2019 Tesla Model 3 Suspension Problems

Suspensions. I know there’s been known defects with the suspensions and they’ve only recall 422 vehicles so far (2018-2019 Tesla model 3, I feel more vehicles in those years are affected.

While driving, the front driver-side suspension collapsed due to a complete detachment of the front lower lateral link. The fastener (bolt) backed out entirely and fell onto the road/under-shield. This matches the failure mode described in NHTSA Recall 21V-835, although Tesla has previously claimed my specific VIN was not included. The failure caused an immediate loss of steering control and structural instability. I am reporting this as a potential 'recall bypass' where the defect exists outside the currently identified recall population

At approximately 30,000 miles, the front left suspension lateral link/control arm separated while driving due to a missing mounting fastener (bolt), resulting in sudden steering instability and abnormal front wheel movement. Vehicle handling became unpredictable and felt unsafe to control, creating risk of loss of steering control. I stopped driving immediately. There was no collision, curb strike, pothole, or road hazard at the time of the incident. No warning lights or messages appeared prior to the failure; it occurred suddenly without advance notice. Tesla Service inspected and confirmed the separation and missing fastener. Suspension components and the front subframe assembly were replaced —4,400 out of pocket. Tesla documented they could not make a formal cause determination. The recovered bolt is intact and available for inspection upon request. Insurance also reviewed the incident and classified it as mechanical rather than collision-related. Because this involves a safety-critical steering/suspension fastener failure without warning, I am submitting this report for safety tracking. I am aware of similar owner reports describing suspension fastener or lateral link separation on this vehicle generation in case this reflects a broader pattern.

I am reporting a safety defect involving a welded rear subframe component. The welded section snapped under normal driving conditions, and this is a safety-critical structural suspension component. There was no collision, misuse, or accident prior to this failure. The vehicle is currently not safe to drive due to the compromised rear suspension structure. I have included photos showing the snapped weld and overall rear subframe area. This appears to be a premature structural defect, not normal wear. I am requesting that this failure be documented and reviewed as a potential safety defect. Additional Notes: This component is part of the rear suspension and is expected to last the life of the vehicle. The failure created a serious safety hazard, and I am not driving the vehicle. I have scheduled a service appointment, but I am filing this complaint to ensure the defect is officially reported.

The two bolts that hold the front lower control arm on fell out (driver side). Luckily this happened when we were backing out of the driveway and not at speed. There were no warnings lights, just a loud noise from the wheel when it failed. There is already a recall about this problem for the same year and model of my car, but the dealer is saying my car is not part of the recall. Here is a link to the recall. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Lower lateral link , and front lower compliance link and upper control arm assembly all broken and needed repair. Tesla service shop confirmed lower links were broken on both side, causing major safety concerns. They said it needed to be fixed or car could not be driven. This is a WELL DOCUMENTED issue all over the internet. The shop confirmed and said this repair is made all the time, and typically needs to be performed every 30,000-50,000 miles. The car has not been abused, only normal driving. The problem started as a squeak coming from the upper control arms and turned into a clunk when accelerating. How has a recall not been issued? People have been talking about this issue for years. Tesla acts like the front suspension is a consumable part like a spark plug in a ICE car. really? the front suspension should be rebuilt as often as every 30k miles?

My car has same symptoms as previous recall and Tesla is denying repair

Front suspension has lost lower lateral link and bolt. There was a recall on this back in 2023 for our year and model but our car was no selected. Clearly it should have been as the suspension has failed. Please see invoice from Tesla attached. This should be taken care of by Tesla as it is a known issue.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that the passenger's side air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the Tesla Service Center, where it was diagnosed and determined that the passenger's side seat sensor had failed. The seat was replaced with a new seat; however, the air bag warning illuminated after the repair. The vehicle was taken back to the service center, where the contact was informed that the technician had failed to install the module connected to the air bag during the previous repair. The seat replacement was performed a second time; however, the failure persisted, and the contact noticed that the seat was not installed correctly. The contact requested for another service through the Tesla App, but the request was denied. The contact was informed that the vehicle was repaired, and the notification of the failure was due to a glitch in the system. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal creaking sound coming from the front suspension. The contact stated that the sound became louder while turning. An appointment was scheduled with the Tesla Service Center. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Some 2019 Tesla model 3’s recalled due to lateral and control link issues. Problem seems to be more wide spread. Exactly same problem is apparently happening with my car - also a 2019 Tesla model 3, but not covered for some reason.

Sep 2022 Tesla Model 3 brought in for noise when steering wheel is turned. Was told it was the control arm. Left and right arms both replaced. Mileage - 53247 Jan 2025 Tesla Model 3 brought in for heating issue and for similar noise when steering wheel is turned. Service rep said lateral links needed replacing. Mileage - 85321 Control arms and lateral link replacement at 53K and 85K, respectively, seems highly irregular. I have checked several online forums and found many other Tesla Model 3 owners having similar complaints. I have now replaced a significant portion of this vehicle's front suspension. We have owned 7 other vehicles, all purchased new, over the last 20 years. We have kept those cars between 150k - 200k miles and only 1 of those cars required this type of work, which was performed on a 2011 Jaguar XF at 160k+ miles

Two major safety issues need to be reported: 1) The left front lower control arm falling off in the middle of driving, caused car wheel stuck on a traffic street (luckily it was off the freeway 5 minutes ago). The long bolts connected the lower control arms were loss due to the defective design (the bolts are screwed upward vertically, falling off is definitely just a matter of time). I found there was a class action against Tesla due to this problem (it is referred to Model X and S) 2) The other major safety issue I encountered as I turned on the “advanced autopilot “ feature, the car could break suddenly without warning on the freeway. There were no cars or obstacles in the front. I researched online and found many Tesla owners have experienced this so called “phantom breaking” problem as I had (I had experienced this unsafe auto breaking randomly since I have driven this car)

Upper control arm unit is defective on most model 3's. This has been reported by thousands of Tesla owners. After 50,000 miles the upper control arm will fail due to being assembled incorrectly, which causes a hard time driving the car and causing a strange sound in the suspension which can cause a risk in driving and increase the likelihood of an accident.

Lateral links failed. It was exactly what was described in this recall. However my car was not part of the recall because it was manufactured outside the date range. Recall affected until Mar 2019. My car was produced maybe a month or two afterwards. [XXX] The fastener became loose and the entire lateral link popped off. This happened in the parking lot and the entire car dropped 3 inches. Had this happened on the freeway it would have been much more dangerous. Problem was inspected by Tesla and Tesla said they were not at fault. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The suspension front control arm and lower links were all bad and had to be replaced. One day, our car started making this terrible clunking sound, so we brought it in. They charged us $1,800 to replace the whole control arm/link system. I have seen that this is a common problem. I have heard that the issue is known by Tesla as a defect because they put in bad control arms in the early models of Tesla that are known to go bad. We were told that if we did not get them replaced, they could go out while driving and cause us to lose control of our vehicle.

The front wheels suspension are squeezing. For a relatively new and low mileage car I don’t think this should be happening. I understand there’s been a lot of complaints about this issue. We believe it should be recalled. Thank you!

The car is just out of warranty and has been driven about 62,000KM. The suspension and both frond and back control arms started to squeak badly during low speed driven, turning, back-in etc.

The upper control arm on the driver's side of my Tesla Model 3 has started making a loud squeaking noise. After researching, I discovered that many owners have experienced this issue. Tesla Service Centers acknowledge it as a known defect but refuse to issue a recall, only addressing it upon customer request. Since my vehicle is out of warranty, they have quoted me over $500 for the repair. This defect poses a significant safety risk if the upper control arm fails. Please look into this matter. Thank you!

Front control arms have zero to very little grease, this causing components to friction and cause loud squeaking sound. Tesla is charing nearly $300 to change out the control arms which are the same as what's currently in my vehicle. This incident will occur again and Tesla will benefit from it.

Heard rattling in the front of the car over a period of weeks. Finally checked and saw a bolt that secures the front wheel hinge to the body frame was very loose. Then I tried turning the wheel (while stationary) to test the front steering. After a few times, the bolt came completely loose and hanging, as in one of the pictures included. After the bolt came completely loose and hanging, the affected wheel is completely unaligned. Since the bolt is hanging, I simply removed it, as shown in one of the attached pictures.