A MAN who bought a second-hand Tesla was shocked when a vital suspension part snapped, leaving him with a hefty bill.
The man, a resident of Maryland in the USA, described how his Model S felt like it had a flat tyre and started to veer towards oncoming traffic – but when he pulled over he discovered a suspension arm had completely broken off.
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Similar occurrences have been highlighted on social media involving Model S, Model Y and Model 3 cars, with the term ‘Whompy Wheels’ being created to describe the issue.
In many cases, the suspension problem has reportedly happened at lower speeds, but there are some incidents where it occurred at a higher pace, causing more severe crashes.
Reddit user, Spithaler81, took to the chat forum to describe his experience.
He said: “It happened while driving under 25 mph in a residential area.
“It felt like the car had a flat tire, and was impossible to control, steering into incoming traffic.
“When I got out and raised my suspension to see if something was caught in my tire, I looked and the control arm that attaches my tire was completely broken off. I
“I didn’t hit anything – not even a pothole.
“This could have been a lot worse had I not been driving where I was.”
Spithaler81 claims that he was landed with a bill for around £3,000
To make matters worse, when he asked the garage for the old parts back they put them across the rear seat, causing some damage to the leather upholstery.
On top of various reports of similar suspension problems, it appears that Tesla could be doing more in terms of its customer service.
Car news site autoevolution.com said in a recent article that ‘the poor treatment Tesla gives its customers is nothing new, and that its service centre experience is among the worst parts of owning a Tesla; few people have anything nice to say about interacting with the technicians’.
