Regular maintenance

[Aliomenti]

First of all, apologies as I’m sure this must have been discussed in the UK forum but I couldn’t find anything.

I’m shortly going to take delivery of a Model 3 and have been perusing the manual.

It’s suggested in the manual that the brake callipers need to be lubricated every year when road salt is used (like in the UK) and the tires need to be rotated every 6250 miles.

In my 22 years of driving I’ve never rotated tires, I just change them as a pair when either the front or back gets low on tread. Am I alone here? Should I have been rotating all along? Or is this a Tesla specific problem? Reading online this seems to be common practice in the States.

I’ve also never gone out of my way to have the brake callipers lubricated and I’ve never seen it itemised on a ICE service, outside of having brakes replaced when worn.

What is the general consensus amongst UK Tesla drivers?

 

[Lord Farquad]

Only dual motor cars may need tyre rotation, not RWD.
My MYLR at 18k has 1mm difference between front and rear (5mm front 4mm rear). I’m going to rotate them myself, just to eek out the most from the set before I change them late summer.
You use the mechanical brakes so much less in Tesla’s they may need some care every couple of years, just to ensure they don’t seize.

 

[fholbert]

First of all, apologies as I’m sure this must have been discussed in the UK forum but I couldn’t find anything.

I’m shortly going to take delivery of a Model 3 and have been perusing the manual.

It’s suggested in the manual that the brake callipers need to be lubricated every year when road salt is used (like in the UK) and the tires need to be rotated every 6250 miles.

In my 22 years of driving I’ve never rotated tires, I just change them as a pair when either the front or back gets low on tread. Am I alone here? Should I have been rotating all along? Or is this a Tesla specific problem? Reading online this seems to be common practice in the States.

I’ve also never gone out of my way to have the brake callipers lubricated and I’ve never seen it itemised on a ICE service, outside of having brakes replaced when worn.

What is the general consensus amongst UK Tesla drivers?

US opinion:

Rotating tires gives you a few more miles. If you pay for the rotation it’s not worth it, in the US it’s usually free. What I like about rotating tires is all four wear out at the same time. That and we often see a $75/$100 gift card if we buy four tires.

I’ve never lubricated the brake callipers on an ICE car, but never had a car that rarely uses the brakes.

Lastly: I’m questioning your claim of UK citizenship based on your spelling of “tire”.

 

[Aliomenti]

US opinion:

Rotating tires gives you a few more miles. If you pay for the rotation it’s not worth it, in the US it’s usually free. What I like about rotating tires is all four wear out at the same time. That and we often see a $75/$100 gift card if we buy four tires.

I’ve never lubricated the brake callipers on an ICE car, but never had a car that rarely uses the brakes.

Lastly: I’m questioning your claim of UK citizenship based on your spelling of “tire”.

Why would rotation give more miles? I can see the benefit of changing them all together to get a bulk buy discount. We have that too, but as tires/tyres (both accepted in the Oxford English dictionary ) are not typically rotated, a garage would probably charge, so you loose the bulk buy saving.

Only dual motor cars may need tyre rotation, not RWD.
My MYLR at 18k has 1mm difference between front and rear (5mm front 4mm rear). I’m going to rotate them myself, just to eek out the most from the set before I change them late summer.
You use the mechanical brakes so much less in Tesla’s they may need some care every couple of years, just to ensure they don’t seize.

Why would AWD cars need rotation but not RWD? Could uneven tread wear (front to back) cause issues for the dual range motors? I’ve only ever owned front wheel drive cars, so I’m a bit ignorant here.

 

[Overworked]

Ignore the tyre rotation - it is an American thing, hence why it is referred to as "tire rotation".

Ignore the caliper lubrication. Not necessary. However, once you get used to "one pedal driving" and get more experience of Tesla ownership you will realise that you should give the brakes a good emergency stop once a year to ensure that the discs and pads get a good clean.

Well done for reading the manual and then asking sensible questions - as you will realise that is rare with new posters! They usually ask questions that are in the manual over and over again

Oh, and do enjoy your new motor. It will put a smile on your face. Your first set of tyres will not last as long as your second set. It will become clear to you why that is at the end of your first month of ownership, after trying the launch time from 0-60 a few times and then showing it off to spouse/partner/children/grandchildren/friends/work mates etc etc

 

[Roymondo]

(New member here!) Stripping, cleaning and lubricating brake calipers has always been a standard part of a "full service" from the local independent garage I use for my ICE car servicing - they list it as a specific item on their tick-box list of work done. Does seem a bit "old school" but makes perfect sense to me (but then, I am old...)

 

[fholbert]

Why would rotation give more miles? I can see the benefit of changing them all together to get a bulk buy discount. We have that too, but as tires/tyres are not typically rotated, a garage would probably charge, so you loose the bulk buy saving.

Say your front tyres are wearing on the insides and the rears wearing normally.

Rotate front to rear to get more miles out of the tyres and get your alignment fixed. Again, if you pay for tyre rotation the savings is canceled out.

tires/tyres (both accepted in the Oxford English dictionary )

Is the UK seeing Masters of the Air on Apple TV? An 8 part series based on US 8th Air Force bombing Germany from UK bases during WWII. (Highly Recommend) A German spy posing as a US airman had all the baseball answers but outed himself when he signed a document Day, Month, Year.

 

[GRiLLA]

First of all, apologies as I’m sure this must have been discussed in the UK forum but I couldn’t find anything.

I’m shortly going to take delivery of a Model 3 and have been perusing the manual.

It’s suggested in the manual that the brake callipers need to be lubricated every year when road salt is used (like in the UK) and the tires need to be rotated every 6250 miles.

In my 22 years of driving I’ve never rotated tires, I just change them as a pair when either the front or back gets low on tread. Am I alone here? Should I have been rotating all along? Or is this a Tesla specific problem? Reading online this seems to be common practice in the States.

I’ve also never gone out of my way to have the brake callipers lubricated and I’ve never seen it itemised on a ICE service, outside of having brakes replaced when worn.

What is the general consensus amongst UK Tesla drivers?

Brake callipers are every 2 years, not every year. The air filters are also normally replaced at 2 years, although its possible to do that yourself if you dont ming contorting a bit.

 

[Aliomenti]

Brake callipers are every 2 years, not every year. The air filters are also normally replaced at 2 years, although its possible to do that yourself if you dont ming contorting a bit.

• Clean and lubricate brake calipers every year or 12,500 miles (20,000 km) if in an area where roads are salted during winter.

Yea, I’ve always changed cabin filters in my current Kia. Seems a bit silly to pay someone when it’s normally just behind the glove box or such like.

 

[MrT3]

Yea, I’ve always changed cabin filters in my current Kia. Seems a bit silly to pay someone when it’s normally just behind the glove box or such like.

It’s a bit more fiddly with the M3, especially RHD ones but still an easy DIY task.

 

[as400]

Took ownership of my 3LR a month ago, there is no evidence as to what has been done by the previous 1 owner since new 2021...so just for my peace of mind got a local Tesla service centre (Gatwick) to do the brakes/air filter while it was in having the steering wheel and charging port replaced free of charge.

 

[GRiLLA]

• Clean and lubricate brake calipers every year or 12,500 miles (20,000 km) if in an area where roads are salted during winter.

Yea, I’ve always changed cabin filters in my current Kia. Seems a bit silly to pay someone when it’s normally just behind the glove box or such like.

Interestingly that's changed in the 2024.8 version of the manual, it used to be every 2 years.

I'm not sure I'm that bothered by it, I think we had salt on our roads here no more than about 3 times this year.

 

[Adopado]

Interestingly that's changed in the 2024.8 version of the manual, it used to be every 2 years.

I'm not sure I'm that bothered by it, I think we had salt on our roads here no more than about 3 times this year.

Yes, since the Model 3 came to the UK in 2019 the brake servicing has gone from nothing required, then to once every 2 years, then to every year if in an area with regularly salted roads. These changes have clearly resulted from direct experience of service centres dealing with UK cars.

For anyone still wondering if this really is likely to be an issue I can confirm that my own attempts to service my brakes after 2 winters were abandoned due to seriously seized retaining pins (beyond being able to be removed with normal hand tools) and consequent uneven pad/disc contact leading to evident surface disc corrosion. I had Tesla service the brakes.

Clearly the patterns of usage and the locations of use will have a major impact. I knew I was likely to be in the high risk category as I live in a rural area at a high elevation on a road that is regularly salted throughout the winter. In fact the road was salted within the past few days and it’s nearly May ffs!

Hopefully Tesla has learned that dry assembly of brake components is a no no for cars being supplied to countries that experience winter!

 

[btc1k]

Yes, since the Model 3 came to the UK in 2019 the brake servicing has gone from nothing required, then to once every 2 years, then to every year if in an area with regularly salted roads. These changes have clearly resulted from direct experience of service centres dealing with UK cars.

For anyone still wondering if this really is likely to be an issue I can confirm that my own attempts to service my brakes after 2 winters were abandoned due to seriously seized retaining pins (beyond being able to be removed with normal hand tools) and consequent uneven pad/disc contact leading to evident surface disc corrosion. I had Tesla service the brakes.

Clearly the patterns of usage and the locations of use will have a major impact. I knew I was likely to be in the high risk category as I live in a rural area at a high elevation on a road that is regularly salted throughout the winter. In fact the road was salted within the past few days and it’s nearly May ffs!

Hopefully Tesla has learned that dry assembly of brake components is a no no for cars being supplied to countries that experience winter!

I also had seized retaining pins after not following the recommended 2 year lubrication schedule. £120 later to fix it...

Also didn't rotate tyres, replaced just the rears and then that threw the traction control system as there was a large differential between the tread on the front and rears.

I now follow the Tesla recommendations, lessons learned. Shouldn't have listened to KAREN on the forums who said ignore it all

 

[Aliomenti]

I also had seized retaining pins after not following the recommended 2 year lubrication schedule. £120 later to fix it...

Also didn't rotate tyres, replaced just the rears and then that threw the traction control system as there was a large differential between the tread on the front and rears.

I now follow the Tesla recommendations, lessons learned. Shouldn't have listened to KAREN on the forums who said ignore it all

Do you get Tesla to rotate tyres and lube the brakes? I’m wondering if someone like Kwik Fit or ATS would do it? They don’t list anything like that as a service on their websites.

 

[Katic1972]

I got Tesla in today. I had originally booked a service appointment for pairing a card (it’s not the process that was the issue it was the card itself), I just ordered new cards and had to pay for them myself but kept the service appointment and changed it to check on creaking swing arms. At the same time I requested the brake and filter service and tyre rotation.

Sure enough the swing arms are faulty and will get replaced asap under warranty. The other work was chargeable and cost £240. Madness I know but to be honest i couldn’t be arsed and didn’t have a jack. Thought it worth it to get them in for the swing arms and to check anything else out at the same time.

 

[navguy12]

First of all, apologies as I’m sure this must have been discussed in the UK forum but I couldn’t find anything.

I’m shortly going to take delivery of a Model 3 and have been perusing the manual.

It’s suggested in the manual that the brake callipers need to be lubricated every year when road salt is used (like in the UK) and the tires need to be rotated every 6250 miles.

In my 22 years of driving I’ve never rotated tires, I just change them as a pair when either the front or back gets low on tread. Am I alone here? Should I have been rotating all along? Or is this a Tesla specific problem? Reading online this seems to be common practice in the States.

I’ve also never gone out of my way to have the brake callipers lubricated and I’ve never seen it itemised on a ICE service, outside of having brakes replaced when worn.

What is the general consensus amongst UK Tesla drivers?

Canuck here; LR RWD TM3 about to turn six years old with 125,000 km.

I lube the callipers once a year (have done this for decades on all our vehicles) as well as check for moisture in the brake fluid (dip test strips) once every two years.

Brake fluid test strip:



Three years ago, when servicing the front callipers, I noted on both sides (port and starboard) that the outboard brake pads needed replacing because corrosion had caused the friction material to separate from the backing plate(s).

I replaced the pads with another set of OEM (Tesla/Brembo) pads.

Fast forward to this month; routine yearly calliper lube and inspection and sure enough, both outboard pads had separated from the backing plates due to corrosion…just replaced them with pads from Rock Auto (online automotive parts supplier) for one third the price of the OEM pads:



Moral of the story: if you live in an area where salt is routinely used in the winter and drive a car that doesn’t use the friction brakes 99% of the time, it’s worth it to have the callipers checked/serviced once a year.

As always, YMMV.

 

[m3p_uk]

Canuck here; LR RWD TM3 about to turn six years old with 125,000 km.

I lube the callipers once a year (have done this for decades on all our vehicles) as well as check for moisture in the brake fluid (dip test strips) once every two years.

Brake fluid test strip:

View attachment 1043004

Three years ago, when servicing the front callipers, I noted on both sides (port and starboard) that the outboard brake pads needed replacing because corrosion had caused the friction material to separate from the backing plate(s).

I replaced the pads with another set of OEM (Tesla/Brembo) pads.

Fast forward to this month; routine yearly calliper lube and inspection and sure enough, both outboard pads had separated from the backing plates due to corrosion…just replaced them with pads from Rock Auto (online automotive parts supplier) for one third the price of the OEM pads:

View attachment 1043003

Moral of the story: if you live in an area where salt is routinely used in the winter and drive a car that doesn’t use the friction brakes 99% of the time, it’s worth it to have the callipers checked/serviced once a year.

As always, YMMV.

Do you have any photos of the pads coming off the backing? Interested to see what it looks like

 

[btc1k]

Do you get Tesla to rotate tyres and lube the brakes? I’m wondering if someone like Kwik Fit or ATS would do it? They don’t list anything like that as a service on their websites.

I did, it was about £60 from memory

 

[navguy12]

Do you have any photos of the pads coming off the backing? Interested to see what it looks like

Go to post #231 in this link and scroll about 3/4 way down:

Mike's monthly Model 3 efficiency report

www.teslaownersonline.com