Ball Joint problems of the 2014 Tesla Model S

One problem related to ball joint has been reported for the 2014 Tesla Model S. The most recently reported issues are listed below.

1 Ball Joint problem

Failure Date: 12/30/2017

The left front fore link ball joint snapped like glass during normal driving. Luckily I was going at relatively low speed on a side street. This allowed the suspension to allow the wheel to slam into the firewall and it locked up causing the right side of the vehicle to hit a curb. As an engineer this scares the daylights out of me, as if it would have happened on a high speed highway turn, the results could have been deadly. Even without an understanding of advanced metallurgy, it's clear that a hardened steel ball joint should be stronger then the surrounding aluminum alloy parts on either side that it attaches to. It looks like a glass rod hit with a hammer. This same thing happened to another 2014 in our family about a year ago, and I chalked it up to random failure. But now 2 failures? I have the original failed part if needed for analysis. The replacement part I obtained through Tesla has been re-engineered, and appears to be from a different supplier. I went ahead and replaced both sides, and I still have the non-failed part on the left side. I attempted to contact Tesla about this, and they have not responded to me.


Other Suspension related problems of the 2014 Tesla Model S



Safety Ratings of Model S Cars
Fuel Economy of Model S Vehicles
Model S Service Bulletins
Model S Defect Investigations