Suspension Problem on Model S

[iKhalid]

To be a bit more specific about the symptoms of my problem, what I had was a squeaking sound, kind of like rubber on rubber, even when stopped and turning the wheel slightly from side to side at the centre position. The same sort of sound would happen sometimes when going over speed bumps or if I bounced the front end of the car up and down by hand. I wouldn't call what I heard scraping or cracking. Not to say that your issue isn't serious, but it doesn't sound like what I had.

If you don't feel that it's safe to drive your car and Tesla can't convince you otherwise (possibly with more details on what they think your problem is), they should tow it to a service centre and look at it pretty quickly. When I called initially, they offered me an appointment 3 weeks out (sending a loaner on a trailer) but when I asked about towing and said I didn't feel safe driving it, they towed it the same day and fixed it in 4 days. If it's not drivable (safely), the tow comes under roadside assistance, so you shouldn't have to pay.

I have the exact same issue. Just went to the Mississauga SC at 6:15PM and had a tech look at it to determine if it's safe for my trip tomorrow to Ottawa; it turned out it's not. They asked me to come in the morning to hook me up with a rental since Enterprise was already closed and obviously they don't have a loaner for me in a such short notice. They won't be able to work on it until maybe Friday or Saturday. I hate it when I can't use my car when I need it.

 

[MassModel3]

I have the exact same issue. Just went to the Mississauga SC at 6:15PM and had a tech look at it to determine if it's safe for my trip tomorrow to Ottawa; it turned out it's not. They asked me to come in the morning to hook me up with a rental since Enterprise was already closed and obviously they don't have a loaner for me in a such short notice. They won't be able to work on it until maybe Friday or Saturday. I hate it when I can't use my car when I need it.

Good thing you took it in! Glad they found the problem, but big suck on not being able to take it on your trip.

 

[Peter_M]

I have the exact same issue. Just went to the Mississauga SC at 6:15PM and had a tech look at it to determine if it's safe for my trip tomorrow to Ottawa; it turned out it's not. They asked me to come in the morning to hook me up with a rental since Enterprise was already closed and obviously they don't have a loaner for me in a such short notice. They won't be able to work on it until maybe Friday or Saturday. I hate it when I can't use my car when I need it.

Sorry to hear that - hope you get your car back soon. Let us know what they did to fix it.

 

[Edmond]

I have the exact same issue. Just went to the Mississauga SC at 6:15PM and had a tech look at it to determine if it's safe for my trip tomorrow to Ottawa; it turned out it's not.

A 2014?! What exactly was wrong?

 

[gpcordaro]

WOW I am glad you found out before it was to late and had an accident. The only people checking their cars are the ones reading this thread or the mechanic type. What about the woman of non mechanic type men? Are they having the same problems? Is this causing accidents?

 

[JRP3]

Is this causing accidents?

No evidence of such, so probably not.

 

[MuppetOwl]

Model S from Sweden where the rear control arm snapped off while driving normally

TeslaClubSweden.se • Visa tråd - Allvarligt fel på min (alla?) Model S


I have to say I am a bit concerned some suspension parts are not build strong enough. But some looks to just be manufacturer defects on the part and not a design error.

 

[sorka]

It is not the money. When three out of four control arms need replaced in just 70,000 miles, it is a design flaw. I just want Tesla to do the right thing, peoples lives are at stake. I first posted here to warn the Tesla owners of the risk. Now they have been informed, they can take it for what it is worth.

The reality is IF this is a design flaw, we're going to start seeing crashes because of it as things start to break on cornering or hard braking MSs and it will turn into a safety recall. I just turned 222K miles on my Prius yesterday with $zero out of pocket repair costs. My recently sold Lexus turned 334K miles right before I sold it with no major issues for its entire 17 year life.

If it's not a design flaw and is an isolated incident, then you're out $1500 additional dollars. If you'd signed the goodwill agreement and it later turns into a recall, you'd still have been able to recoup the extra $1500.

 

[sorka]

Since the vehicle has nearly all four ball joints prematurely worn, and because other owners haven't reported similar issues, then it would appear the liklihood is higher that something in the way the OP has been using his car has caused the pre-mature wear...a determination the SC also made.

The OP wouldn't have known about the pre-mature wear had the ball joint not popped out. It popping out could be the fluke. The pre-mature wear could be the norm. Has anyone else had their ball joints inspected that we know about?

 

[sorka]

i don't know that i would call this 'normal' wear and tear--maybe accelerated wear due to loss of lubrication in the ball joint. Could also be some galvanic action.

Don't know that it is a design 'defect' or maybe just a poor design choice--hard to know.

i couldn't find any pictures of the internals of the joint in questions, but the design sure looks similar to the mercedes benz upper control arm and joint:
View attachment 176198

The MB ball joint is bolted to the UCA, whereas it looks like the TM is riveted:


There is a yellow plastic grease cup and a black plastic slider cup in the MB joints, likely to be something similar in TM.

Once the barrel plastic slider wears thru you have metal-to-metal contact in addition to several dissimilar metal interfaces, steel to steel (different steels) and steel to aluminum, add some salty water to a sliding metal contact and something is gonna wear fast. Everytime you turn the steering wheel this ball rotates in the joint.

Wait, does the ball joint assembly doesn't have a grease fitting? How do you lubricate the ball joints without that???

 

[sorka]

Just to add a data point. I had a squeaking/creaking sound in the front end at low speed when going over bumps or when turning the wheel. The noise was there for a few months, at first very rarely, then progressively worse. I called Tesla, they towed my car to the service centre and replaced both lower aft front control arms under warranty. The parts they replaced were:

FRONT SUSPENSION AFT LINK ASSEMBLY (1048951-00-B)
NUTM M14-2.00 ZINC ALUMINUM (1004356-00-B)
WASHER, NORDLOCK, 15.2x30.7x3.4(1033093-00-A)
​

Problem solved and I'm very happy with Tesla's response.

How many miles did you have? i.e. how many miles left before they need to be replaced again but out of warranty?

 

[glhs272]

Wait, does the ball joint assembly doesn't have a grease fitting? How do you lubricate the ball joints without that???

Most vehicles today are not greaseable. Back in the day when I used to drive SAABs, the old 900 from the 80's had greaseable ball joints, then they dropped it.

 

[Avenger]

Most vehicles today are not greaseable. Back in the day when I used to drive SAABs, the old 900 from the 80's had greaseable ball joints, then they dropped it.

Exactly. Cars built in the 1980s and before have grease gun fittings ( I own a grease gun that I used on my 1968 buick in my college days). In the olden days when a ball joint would fail, the ball joint could be pressed out of the control arm, then a new ball joint would be pressed back into the control arm. Today a mechanic orders up a new control arm with the ball joints intact.

 

[sheltz32tt]

The Model S I am buying just had the driver side front Knuckle/Balljoint replaced. 2013 81K miles. Was making some pretty bad noises at low speeds and at park when turning the steering wheel to lock.

 

[badbot]

I would ask them to put in writing that ball joint separation is "normal" if they ask why say for the evening news.
It looks like it was never lubed. How many miles are on it?

 

[iKhalid]

Sorry to hear that - hope you get your car back soon. Let us know what they did to fix it.

Will do. Thanks!

A 2014?! What exactly was wrong?

I will post about it once I get the car back. From my understanding, these things happen even to brand new cars.

 

[Peter_M]

How many miles did you have? i.e. how many miles left before they need to be replaced again but out of warranty?

51,904 km.

 

[sorka]

So if it occurs again at the same rate, it's have 64K miles on it the next time and be out of warranty. That's nuts.

 

[Peter_M]

So if it occurs again at the same rate, it's have 64K miles on it the next time and be out of warranty. That's nuts.

True, but there are a couple of big ifs. I assume Tesla is improving designs so maybe the new part will last longer, plus there's some amount of randomness in these failures - maybe I was just unlucky. But you could be right - another reason to get the extended warranty.

 

[gpcordaro]

I just heard back from NHTSA on my worn or failed ball joints. They said that the were of poor quality and failed prematurely. They are looking for other examples or samples to test, to see if it is a bad batch at the production level or a bad design.
If you have experienced a similar incident, I urge you to have the old parts saved by your Service Center and contact NHTSA for them to test the quality of the parts. This is a matter of Public Safety. Here is their contact information.

Defects Assessment Division

Office of Defects Investigation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NVS-211 Rm 48-218

1200 New Jersey Avenue. SE.

Washington D.C 20590

Phone - 202-366-5410

Fax - 202-366-1767