general problems of the 2016 Tesla Model S - part 2

Multiple failure of left and right suspension link and sway bar.

Drivers side fore links broke under warranty. Per Tesla service bulletin sb-17-31-001 filed February 17, 2017 for automobiles manufactured between January 19 and may 25, 2016, if one of the fore links break both should be replaced. Per the attached invoice and scree shots, Teslas service center in raleigh is refusing to follow the bulletin citing that the vehicles ein is not eligible but showing no proof. Attached is an email from that shows the car finished manufacturing on may 8,2016. I'm requesting Tesla to follow their service bulletin and include replacing the passenger side fore link as part of their warranty service.

Suspension component: rh front aft control link - I will provide the damaged/exploded part via fedex to your office. Event happened while backing out of garage, was under 5miles speed and hence nobody was injured or put at risk. Could have gone worst if this would have happened at higher speed/highway. There was no prior warning, corrosion and/or indication alerting of wear & tear on the part that was broken. This car has very low mileage (44k miles over 6 yrs) for some major component to fail like this without notice.

My car has only 50,000 miles but suspension is making noise. Tesla dealer is saying they need to replace the links - front suspension - lower - aft -lh/rh. Tesla is charging me $1,828. 87 to replace these links. I see in the internet that lot of 2016/2017 made cars has this defect. I strongly believe this is manufacturing defect and Tesla is responsible for fixing this issue for all effected customers. I appreciate if you can investigate into this issue.

I was traveling on hwy 98 in florida, headed home to austin, TX from vacationing. I was with my wife and three young children. I stopped at a stop light, and when I went to reaccelerate, the car lurched. I pulled over and discovered I could barely turn and the suspension was making a terrible sound. I was able to maneuver into a parking lot and determined that my front driver's side fore link had cracked and was no longer holding. There is an existing service bulletin (sb-17-31-006) that should have covered this. My car is in warranty, and I have had it serviced before the accident, but after the publishing of the sb and Tesla never notified me that the links should be replaced. This was a tremendous hassle, and posed a very serious safety issue, because the broken link can protrude through the wheel well can cause the wheel to lock up.

Suspension control arm failure on front left and right. It happened twice on two separate occasions while driving. Before failure it was making a creaking sound. It failed while driving on both occasions. The first failure happened pulling out of the driveway. The second failure happened driving down the street and it certainly put myself and others on the road at risk. Speed was fairly slow when it failed ~20 mph. Nevertheless, it was a busy street with cars going fast around us. The upper control arm broke on both occasions. The car is driven as one would expect. Around town and regular highway driving. No other accidents, off-roading, no notable potholes, etc. Unfortunately, even after recent repairs it is again making the same sounds that it made right before the previous failures. Tesla is refusing to fix the defects. This is likely the same issue as the recall in china.

The driverside front suspension fore links completely failed and broke off, and separated and it made the tire shift towards the the wheel arch liner and rub against it which damaged the tire and the wheel arch liner. And it caused the front suspension link bushing to become damaged as well when the front suspension fore link broke ( the metal completely broke in half & became separated from each other ) because the two links are connected together to the front suspension arm wishbone on top when I was driving down a residential street going 20 mph, there was a small dip in the road so I slowed down to about 5 mph and after the dip I noticed this loud sound coming from my front tire & wheel. I think it was already cracked and the dip made it come off. Because that small dip could not of had the torque & power to do that to the metal on the front suspension fore link. I own 2016 Tesla Model S 75. I researched and many Teslas are having the same problem!! Tesla even put out a service bulletin sb-17-31-001 stating “some Model S and model x vehicles may have been manufactured with front suspension fore links that may not meet Tesla strength specifications. In the event of link failure, the driver can still maintain control of the vehicle but the tire may contact the wheel arch liner. “-years affected 2016 omg which exactly happened to my 2016 Tesla Model S 75!! now I found there’s a class action lawsuit vs Tesla and NHTSA investigation about the same exact matter! my car is not driveable, I called Tesla roadside to get it towed to Tesla service center, they told me I would have to pay for the tow!! I made a service appt but it’s not until another 7 days! I’m waiting to find out if Tesla will cover the cost to fix it?? ??.

Driver side fore link failure, driver side suspension collapsed on the tire. The car came to an immediate stop. The car did go up in the air for some time before stopping. Since the driver side fore link failed, Tesla said that they have to change both the fore links.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph, he heard a popping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and inspected the vehicle but found no failure. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact continued driving however, at 5 mph he heard another popping sound. The contact called a local towing company to have the vehicle towed to the dealer. While attempting to place the vehicle on the flatbed, the contact was informed that a large metallic part had fractured and detached from the vehicle. The dealer’s diagnostic result was that the driver’s side front lower fore link collar had broken off the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired out of pocket. The mechanic was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 57,000.

Car was being pulled out of parking spot and front suspension failed. Tesla rode side service took car to Tesla dealer. Tesla said car was too heavy for parts and now the knuckles and the fore links for the front suspension need to be replaced. The car had a full alignment in February and everything was good. They said they were aware of a problem others are concerned about bit they can't do anything at this point as there is no open recall in the united states.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 - 35 mph, a loud bang noise was heard, then the front passenger’s side tire kicked back and damaged the wheel. Upon inspection, the contact saw that the front passenger’s side control arm was fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

The right front lower control arm broke off. When I applied the break (abruptly) at the light ( driving speed ~35mph and the street was wet), the front right wheel was bouncing and making a weird noise. I managed to drive home and found out that the control arm has broken off. I did some research and realized that this is a common problem with Tesla vehicles. I am wondering if this is a recall issue. This is a safety issue and I think Tesla needs to recall and fix this problem.

I was backing out my car from the garage at home and on the driveway my wife and I heard a weird sound. After checking we found a broken metal part on the driveway and a closer look, taking a picture, I could see that the suspension arm for the front passenger side wheel was broken, very much metal fatigue,.

I purchased a used 2016 Tesla Model S in September 2021, with 58,961 miles. Within a month, a strange scraping sound can be heard as I was backing out of my driveway, it was the metal piece that was connected to the wheel. Somehow it had broken off and was bent in a position where it was grinding my brake pads down to unsafe levels. Telsa said it was caused by making a 'sharp turn' and is not covered under warranty. The work to fix costed $1450. 03 to replace brake pads and wheel that was cracked. But didn't disclose in the invoice what was causing the scraping sound. They claimed that when they drove the vehicle they could not hear any scraping sound. Based on Tesla's TSB report, this is a known defect and Tesla should have repaired it without charging me. But they would rather have me believe that I was a terrible driver.

While backing out of a parking stall I felt a large vibration. I could tell something wasn't right. I pulled out of the parking lot and checked my tires and brakes as every time I pressed the brake pedal I felt the vibration. I couldn't tell what was going on, but the car was not driving correctly. I slowly drove to a nearby tire center when they diagnosed it as a broken control arm on the driver's side. No collisions took place before or after, nor was a pot hole or other road hazard hit before.

I have had to bring the car in for vibration in the front drivers wheel/tire over 3 times in less than 5 years. A part of the suspension was replace once or twice and I was told that I needed several tires replace less than 10,000 miles of wear. The problem has returned again with both vibration and noise, yet I can't get an appointment for 3 weeks after I reported the issue. I can't find any of my receipts for these repairs as they don't communicate in a way that is useful to humans and there is little record of it.

Front control arm separation.

Failure of l front fore link resulting in unstable wheel, contact of wheel with wheel well, difficult steering and inability to drive vehicle.

Pulling my car out of my driveway, I heard a loud pop noise and the steering wheel refused to turn. Attempting to turn the wheel at all resulted in a grinding noise because the entire front driver side wheel was shifted backward and was resting on the rear of the wheel well liner. I had the vehicle flatbedded to the Tesla service center and they told me one of the fore links had failed. They blamed it on an impact or pothole, neither of which actually happened. After researching online, I've come to find there have been many documented failures of this same part - for no reason at all. Tesla even recognized they had a manufacturing issue and even issued a recall in china. This could have been a very dangerous situation. There was no warning, no cause, and the car has only 50k miles. I asked them to save the parts as I'm sure upon expert examination, they would prove to be defective.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal popping sound coming from the front passenger’s side tire. The contact stated that the failure caused damage to the passenger’s side front fender. The contact took the vehicle to a Tesla service center where the mechanic discovered a defective front fore link. Due to the failure, the driver’s and passenger’s side fore links were replaced at the service center's recommendation. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.

May 1, 2021 heard some noise from front of car and then went away. Loud noise coming from the right front side of car when we back up from parking spot. Car literally cannot move an inch but we had to move car out of traffic. No warnings from the car. We saw the right front tire literally touching the back liner. Tesla towed car to Tesla service center which is almost 3 hours away from home. Weekend road trip cut short. Service center was closed. Rental car companies nearby closed. Uber voucher not enough to cover fee. Service found rf fore links broken, and rf fender liner damage and replacement of 2 front tires and alignment. Estimate of $1602. 90. Back in 2020 September, I heard soft noise coming from left front. Tesla took care of it under warranty. But we asked if they should inspect and replaced the right side. They refused. Now manager said that it’s wear and tear and refused to cover under warranty when it’s still under 50,000 miles. I asked them about condition of back links and they did not inspect or given estimates for replacement for back links after 7 requests. Manager told me it’s super pricy labor alone is around $700. We feel it’s a serious safety concern. We were lucky this didn’t happen on a highway. The parts definitely broke pre maturely. Also has to file with warranty department with written letter to dispute the charge now. What a hassle. They should recall ASAP.

Car suspension felt loose and weird. Under normal driving (city streets and highways), changing lanes or going over roads with slight crown or ruts caused the car to suddenly pull and shift erratically (above and beyond that experienced in other cars). It felt as if there's something not right with the front suspension. When this happened on highways while using autopilot (experienced at least three times), the car swerved left and right erratically (after changing lanes) in an effort to re-center on the lane without success, and I had to take over manually in over to avoid from flipping over or an accident. Tesla service center inspected the car in late 2019 and said everything is normal. They performed a 4-wheel alignment but did not improve the behavior. This behavior has gotten worse over the past year and is very concerning. I only have a little over 30k miles on this car, and therefore do not expect suspension failure at this low miles.

We ordered and bought our 2016 Tesla Model S brand new. We keep our cars and take care of them - our 1996 Ford explorer and 2000 Ford f-250 still in the garage running as if they were new. We take care of out vehicles and drive them so they last. Our Tesla only has 34,000 miles on it and is always stored in our enclosed garage. The car is not driven for three months as we go back to our cottage in the midwest for the summer. This year (2020), because of covid we left in April in which the car sat in our garage for five months, not driven. At our yearly check up, we just discovered our rear shocks need replacing at a cost of $1,100. 00 a shock, 2,200 for the pair. A car with 34,000 miles, driven in southern California, with many of the miles on the freeway and needing rear shocks after three years? the car maybe four years old but it has sat three months each year, which equates to sitting almost a year not being driven at all. It just happened when the car is out of warranty? this doesn't seem right.

Left suspension front fore link broken, damaged left front tire and wasn't driable.

I was driving normally and had to apply brakes at a rail-road crossing intersection and my passenger front fore-link part of suspension broke. Vehicle became undrivable and had to be stopped in middle of road. I had to get my vehicle towed to Tesla service center in plano, TX and was informed that fore-link part of suspension is broken. It has been repaired now.

Left front suspension fore link broken /defective. It was parked in a parking lot.

Driver front suspension failure occured while in reverse to park at Tesla supercharger.

While the vehicle was in motion, I head a snap sound from the rear passenger side. The care was not stable. I was going at a low speed of 25-28 miles per hour in a slightly hilly area. I thought it was a tire burst and parked on the side. Noticed the read passenger side wheel has tilted. I got the car towed to Tesla factory and got it repaired. Costed me $2513. Tesla was not able to explain for certain what happened. I heard there were several complaints of this nature.

Model s in the junkyard https://. . Read more...

Tesla in junkyard. Wheel gone whompy. . Read more...

While backing out of my garage the front left lower control link broke causing the wheel to jam against the inner wheel well liner. The car had to be loaded on a flat bed tow truck and transported to the Tesla repair shop in slat lake city. Tesla replaced both left and right lower control links for a cost of. The car had 50,000 miles and never hit anything to cause damage to the suspension. Normal hard surface road use. Repaired by Tesla 8/2/2020.

While backing out of a parking spot, I turned my wheels and went over a small depression in the drive for drainage. As my front tires went through the dip I heard a loud clank like something had broken. Then every bump I went over there was a knocking near the driver's side front tire. I took it in to Tesla and the service agent knew exactly right away what had happened because he said he has seen the same exact thing several times before. They explained that it was unsafe to drive and needed to be fix it immediately. When given the estimate they said only the driver's side fore link assembly broke but would need to replace both sides. I got a bill for $2150. 61.

The Tesla Model S purchased, has been received with multiple safety concerns. 1) supension fore links & alt links need replacement due to corrosion 2)power steer fault - right toe link has excessivw corrosion & wear replacement needed. 3) right axcel boot leaking, clevis mount, right & left axel replacement required. Total labour exceeds over $9,000. This vehicle originated and manufactured in USA was imported to canada. There are safety concerns beyond this, the vehicle is unsafe and features many concerns. Driving on residential roads the suspension drops unexpectedly, during high speeds the vehicle pulls to the side. Parking assist & parking break inactive. Various suspension concerns leave this "luxury" vehicle parked immobilized.

I was backing out of my in-laws parking space. I had the wheel turned and as I went over a small dip I heard a loud clunk. It sounded like something broke somewhere on the drivers side front end. I drove it home and when I would go over some bumps I could a knocking / clunking sound, like something was hitting together but only on the bumps. I brought my car into the Tesla service center. I describe what happened and they said that this was a common thing. I commute 100 miles on the highway everyday to work so I have 115, 000 miles and my warranty has expired. Tesla sent me as estimate for the work and it was $2150. 67. When looking at it I noticed that they were replacing both the left and right side fore link assembly. I asked them why if it was only the left side (drivers) that broke and Tesla said that they can't just replace one side, they need to replace both. I needed my car so I paid the full amount.

This issue happened out of nowhere, no collision, no potholes, and no exterior force. All of a sudden I noticed a clanging noise in the front left wheel housing. This only happens when going at low speeds (5 to 15 mph). This noise is especially apparent when going over speed bumps or up/down driveways. Few days ago I near a very very loud bang noise from the front and all of a sudden when I back up the car the wheel was scrapping against the inner linning and would not allow me to turn the steering wheel all the way. Then I parked and noticed the wheel was off center (see picture). I took it to the service center and attached below is the estimate. Only the front driver side had the issue, but the estimate includes a replacement of the parts for both front driver and passenger side. Reason for replacing both is the parts being replaced are updated parts. This is a saftey concern because if going at higher speed and these parts will fail will cause the car to loose control.