Suspension squeaking/groaning

[KieferSkunk]

This summer, during our incessant smoke from wildfires in the region, my 3 started squeaking and groaning over bumpy roads and around turns. It's definitely coming from somewhere in the suspension, though I can't quite figure out if it's the front or the rear. My steering wheel also squeaks a little when I turn it far to the left (e.g. when backing out of a parking spot).

Is this something I should be concerned about? It doesn't seem to affect the performance of the car, but it's kinda annoying. And it's unfortunately the latest in a series of minor nuisances that are starting to add up in this otherwise amazing car. Given all the stories here of poor customer service and failure/refusal to honor warranties, I'm not confident that Tesla would give me the time of day over this.

 

[OxBrew]

I've actually been impressed with service's responsiveness to issues. I had a rattle in the driver pillar that they fixed with felt pads, and then later reattached the pillar when I popped it off with my winter tires loaded in the back banging against it (I was lazy and shoved them in roughly).

I have a couple places near the steering lock where there's a weird noise, but seems about like any car. At the limit, parts are more likely to get over constrained and start to creak.

I know there's a lot of inconsistency in service center quality. I guess I'm lucky to be in a smaller city with a new, larger SC that's obviously under capacity. I just got my tires swapped, the appointment was only 2 days out, and mobile service showed up within the first 10 minutes of the window.

 

[android04]

This summer, during our incessant smoke from wildfires in the region, my 3 started squeaking and groaning over bumpy roads and around turns. It's definitely coming from somewhere in the suspension, though I can't quite figure out if it's the front or the rear. My steering wheel also squeaks a little when I turn it far to the left (e.g. when backing out of a parking spot).

Is this something I should be concerned about? It doesn't seem to affect the performance of the car, but it's kinda annoying. And it's unfortunately the latest in a series of minor nuisances that are starting to add up in this otherwise amazing car. Given all the stories here of poor customer service and failure/refusal to honor warranties, I'm not confident that Tesla would give me the time of day over this.

It sounds like the upper control arm ball joints are making the noise. It's safe to keep driving, and the noise is caused by the grease in the joints migrating away. Make a service appointment in the app and if you are still within the vehicle basic warranty, Tesla will replace the upper control arms for you.