2019 Tesla Model 3: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Aug 3, 2026 · Suspension · DC

Over a period of several weeks, the front suspension increasingly made noise (squeaking and groaning) and felt loose when turning and going over bumps. The front control arms were replaced 10/31/24. The problem has begun recurring over the last few months, with the same noise occurring and progressively worsening.

Filed Jul 31, 2026 · Suspension · CA

Honestly since I took delivery the vehicle I did notice a clunking sound every time I would turn into a steep driveway. I reported the problem to Tesla on multiple occasions and they either could not replicate the sound or find the problem when they inspected the vehicle. So I lived with the on and off clunking sound. Years later while driving on the freeway I heard a really hard clunk and I began to lose control of the car luckily I was close to home and I was able to make it to my street. Upon arrival my tires completely fell off the control arm and I could move the steering wheel at all. I had to get it towed to the body shop. Long story short the lower control arm bolt completely fell off. I just happy this didn’t result in a major accident. But I had to get the car towed. I am pretty upset that Tesla pretty much said there is no issue. My family has Teslas and in all of them I hear the same clunking sound.

Filed May 19, 2026 · Suspension · MI

these cars have a defective control arm system and they are prone to messing up over and over, they have replacement revisions but try to charge you for labor and parts if youre out of warranty even though they know the parts were a problem and revised them. Tesla does nothing to help you and will even try to charge you $200 just to diagnose the issue.

Filed Feb 4, 2026 · Suspension · CA

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.

Filed Dec 28, 2025 · Steering, Suspension · IL

After 3 prior repairs 2 of which were recalls of the front suspension, control arms. I was driving when me and my 3 children’s life’s were almost taken. While driving on the expressway immediate loss of control of the car shaking while driving to work, I stopped immediately thank God no cars around next to me to crash into. We called for a ride and walked off the expressway. Immediately car was taken to Tesla where they told me they couldn’t help and come back in a few days. The car was later inspected by Tesla where instantly knew the issue and later the report came back where the lateral links on both sides of the front where completely out of socket, the compliance links bushing completely torn. This is critical failure and breakdown of critical safety components that almost took our life. We had moments before this happened and thank God we made it out before imminent life changing things happened. No warning no alerts in the car at any time.

Filed Dec 8, 2025 · Suspension · AZ

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)

Filed Nov 18, 2025 · Suspension · OK

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?

Filed Jan 14, 2025 · Suspension · NY

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

Filed Jan 7, 2025 · Driver assistance, Suspension · CA

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)

Filed Nov 19, 2024 · Suspension · 40,775 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal squeaking sound coming from the front suspension. The sound was heard while making a turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed upper control arm. The contact was informed that the upper control arm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that five days later the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for a scheduled service appointment in May 2024, the vehicle was diagnosed with a failed suspension lateral link needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the suspension lateral link needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed of two recalls, the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V235000 (Suspension) and the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V835000 (Suspension); however, the VIN was not included in the recalls. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 40,775.

Filed Oct 19, 2024 · Suspension · FL

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.

Filed Sep 13, 2024 · Suspension · WA

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.