to give up some efficiency going to those from the Pilot Sports I had, as the Cross Climates are all seasons and my Pilot Sports were not.