Suspension Problem on Model S

[JRP3]

New You have Blinders on. Tesla has a problem. IMHO

A handful of cases, if that, out of 100K+ vehicles does not denote a "problem". Further, unless every suspension problem is related to the same part failure, then those problems would in fact be completely different issues. For example if two cars have a suspension failure, but one is caused by a bad ball joint and the other a bad control arm bushing, those do not represent two of the same problems and are unrelated.

 

[Krugerrand]

Tesla has a problem. IMHO

Yes, they definitely have a problem. But it's the same problem every business has: owners of their products that think they know more than they do about said product, owners of their products that exaggerate, tell stories or just play fib about the products and what happens/happened to those products, owners of their products who think the way to deal with issues is to run to the Internet to garner support and validation rather than being a mature adult and handling it face to face with the business and then moving on. Summed up: bad owners.

My father was a class A licensed mechanic. Suffice it to say I know a whole lot more about car suspensions than you do. You're barking up the wrong tree...heck, you're barking up the wrong forest. And that's not my honest opinion, that's a fact.

 

[vgrinshpun]

You have Blinders on. Tesla has a problem. IMHO

Perhaps you should remove yours. For your information, NHTSA database could be searched not only for reports of Tesla suspension problems (more than 90% of which, and going up, are fraud, as our Keif the hero continues to stuff NHTSA data base with photographs from the salvage yards, now including Model X as well). To have NHTSA reports about suspension problems is not as uncommon as you'd like everybody to believe. I was even able to find report from within a mile or two from your business, and that is for a town with population of just around 8,000.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Yet drove 70,000 miles (140,000km) in 3 years? That's a lot of driving, considering majority owners would have done about 40% of that. For some odd reason again, I am having trouble believing that 140,000km of driving meant only being on a dirt road 2 times...or was it 10 or whatever?

Looks like your math is slightly off. 70,000 miles would be about 112654 km. The easy way to convert is to just multiply by 1.6 (not 2).

 

[gpcordaro]

Mr Cordaro,

This is real strange that you are still posting stuff about NHTSA and Tesla cars. The two complaints that were filed have both been resolved rather uneventfully it seems. One via an easy software update, and the other was a known upper control arm replacement (which Tesla already had a technical bulletin about), which the Tesla service tech noticed "play". Ok... so what? What is your further motive here?

Public Safety.......................

I believe people can die and some may have already.

 

[vgrinshpun]

Mr Cordaro,

This is real strange that you are still posting stuff about NHTSA and Tesla cars. The two complaints that were filed have both been resolved rather uneventfully it seems. One via an easy software update, and the other was a known upper control arm replacement (which Tesla already had a technical bulletin about), which the Tesla service tech noticed "play". Ok... so what? What is your further motive here?

Public Safety.......................

I believe people can die and some may have already.

If you are concerned about public safety, I suggest laying out details about comprehensive inspections your car had, and what role it played in NOT detecting signs of potential problems, and, as a consequence, a complete failure of the suspension component. Maybe you can also warn public about danger of ignoring the abnormal sounds from the suspension, you know, based on your personal experience...

Please spare us this theater...

 

[Krugerrand]

I believe people can die and some may have already.

For sure people can die when they ignore that their vehicle is making obnoxious sounds from the front end (like yours had to be), when the steering of their vehicle gets loose (like yours had to be). You're like the person who ignores the engine oil light and keeps on driving and then blames the car manufacturer when the engine seizes and blows.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

To be accurate, at least one other joint on his car was loose, though did not fall apart.

Could this have been a result of the initial failing ball joint? Can a failing ball-joint on one side, affect the others?

Serious question.

 

[Vitold]

You have Blinders on. Tesla has a problem. IMHO

Public Safety.......................

I believe people can die and some may have already.

Some people misconstrue Tesla's claim that EV need less maintenance than ICE and neglect recommended inspections or maintenance until something bigger breaks. It seems your case is a good example of that and hopefully will help others do the right thing.

 

[Oil4AsphaultOnly]

Public Safety.......................

I believe people can die and some may have already.

No. No one's died from the a bad ball joint in a Tesla. Tesla is under such a huge spotlight that we know of all 5 model S deaths (2 by falling off cliff, one thief without his seat-belt, the canadian who was hit by a dump truck, and an elderly driver who drove his car into a pool). Tesla doesn't have the power to black-out media as evidenced by all the trash articles who use Keith as a source.

Your belief is baseless.

 

[efusco]

You have Blinders on. Tesla has a problem. IMHO

That is just FUD. Based upon what evidence besides your personal N of 1? I've been trying to snip all the personal attacks on you, but frankly a reply like this is inviting that sort of thing. You were out of warranty, cars break, you had a bad outcome, Tesla met you half way. You filed (appropriately in my opinion) a report with NHTSA so that THEY (not you) could determine if this is a legitimate safety concern due to a design issue. When you start throwing your opinion around without justification and frankly a plethora of evidence against this being a widespread issue it makes it seem that you are on a personal vendetta.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

I think it's time to let this thread die by not responding any longer.

Most of you have good intentions as evidenced by your well thought out sometimes lengthy responses to issues brought up here. Unfortunately there seem to be a few that have no interest in having a discussion or reasonable debate but rather do fly-bys thru here to post baseless or ridiculous one-liners that get the whole thing started again (the definition of trolling).

I think we've covered everything important --- at least twice.

Mike

 

[Zybd1201]

So let me get this straight Pete.

Your car breaks while you're driving on a muddy road mushroom hunting. You want it fixed for free even though you are out of warranty but they refuse. You then decide to make it a public issue in order to strong arm Tesla into covering your repair. They only cover half of the repair so you're still upset. You , rightfully, filed a single NHTSA complaint which is being investigated.

However, instead of moving on you have decided to continually make public statements about the quality of Tesla's products and seem to be checking the NHTSA website daily in the hope that someone else reports something you can use to say 'i told you so!'

It seems you are less concerned about other people's safety and more concerned about yourself being "right."

Most of us don't give two flying leaps of crap whether you are "right" or "wrong" and if there is a problem we want it to be addressed. Sure there are a few on here who seem to be more interested in the stock price but they are the minority.

However, what you are doing here is far beyond a simple NHTSA report and disagreement with the company. You have turned this into a persistent public attack to satisfy your personal need to be correct (or worse, to intentionally damage the reputation of an American company).

Let us be clear, if something is genuinely wrong by design or manufacture with any part of the Tesla I want it fixed. If something goes wrong with an individual's car... their own car... they should report it to NHTSA. However, the strange personal obsession is what completely discredits you. You would be much better served by leaving well enough alone and accepting the fact that, although initially well intentioned, you may have been completely incorrect in your initial assessment of the situation.

 

[mikeash]

I believe people can die and some may have already.

This is amazing. You complain about other people wearing blinders, and then you bring out this gem. Do you not realize that the number of people who have died in a Model S is quite low (partly because the car is very safe, partly because there just aren't that many of them), such that it's trivial to look up every single fatal accident and see what the cause was?

I suggest you do so and see how many of those fatal accidents were caused by suspension problems. It'll only take you five minutes.

Since I don't think you'll bother, here's a hint: the answer is zero.

Now, why would you make a statement like "some my have [died] already" without actually looking at the handful of Model S deaths to see if anyone actually has? Wait, don't answer, let me guess: either subconsciously you know the answer doesn't support your position so you've avoided doing the research that would hurt your point, or you're deliberately sowing doubt while being careful not to outright lie.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

I believe he said that the Tesla Model S in question was a personal vehicle, not one that was rented via his business fleet of 140 vehicles. Defense attempt failed. Next???

I'm not sure he ever actually stated this. But the initial confusion came up with the description of his business. It could very well be mis-categorized...or doesn't mean what it seems to imply.

http://www.manta.com/c/mmndfzy/guy-peter-cordaro

Under Business Categories is listed:

• Passenger car leasing
• Truck And Automobile Leasing

I mean, if he uses the vehicle for business...he gets some pretty healthy tax deductions.

 

[MassModel3]

I believe he said that the Tesla Model S in question was a personal vehicle, not one that was rented via his business fleet of 140 vehicles. Defense attempt failed. Next???

I'm not sure he ever actually stated this. But the initial confusion came up with the description of his business. It could very well be mis-categorized...or doesn't mean what it seems to imply.

I think you're right that he never stated such. However, he repeatedly stated things like "Most of my miles were highway," and "My car's never been abused," and the sort. I *assumed* that to mean that he was personally in control of the vehicle for all those 70,000 miles. But then, assumptions on this thread have been a dangerous thing. For instance, we assumed the original post was the whole story, when in fact it was omitting numerous facts that would have played against the OP rather than move so many to sympathy as it initially did. Just before it blew up.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

I think you're right that he never stated such. However, he repeatedly stated things like "Most of my miles were highway," and "My car's never been abused," and the sort. I *assumed* that to mean that he was personally in control of the vehicle for all those 70,000 miles. But then, assumptions on this thread have been a dangerous thing. For instance, we assumed the original post was the whole story, when in fact it was omitting numerous facts that would have played against the OP rather than move so many to sympathy as it initially did. Just before it blew up.

Yes, well I think we can assume that most of the miles were Hwy miles...what is uncertain is who was driving those miles, and how many of the non-hwy miles were on roads that would be difficult for a truck (tow truck in this example) to navigate.

If the majority of those miles were deducted on his taxes, and he mentioned only being 2 miles from work, one would assume the vehicle was maybe being "leased" out to the company...or he was being creative on his taxes. I, of course, have no way of knowing if this occurred...but 70k is a lot of miles for someone that claims to live 2 miles from work (implying he didn't drive much more than that for personal business purposes) and I haven't heard him discuss taking many trips with the ol' girl.

Lots of missing information, unfortunately.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Public Safety.......................

I believe people can die and some may have already.

This is the most ridiculous statement you have made so far. It's clear that you have some kind of hidden agenda here. Keep talking, please, because the more you do the more you reveal your true nature and motivations.

 

[JRP3]

Could this have been a result of the initial failing ball joint? Can a failing ball-joint on one side, affect the others?

Serious question.

I would say it's unlikely.

 

[linkster]

I would say it's unlikely.

JRP3 is correct. I have replaced many ball joints where either the L or R was worn. One side wearing does not cause prematurely wear or failure on the other.

If the OP had not posted the vid of the cleaned--up mud caked a-arms and only showed the (1) wore-out ball joint, he might have fooled this ol' codger.