Thank you very much for this video. Very helpful indeed. A couple of things I did different. First, you can jack the car at the rear and get it high enough to put the axle stand under the front jacking point. Once that is done, I didn't bother with a second jack stand. Then, while working the joint definitely helps, I removed the spring wire from the rubber boot and peeled back the boot. Then I cleaned out all the horrible gunked up grease and replaced it with new. Taking the spring wire wrap off is the best option, I'm sure. It's a bit of a fiddle, but easy enough to get off and on again. Once the grease is replaced and the cover is back on, it is really easy to work the ball joint and get the new grease spread around. Squeak is gone! Thanks again for a great video!
WD40 was my fix. I had this exact noise problem with my 4 year old Model 3. Drove it less than 35K miles, but it's past it's warranty. Tesla in Portland, OR wanted to charge me $497 upfront to fix this. Shocked that there's no such thing as a free estimate for them to look at it first and discuss with you after your warranty expires. I found this expense for my low-mileage car ridiculous, so I just sprayed WD40 in the areas described in this video. It's been months and the squeaking has completely stopped! I didn't expect my stop-gap to last this long, but I'm happy that I didn't have to spend anything.
@@tumenodnuud4101 yeah. I poked and injected lubricant into that rubber cover and it fixed the issue . I didn’t even have to take off the wheel. It still squeaked for a day, but after day two, it was all good.
Had same issue. Used silicone lubricant on all the rubber/silicone connections and went a bit overboard and took the rubber housing off the ball joint and added some grease in there before putting it back together. The little metal to by is a bit difficult to work with but if you take your time it is possible. No more noise. 🙇🏻♂️ you’re doing the Lord’s work.
That is what I did. I cleaned out all the horrible gunked up grease and replaced it with new. Taking the spring wire wrap off is the best option, I'm sure. It's a bit of a fiddle, but easy enough to get off and on again. Once the grease is replaced and the cover is back on, it is really easy to work the ball joint and get the new grease spread around. Squeak is gone!
Those wheels and calipers are incredibly clean for 2019, what a well cared for car 👍 Not sure how or why i missed this vid but good old youtube recommended it today
Used a grease needle to inject fresh grease into the rubber housing on the ball joint, then used a lot of silicone lubricant on the control arm joints where they connect to the vehicle body (looked a bit rusty). Still squeaking the next day, but drove about 100 miles and all squeaking/creaking is now gone! I removed the tire to get a little more room for the spray can, but i don't think it was necessary.
Thanks bud!! I owe you a cold beer. Saved me a couple of hundred bucks and at least half a day dealing with Tesla service. Very easy DIY fix. I recommend using a strap with a rachet to take the tension off of the pinch bolt in order to remove it and to bring it back together after getting the ball joint moving again. Many thanks!
Love these vids. It’s not that Tesla isn’t producing quality cars, it’s the parts that have slight wear out that need lubrication. You even pointed out the ball joints which is another common issue where they need to be greased. Very simple fixes. If you bring it to a SC ask for a fix and not a replacement part. Replacement part will only have the issue come back later and you’re back to the drawing board. EXCELLENT VIDEO.
Thank you. As you point out it's not a quality issue. Tesla have changed the upper control arms as they were prone to squeaking through lack of grease. The newer version is an improvement on the original ones. I had my MOT in late September and the squeaking returned immediately afterwards. This was due to being jacked up and the suspension travel extended. I could have repeated the same process I documented in this video. However, as I knew Tesla had updated the control arms and increased the amount of grease in the ball joint I opted for them to swap them free of charge under warranty.
@@johntisbury yes, I read on the different variations for those control arms. Just got my MYP two weeks ago and heading to the SC for creak/squish on all FOUR tires. At first I was pissed(excuse my French) because the car is brand new and I thought it was the suspension or control arms. Upon deep research MYP cars have this “issue” where they leave the manufacturer sticker inside the tire wheel well. I told SC to please remove the rims from the tires and check to see if said stickers are in there. Once removed it solves the creak/squish issue. The sticker apparently is made of a foil metalish material that makes sound at that point of revolution. Again not a quality issue just but rather a silly one.
@@ManchesterUtdFan I can appreciate that being rather annoying for what is a simple fix and obvious production problem. I'm sure Tesla will soon resolve that going forwards as they are quick to improve. The Model Y is certainly proving popular, the second best selling car in the UK in September and it's only going to go from strength to strength. Good choice.
I bought an automotive syringe and injected grease straight through the rubber 'boot' without even taking off the wheel/tire. Had to drive it around for a few miles but the noise is gone.
Refreshing to see someone who's prepared to diagnose and fix without troubling the garage or the wallet. A ball joint splitter was one of my very first tools, purchased back when nearly everyone did their own maintenance. I don't remember having to buy any large torx sockets though!
I did have the ball joint splitter to hand too although didn't need it in the end. Torx sockets are strange things, there's quite a few around the Tesla.
Tesla did revise the upper control arms to stop this happening but not sure when that happened. You could try the fix and see. If it resolves it then perhaps book it in for a warranty upgrade.
Mine picked up a similar issue a couple of months back had Tesla in Nottingham take a quick look at it while I was nearby, and they fixed it under warranty a couple of weeks later (it's 2020 model). Superb service.
Just wait till your out of warranty. Here's what they quoted me to fix the squeak: 1) FR UPR CTRL ARM ASSY, RH(1044326-00-J) 2) FR UPR CTRL ARM ASSY, LEFT HAND(1044321-00-J) 3) FRONT LOWER COMPLIANCE LINK ASSEMBLY, LEFT HAND(1044354-00-A) 4) FRONT LOWER COMPLIANCE LINK ASSEMBLY, RIGHT HAND(1044359-00-A) 5) LOWER LATERAL LINK - FRONT(1044341-00-D) 6) LOWER LATERAL LINK - FRONT(1044341-00-D) To the tune of 2k. Lucky I did some research.....
Get yourself a grease needle and pump the boot of the upper and lower ball joins with new grease. The noise is in the ball joints and it's because the grease was inadequate from the factory.
John - my 2020 M3 LR had this issue and Tesla MK replaced the front upper control arms on both sides - they judged them to be OK but wanted to avoid an , apparently inevitable, remission. Jolly good all done at no cost but here I am one month later waiting for a service appointment to get the job done again!!😪😪
Ah that’s not good. I did get mine replaced too by Tesla Northampton SC as the modified arms were an improvement over the mk 1 versions. They have been fine since, 29th sept 2022 was the date they were replaced
Awesome, great to hear. My squeak did return after its MOT as they jack the car up and suspension drops to full travel, the squeak returned, so redid the procedure again.
Thank you for the amazing video John, my 2019 Tesla M3 started the squeaky noise today. And I book the earlies appointment date (in 3 weeks). Is the car still safe to drive for 3 more weeks?
I do wonder how long the DIY fix will continue quieting the noise, compared to having the control arm replaced (with possibly improved lubrication of ball joint). Such a squeaking issue appears to be extremely common for Teslas.
@@johntisbury Thanks a lot for the explanation. Since it is very expensive to replace it I also wonder if it is still quiet. PS: the Tesla garage refused to do this fix saying it will start squeaking again after a weak. They wanted to replace the whole arm.
Mine has developed a different problem, but with similar symptoms. 1. Put the car in drive/ reverse, foot brake off. 2. Steer left/right while stationary and observe creaking while steering. 3. Apply footbrake, and observe that creaking has gone away while steering. Same goes for park mode. It’s like the brake pads are rubbing against the discs, indicating that the hold mode isn’t quite strong enough. I’m wandering if that’s a software fixable thing, or whether the discs need cleaning. Only started noticing last week after update to 2022.16 software. 12800 miles on the clock…
That's interesting Anthony, as you say sounds similar yet different. The creep mode does not engage the brakes so can't be brake related. Must be suspension. It's mechanical over software by the sounds of it.
Did you loosen the two bolts by the bushings? You didn't mention it and they are loose. Not the bolt by the ball joint but the two bushings towards the middle of the car. They should be tight. Torque spec for the ball join bolt is 41.3 ft/lb and the bushing bolts are 36.9 ft/lbs.
Yes good call. I'm lead to believe they simple replace the control arms as the early ones had a lack of grease in the ball joint. How true this is I don't know. My fix is simple, but may need to be done again later down the road.
Mine literally started squeaking today.. same front drivers side.. wonder weather the heat has been final straw! My MP3 is due in service centre on 1 Aug for loom recall and a broken front seat so will add upper arm to their list! Thx
Timing and all that! They will probably replace the control arms rather than do this fix. The later arms have more grease in the ball joint I understand.
@@raythomas7392 not sure what you are asking here Ray. If it's cost to repair, it's free apart from your time if you do it yourself. If Tesla do it and it's under warranty then also free. Not sure on the cost if you have to pay as that will vary country to country and their approach to fixing it.
@@vincent-n6o you won’t need a new ball joint after only 14,000 miles that’s no mileage at all, unless you’ve done all those miles off-road. Just needs lube.
I've had both fronts replaced under warranty and just had failures of both rear trailing arm bushes, which requires the subframe to be dropped in order to get the bolts out to replace them, which creates a potential alignment issue when re-mounting it I've done 145000 miles, so I'm way ahead of the curve than most people but its going to happen to everyone at some point (mine had been squeaking for 9 months before I found someone who could diagnose and then repair it)
John, thank you for the video. It's very helpful. You had this issue at least a year ago according to YT. Just wondering, is the squeaking still gone? I'm asking this so I can be sure to apply the fix by myself or to order a new upper control arm.
The squeak had disappeared for about 6 months. However when the car went in for its annual MOT, the suspension is dropped to its full extension whilst on the ramp. Afterwards the squeak did return. The issue is lack of grease in the ball joint. The car was still under warranty so I got Tesla to replace the control arms with the newer modified version which has a better ball joint and grease pocket.
@@johntisbury Thank you for your answer. Unfortunately, I don't have Tesla service in the country I live so I guess have to consider to take it to the services specialized for Tesla vehicles and explain the issue and maybe show them this video.
@@trancevision83 ah that's unfortunate. It's not an uncommon problem for any car to be fair so any competent mechanic would be able to grease the ball joint or manipulate the grease that's already present in the joint back into the position around the moving parts.
My Model 3 is a 2021 refresh - one of the first batches from Shanghai - and it has started creaking after 40,000 miles. Is it possible that it does not have the new front upper control arms?
Good question, unlikely but possible. The front upper control arms have gone through a number of iterations in design. No idea what the current part number is.
Upper Control Arm to Knuckle: 56 Nm which is from the Service Manual. However, this is 3rd hand from a Reddit thread. I therefore cannot verify this information. It can be found here too: tighttorque.com/cars/tesla/model-3
Why no one talking about lower arms that making crazy noise. That is most common... I had similar issue in my model 3, so, tesla replaced upper arms and charged me for that, but noise still there. And then they said its from lower arms... i still don't know why they replaced upper arms...
This is interesting, my noise was definitely the ball joints in the upper control arms. Everyone I've talked to, who had the same issue, was the upper control arms. It sounds like it's not the same issue. You have a noise but it's not the upper control arms. Mis-diagnosed by Tesla. It could be the lowers or even the drive shafts as they can squeak on stop and start. Hope you get to the bottom of it.
Hi, my model 3 is now creating such irritating sound. Should I apply the lubricant to both the control arm as i am not sure which side the sounds are coming from?
Thinking about this it maybe the ball joint that needs manipulating to move the grease about. The lubricant won't do any harm, but the ball joint is probably the thing making the noise.
I tried to follow this, but I could not get the T50 hex bolt out after removing the nut. I hit the uncovered nut end with a hammer a few times, and it still did not come out. Is the hole holding the bolt threaded? I don't want to damage the bolt because I'd need the car to drive to a store to purchase a replacement.
No it's not threaded from memory. I suspect corrosion has set in between the bolt and the knuckle. Pump some oil, WD-40 or similar in to see if that helps to loosen the bolt. If you hit the end of the bolt with a hammer make sure the nut is still on the end of the bolt to protect the threads of the bolt. You don't want to knacker up the threads by hitting it with a hammer.
@@johntisbury Thanks for the suggestion. I sprayed the bolt where I could, put the nut back on, replaced the tire, and lowered the car soon after I wrote my original comment. I scheduled to have my usual garage look at it to see what they say. If I don't like they're assessment, I try this again.
My 2019 Model 3 with 30,000 miles on it developed this problem just a few days ago. I have about 3 weeks of warranty left. I just put in a service request. I am guessing they will only fix the side that is squeaking and not perform any preventative maintenance on the other sides.
Did you need to use force to put it back the ball joint? Did you need a second jack to force the pin in? Or everything can be done by hand? Asking because i only have 1 car jack to lift the vehicle and i will have no support for the axis or anything
Hi Thanks for the video. However, I took the joint off from the upper arm and now can't put the front wheel back to the pivot joint due to the strong upwad force at the upper arm. Could you help me what do I need to do to put the piece back to the joint?
Nevermind. Didnt know the bolt is supposed to lock in the joint thorough its groove. After removing the bolt, with some craw bar, i was able to push the pivot joint in place.
That's frustrating to hear. Is the sound of the squeak exactly the same as mine on the video? It could be there is no grease in the ball joint which means even if you manipulated it with no grease it's not going to improve things. The other option is the squeak is coming from elsewhere.
@@johntisburyyea it’s the same annoying squeak and on the driver side only. That make sense, might need to replace it then. Do you recall how quick it went away after doing this? I drove all day for a while and different speeds and turns, so the grease should be moving around if it is that.
@@johntisbury ahhh ok, then yea, must be something deeper since I did do what you did Welp, it was worth a try before they charge me an arm and a leg Thanks for the replies
My 2.5 year old Model 3 has developed this exact fault over the last 5 days (driver side too). Company car so can't do myself and wait time for a garage is 4 weeks - would this be safe to continue driving on until then?
Alright alright alright. So I am looking at 2 trips to an incredibly far away service station (52 hours of driving total) and my TM3 is creaking like this but worse. They replaced my control arms. Didn't work so now they want to check out my lateral links BUT perhaps they just need to do this in my driveway?! Is it possible Tesla doesn't have a clue what they are doing? Can I send you a video of my squeak?
Ah Laura I'm sorry to hear this. TBF if they have already replaced your control arms then it's highly unlikely to be the same thing that is squeaking as shown in this video. It will almost certainly be something else. Troubleshooting squeaks is not easy, you have to fault find and replace / grease / secure and then see if that fixes it. It's not a black or white process often requiring iteration before finding the actual component. Being so far away from a service centre is a real downer. I'm not a mechanic or Tesla expert so I doubt I could remotely interpret your squeak from a video. You could try the Tesla Forums, however, you will problem get 20 diagnosis for what is causing it.
It is on the early models and yes covered under warranty. Tesla later modified the ball joint in the upper control arm to fix this problem. These can be retrofitted under warranty.
