Tesla - What is that Squeak!? Fix for Free

[@topgunablek]

mine just passed warranty several days ago, and i started to notice that right side starting to squeak.... This should be a "RECALL" from tesla. The dripping rain water also right on top it, what a Genius design!!!!Guaranteed making it squeak!!!

[@hammertimee777]

FYI: The ball joint torque is 60Nm. That is around 44lb-ft of torque.

[@spyicu]

Crazy... I never replaced my upper control arm when mine started squeaking. I used a needle to inject grease in to the upper control arm joint.... is been over a year and no squeak issues since

[@christerhammarstrom8045]

Daniel, what kind of needle did you use? And type of grease?

[@spyicu]

@@christerhammarstrom8045 it’s a needle fitting that attaches to a grease gun. Just regular grease used for suspension like ball joints

[@patrickalleven3554]

This is the kind of info I come to the internet for, excellent, thanks.

[@christerhammarstrom8045]

@@spyicu Tnx...worked perfect on my X to!

[@DistouN]

Did you puncture the boot or?

[@rwestrada4100]

Just completed this fix on my 2019 Model 3 that just so happens to be out of warranty, and it worked perfect! Squeak is all gone! No extra grease. No injections with oil. Jacked up the car, removed the wheel, took out the upper control arm bolt, rotated the ball joint in multiple directions for a good minute or so, buttoned everything up and the steering sounds good as new! Did both front driver and passenger sides in under an hour! Thank you for saving me a trip to Tesla and a several hundred dollar service charge! Cheers from Seattle WA USA! Subscribed to your channel as well! Thanks again!

[@Shmoneyteam34]

How much was it ? Was it expensive?

[@Dallasrebar]

2:15. You CAN peel back the boot and add grease easily without taking the upper control arm off. I did both boots on the front end in less than 90 minutes. It looks like he was able to add grease but cut that part of the video out.

[@RB-jv6un]

He sure did not fix it on this video. He pointed to where a Zerk might go but nothing.

[@natypes1]

BC the rotation is apparently all you need. But I wonder how long it will last. @@RB-jv6un

[@AndreC240]

@@natypes1less than a year. It needs more grease.

[@natypes1]

@@AndreC240 mine starting squeeking again today. I just did it in August. Ughhhh

[@zevi]

I just did this fix on my '19 model 3. Worked great. It isn't shown in this video but I was able to apply manual pressure down on the control arm to freely pull the bolt out. The arm raised up several inches when pressure was released to allow room for rotating the lug. I did not need to support the wheel assembly at all. To get it fitted back in I partially inserted the torx bolt, then pressed the control arm down from above while playing with the lug alignment until I was able to fully seat it and push the bolt back through. From wheel on the ground to wheel on the ground no more than 10 minutes with a single unskilled person.

[@MrPinkeybear]

Hey! Thanks for your comment, I have a '19 myself and it just started doing this a few weeks ago. The Tesla SC "near" me first gave me a booking to next week, but one hour later sent me a notification that they do not have the parts needed and moved it up to July! Do you have any idea if this is still covered by warranty? The Tesla SC closed for the day, so I couldn't even contact them to ask. Gonna try this fix and hope it lasts until July.

[@aaronsvendsen1938]

Finished the massage rotation tip this afternoon and no more creaking! Thanks for the tip. My closest SC is 2 hours away so I’m happy to have gotten some more life out of this ball joint for a while. In case anyone wants to know, you need a T50 torx bit to remove the bolt holding the ball joint to the spindle.

[@Brutaka1]

What type of Grease did you use? I'm looking to do this myself but I have no idea what type of grease to use or what type of tools I would need to fill up this ball joint.

[@aaronsvendsen1938]

@@Brutaka1 no grease required. It’s literally just moving the ball joint around in circles to redistribute the existing grease in the ball joint.

[@jasonfournier]

What socket and torx sizes are needed?

[@aaronsvendsen1938]

@@jasonfournier T50 torx and for the bolt side it’s 1/2 inch or something slightly larger.

[@jasonfournier]

@Aaron Svendsen thanks. I eventually found it. 15 mm nut and T50 torx on bolt. Going to the store now to grab the right sized torx bit. I had my control arm sealed last summer but it still started squeaking. 85k miles on it. My other one died at 54k miles.

[@leonminervini2190]

Worked a treat! Brilliant solution. I was having to wait another two weeks for Tesla parts to arrive for service call. This fixed a very noisy upper control arm immediately. Great tip. Many thanks.

[@davidmewshaw8739]

Unbelievable thank you so much just fixed mine. I broke the ball joint loose from the spindle. It was very stiff, moving outward, but I kept rotating around until it moved freely ,that horrific noise I had is totally gone. Thank you thank you thank you.

[@hammertimee777]

My 2022 Model 3 RWD had a loud squeak from the driver's side for several months that gradually got louder. I initially thought it was from the driver's side interior door panel. But as it got louder, it couldn't be the interior door panel. It recently got so loud I had to do something. I quickly took off the front driver's side wheel and noticed that the upper control arm is revision J. I figured that I would do the full sweep ball joint articulation sweep anyway to spread the grease around since I have nothing to lose. Sure enough, when I did the first sweep, the ball joint felt a little dry, but not very bad. After I felt that the grease got spread around, I put everything together. I even sprayed the bushings and the ball joint boot with silicone lube. The noise is immediately gone. I think I still heard a little bit of squeaking from the door, but much better. I hope I solved the problem. It seems that no matter how much grease the manufacturer injected into the bushings, it is useless if they don't move the ball joints around to spread the grease.

[@davidholmes172]

my 2018 Model Xsounded more like a truck from the flintstones - embarrasing - creaking was horendous - not sure if covered by any warranty now - i decided nothing to lose and followed this vid - amazingly accurate - found was only the drivers side -thank you so much

[@djbernardjones]

Same! Crazy annoying and kind of embarrassing.

[@cpt.whiteknight]

did you have to lift up the car and / or remove the wheels to get to the control arm?

[@davidholmes172]

@@cpt.whiteknight i raised the suspension high for better access

[@tonyd87]

Thank you! I have a 2018 Model 3 and I was avoiding driving the car while waiting for service because it was so damn annoying and embarrassing. It was loud enough that it turned heads in the parking lot as you drove through. This did the trick and is making the car bearable until the warranty replacement.

[@Brutaka1]

Well if you're out of warranty then I guess this is the only option you can do then huh?

[@MS-zb6op]

I’m out of warranty. Have a service appointment for this.

[@taylorstroud2468]

@@MS-zb6op how much was your fix for this?

[@MeKojTxivQauLoj]

how much you fix the upper arm control?

[@Victoilavic]

1k6-2k for me estimated. I said tesla to f off

[@brettharrison6496]

Thanks so much for this informative, no nonsense and 100% spot on fix for this problem. I had it done in twenty minutes all up! Thanks again.

[@sophiathemighty]

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.

[@Spcychknsando]

Did you remove your wheel or you just sprayed in the area?

[@DustinStackhouse]

I wouldn't suggest using wd40 for something that needs grease. It is more functional as a rust penetration solvent than lubricant. Grease is really what you need if it's coming from the ball joints.

[@PaulSmith-tn4yu]

My early 2020 Model 3 started squeaking at 3 and a half years and 56K miles. Was only the LF upper ball joint. I had to inject a lot of grease into ball joint with needle attachment and slightly warm joint and force ball to move and work by kneading grease into joint for 5 mins before squeak finally went away. Greased RF as well, it was not making any noise and was free moving.

[@FakeyDolezal]

I rotated only the right wheel ball-joint and it stopped squeaking for the past month. I used a grease injection kit with water-resistant grease as well as the rotation on the left wheel ball-joint. I'll report if one is worse than the other. I had tried rejuvenating the bushings alone on the left side and that was insufficient. This solution saved me well over a thousand dollars.

[@chrisjoseph4778]

Was able to remove lower piece to allow me to just move the ball joint in the upper control by hand for a while and is working for the moment. Thanks!

[@stevehall5373]

2020 MYLR 61k miles. Started this squeak and your advice fixed it! THANK YOU! Only had it on passenger side, but did driver’s side as well while I was at it. Again, THANKS!!

[@WeberMachineWorks]

tried to do this fix on my 2020 model 3 70k miles but didn't work , passenger side seemed tight but drivers side moved around too easy,I guess its wore out and seemed to get louder after i put everything back together.

[@CookiePepper]

June-2018 LR RWD Model 3, and replaced both left and right upper control arms under warranty. (both of them have revision "-G" after replacement) It could cost ~$600 so this is very useful information. I had suspicion that Tesla knew this problem since Tesla SC had the part ready to replace on the same day.

[@kennender4045]

both of my 2018 cars started squeaking immediately after my warranty ended (50,100 miles) ... probably a coincidence but annoying! this fix has worked great and I'll keep doing it until it doesn't work anymore!

[@topgunablek]

mine just passed warranty several days ago, and i start to notice that right side starting to squeak.... This should be a "RECALL" from tesla. The dripping rain water also right on top it, what a Genius design!!!!Guaranteed making it squeak!!!

[@Taji786]

This is an awesome channel. Just sub'd. Please create more in-depth videos for the fixes and maintenance for us Tesla owners. Especially those who live far away from Tesla service centers and or out of warranty on their Teslas and wouldn't mind getting under the frunk.

[@V10PDTDI]

I do a similar trick to the lower rear joints on BMW cars what I do is remove the clips on the rubber boots and spray or inject grease with a grease gun with a needle under the boot not piercing the boots.

[@Saltbox97]

Smart!

[@CRPerformance1]

Just did the fix myself. I'll see how long it lasts. Thanks!

[@ianmilham7397]

Still going strong? Mine just started squeaking this week

[@kennender4045]

wondering the same thing - just fixed mine. how long can I expect it to last?

[@CRPerformance1]

@@kennender4045 mine is still fine. No squeaking.

[@hacked2123]

Just paid $400 to get just the right upper control arm on my 2018 Model 3 replaced...argued a bunch because this should have been done when they replaced the left last year under warranty...but they wouldn't reduce it any further...glad to know the new revision will last longer.

[@hacked2123]

And that greasing is possible if you puncture the rubber boot.

[@stevenartau6165]

What size wrenches to we need for the bolt and nut?

[@rockit690]

Thanks for the video, just did the repair on my 2018 model 3 and the noise is gone! Thanks again.

[@philjans1]

You mentioned that telsa paint the bolds but no explaination about why and is there anything to do with it when removing thebolts?

[@joshsinykin5230]

What if the bolt joint does not rotate freely. Mine is very stiff.

[@patrickalleven3554]

I've wondered if it's possible to get a reasonable amount of grease in there by jabbing a needle/grease filled syringe through the boot, or pulling the boot spring off maybe. Anyhow, great content here, look forward to more.

[@Scott-sm9nm]

That is a common solution actually. Various videos on that now.

[@Cuba_Steve]

Are you apply more grease through the zerk fitting hole on top of ball joint? Or are you just turning the joint in hopes that the grease already in the joint re-spreads

[@sleepspent_]

just had my 2019 tesla model 3 replaced on the drivers side by tesla service under warranty

[@rickhohwart82]

Works great! How long until it starts squeaking again?

[@missingpiece2071]

I had this same exact problem on my 3 and Tesla replaced the upper A arm on driver side for free. I tried to move the ball joint after Tesla took it off and it was seized up tight, no way you could move it.

[@Saltbox97]

Wow, must have dug right in.

[@Faze_savvy]

What kind of grease do I put in the upper ball joint?

[@nooshiofficial]

Is the control arm only covered under the basic warranty?

[@canadapros]

I have squeaking noise in my 2019 model 3, right at 100kmiles mark. So they have replaced it, but that wasn't a case, noise still there, not sure why they replaced that and charged me.. Do you know what that can be and how i can fix that? If that possible. Thank you for reply

[@skyace888]

Thanks for the video. I think I'm having this issue as lately I can often hear creaking when turning the steering wheel at low speeds on my 2015 Model S with ~145K miles. Is there a way to confirm? Could the noise be anything else? Around 130K miles I had the lower control arms replaced by a 3rd party shop (seems different though). I don't have air suspension on my car and I have 21" tires but I can reach in to touch this part. Do I need to jack the car up?

[@teh_hindenburg]

Thanks for this video! It fixed my squeaky suspension on my Model 3.

[@cpt.whiteknight]

This is the second time I am having this issue (first time was fixed under warranty two years ago) and the Service Center just postponed my service appointment just now until next month despite the fact I scheduled it more than 2 weeks ago. It's an embarrassment to say the least when I am on the road. Quick question for those of you who DIY'ed, do you need to lift up the car and / or remove the wheels to get to the control arm?

[@rwestrada4100]

Just completed the fix just a few minutes ago and worked like a charm. To answer your question, yes....you have to jack up the car and remove the wheel in order to access the area and remove the upper control arm bolt attaching the ball joint. You will need a 15 mm socket and T50 torx bit to remove upper control arm bolt. There were no torque specs for the upper control arm bolt when you reassemble. But it was relatively easy to remove. I hand tightened, plus a bit more. Wheel lugs are 129 lbs ft and use a 21mm socket. Took less than an hour to do both front passenger and driver sides. If you can change a tire, you can do this repair 👍

[@miscstuff7473]

Thanks for the content! Just found your video. Super helpful. You mention that they don't have the ability to grease the upper ball joints, but they seem to have a zerk fitting. Does that mean the fitting isn't useable to put more grease in the boot? I would like to try your method of rotating the joint, but I'd also like to add some grease. Is that possible? Thanks for your help!

[@kierancalder8573]

You guys should set up a Tesla repair shop! Finding someone to do maintenance on a Tesla can be difficult so I'm sure there's a market for it

[@AllEVCanada]

Thats what we do!

[@hanzelnuts8446]

My 2019 M3 started to squeak every time i turned the steering wheel. This is on the front driver side. I bought a grease gun and needle to inject grease into the boot of the control arm. After 50 miles of driving, the squeaking has reduced quite a bit, but it is still there. I heard Tesla was charging people between $500‐$1000 to replace the control arm. That's why i was hesitant to call Tesla and went with the DIY route to inject grease. Out of curiosity, i made a service call to Tesla. They quoted me $225 to replace the front left and right control arm assembly. FYI, I'm long out of warranty. For $225 with labor included, i think it's a great deal. I'm in California. So, why is there a big discrepancy in price for Tesla to replace the control arm?

[@mikeforwarduk]

sounds like a great deal

[@Stefan_Dahn]

1:30 Why not open the rubber by taking off this "metal ring" on the bottom of the rubber jacket? Fill it to the max with grease containing MoS² or Boron Nitride ("white graphite"). There you go. The nerd and/or farmer would put a zerk fitting there in his Autobahn harvester. 😉

[@sarienti12]

How do you get the metal ring off of the rubber boot?

[@zrcharlie1]

A zip tie helps tremendously.

[@lejocyber1989]

awesome I did exactly as per the suggestion! , no squeak - thanks 👌

[@hispeed8500]

Anyone know the toque spec on that T50 control arm bolt?

[@user-uo9sl2br6e]

Can you still drive with the squeaking without issue? My apt with Tesla is in 2 weeks?

[@immukhan4071]

Yes , i was told its safe to drive with the squeeky noise . Hope they replace under warranty

[@MrReefaddict]

If you take that the spindle loose to exercise the fitting does the car need a ailment?

[@TheEtherist]

No, you don't change the suspension geometry/setup when you disassemble it and put it back the same way

[@geske001]

I loosened the nut and attempted to separate the knuckle to release the ball joint while I used a pickle fork without any luck. Any trick how to get the ball joint out of that knuckle?

[@frankcarter2174]

I know its been awhile since this comment but in case anyone else is looking for the answer the nut has to come off and the bolt has to completely come out. The bolt holds the ball joint stud captive by a groove in the ball joint stud.

[@zevi]

@@frankcarter2174 To add to this you can apply some pressure down on the control arm to free the bolt while sliding it out. Similar pressure is required to seat the knuckle before the bolt can be fully slid back into place.

[@SteshenStation]

I've done this workaround today but after a small 5km trip it's still squeaking. Does it take some time or should I invest more (a way to put grease in it for exemple ?)

[@Brutaka1]

What kind of tools would I need to do this as well as the grease?

[@zevi]

A 15mm socket or wrench for the bolt side, and a T50 Torx bit for the lug side. You will also need a low profile jack and chocks to raise the wheel, and a 21mm lug socket, breaker bar and torque wrench to remove the tire.

[@mikeberg22se]

Mine just started sqeaking like mad on the driver side. Early 2019 M3. Thinking of doing the massage rotation thing to get some More mileage out of it before Tesla changes it early January. Do I need to support any part of the suspension or can I loosen the upper arm with just the car on a jack? What torque shall I used when retightening the nut?

[@mikeberg22se]

Did as per your instruction this afternoon, super Easy and it worked like A charm. Thanks alot! Car is quite again.

[@btownrunr9426]

@@mikeberg22se Mine is doing the same. I have an appointment in a few days but it's so loud I now. What torque spec did you tighten the bolt to? Thanks in advance for the info.

[@mikeberg22se]

@@btownrunr9426 i found this on a tesla forum. Bolt/nut combination for clamp on knuckle to reattach upper control arm ball joint - 41 ft⋅lb / 56Nm. Car is silent still many days after the fix.

[@btownrunr9426]

@@mikeberg22se thanks!!!

[@shawtydat]

I have revision g and it still squeaks. Sitting at 57k miles..

[@kennender4045]

arg. so it lasts 7k more miles than mine did with pre-revG ... just barely long enough to ENSURE that it's not covered by warranty!

[@alexquick2921]

Yeah I had both replaced at 20k. Now at 55k and drivers side is making the noise.

[@wrob2120]

Can't get the bolt out? The video didn't show how the bolt was taken out.

[@zevi]

Hi, try pulling down with about 20lbs of force on the control arm (the bit he ratchets down) and see if the bolt budges then? That's what I did - manually pull it down to free the bolt. Then to reinsert the bolt you need to manually pull it down and squeeze the fitting back into the vertical strut (with the bolt partially inserted) then shove the bolt through.

[@wrob2120]

@@zevi Thanks appreciate that. I haven't driven the car more than 5 miles since hearing the noise. I did try massaging the boot alone since i couldn't get it out...it did settle down a little but the noise came back a few days later. Have an appointment @SC mid May ... I'll try what you suggested maybe I can cancel that appointment. Cheers 🍻

[@RB-jv6un]

My M3 with only 15k miles had this start as a loud groaning and creaking noise. I put in service request in late March (2023)and here it is mid May and still no service from our mobile team. They say they will be here in late June. I tried injecting grease and it now squeaks. Am ordering a new one ($90) and will install myself. Tesla customer service sucks and has since before we picked our car up in 2019. I hear the same is true at Starlink. Garbage customer service. Elon can shove it as far as I am concerned.

[@ledzeppelin1212]

Great video. Thank you!!

[@Venix91]

Damn.. Everyone seems to have 2018 or older model 3's with this issue.. I have a 2020 Y with just under 10k miles and my driver side just started squawking like a duck... Should be under warranty but my SC is 2 hours away.. AHHHHHH

[@Defyboredom]

Our model 2022 model Y just started doing this after 54k miles. Glad I found this YT video

[@Venix91]

@@Defyboredom Tesla ended up replacing both the driver and passenger upper control arms with the newer models. Apparently it was a redesigned joint that was less likely to leak , and it had a different chemistry of Greece in it or something.

[@kennender4045]

wow this saved my hide! thanks so much for the hint!

[@Josh61516]

Same problem. Anyone knows if we can still drive it safely ?

[@claytonberger]

Safe for a while but will damage the ball joint without grease, that's friction making that awful sound.

[@competitivespeed2]

My balljoint nuts are welded, anyone else have this?

[@kirk8985]

Thank you!

[@Ralhachami1]

Thank You!!

[@tedfernandez3698]

Just got mine fix today tesla service center just called me that it is done lol.

[@rivernet62]

I did this, and it worked. For one day.

[@rivernet62]

Follow up: no need to remove wheel, use a needle and syringe, or drop the control arm. Lift the car by the rail, pull the spring clip off the ball joint boot, use an oil can to fill the boot with oil, replace spring clip. WD40 is a terrible lubricant BTW.

[@jhh3483]

I don't know what the referee/VAR was thinking here

[@claytonberger]

Can confirm. I had to do mine at 80k.

[@john-yh2bd]

⬆️👆👆thank to the group Same thing happened to me. I live in Florida and there’s a lot of lighting.,,

[@PapaPerk360]

Quick ass video

[@john-yh2bd]

⬆️👆👆helped me out now my problem has been solved,,,

[@davidtrolly7051]

You said ball!

[@CRPerformance1]

Got to keep the ball greasy!

[@davidtrolly7051]

Or she should grease my ball (S) @@CRPerformance1

[@afgvegasable]

I have a 2023 Model Y with 25k miles & It's SQUEAKS = This is just B.S, 5 months old and this. It's my LAST Tesla ever

[@missingpiece2071]

How do you think Tesla is going to warranty or replace cell to structure batteries when they come with them? I don't think they will be able too, seems like engineered obsolescence.

[@Northbaylandscaping]

NIO now uses a structural battery and it can still be removed. Tesla will most likely follow suit because it's manditory in China that the battery is removable. We'll just have to wait and see.

[@Stefan_Dahn]

The battery ist connected with a dozen of screws. No matter whether the batt is structural or not. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Detektive batterys are dissassembled and reused on bigbattery.com oder batteeyhookup.com. As we don't know yet, how Tesla's structural batterys are glued together and if at all, speculation is a waste of time.

[@ChaimLoecher]

@@Northbaylandscaping that didn't age well

[@lichlich5940]

How i can learning more from your 😔

[@freezin48]

I wouldn't want to be near you when you release that strap stay faaaaar

[@JetFire9]

It's not spring tension. It's just tension from the rubber bushings. And the whole thing is captive. Nothing to be scared of, so go ahead an come back.

[@simplywhite5909]

Тавотницу надо ставить

[@adamf514]

I guess Elon is a shoemaker. ( Mechanics will know what I mean )

[@marcuslatimer]

115Keuro piece of junk buy a mercedes or a toyota

[@eastcoastdashcamsweden2483]

You know there is a lot of Mercedes parts in a Tesla? That´s probably why quality is a problem. ;)

[@JetFire9]

@@eastcoastdashcamsweden2483 True.

[@kevinmcclure7552]

What size torx bit is needed?

[@jessepapocchia4851]

T50 based on previous comments