Tesla Upper Control Arm CRACKED

[u00mem9]

1 right front wheel and 1 left rear wheel were bent due to that she ran over them trying to stop, no other damage part reported beside the the brake line.

Can you post a picture of the wheel damage?

Most of us are interested to know if there is a fatigue fracture of the upper link...that would be a clear design issue.

Most of us have also had the experience of hearing an elaborate story from a loved one about an accident that "just happened" which later happened to coincide with running into something...like those nasty bot dots...

So, expect a lot of skepticism about your wife's story, but please continue to bring more details.

 

[MP3Mike]

Btw Just got confirmation that it was not a control arm, it was the upper camber arm that broke, repair cost estimates at $4365.35. No other part were damage other than tha broken camber

As far as from the tech they to me that the brake line broke that cause the lost of brake. I think those are brake fluids

1 right front wheel and 1 left rear wheel were bent due to that she ran over them trying to stop, no other damage part reported beside the the brake line.

So which is it? Is the only broken part the upper camber arm, or was the brake line broken, and two wheels bent as well?

Those must be some huge bots dots to bend wheels. (I have never seen those kind of dots bend a wheel before.)

 

[MP3Mike]

From post #17 where his response ended up in the quote: "She had to literally let the regenerating brake to roll the car to a stop. so by the time she was completely stop her car were on top of the DOTS."

Thanks for that, I missed that since it wasn't attributed to the OP. And since the regen kicks off between 5-10 MPH she would have kept rolling...

But the brakes 100% gone? Does Tesla not use at least a separate front/brake reservoir like almost every other car, so that you at least have 50% of your brakes. (Even if the back brakes have less stopping power.)

 

[scottm]

Just another idea for relief, you might want to launch on... with or without your insurance acting for you..
pursue the city or the university for damages caused to your car by road impairments they put there where it's entirely too easy to hit them.
Give them the bill.

Our city has a budget for paying for pothole hits.

 

[K-MTG]

I am curious if something similar ever occurred on a Model X

 

[u00mem9]

Looks like the anti-roll bar link in the photo of the front suspension is slightly bent. (Buckled)

That would match well with a 5000lb car clotting the inside curb of a corner. I think this will be obvious if you ever post the photos of the wheels.

It would also be interesting to know the exact intersection where the sudden failure occurred. (Direction of travel, etc)

 

[mongo]

Thanks for that, I missed that since it wasn't attributed to the OP. And since the regen kicks off between 5-10 MPH she would have kept rolling...

But the brakes 100% gone? Does Tesla not use at least a separate front/brake reservoir like almost every other car, so that you at least have 50% of your brakes. (Even if the back brakes have less stopping power.)

If you don't know what to expect from a brake failure, then you could think the brakes are totally out, even if you still have partial brake authority. Pedal travels further than usual, "oh no, no brakes". Could be she kept pressing anyway and that did slow the car down.

I thought regen/ inverter braking worked at even lower speeds to allow for single pedal in stop and go traffic (creep off).

 

[mongo]

Looks like the anti-roll bar link in the photo of the front suspension is slightly bent. (Buckled)

That would match well with a 5000lb car clotting the inside curb of a corner. I think this will be obvious if you ever post the photos of the wheels.

It would also be interesting to know the exact intersection where the sudden failure occurred. (Direction of travel, etc)

Hard to tell, that link is not straight to begin with based on this walk through:
2012 Tesla Model S Signature Performance Suspension Walkaround

 

[u00mem9]

Hard to tell, that link is not straight to begin with based on this walk through:
2012 Tesla Model S Signature Performance Suspension Walkaround

Wow, you weren't kidding!

 

[mongo]

That link should never see much force during straight line driving. There are three links to the knuckle, and the shock connects to the knuckle directly, so this part only handles lateral force. View attachment 242179
It looks like the force pulled the center section downward. There is something attached at that point, I'm guessing it is the ride height sensor. If the wheel was forced up hard enough, or the air shock failed, then perhaps the ride sensor bottomed out and was solid enough to fracture the arm? And does the arm look entirely broken, or just on the bottom section (top bent)? Without this link, the wheel could tilt, but the vehicle should stay more or less upright.

If that is where the suspension ride height sensor attaches, then this bend would make the car think that it was riding too high (false increase in distance), and drop the vehicle to the stops.

From the images in 2012 Tesla Model S Signature Performance Suspension Walkaround
1: That is the connection point for the ride height sensor
2: There is no way it created any interesting forces (its a link to a plastic lever arm)

 

[MP3Mike]

I thought regen/ inverter braking worked at even lower speeds to allow for single pedal in stop and go traffic (creep off).

Nope regen will not bring you to a stop on a Model S or X.

 

[jeffro01]

I'm not an automotive suspension expert but I have to say, something doesn't make sense here just from reading the posts from start to finish...

Jeff

 

[Max*]

I've never seen a failure of the upper control arm, other parts sure, but not this failure.

I'll admit it, you were right. I did some digging and there have been a lot of other suspension failures, but I didn't see the upper control arm.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Nope regen will not bring you to a stop on a Model S or X.

Yep, long discussion in other thread about this. I suppose the dragging on the dot may have brought it to a stop.

The thing about this is that according to the account (something broke before hitting the dots) it's going to difficult to determine if any impact occurred before something broke or afterwards. No video or third party witnesses either.

 

[SMAlset]

Learning all kinds of things about cars reading these threads and trying to understand about certain parts. One thing I read with regard to Control Arms is that if they are going bad there's a few things that can be noticed: loud banging or clunking sound when driving over bumps or turning the car, wheel assembly moves or shakes (noticable when jacked up), steering wheel feels loose, steering wheel or car vibrates when driving at anything over 30mph, tires have uneven wear (if PSI is at kept at correct level and tires are cupping or warping time to check the arms).

OP did you or your wife notice anything like this before this happened?

Btw Just got confirmation that it was not a control arm, it was the upper camber arm that broke, repair cost estimates at $4365.35.....

Oh sorry, just noticed your updated info post about a revision on ID'ing the part. Now need to learn about camber arms. I do know cambers are designed to keep your wheels/tires flat and vertically straight on the road. Are there "warning signs" for these if they are going to fail?

For anyone like me having trouble knowing what part we are talking about, I think Jeff Chan's site has 2 nice photos of the upper and lower cambers (photos 3 and 4): Comments on Tesla Model S public engineering presentation The photos are clickable for a larger image. So am I correct that the Air Suspension is attached to a part that's bolted to the upper camber arm? Can someone outline the sequence of events on how all these parts and damage would come into play. Assuming a broken camber would start it. Also thinking when the shop said OP's car hit something they were refering to something more like a pothole that would cause the wheel to jerk down quickly and stress the part?

 

[JohnSnowNW]

1 right front wheel and 1 left rear wheel were bent due to that she ran over them trying to stop, no other damage part reported beside the the brake line.

Wait, I thought she ended up stopping on the dots... So, the vehicle has two bent wheels on opposite sides, and ends, of the vehicle and the thought is that this damage occurred by hitting some dots below 35 miles an hour after the part failure?

 

[TSLA Pilot]

OP: Was this a front or rear wheel suspension arm that gave way?

Second, have you ever had your DU replaced? Reason I ask: if it was the rear, there is a bolt can be installed backwards when this is done. When this is the case, the bolt can act as a lathe and score the control arm.

This is NOT good . . . .

 

[TSLA Pilot]

I think the OP has the extended warranty and Tesla says it's not covered, which is the issue here.

Have to disagree. There is an implied warranty of merchantability (IIRC) in which one might presume that a suspension would last longer than the stated 75,000 miles. Furthermore, this is a life-risking failure requiring a NHTSA report at the following web site:

Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Tesla should warranty this as goodwill.

Otherwise, the OP should be there to remove the part and carefully send it to a lab for fatigue/failure analysis. DO NOT PUT THE TWO PARTS CLOSE TO EACH OTHER as this will result in failed evaluation. Be in touch with the lab in advance to learn how to ship this and get good results for testing.

 

[scottm]

OP: Was this a front or rear wheel suspension arm that gave way?

Second, have you ever had your DU replaced? Reason I ask: if it was the rear, there is a bolt can be installed backwards when this is done. When this is the case, the bolt can act as a lathe and score the control arm.

This is NOT good . . . .

I'm not the OP. But it's a rear link. It's a 2012 car.
There's a axle boot in the picture showing the break.
Axles were only on the rear up to about late 2014, when D models first became available.

 

[scottm]

DO NOT PUT THE TWO PARTS CLOSE TO EACH OTHER as this will result in failed evaluation.

What 2 parts? The arm with the break is in one piece. It's bent "in half" but still intact as an arm.