general problems of the 2019 Tesla Model 3 - part 1

The two bolts that hold the front lower control arm on fell out (driver side). Luckily this happened when we were backing out of the driveway and not at speed. There were no warnings lights, just a loud noise from the wheel when it failed. There is already a recall about this problem for the same year and model of my car, but the dealer is saying my car is not part of the recall. Here is a link to the recall. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Lower lateral link , and front lower compliance link and upper control arm assembly all broken and needed repair. Tesla service shop confirmed lower links were broken on both side, causing major safety concerns. They said it needed to be fixed or car could not be driven. This is a well documented issue all over the internet. The shop confirmed and said this repair is made all the time, and typically needs to be performed every 30,000-50,000 miles. The car has not been abused, only normal driving. The problem started as a squeak coming from the upper control arms and turned into a clunk when accelerating. How has a recall not been issued? people have been talking about this issue for years. Tesla acts like the front suspension is a consumable part like a spark plug in a ice car. Really? the front suspension should be rebuilt as often as every 30k miles?.

My car has same symptoms as previous recall and Tesla is denying repair.

Front suspension has lost lower lateral link and bolt. There was a recall on this back in 2023 for our year and model but our car was no selected. Clearly it should have been as the suspension has failed. Please see invoice from Tesla attached. This should be taken care of by Tesla as it is a known issue.

The vehicle’s front suspension began making loud squeaking noises and felt unstable while driving, especially when turning or going over uneven surfaces. At times, the vehicle does not make a proper turn and almost feels like it loses grip, which is extremely unsafe. I brought the vehicle to a Tesla service center. After inspection, Tesla provided a service estimate and documentation confirming the failure of the front lower lateral links — the exact part and condition described in NHTSA safety recalls 21v835000 and 23v235000, which cover defective front suspension lateral link fasteners on this vehicle make, model, and year. Despite the clear match, Tesla did not recognize the repair as recall-related and categorized it as a customer-pay service. This raises concern that some affected vehicles are being excluded from proper recall coverage, despite experiencing the same safety defects. There were no warning lights or alerts prior to the failure. The issue was confirmed by Tesla and the part is available for inspection upon request.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that a creaking noise was emitted from the area where the front suspension would be. The noise would be louder when turning the vehicle either left or right. The passenger air bag light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the seat sensor had failed. The seat was replaced with a new modular seat. After the repair was completed, the air bag warning illuminated. The vehicle was returned to the dealer, who performed the same repairs. The warning light persisted. The dealer was contacted and then informed of the creaking noise and the air bag warning light remaining illuminated. An appointment was made with the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Some 2019 Tesla Model 3’s recalled due to lateral and control link issues. Problem seems to be more wide spread. Exactly same problem is apparently happening with my car - also a 2019 Tesla Model 3, but not covered for some reason.

Sep 2022 Tesla Model 3 brought in for noise when steering wheel is turned. Was told it was the control arm. Left and right arms both replaced. Mileage - 53247 Jan 2025 Tesla Model 3 brought in for heating issue and for similar noise when steering wheel is turned. Service rep said lateral links needed replacing. Mileage - 85321 control arms and lateral link replacement at 53k and 85k, respectively, seems highly irregular. I have checked several online forums and found many other Tesla Model 3 owners having similar complaints. I have now replaced a significant portion of this vehicle's front suspension. We have owned 7 other vehicles, all purchased new, over the last 20 years. We have kept those cars between 150k - 200k miles and only 1 of those cars required this type of work, which was performed on a 2011 Jaguar xf at 160k+ miles.

Two major safety issues need to be reported: 1) the left front lower control arm falling off in the middle of driving, caused car wheel stuck on a traffic street (luckily it was off the freeway 5 minutes ago). The long bolts connected the lower control arms were loss due to the defective design (the bolts are screwed upward vertically, falling off is definitely just a matter of time). I found there was a class action against Tesla due to this problem (it is referred to model x and s) 2) the other major safety issue I encountered as I turned on the “advanced autopilot “ feature, the car could break suddenly without warning on the freeway. There were no cars or obstacles in the front. I researched online and found many Tesla owners have experienced this so called “phantom breaking” problem as I had (I had experienced this unsafe auto breaking randomly since I have driven this car).

Upper control arm unit is defective on most Model 3's. This has been reported by thousands of Tesla owners. After 50,000 miles the upper control arm will fail due to being assembled incorrectly, which causes a hard time driving the car and causing a strange sound in the suspension which can cause a risk in driving and increase the likelihood of an accident.

Lateral links failed. It was exactly what was described in this recall. However my car was not part of the recall because it was manufactured outside the date range. Recall affected until Mar 2019. My car was produced maybe a month or two afterwards. [xxx] the fastener became loose and the entire lateral link popped off. This happened in the parking lot and the entire car dropped 3 inches. Had this happened on the freeway it would have been much more dangerous. Problem was inspected by Tesla and Tesla said they were not at fault. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The suspension front control arm and lower links were all bad and had to be replaced. One day, our car started making this terrible clunking sound, so we brought it in. They charged us $1,800 to replace the whole control arm/link system. I have seen that this is a common problem. I have heard that the issue is known by Tesla as a defect because they put in bad control arms in the early models of Tesla that are known to go bad. We were told that if we did not get them replaced, they could go out while driving and cause us to lose control of our vehicle.

Customer concern confirmed there is a creaking noise coming from the front of the car while turning, I performed a visual inspection and found that both rf lower control arm bushings are torn and the lf frontward lower control arm bushing are torn but this is not the cause of the noise the cause of the noise is the upper control arms I took the load off of the upper control arms and the noise went away I also had someone turn the wheels while I looked for the cause of the noise and found that the noise is coming from the upper control arms, recommend replacing upper and lower control arms to fix all safety concerns.

The front wheels suspension are squeezing. For a relatively new and low mileage car I don’t think this should be happening. I understand there’s been a lot of complaints about this issue. We believe it should be recalled. Thank you!.

The car is just out of warranty and has been driven about 62,000km. The suspension and both frond and back control arms started to squeak badly during low speed driven, turning, back-in etc.

The upper control arm on the driver's side of my Tesla Model 3 has started making a loud squeaking noise. After researching, I discovered that many owners have experienced this issue. Tesla service centers acknowledge it as a known defect but refuse to issue a recall, only addressing it upon customer request. Since my vehicle is out of warranty, they have quoted me over $500 for the repair. This defect poses a significant safety risk if the upper control arm fails. Please look into this matter. Thank you!.

Front control arms have zero to very little grease, this causing components to friction and cause loud squeaking sound. Tesla is charing nearly $300 to change out the control arms which are the same as what's currently in my vehicle. This incident will occur again and Tesla will benefit from it.

Heard rattling in the front of the car over a period of weeks. Finally checked and saw a bolt that secures the front wheel hinge to the body frame was very loose. Then I tried turning the wheel (while stationary) to test the front steering. After a few times, the bolt came completely loose and hanging, as in one of the pictures included. After the bolt came completely loose and hanging, the affected wheel is completely unaligned. Since the bolt is hanging, I simply removed it, as shown in one of the attached pictures.

Both the front left and right lateral linkages have failed after 4 years of normal use. This is similar to an issue experienced in other Model 3 vehicles that were recalled. This vehicle is not covered by that recall but appears to have the same build quality issues. These links should not fail at such an early vehicle age. Replaced left front lower lateral link. Replaced right front lower lateral link.

The upper control arms on this vehicle are a known chronic issue where the ball joints fail anywhere from 15,000 miles and up. Tesla is charging for this replacement if vehicle has more than 50,000 miles.

When driving the car and turning the wheel there was a creaking noise at low speeds. Upon inspection at the service center the issue was diagnosed to be suspension part issues. The compliance link assemblies, lower lateral links, and control arms require replacement. This issue could have resulted in the car wheels breaking off while driving, causing a safety issue for myself and others.

Upper control arms and linkage on left and right needed to be replaced. Tesla charging $600 labor.

Issue with control arm and compliance links. Poor design causes corrosion problem.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal squeaking sound coming from the front suspension. The sound was heard while making a turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed upper control arm. The contact was informed that the upper control arm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that five days later the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for a scheduled service appointment in may 2024, the vehicle was diagnosed with a failed suspension lateral link needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the suspension lateral link needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed of two recalls, NHTSA campaign number: 23v235000 (suspension) and NHTSA campaign number: 21v835000 (suspension); however, the VIN was not included in the recalls. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 40,775.

I previously had asked Tesla to check my front suspension as I was noticing a unusual sound which they did however the technician assessment was that all was fine. Today, just 4 months out of warranty (but still under the 50k), the front control arm just fell off while I was driving. This resulted in the control arm to brake as well as my front fender (it hit the tire in motion). To my disbelief there was nothing put in place to keep that control arm up, if I were driving on the freeway it would have resulted in a catastrophic accident. I’m emailing you to see if there is anything that can be done to hold Tesla accountable for this major flaw. Online forums have plenty of other Tesla drivers with similar issue as well as an official recall which unfortunately my VIN did not fall under. Please advice on how to proceed. Thank you.

The front upper control arms on the vehicle failed at around 50,000 miles. The control arms failed with the same symptoms described in Tesla's service bulletin 20-31-006 (https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/tsbs/2021/mc-10203342-9999. Pdf). However, despite the service bulletin stating that the correction was to reseal the area around the ball joints, Tesla's service team told me that they no longer do that because they found out that the problem would reappear if they only reseal them. That they instead replace the front upper control arms with a newer version. They billed me $181. 44 for that work despite having a service bulletin for the issue and despite it being a widespread issue with the early failure of those control arms. I was lucky that I had this issue addressed when it only made noise and did not wait for the suspension component to structurally fail, which would have resulted in a crash. I have the invoice and the written communication between myself and Tesla. However, when submitting this incident form on NHTSA's website, the upload files section wasn't working in chrome or firefox on windows. Clicking the "upload files" button on this web form just made the button disappear and nothing else happened. If it is helpful, I'd be happy to share the invoice and written communication between myself and Tesla with NHTSA. Please let me know if that's needed.

The contact owned a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving a various speeds a squeaking noise was present coming from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the front suspension system was faulty and needed to be replaced. The front suspension system was replaced and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 93,000.

I had to replace the front upper control arm assemblies (left and right). As part of this (I believe) I also had to replace lower lateral links (left and right) and the front lower compliance links (left and right). My car had 53,536 miles on it at the time (so just outside the warranty). The total cost was $1,259. 63.

Left and right lateral links were blown. Increases the chance of a vehicle crash. Tesla has identified the issue in my vehicle and replaced both parts. There were no symptoms, the technician found it by inspecting the suspension due to an unrelated noise reported by me, the customer. There have been multiple recalls in the past for the Model 3 and model y manufactured in 2018 and 2019. Tesla has not issued any recalls for my vehicle. Now that my vehicle is off warranty, I was charged $803. 50 plus taxes to replace both parts that should have been part of a larger recall. I suspect this is a recurring issue that Tesla is not addressing. The chances of having a similar issue on one side is already low. In this case, it is on both sides, which reinforces my suspicion.

Loud squeaking noise inside cabin while driving started immediately after warranty expires and software update. Steering shakes with bumps. Almost felt like something is falling apart. Tesla service said known problem and since out of warranty customer will be charged. Wonder why all problems started immediately after warranty expires. Pls investigate if this part ( control arms and suspension) cause any safety issues. Also, software updates should be investigated as well.

At just 10 days over 4 years of ownership, which is out of warranty, and at about 44,360 miles, I noticed noise when going over small bumps, moving from stop to go and while turning the steering wheel. It appears that the upper control arm, a recall on about 3000 Tesla Model 3 and y, was the culprit. I contacted the service center and right away, over the Tesla mobile app, the knew it was the control arm going bad. They said it was safe to drive, however, it is a bit scary to hear the squeaking and noises when driving and turning the steering wheel, especially at highway speeds. The problem was fixed by Tesla's service center, however, because I was 10 days or so out of my 4 year/50,000 miles warranty, I was charged about $190 for the repair. I feel that since this is a know issue and has happened to many other non-recalled vehicles by Tesla, this would/should be a know defect and safety concern that should have been repaired under warranty.

I was driving using beta full self driving feature, and the vehicle was involved in a collision.

The front control arm fails just 58k mike mark this known issue on car. Multiple time brought to there attention no action was taken.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, there was an abnormal creaking sound heard. The failure occurred at various speeds and occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed and determined that the creaking sound was coming from the front upper control arm while turning the vehicle and the front lower control arm while in reverse. The dealer also diagnosed that the latter link was torn. The contact was informed that the control arms and suspension nuts and bolts needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the front suspension lateral link was fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 23v235000 (suspension)however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.