Suspension Problem on Model S

[JRP3]

I strongly suspect that the dirt roads, very-heavy-salt environment of the OP was accelerating the corrosion.

I think a failed boot or insufficient grease from the factory caused the problem.

Tesla probably should want to make these parts last a lot longer than the current version actually does.

I'm not aware of a significant number of similar failures to make any judgement about the build quality of the parts.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

OP has me on ignore.

Could someone ask him why he didn't inform anyone that he'd filed an NHTSA report when he started the thread? Or why he didn't acknowledge having done so for 2 weeks?

Just curious.

 

[TMSE]

Regulators probe reports of Tesla Model S suspension problems
http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/feds-investigating-potentially-widespread-tesla-model-s-suspension-issue/

Why didn't you inform anyone that you had filed an NHTSA report when you started the thread? Or why you didn't acknowledge having done so for 2 weeks?

Just curious.

 

[gpcordaro]

YES! And this is why he specifically asked you to keep the information confidential until they determined if there is an actual issue, so that fact that they are doing their jobs and responding to the complaint you filed does not get manipulated into kicking off a news cycle, which is exactly what happened.

Congratulations - you just made someone a bunch of money.

I do not care about the stock price. I hope I saved a life.........

 

[omarsultan]

A ball joint going bad is usually not a subtle thing (Symptoms of a Bad or Failing Ball Joint Front | Advice from YourMechanic), the ball joint went south on our Jeep and it sure let me know something was wrong.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

That was fascinating to watch too. I remember people questioning why people bring up the "are you a shorter" question all the time here. This is the reason why. TMC gives you a much more effective stage to broadcast something that can affect Tesla's stock price than any other site out there, given the media monitors this forum regularly. I haven't seen any other car forum have the same phenomenon, not even the "official" Tesla forums. TMC is always the one in the news.

I didn't doubt his intentions until he quoted the internet troll.

By a rule here I wish anyone who quotes his site as a supporting argument, or known to have done in other forums should be kicked out.

I have no time or respect to those who align with outright fraudsters.

I will point out though, that it's unclear whether people know that the particular website in question is a known troll site.

Look, I frequent other car forums too, and you'd be amazed at how many people quote Jim Chanos and various Seeking Alpha people (like that Petersen guy) when they post stuff against Tesla. More often than not, they genuinely do not know that these people have financial interests against Tesla or actively troll against the company.

The logical fallacy of "appeal to authority" is fairly common. Hedge fund managers and people who get articles that sound good published to Seeking Alpha appear to be authoritative.

I'm not in favor of immediately banning people who may post this stuff, because it's not clear to me that people purposely use this info or understand why it is suspect. If there's a pattern of posting over time (people deliberately posting misinformation over and over, despite correction) that is a different story.

I say this as someone who has done everything possible to get the management here to crack down harshly on troll accounts.

 

[Pdub2015]

The last two Toyotas I sold with 90K + miles on them still had original balls joints in them and were fine. I've never seen a ball joint go bad at 50K, or 70K.

So my high performance Quattro needed them, but my Lexus RX400h is doing fine with over 110K. Go figure. I imagine that driving dynamics play as much a part as environmental factors and quality of parts.

 

[Chris TX]

I don't understand this. OP's suspension part fails on a ~3 year old car, that's got 70k miles, out of warranty, and lives in a salt-filled winter wonderland, and he's suspecting this failure is common enough to warrant an NHTSA investigation because other vehicles "might" be affected?

 

[NoPetrolDream]

I drove a Ford F-150 pickup for 18 years after buying it brand new. Front control arms and ball joints had to be replaced around 85k, but they were certainly talking to me loudly before I had the work done. Truck was a city/highway truck, and my city isn't great at maintaining smooth roads. No salt used down here, but even so suspension parts will wear out at some point. My experience in over 35 years of driving is that when these parts are wearing out, they're audible, protesting for attention.

 

[gpcordaro]

Prejudging what? That he is promoting the idea that crashed vehicles in salvage yards have suspension issues when the front ends have clearly been smashed to bits? You can go through the same salvage sites for BMW's, Mercedes, Cadillac and claim that all of those also have suspension problems that led to their crashes. Doesn't make it true.

Mr. Cordano and Mr. Wivaneff have pre-judged. We are responding to their pre-judgement.



There are plenty of people betting against TSLA. The short interest is very high. Plenty of lies and innuendos are pushed by people betting against TSLA day in and day out. Mr. Wivaneff frequents the Yahoo finance boards to rail against Tesla and has a long history of lunacy in this regard. You draw your own conclusions based on that.

Now, Mr. Cordano might not be in it for stock gains either way, but he is clearly in it for something. Maybe it's to get Tesla to cover his entire repair under good will. But in doing so, he's taken the stance that all Model S's have this quality problem. He's the one pre-judging and he's drawn in support from well known trolls to promote his agenda. That's disgusting.

Neither person really is about making Tesla's safer.

I have no agenda except the truth. Either there is a problem or not. I believe there is a problem. It is about public safety and saving lives. I own no tesla stock and I am not short any Tesla stock.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I will point out though, that it's unclear whether people know that the particular website in question is a known troll site.
...
I'm not in favor of immediately banning people who may post this stuff, because it's not clear to me that people purposely use this info or understand why it is suspect. If there's a pattern of posting over time (people deliberately posting misinformation over and over, despite correction) that is a different story.

I agree. I would rather give people the benefit of the doubt, since someone can unknowingly link a known troll (some of which are masters in making their posts seem authoritative; Peterson is a good example). Unless it is very obvious and repeated, I don't think it makes sense to have immediate banning.

 

[luca]

I have no agenda except the truth. Either there is a problem or not. I believe there is a problem. It is about public safety and saving lives. I own no tesla stock and I am not short any Tesla stock.

you actually care your repair cost lol

 

[geneclean55]

I have no agenda except the truth. Either there is a problem or not. I believe there is a problem. It is about public safety and saving lives. I own no tesla stock and I am not short any Tesla stock.

If you are in search of the "truth" then maybe tone down the rhetoric regarding "saving lives". I am looking on the internet for the piles of articles regarding unsafe Teslas and multiple deaths but not finding much.

 

[Drivin]

Why didn't you inform anyone that you had filed an NHTSA report when you started the thread? Or why you didn't acknowledge having done so for 2 weeks?

Just curious.

Why wouldn't someone who has so much experience with cars report this to the NHTSA? What do people think the NHTSA is there for?
I didn't expect that he would have to say he reported it, since it would be so obvious that he should.

 

[Pdub2015]

I have no agenda except the truth. Either there is a problem or not. I believe there is a problem. It is about public safety and saving lives. I own no tesla stock and I am not short any Tesla stock.

It's difficult to take your claim that "It is about public safety and saving lives" seriously, when up thread you complained about Tesla's offer to pay for half of the repair by saying you told them to stick that offer "where the sun don't shine." You've made your point, you have filed your reports, the media is involved... why are you still in this discussion? Is there something else you need to achieve?

 

[Drivin]

I have no agenda except the truth. Either there is a problem or not. I believe there is a problem. It is about public safety and saving lives. I own no tesla stock and I am not short any Tesla stock.

Unfortunately, it is a waste of time to try and defend yourself against some people here. Doesn't matter what you say.
Don't feel bad, there are people who drive their X while holding their door closed due to problems with the door not latching, so safety isn't as much a priority for some people.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Why wouldn't someone who has so much experience with cars report this to the NHTSA? What do people think the NHTSA is there for?
I didn't expect that he would have to say he reported it, since it would be so obvious that he should.

Oh, right, it's obvious that he would report the issue that he acted as though he didn't know what occurred to the NHTSA...

 

[JRP3]

So my high performance Quattro needed them, but my Lexus RX400h is doing fine with over 110K. Go figure. I imagine that driving dynamics play as much a part as environmental factors and quality of parts.

Both of my Toyotas spent their lives here in heavily salted and pothole filled central NY, and my RAV4 saw fairly regular off road use. Certainly a candidate for early failure if there ever was one.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

I do not care about the stock price. I hope I saved a life.........

Sounds like a reasonable, if not required, act by the OP. To have NOT submitted a NHTSA report would have been negligent and irresponsible of the OP. And, while I hate to say this, Tesla hasn't been perfect in this regard from my own personal experience. There are a variety of filters in middle management that just don't seem to get it: if there's ONE car with a problem, there are likely more that are about to be in the same situation . . . .

Tesla is growing so fast that I suspect proper safety/NHTSA training is incomplete.

 

[electricity]

I have no agenda except the truth. Either there is a problem or not. I believe there is a problem. It is about public safety and saving lives. I own no tesla stock and I am not short any Tesla stock.

So you are saying that Tesla does not care about saving lives after they created the safest cars on the planet?? I believe when u say u are not short TSLA but i dont believe when u say you dont have an agenda. I can smell your bullshit from a mile.