Suspension Problem on Model S

[S4WRXTTCS]

I find all the talk about uneven, rough or damaged roads to be kinda funny considering the sad state of our highway systems.

Anytime I go to the Tesla Service Center I have to drive over the most ridiculous roads ever. It's so bad Tesla themselves programmed cars with air suspensions to automatically raise up when approaching. It's great because it gives the suspension a good workout even at 5 mph. To demonstrate anything I'd only have to drive a few hundred feet.

I also find all this talk to be kinda funny as a Jeep guy, and an ex-subaru guy. I can run over everything with those cars.

If I had a Model X I would expect it be as a tough as a Toyota Tacoma. Although I'm sure the Toyota's warranty exclusions are pretty wide as well. So there isn't a whole lot to glean from a bunch of lawyer speak.

As to the OP's dirt road it really depends on how long it is and how fast he drives his car on it. If it's 50+ miles that he drives at 50+ mph then he wasn't exactly being as straight forwards as he should have been. I do expect the car to be tough. Probably tougher than the average person expects a car to be, but I'm still reasonable about it.

 

[lklundin]

Since Tesla doesn't issue recalls

I 'Dislike' your posting, since I always get suspicious of a person who 'speaks the unfettered truth', while making a blatantly false statement.

 

[Tam]

Tesla Motors, you made it to /.:

Tesla Suspension Breakage: It's Not The Crime, It's The Coverup - Slashdot

That is not something to be proud of.

In the early days, some people paid for prepaid ranger fees but there have been many reports that they did not pay any ranger fees and they still got ranger service for hundreds of miles for free (Tesla has now started to charge ranger fees.)

Keeping its owners happy has been on its mind from the start.

Tesla has made this car so durable so people might think that it is an amphibious vehicle and even suitable for long dirt roads.

This case is an example of how Tesla has bent backward to please an owner and Tesla NDA allows the owner to freely report and talk to NHTSA investigator.

And that is something that we all should be proud of.

 

[lklundin]

In the early days, some people paid for prepaid ranger fees but there have been many reports that they did not pay any ranger fees and they still got ranger service for hundreds of miles for free (Tesla has now started to charge ranger fees.)

Keeping its owners happy has been on its mind from the start.

Tesla has made this car so durable so people might think that it is an amphibious vehicle and even suitable for long dirt roads.

This case is an example of how Tesla has bent backward to please an owner and Tesla NDA allows the owner to freely report and talk to NHTSA investigator.

And that is something that we all should be proud of.

After having actually read the disclaimer and various other information from different sources, I now doubt that Tesla could have acted much better. My previous posting will serve as a reminder to me, to check my facts first.

 

[omarsultan]

I also find all this talk to be kinda funny as a Jeep guy, and an ex-subaru guy. I can run over everything with those cars.

Had a Jeep before the MX. Had a love/hate relationship with it, but it saved my life a couple of times and probably would have bought another one if not for the Model X. Ironically, had the front ball joint replaced, right before I sold it to make room for the MX.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Had a Jeep before the MX. Had a love/hate relationship with it, but it saved my life a couple of times and probably would have bought another one if not for the Model X. Ironically, had the front ball joint replaced, right before I sold it to make room for the MX.

I also have a love/hate relationship with my Jeep. I find it as the perfect side car for the Tesla, and the only thing I'm missing is a BMW M2 type car.

The Jeep is great in terms of toughness, but it leaks (it's a 3 section hardtop unlimited) and that leak is driving me nuts. I'll get it fixed as soon as I can find the damn leak.

I don't expect the Model S to be as tough, but if I had a Model X I'd expect it to be closer to it in toughness. But, as far as I know the Model X suspension is no more tougher than the S.

I can't say I really like crossovers since they don't have the same toughness. If it can't run things over I have no use for it. Unless of course Tesla comes out with a camper van version of the Model X. That would be pretty sweet.

 

[Dr ValueSeeker]

Tesla's response is full of fluff as usual; like the CEO waving his magic wand while sleeping in his sleeping bag at the end of the assembly line, turning crappy Model Xs into flawless cars. We will see how this suspension issue turns up. It may not be an issue after all.

Apparently Mr. Musk didn't bother to read the original article before accusing the author. The author's main point still stands. Tesla has no right to cover up issues with NDAs. Owners should be free to report their issues to anyone they please.

 

[luca]

Tesla's response is full of fluff as usual; like the CEO waving his magic wand while sleeping in his sleeping bag at the end of the assembly line, turning crappy Model Xs into flawless cars. We will see how this suspension issue turns up. It may not be an issue after all.

Apparently Mr. Musk didn't bother to read the original article before accusing the author. The author's main point still stands. Tesla has no right to cover up issues with NDAs. Owners should be free to report their issues to anyone they please.

Tesla did not force OP to sign NDA!!

You can choose not sign it and pay the repair cost for your unwarranted car

then report issue to anyone you want

 

[omarsultan]

After having actually read the disclaimer and various other information from different sources, I now doubt that Tesla could have acted much better. My previous posting will serve as a reminder to me, to check my facts first.

You can be forgiven--I am wondering about all those "professional" journalists who ran with this yesterday without doing one iota of due diligence--wonder how many will issuing mea culpas later today...?

 

[Johan]

You can be forgiven--I am wondering about all those "professional" journalists who ran with this yesterday without doing one iota of due diligence--wonder how many will issuing mea culpas later today...?

Later, when I have the time, I will report them to the SEC for attempted stock manipulation.

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

Tesla's response is full of fluff as usual...

The collective knowledge of TMC forum members vastly outshines a mere interested Tesla watcher like myself, so I rarely if ever have anything to add to discussions here, although I often read them with interest.

But I felt compelled to register to advise y'all that "Dr ValueSeeker" has been regularly making Tesla bashing posts on InsideEVs, where I am one of the more active post-ers. "Dr. V" appears to be one of the crop of TSLA short-sellers from the Seeking Alpha investor's forum who have lately been posting their brand of repetitive FUD on InsideEVs.

I think it's best to -- as that brilliant official response to this issue from Tesla said -- "take [his] words with at least a small grain of salt."

 

[linkster]

I would certainly like to know if it is true that OP lives at the end of a long dirt road down which he was driving his Tesla.

From the video that the OP's posted on YouTube it is clearly evident that his car was used in extreme conditions. I am quite frankly impressed that his upper ball joints along with other suspension components provided more than 35,000 miles of service life.

To drive a car with worn or failing ball joints for some time and not notice a) sloppy steering, b) straight line tracking issues, c) unusual front-end creaking/noises, d) tire wear issues (which he apparently did notice) is just incomprehensible to me.

 

[Yggdrasill]

Apparently Mr. Musk didn't bother to read the original article before accusing the author. The author's main point still stands. Tesla has no right to cover up issues with NDAs. Owners should be free to report their issues to anyone they please.

It's perfectly legal to enter into contracts that are mutually beneficial and don't break any laws.

If a Tesla owner experiences an out-of-warranty fault, due to normal wear and tear, and Tesla feels like offering a free or discounted repair, why shouldn't Tesla recieve some assurances that their help won't be used against them at a later date? And why on earth should Tesla help out a customer who is unwilling to provide such assurances?

 

[Vitold]

Tesla's response is full of fluff as usual; like the CEO waving his magic wand while sleeping in his sleeping bag at the end of the assembly line, turning crappy Model Xs into flawless cars. We will see how this suspension issue turns up. It may not be an issue after all.

Apparently Mr. Musk didn't bother to read the original article before accusing the author. The author's main point still stands. Tesla has no right to cover up issues with NDAs. Owners should be free to report their issues to anyone they please.

Here's author's main point:
"That’s a lot of “ifs,” but thus far the evidence indicates that these are very real possibilities."

(he does not have any)

 

[Todd Burch]

Just one data point, but my car is almost 2 years old with 40k miles and my arms look to be in great condition:

 

[Johan]

Here's author's main point:
"That’s a lot of “ifs,” but thus far the evidence indicates that these are very real possibilities."

conjecture
kənˈdʒɛktʃə/
noun
noun: conjecture; plural noun: conjectures
1.
an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information.
"conjectures about the newcomer were many and varied"
synonyms: guess, speculation, surmise, fancy, notion, belief, suspicion, presumption, assumption, theory, hypothesis, postulation, supposition

 

[EinSV]

The collective knowledge of TMC forum members vastly outshines a mere interested Tesla watcher like myself, so I rarely if ever have anything to add to discussions here, although I often read them with interest.

But I felt compelled to register to advise y'all that "Dr ValueSeeker" has been regularly making Tesla bashing posts on InsideEVs, where I am one of the more active post-ers. "Dr. V" appears to be one of the crop of TSLA short-sellers from the Seeking Alpha investor's forum who have lately been posting their brand of repetitive FUD on InsideEVs.

I think it's best to -- as that brilliant official response to this issue from Tesla said -- "take [his] words with at least a small grain of salt."

Dr. V is the same individual who has published 10 anti-Tesla articles on Seeking Alpha under the name Valueseeker, most recently in Dec. 2015. In these articles and elsewhere he has disclosed his short position.

He has also been encouraged to disclose his short position when posting on TMC in the interest of full disclosure so that TMC members could take that into account in viewing his posts.

He has refused to do so, and instead misleadingly proclaims himself to "speak[] the unfettered truth."

I wish TMC would step up and do something about this.

 

[gpcordaro]

"The car had over 70,000 miles on it and its owner lives down such a long dirt road that it required two tow trucks to retrieve the car. (One to get the car to the highway and one to get it from the highway to the service center.) When we got the car, it was caked in dirt."


They have my address and should of googled earth my address before making such an outrageous statement. Tesla has lost all credibility.
The above statement is an out and out lie. I live on a paved road in the city of Connellsville pa. The car was towed from a dirt road as I stated earlier because I was out morel mushroom hunting that day with my wife. We were traveling about 2 miles an hour on a bumpy back road. Most of my 70k miles are on the highway. Telsa shame on you.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

We were traveling about 2 miles an hour on a bumpy back road. Most of my 70k miles are on the highway. Telsa shame on you.

You previously said 5 MPH.

I'm not one who believes you came here with bad intentions. But I have to say I don't think you're doing yourself any favors by continuing to post here. Just my opinion.

Mike

 

[Johan]

"The car had over 70,000 miles on it and its owner lives down such a long dirt road that it required two tow trucks to retrieve the car. (One to get the car to the highway and one to get it from the highway to the service center.) When we got the car, it was caked in dirt."


They have my address and should of googled earth my address before making such an outrageous statement. Tesla has lost all credibility.
The above statement is an out and out lie. I live on a paved road in the city of Connellsville pa. The car was towed from a dirt road as I stated earlier because I was out morel mushroom hunting that day with my wife. We were traveling about 2 miles an hour on a bumpy back road. Most of my 70k miles are on the highway. Telsa shame on you.

Exaggerate much?