NHTSA Complaint #11585085 — 2018 TESLA MODEL 3

SUSPENSION issue reported to NHTSA

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Complaint Details

ODI Number 11585085
Vehicle 2018 TESLA MODEL 3
Component SUSPENSION
Date of Incident
Date Filed
Mileage N/A miles
Crash No
Fire No
Injuries 0
Deaths 0
Vehicle Towed No
State NJ

Consumer Description

My car began producing very loud creaking noise at low speed. I brought the car into a Tesla service center and the technician said that this was a well known issue with the upper control arm of the front suspension. He mentioned he performs this repair every day. I was given an estimate of approximately $200 to repair the suspension. I later receive an updated estimate of $1,850. Tesla states there was extensive damage to the front suspension. In addition to the upper control arms; the compliance and lateral links of the front suspension were torn. The technician confirmed that the torn components posed a safety risk. This was shocking as the car only had 33,500 miles on it. I asked about the expected wear life of these components. Tesla was unable to provide me with an answer. Later I was reading discussions of this issue on an owner's forum. Many owners report this issue and have replaced their front suspension two or three times only to have the issue reoccur. It appears that Tesla knowingly sold vehicles with defective components, creating a safety issue; and have placed the burden of repairing and replacing these components on consumers.

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