Suspension Arm Broke off

[Anayalator]

Yesterday after work while pulling out of my parking spot I heard a loud pop that sounded like I had
hit something heavy. After further inspection I saw a piece of aluminum under the car (about 2-3" in length) on the left front side of
of the vehicle. The car was undriveable and so I had my wife picked me up. This morning when I checked underneath I saw that the
suspension arm was broken. I have a 2016 Model S 75D with 36,000 miles and I was shocked that I am having an issue like this given the price that I paid for it. If this had happened while I was driving it could have been fatal. Tesla really needs to fix this problem ASAP. After doing some research, it looks like this has happened to many other drivers and on both the front rear of their vehicles. I have filed a complaint with the NHTSA and can only hope that they force Tesla to recall these faulty parts before we start seeing some major accidents.

 

[BrownOuttaSpec]

I hope you took LOTS of pictures. Seems like some people have had to pay out of pocket because they said the driver hit some debris or item which caused it to break when they said they didn't. I think i've seen an easy half dozen thread on this same issue. Keep us posted on the outcome

 

[Anayalator]

I hope you took LOTS of pictures. Seems like some people have had to pay out of pocket because they said the driver hit some debris or item which caused it to break when they said they didn't. I think i've seen an easy half dozen thread on this same issue. Keep us posted on the outcome

My warranty expired in September so I'm out of luck as far as that's concerned. I contacted Tesla and they said I should have the car taken to their service center and document everything so that if enough people have this same issue a recall may be made. I'm seriously thinking about fixing it and going back to ICE's. What a shame because I was so happy with it til yesterday. I do not want to risk my life or that of any member of my family if it were to happen again. My brother and I removed the part this morning and I ordered a replacement arm.

 

[SSonnentag]

My warranty expired in September so I'm out of luck as far as that's concerned. I contacted Tesla and they said I should have the car taken to their service center and document everything so that if enough people have this same issue a recall may be made. I'm seriously thinking about fixing it and going back to ICE's. What a shame because I was so happy with it til yesterday. I do not want to risk my life or that of any member of my family if it were to happen again. My brother and I removed the part this morning and I ordered a replacement arm.

I read somewhere that ICE vehicles break sometimes too.

 

[Zuikkis]

I think a big difference between Tesla and ICE cars is that most ICE cars have fixed service schedules, cars are checked annually. If there's anything loose on the suspension it is possibly detected before it causes a "uh oh my wheel fell off" -situation.

Model S suspension is mostly copied from Mercedes E and S class.. The parts look very similar if you google them. I don't think there's much mechanical difference.

 

[WarpedOne]

More BS.

 

[Welbach1]

you might want so read this

 

[Welbach1]

And

 

[Anayalator]

And

Thank you so much for this, I had the car towed into the service center yesterday and they have yet to contact me regarding any repair costs. Im pretty upset about the situation but not sure exactly what to do. I guess I'll pay for any replacements and hope to get it refunded if there is a recall in the future. I will not feel safe driving around with my family in this car until both front and rear arms are replaced.

 

[sorka]

I'm still stunned with so many of these breaking over the years how the NHTSA still hasn't forced Tesla to do a recall.

Another front suspension control arm failure

Reversing out of a parking space we heard a very loud sound followed by a grinding/scraping noise from the front right. At first we thought we'd run over something, but there was nothing under or anywhere near the car. Moving the car forwards, the car felt like it first jacked up a bit on the...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Anayalator]

They replaced both front arm suspension arms and I picked it up this morning. Spent about $1,000 including
the towing of the car into the shop. I noticed the car is now pulling to the left.....must not have aligned it. I'm just frustrated to
say the least. I'm worried about the back wheels but they said that they "looked like they were in good shape".

 

[ThomasD]

Did you get the broken parts back? If you did you should send them out for Non Destructive Testing (NDI)

 

[ngng]

not uncommon:

 

[Anayalator]

Did you get the broken parts back? If you did you should send them out for Non Destructive Testing (NDI)

Funny that you ask. I had removed the part myself along with the cover and left them in the trunk for them to see but when I picked up the car they said they
did not put the cover back on because the hardware was missing. I had the hardware in a small box next to the cover but they said they do not open up any
boxes so my car was left without a cover. They did take the liberty, however, to throw out the broken arm without my permission. They eventually put the cover back on and I went on my way. Yesterday I noticed that my car was pulling to the left as I was driving so I contacted them and they claim that the alignment is
perfect and that my tires are the problem. My car was not doing that before I took it in so I don't see why it should be doing that now.
Tesla is starting to piss me off!

 

[ngng]

They replaced both front arm suspension arms and I picked it up this morning. Spent about $1,000 including
the towing of the car into the shop. I noticed the car is now pulling to the left.....must not have aligned it. I'm just frustrated to
say the least. I'm worried about the back wheels but they said that they "looked like they were in good shape".

how much was towing? when this happened to me I paid for the "broken arm" and they comp'd the other side under "good will". I think the total cost was $400

 

[Anayalator]

Towing was about $150. When did this happen to yours? Even after I bitched them out, they didn't mention anything about taking care of the cost of the other arm.

 

[cucubits]

I'm constantly fearing this pop on my 2016 S. It's not good if you can't trust the car and there are known issues which can happen any time and ruin a day/trip/vacation.

 

[Welbach1]

I told the SC I fear it could break, so they replaced both fore links, as stated in the SB :

"This repair bulletin provides instructions and guidelines for a noted condition or a customer concern."

If you are a customer and concerned about this problem, the SB says to replace the arms.

 

[cucubits]

I told the SC I fear it could break, so they replaced both fore links, as stated in the SB :

"This repair bulletin provides instructions and guidelines for a noted condition or a customer concern."

If you are a customer and concerned about this problem, the SB says to replace the arms.

That's actually a good idea. I just went through the service bulletin posted above and this may be a valid request at the service center, however, I see there at the bottom that it says affected S/X-es are those built between January and May 2016. Mine is June or July, can't find the build date pic now. Does this mean mine would be safe or those are approximate date ranges?

Ugh... this is why I don't like this site so much. I was in happy oblivion planning a 600 mile trip for next week (my first long drive with the Model S) but now this reminded me of this very valid concern and I'm getting close to just ditching the idea and going with our ICE car

 

[sorka]

My warranty expired in September so I'm out of luck as far as that's concerned. I contacted Tesla and they said I should have the car taken to their service center and document everything so that if enough people have this same issue a recall may be made. I'm seriously thinking about fixing it and going back to ICE's. What a shame because I was so happy with it til yesterday. I do not want to risk my life or that of any member of my family if it were to happen again. My brother and I removed the part this morning and I ordered a replacement arm.

It wouldn't have been covered by the warranty anyways.