Front right air suspension failed in 3 1/5 years. i was advised to change both front suspension and the air pump at same time. the repair cost was $3395.25.
Was driving at 19 mph in city street and had to make a panic stop due to a car about to cut me off. heard a loud bang. i got out of the car and the driver side front wheel is displaced. further investigation i can see the lower driver side control arm had broken . car was not drivable without a loud crunching sound. i had it towed to the tesla service center.
There was a recent tesla crash in hudsonville in which a tesla suddenly swerved off the road. https://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/20191117/four-injured-in-one-vehicle-crash-in-hudsonville **. the driver lost control of the vehicle and left the roadway at a high rate of speed, where the vehicle struck the embankment.** the tesla has now showed up in the salvage yard. https://www.copart.com/lot/60934829/photos i don't think the crash investigators would be aware of the tesla's tendency to have wheels go whompy and since the car was severely damaged in the crash it is likely to have gone unnoticed. the back rh wheel is displaced outwards by several inches. the wheel is not broken. the wheel well liner has been displaced. even if the wheel had been hit hard during the rollover surely the spokes of the wheel should have broken before the suspension linkages snapped. there are many images available of teslas that have had a back wheel jut out sideways because of broken linkages. you can see one on the front page of this website https://www.flickr.com/photos/136377865@n05/sets/72157658490111523/ and there are many other examples on that site. i am not trying to do the crash investigators job. i am simply adding more data points that may possibly have been overlooked. when a wheel contacts the inside of the well and locks up it will cause the wheel on the opposite side to instantly double its rotation speed due to the way in which the cars differential operates. even if the accelerator pedal is lifted the kinetic energy stored in the fast spinning tesla motor will still give a surge in power to the opposite.wheel. i'm not saying this is 100% proof of what happened but i do believe it is a possibility. this is a 2016 tesla and the subject of a tsb for weak suspension links. please investigate. thank you. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
Here is a video that a tesla owner has posted on youtube showing how his suspension has fallen apart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-q9ms8qbjo this is happening over and over to teslas due to them having absurdly fragile suspension components. the owner is adamant that this was not caused by any kind of abuse of the vehicle. the owner can easily be identified from the youtube channel and also from this earlier clip he posted.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzktda8ceqw this is a systemic failure. the owner has commented that if this failure had occurred at speed it would likely have been fatal.. please take action. please note that the vin of a junkyard tesla has been used in order to complete this submission. i have done this because it is urgent that this problem is investigated. thank you. keef
Here is another model x in the salvage auction yard. https://www.iaai.com/vehicledetails?itemid=34470734&rownumber=3&similarvehicleitemid=&isnext=&loadrecent=true it is listed as having frame and suspension damage. the driver's side front wheel is displaced in the wheel well and the tire is shredded around the entire circumference. since it is the drivers side it is highly unlikely that this damage was caused by scraping the curb. please add this one to the vast catalogue of tesla suspension failures. thank you. keef.
Yet another tesla with the back wheel snapped off. https://www.copart.com/lot/56738699/photos this is not crash damage...it is self-inflicted injury to suspension. why don't you guys get out of the office and go and inspect some of these cars? take a mechanic with you. he will confirm that the suspension parts are not strong enough for a billy cart let alone a 3 ton car with insane/ludicrous power and acceleration. nhtsa and tesla have blood on their hands. please demand a recall immediately. thank you. keef
Model x freshly arrived in the salvage yard. https://www.iaai.com/vehicledetails?itemid=34641215&rownumber=14&similarvehicleitemid=&isnext=&loadrecent=true back rh wheel gone whompy. front wheel and suspension completely fallen off. multiple ball joints snapped. cast alloy steering knuckle cracked in half. it does not appear that there is sufficient impact damage to the front of the car to justify the suspension snapping off. there is no crash damage whatsoever to the back of the car to justify the wheel going whompy. please excuse my persistence in filing these reports. it is obvious to me that there is a systemic failure in tesla suspensions caused by bad design and poor manufacturing. if you would be so kind as to launch a formal investigation then i will no longer need to bother you. it is likely that owners will fail to file complaints due to loyalty to the tesla mission. as a concerned citizen and road user i feel it is my civic duty to inform you about this problem. regards and seasons greetings to you all. keef
Please note that i have used the vin of another wrecked tesla to make this submission because the salvage auction site has not provide the full vin. here is yet another tesla with a broken suspension. https://www.copart.com/lot/56584359 there is hardly any damage to the front of the tesla. not so much as a broken headlight. the airbags have been deployed - most likely because the front suspension has fallen to bits and the wheel has gone severely whompy which would cause a violent swerve and deceleration. there is a clear pattern of failures in tesla suspensions. the alloy wheels are quite fragile as has been shown in crash testing. in case after case tesla suspensions fall apart all too easily. this is both insane and ludicrous. please investigate. keef ( who is not unhinged as alleged by elon musk)
This is another complaint about tesla suspension breakages. please note that i have used the vin of another broken tesla so that i can file this complaint immediately in the interest of public safety. here is part of a long discussion thread on tesla suspension breakages. this is page 9. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/another-front-suspension-control-arm-failure.114967/page-9 snip *** parasp90d, oct 26, 2019 so this just happened while reversing out of my garage. 75k p90d attached files: 3807ddf2-ad8d-4f31-8d38-4960cd5cf5b1.jpeg 3807ddf2-ad8d-4f31-8d38-4960cd5cf5b1.jpeg c63c8f76-3309-4cb2-bb3e-faae715d59d8.png c63c8f76-3309-4cb2-bb3e-faae715d59d8.png **** the photographs clearly show that the alloy suspension link has snapped into pieces. why has there been no recall? this is outrageous. please investigate this immediately. frightened road user. thank you
Here is a tesla model x in the junkyard. https://www.copart.com/lot/53118179/photos it appears to have burned up in the junkyard presumably because the battery pack was damaged in a crash and it decided to wait a while before self combusting. both back wheels have snapped off despite there being no significant impact to that part of the car. the broken suspension arm from one of the back wheels has been placed on the passenger seat ( see attached photograph) and is still recognizable despite the fire. there have been hundreds of cases of tesla suspension breakages both from owners and from concerned citizens. rather than investigating the cause of these failures mr. elon musk has called the complaints "fraudulent" and the complainant "unhinged" https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/741411531582115841?lang=en "of greater concern: 37 of 40 suspension complaints to nhtsa were fraudulent, i.e. false location or vehicle identification numbers were used. would seem to indicate that one or more people sought to create the false impression of a safety issue where none existed. q is why?" it is now more than 3 years on. more lives have been lost. i have not been charged with making fraudulent complaints. the suspensions are still failing. i am not happy.
Another tesla in the junkyard... https://www.copart.com/lot/53021189/photos the back wheel has gone whompy. it is impossible that the whompyness was caused by a collision because the wheel and tire are undamaged. it is a certainty that the damage to the side of the car was caused by loss of control after the rear suspension snapped and caused the car to go out of control. how many more tesla crashes caused by these failures do you need before you take action??? good grief! vexed citizen etc.
Left front suspension fore link cracked and fell off. vehicle was only backing up out of garage and steering wheel was turned to the left when a loud crack was heard from under the vehicle. the back up speed was only 1-2 mph. luckily, i was still in my driveway taking my kids to school. i can't imagine what the outcome would have been if it broken 5 minutes later on the highway with the kids inside the car.
The control arm broke while backing out of parking space. i did not run over anything when it happened. when i pulled back forward the front end lifted up. i hate to think what could have happened at high speed,
Control arm disconnected while backing out of garage. there appear to be at least 5 other related complaints. if this had happened at high speed, the car would have been totaled.
Front right side (passenger) wheel dislodged from suspension arm.it happened while i was reversing from a parking.
Here is a model x in the junkyard. https://www.copart.com/lot/42227508 it has not been in a collision. no air-bags have deployed. the back suspension has fallen to bits causing the wheel to go all whompy. the wheel itself is undamaged but the tire has been worn right down to the canvas because it was rubbing against the wheel well before the suspension finally snapped causing the wheel to burst outwards . these suspensions are ridiculously weak because they are made from sliced extruded aluminum which has about as much strength as cheese. this could easily have resulted in a fatal crash. please investigate. thank you. vexed citizen. i am not the owner. date of incident is an approximation.
Here is a tesla model x in the junkyard: https://www.copart.com/lot/25589048 the front rh wheel is jammed back in the wheel arch and yet there is no collision damage forward of the wheel. even the headlight glass is intact. the driver's airbag has not gone off just the side curtain air-bags. the side impact probably happened after the driver lost control when the wheel went whompy. please investigate. concerned citizen etc.
Here is a model x in the junkyard. https://www.copart.com/lot/25385958 it has not been in a collision. no air-bags have deployed. there is no damage to the bodywork. the front rh steering knuckle has cracked in half. this is a clear indication of a manufacturing defect. the cast aluminium knuckle has a brittle fracture caused by a casting defect. the design of tesla suspension parts is extremely weak. the company has a track record of covering up defects and slapping non disclosure agreements on customers. teslas have been involved in many fatal accidents and there is a high probability that many of those crashes were caused by mechanical failure. please investigate. thank you. concerned citizen.
Here is a model x in the junkyard: https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=27618876&rownumber=11&loadrecent=true the back lh wheel has gone totally whompy. the tread appears to be worn down suggesting that the car drove for some distance with a damaged suspension causing the tire to rub against the bodywork until the suspension finally fell to bits. i have searched the junkyards for other brands of cars that are afflicted by as much whompiness as teslas but i cannot find any examples. please be so kind as to investigate this phenomenon. thank you. concerned citizen.
Here is a model x in the junkyard: https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=26864884&rownumber=11&loadrecent=true it has not been in a collision. the air-bags have not deployed. there is no impact damage. the suspension on the lh side has collapsed causing damage to the bodywork around the wheel arches. this same failure of suspension collapse is happening repeatedly to tesla cars. it is very concerning that instead of remedying the problem and repairing these lightly damaged vehicles they are instead being auctioned off as salvage vehicles. normally an expensive car like this which has suffered only minor damage would be repaired. it would appear that tesla is scared that a repaired vehicle would probably fail again and that they would be held responsible. please launch a full investigation into the cause of these failures. thank you. concerned citizen.
Here is a model x in the junkyard: https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=26856901&rownumber=55&loadrecent=true suspension has collapsed on all four wheels causing the wheels to jam up into the wheel wells and damaging the bodywork around the wheel wells. no air-bags have deployed. there is no collision damage. this is yet another example of tesla suspension collapse caused by bad design, shoddy construction, and gimmicky software control of every function in the car right down to the ridiculous door handles. please take this dangerous toy away from its owners before more people get killed. thank you. very concerned citizen.
Here is a model x in the junkyard. it does not appear to have been in a collision, air-bags have not deployed and there is very little damage to any of the body panels. the suspension has collapsed. the front rh suspension has totally fallen apart. the top ball joint has popped apart. this ball joint is much too flimsy for a car of this weight and performance. this car is less than a year old so the failure can not be blamed on poor maintenance or excessive mileage. please investigate the reason why so many low mileage near new teslas are having suspension failures. thank you. concerned citizen.
Urgent. here is a tesla owner that has just posted a complaint about a snapped ball-joint on his near new model x: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/ball-joint-separation.101036/ snip**texlasx, 6 minutes ago new my wife was driving our 2016 model x today when she heard a snap. her steering wheel pulled and she struggled to control the car at about 40mph. she was able to stop in three lanes of traffic but was pretty shook up. she contacted tesla and they towed the car to a service center. they informed her that one of the links fractured causing the ball joint to separate. we have the fractured link (police found it in the street). the car only has about 10,000 miles on it, so seems unlikely to be a wear-and-tear issue. has anyone experienced this failure on their car?** the photograph is attached. these failures are occurring over and over. the alloy parts are too weak for the purpose. cast alloy is not a good material to use. the eye-hole walls are too thin and the cast alloy is too brittle. i cannot understand why nhtsa has not taken action over these lethal defects. please do not delay any longer. these cars should be recalled for inspection and remedy of these defects. concerned citizen.
Here is a model x in the junkyard: https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=26579014&rownumber=61&loadrecent=true&isnext=true no air-bags have been deployed and there is no sign of any collision damage. the back lh suspension has completely snapped off. if this had been caused by a violent sideways collision with another vehicle or with a curb then the side curtrain air-bag would have been deployed. this looks like another case of spontaneous snap-off suspension. the motor of this car produces so much torque that if a brake caliper on that wheel malfunctioned the torque could easily rip off those fragile alloy components. this is not a one off occurrence. there have been dozens of similar cases. please investigate. thank you. concerned citizen acting in the public interest. date of incident is an approximation based on date of vehicle arriving in the junkyard.
Here is another tesla model x in the junkyard. https://www.copart.com/lot/36354887/photos the front wheel wheel is hanging out sideways. the top ball joint has popped apart. as i understand it is the job of nhtsa is to detect defect trends and if there appears to be a pattern of failure with a particular car then it should take action to avoid endangering the public. you don't need to be a rocket scientist to see that tesla suspensions are falling apart at an excessive rate. please investigate. concerned citizen etc. etc.
Here is another tesla in the junkyard: https://www.copart.com/lot/38498547 it has bio-hazard stickers indicating that occupants were injured. the front top ball joint has separated from its socket. both lower ball joint stems have snapped. these are steel components that are stronger than the alloy parts they are attached to. something is very wrong if the ball and socket can pop apart like this even if it did happen after the crash. the wheel has been sliced in half as if it was mounted on a lathe and a cutting tool forced into the rim. it looks highly probable that the wheel was sliced in half whilst it was still rotating and that almost certainly happened before the crash. there is no other make of car in which near new cars are showing up in the junkyards with broken suspensions and sliced wheels at anywhere near the frequency that tesla cars do. please investigate the reasons for all these failures. thank you. please note that i am filing these reports as a concerned citizen. i am not a tesla owner and i am making these reports because i believe there is a clear pattern of repeated failures in the tesla suspensions. date of crash is an approximation.
Here is another model x in the junkyard. https://www.copart.com/lot/42424867/photos the suspension has collapsed. the front wheel is jammed up in the wheel well. the lh back wheel has gone totally whompy and is leaning over at 45 degrees. no air-bags have deployed. this same failure has been reported on teslas dozens of times. a photograph of a broken camber link from another tesla is also submitted. this link is simply too weak for such a heavy and powerful car. please investigate. concerned citizen etc. date of incident is an approximation.
Here is a tesla model x in the junkyard: https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=25686887&rownumber=54&loadrecent=true the front wheel and suspension have completely snapped off. no air-bags have deployed. there is no sign of any collision damage that would explain why the wheel has snapped off. please investigate. please note that i am not the owner, just a concerned citizen. a dummy usa address has been used to comply with your website requirements. my genuine contact details are contained in this submission. date of incident is an approximation.
Here is a 2016 model x in the junkyard: https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=25579890&rownumber=50&loadrecent=true the suspension has collapsed and all the wheels have gone totally whompy. please investigate. .
Here is a model x in the junkyard: https://www.salvagereseller.com/cars-for-sale/33866817-2016-tesla-model-x-san-diego-ca the front rh suspension has fallen off completely. there is no impact damage to the body. no airbags have deployed. this a clear case of weak suspension parts snapping on these teslas. there have been dozens of similar incidents. please do not grant tesla any more benefit of the doubt. please investigate.
There has been a crash of a tesla model x in hong kong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gka0mwysvhw the tesla is the only vehicle involved. the back wheel has fallen off and the car has crashed into a bus stand injuring several people. these cars have a problem with unintended acceleration and suspension failure. please take action before more lives are lost.
A tesla model x has just crashed and burst into flames. http://www.ocregister.com/2017/06/25/car-smashes-into-ocfa-gates-in-a-recurring-problem/ photographs are attached which shows a front wheel and suspension lying on the ground some distance before the crash scene. the top ball joint has popped apart. even if the suspension was hit in the crash the ball joint should not have popped. you have several other complaints on record of tesla ball joints coming apart. it is quite possible that the ball-joint failure caused the crash. also the tesla has once again self-ignited. crash tests need to be done with a battery that is hot from recent charging or from fast driving to find out why teslas burst into flames so often. please investigate
Here is a model x in the junkyard. the suspension has collapsed on all four wheels. the tread is damaged on both of the front tires. the back wheels have gone severely whompy but there is no serious damage to the rear of the car that would explain why they have been skewed and damaged. i am filing this report as a concerned citizen. owners are being discouraged from filing complaints in case it injures the tesla share price. please investigate.
Here is a model x in the salvage yard. https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=24689306&rownumber=3&loadrecent=true it has done only 3000 miles. the front suspension has fallen apart and the wheel has been completely sliced in half. airbags have not deployed. there is absolutely no damage to the bodywork that would indicate the sliced wheel was the result of a collision. this is a clear cut case of mechanical failure. please investigate. you should also be aware by now that owners are discouraged from filing reports due to peer pressure from tesla aficionados and by teslas use of nda. i
I am filing this complaint due to the fact that tesla owners are failing to report similar suspension failures themselves due to brand loyalty and investment in tesla. here is a new thread on which several owners report snapped suspension components. https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/63dtws/tesla_model_x_suspension_quality_issue_passenger/ snip: i was driving my model x p90d on a local street 2 days ago. when i made a v-shaped right turn at the slow speed of 5 to 10 mi/h, i hit a very small pothole and heard a bang. there was no vibration at all, so i didn't pay attention at the time. the car was driving perfectly normal for the rest of that day. i drove another 40 miles or so, including 20 miles on the highway with 60+ mi/h speed. the issue came up the next day when i was pulling my car out of the garage. i heard another bang when the car was backing, and my steering became stiff. the car wouldn't move anymore. then the "suspension needs service" warning came out the instrument panel. i came out and check the car, found out that the entire front wheel snapped off! the pothole wasn't that big, it's only 2 inches deep, max. there was no repeated hard impacts. i wouldn't even say that particular impact was hard! i only had the car for 2 months and had only 1000 miles on it. photos are attached. please do not allow this dangerous situation to continue. a recall is long overdue. thank you. concerned citizen who shares the roads with these teslas.
I was driving my model x p90d on a local street 2 days ago. when i made a v-shaped right turn at the slow speed of 5 to 10 mi/h, i hit a very small pothole and heard a bang. there was no vibration at all, so i didn't pay attention at the time. the car was driving perfectly normal for the rest of that day. i drove another 40 miles or so, including 20 miles on the highway with 60+ mi/h speed. the issue came up the next day when i was pulling my car out of the garage. i heard another bang when the car was backing, and my steering became stiff. the car wouldn't move anymore. then the "suspension needs service" warning came out the instrument panel. i came out and check the car, found out that the entire front wheel snapped off! i'm glad that it only happened to me at my garage but not on the highway.
This is a complaint about the tesla model x suspension which appears to be failing repeatedly. i believe that these failures are being under-reported. here is a thread in which owners report snapped bolts and suspension links leading to collapse of the suspension. posters are being abused for daring to mention the problem. one owner even says that he will not be reporting the problem because he has faith in tesla (and because he has admitted to being a shareholder) snip: pxchanel | march 22, 2017 i have an update: it is a broken control arm for suspension of front right tire. it was towed to a service center same day for repairs. harry | march 22, 2017 are you going to report this to nhtsa? sounds like this has happened to several other teslas as well as yours. harry | march 22, 2017 looks like several owners have indeed filed complaints. do you think there will be a recall? http://teslabears.club/t/suspension-complaints-filed-by-actual-owners pxchanel | march 22, 2017 no, i was not planning on reporting it. i am satisfied with tesla customer service, and the warranty will cover repairs. i feel tesla values safety highly. tesla keeps track of these issues, and if it were a repetitive problem, i am confident they would recall vehicles. harry | march 22, 2017 that does not sound like a very public spirited attitude. are you sure tesla will do the right thing? pxchanel | march 22, 2017 yes https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/model-x-front-suspension-failure?page=1#new there is mounting evidence to indicate there are weaknesses in the tesla suspension. snip: alex.sammy | march 23, 2017 austin service center told me last week: "the growl/rumble/rattle on hard acceleration with model x is a known design problem for which a fix is not yet designed."
Here is another model x in the junkyard. https://www.salvagereseller.com/cars-for-sale/38642046-2016-tesla-model-x-van-nuys-ca the suspension has collapsed on all four wheels causing them to jam up in the wheel wells. the back right hand wheel has gone whompy. see the listing and the attached photographs. please investigate the cause of the multiple failures in the tesla suspensions. thank you. concerned citizen.
Here is another model x in the junkyard: https://www.salvagereseller.com/cars-for-sale/38642046-2016-tesla-model-x-van-nuys-ca once again the suspension has collapsed on all four wheels causing them to jam up in the wells and the back wheel to be skewed at a whompy angle. please investigate. concerned citizen etc. etc,
Here is yet another tesla model x with a collapsed suspension and a front wheel fallen off. https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=24689306&rownumber=2&loadrecent=true not only is the wheel snapped off but it has been sliced in half because the suspension failed whilst the car was still travelling down the road. the rate of failure on these teslas is very much higher than any other brand of car. it is very concerning that no action has been taken to remedy this dangerous situation. please investigate. thank you. a concerned citizen.
Here is a model x in the junkyard, the suspension has collapsed causing all the wheels to go whompy and the front wheel to be wrenched completely off. no air-bags have been deployed so it seems the car was travelling slowly. things would have been much worse if it was travelling at speed. please investigate why the suspensions on these cars are falling apart like this. concerned citizen etc. etc.
Here is a model x in the junkyard. https://www.copart.com/lot/24690287/photos the front lh suspension has collapsed causing the wheel to jam up and back in the wheel well. these cars are described by the manufacturer as sports utility vehicles which implies that they can be driven over bumps without the wheels falling off. owners have reported cases of the wheels falling off when exiting the garage. this would be amusing if it were not for the fact that lives are being placed at risk. please investigate this (properly). thank you - concerned citizen etc. etc.
Here is a tesla model x freshly arrived in the junkyard. https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=24537585&rownumber=55&loadrecent=true front lh wheel and back rh wheel have fallen off. front brake rotor has shattered and suspension links are torn. the back wheel appears to have fallen off for no particular reason. tesla owners on the forums have suggested that the wheels are designed to snap off as a safety feature. since i am forced to share the highways with these teslas i am less than impressed by the idea of having a loose wheel flying through my windshield. please investigate.
Here is another tesla model s in the junkyard. https://www.copart.com/lot/24527147/photos it has only done 4500 miles. it has a ca salvage certificate. there is no damage to the bodywork to suggest that it has been in a collision but the suspension has collapsed and the front rh wheel has jammed up into the wheel well causing some minor damage to the wheel arch. the air-bags have deployed which shows that car stopped very rapidly due to the wheels locking up. the fact that this car is being sold as a salvage wreck suggests that it cannot be restored to a safe condition at a reasonable cost. there are enough similar cases to prove that there is a dangerous weakness in the tesla suspension. it is only through good fortune that another car has not rammed into the back of the car and slaughtered a child in the rearward facing trunk seats. in proportion to the small number of these tesla cars on the roads the number of written off cars in the junkyards is astronomical. please do not allow the alleged green credentials of these cars to override the safety issues that are placing lives at risk. not an owner. concerned citizen etc. etc.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 tesla model x. while driving into the garage, the rear driver side wheel detached from the vehicle. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 1,118.
Here is a discussion thread in which the owner of a brand new model x has suspension damaged and a wheel gone whompy after a trivial brush with a metal pole inside his garage. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/model-x-suspension-arm-broke-with-a-5-mile-impact-is-that-normal.85242/ the wheel and tire are undamaged and there is scarcely a mark on the car. the photographs attached show that the alloy arm has stretched and snapped. if this can happen in such a minor mishap inside the garage then imagine how dangerous it would be on the highway. note that the owner has not reported this to nhtsa and that the forum members are accusing the owner of malicious intent to harm the reputation of tesla.
While driving on the second floor of a parking garage at the local mall with the entire family in the model x (2 adults & 3 kids) to see a family movie, the rear driver side wheel "fell-off" (see attached photo's). it appears as though the control arm disengaged from the chassis of the car vis-a-vis a missing bolt or pin. the vehicle is brand-new (i.e., less than 1,000 mi), purchased directly from tesla, is driven by a mother of three, and is accident free. the car has not been subject to any extreme wear and tear or off-road driving conditions. tesla service manager is familiar with vehicle as it has been recently serviced for door/window issues - no frame or wheel issues prior to the incident. the vehicle was in motion, however as mentioned, we were driving in a crowded parking garage during holiday season. tesla road-side service was extremely helpful and arranged to have the car towed to the local service center - the car was obviously not drivable. tow truck driver had mentioned he had never witnessed anything like what he had seen with our vehicle. moreover, he did express to us that we were very lucky that the wheel hadn't disengaged from the vehicle while we were driving at a high speed (e.g., on the highway). the model x has been at the tesla service center for close to 3 weeks and despite our inquiries, we have not been expressly told what caused the incident or whether or not the issue is a more serious/systemic problem with the vehicle or tesla quality control. consequently, my wife is concerned for the well being of the other mothers/families she routinely see's driving the model x in and around our neighborhood. should a wheel disengage from the car at a high speed, the outcome is likely to be much different and much less favorable. *tr
Here is a tesla model x in the salvage yard. https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=24413831&rownumber=58&loadrecent=true it has not been in a crash there is no impact damage and the air-bags have not deployed. the air suspension has collapsed jamming the wheels up into the wheel wells and causing minor damage to the bodywork. it is obvious that the tesla suspension is too weak for the job and forum posters report that tesla is making it prohibitively expensive to repair cars that have even slight suspension damage. tesla is also causing long delays in making parts available. this seems to be intended to prevent cars with suspension failures being returned to service. the very high power and torque of these cars imposes a huge stress on suspension components. the traction control works by applying the brakes on the wheel which is spinning. this imposes the full torque of the motor on the suspension components accompanied by rapid pulsating of the brakes. owners are reporting alarming noises from the drive shafts and are being asked to alter the height settings and drive gently until components are replaced. https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/model-x-front-suspension-failure please investigate.
Here is a model x in the junkyard. https://www.copart.com/lot/32375026/photos it has only done 1500 miles but is now written off (fl certificate of destruction) it has not been in a crash, no air-bags have deployed. the only damage is caused by a broken suspension. the front suspension arm has snapped the wheel has been sliced completely in half. these same failures are happening repeatedly on teslas. it is obvious that the alloy components are too weak for this heavy high performance car. also there is a manufacturing defect in the suspension ball joints. the stem of the ball joint is made from two parts welded together and there are many reports and photographs that prove the weld fails causing a fracture of the stem. this has happened even at very low speeds whilst parking the car. the consequence of such a failure at highway speed is likely to be fatal. please investigate this.
Here is a tesla model x in the salvage yard. it looks as though the suspension has collapsed. the front lh wheel is jammed up against the rear of the well and it looks as though the rim of the wheel has been sliced apart whilst it was still rotating. it seems very strange that such a failure would happen on a near new vehicle. please investigate the reason why teslas are having suspension failures at such a high rate. note: i am not the owner, all this information is taken from the salvage auction site. date of incident is an approximation.