Suspension - has this happened to anyone else?

[KHart]

Hi fellow Tesla owners,

I've had my Model S 70d (approx 55k miles) for just over three years. I was driving in our busy downtown area today when I had to brake for a car pulling out of a parking spot. I heard a loud sound, almost like I ran something over. I tried to continue driving, but the sound continued so I turned into the parking spot that the other driver had just vacated. The car was leaking wiper fluid out of the wheel well. Part of the wheel well had detached and the trim at the bottom of the car had detached a bit too. There was a visibly broken part that could be seen through the rim of my front left tire. Anyone know what the part is called? Also, has anyone else had this happen? Tesla sent a tow truck to take it to the service center - won't hear anything from them until Monday. I was traveling very slow when this happened, under 25 mph, as the street was busy with pedestrians and many cars pulling in and out of the parking spots that line the road. No pot holes, nothing in the street. The thing that concerns me is that this failure doesn't seem to be caused by any outside factors. Scary to think what may have happened if I was on the freeway...

Would love to know if anyone else has experience with this. I included some pictures.

 

[MP3Mike]

Yes, sadly that is a reasonably common failure. (Though I think most people say it happened while they were in reverse.) It is called the control arm.

Here is another post about it: Another front suspension control arm failure

 

[bishoppeak]

Damage was probably done long before, just took a while to finally fail.

 

[alevek]

No biggie. This would kill you and a half dozen other people only if it happened on a busy highway at 60 mph or higher.

 

[Silicon Desert]

I had a ball joint break on an MX in a parking lot. $14K damage to repair !

 

[David29]

Yes, sadly that is a reasonably common failure. (Though I think most people say it happened while they were in reverse.) It is called the control arm.

Here is another post about it: Another front suspension control arm failure

Maybe we need another icon or two, such as one for "Scary!" and one for "Wow!" (like Facebook in the latter case), and maybe one for "Oh, crap!"

 

[KHart]

Damage was probably done long before, just took a while to finally fail.

How does a part like that get damaged? The car has never been in an accident. It's my daily driver, shuttling kids to school and soccer practice. Doesn't get much wear and tear beyond driving on well maintained streets. Curious how a part that should be robust fails from normal daily driving? I'm quite lucky this happened at low speed but I'm often traveling at higher speeds with kids in the car on busy streets. If this had failed under those circumstances, people probably would have been hurt. I guess I'm just a bit shaken; feeling like this isn't normal...I've never had an issue like this on any of my other cars.

 

[KHart]

I had a ball joint break on an MX in a parking lot. $14K damage to repair !

Were you able to determine why it broke?

 

[Cal1]

I just what to know Telsa's response on this. Covered by warranty or not?

 

[PWRHOUSE]

Sorry to see this, I am hearing an odd noise coming from the front left suspension. Calling Tesla today for an appointment. Hope you can resolve quickly. Best

 

[Az_Rael]

Hi fellow Tesla owners,

I've had my Model S 70d (approx 55k miles) for just over three years. I was driving in our busy downtown area today when I had to brake for a car pulling out of a parking spot. I heard a loud sound, almost like I ran something over. I tried to continue driving, but the sound continued so I turned into the parking spot that the other driver had just vacated. The car was leaking wiper fluid out of the wheel well. Part of the wheel well had detached and the trim at the bottom of the car had detached a bit too. There was a visibly broken part that could be seen through the rim of my front left tire. Anyone know what the part is called? Also, has anyone else had this happen? Tesla sent a tow truck to take it to the service center - won't hear anything from them until Monday. I was traveling very slow when this happened, under 25 mph, as the street was busy with pedestrians and many cars pulling in and out of the parking spots that line the road. No pot holes, nothing in the street. The thing that concerns me is that this failure doesn't seem to be caused by any outside factors. Scary to think what may have happened if I was on the freeway...

Would love to know if anyone else has experience with this. I included some pictures. View attachment 353340 View attachment 353339 View attachment 353341

You should file a report with the NHTSA. Sadly, we are seeing more and more of these failures, and Tesla has yet to put out any info on it.

 

[KHart]

You should file a report with the NHTSA. Sadly, we are seeing more and more of these failures, and Tesla has yet to put out any info on it.

Thank you. I filed a report on Friday.

 

[KHart]

I just what to know Telsa's response on this. Covered by warranty or not?

I'll let you know once I hear from them. No news yet.

 

[KHart]

I just what to know Telsa's response on this. Covered by warranty or not?

Here's the update. Tesla replaced both front control arms (on the invoice they call them fore links - maybe different from control arms?). They stated they don't know why this is happening , but they are seeing the same issue on other Teslas. No discussion of warranty; they just returned the car after repairs at no charge. My car has 55k miles. Sounds like they're still trying to figure out a) what is causing control arms (fore links) to fail and b) how widespread it is. For now, protocol seems to be replace both if one fails. My advice to other owners would be to make sure you get annual service per schedule and maybe ask the tech to check the control arms (fore links). I can't help but worry about other drivers out there. We got lucky; no accident, no one harmed. I appreciate Tesla fixing the issue and I hope they decide to be proactive about fixing other vehicles that may have faulty control arms (fore links).

 

[RDoc]

Yes, it happened to me on the right side. Eventually, they replaced the other preemptively, and without my asking, which I am extremely grateful for. It really freaked out my wife and me.

 

[Az_Rael]

Here's the update. Tesla replaced both front control arms (on the invoice they call them fore links - maybe different from control arms?). They stated they don't know why this is happening , but they are seeing the same issue on other Teslas. No discussion of warranty; they just returned the car after repairs at no charge. My car has 55k miles. Sounds like they're still trying to figure out a) what is causing control arms (fore links) to fail and b) how widespread it is. For now, protocol seems to be replace both if one fails. My advice to other owners would be to make sure you get annual service per schedule and maybe ask the tech to check the control arms (fore links). I can't help but worry about other drivers out there. We got lucky; no accident, no one harmed. I appreciate Tesla fixing the issue and I hope they decide to be proactive about fixing other vehicles that may have faulty control arms (fore links).

Yeah, I worry about our 2015 P85D. It does have the early stiffer suspension, though, so maybe it’s a different part.

 

[alloverx]

This should be a recall

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Per a mobile service tech I recently met, there is an updated lower control arm part that also requires replacement of the vehicle's subframe. Apparently this is not a proactive replacement item, but something they perform if there is an issue.

 

[sorka]

Yeah, I worry about our 2015 P85D. It does have the early stiffer suspension, though, so maybe it’s a different part.

Ditto worry for my March 2015 P85DL.

 

[Babaron]

Started hearing funny noises from front end about 6 months ago in my late 2014 MS85. 110,000 mi. Tesla replaced the entire front suspension for about $3500. Noise gone. I guess I should be glad it got replaced before breaking.