Photo: Public domain
We’ve previously reported that Model 3 and Model Y owners have received emails regarding a suspension issue with their vehicles, but the NHTSA didn't mention a thing about it. Better late than never, Tesla has informed the federal agency of this problem, making the recall official.
Documents filed with the federal watchdog reveal that 2,791 vehicles are called back. The affected population includes certain 2019 to 2021 Model 3s produced from January 3rd, 2019 through April 20th, 2021, and certain 2020 to 2021 Model Ys assembled from March 7th, 2021 through June 4th.
In these vehicles, the front suspension lateral link is attached to the subframe using two fasteners. If these fasteners aren’t secured to the correct specification, they loosen over time, separating from the subframe. In addition to making a mess of the wheel alignment, the instability caused by this condition may increase the risk of an accident. That said, care to guess who is to blame for this problem? Tesla singles out the operators tasked with securing fasteners to the correct spec at the Fremont factory.
“In rare circumstances, if the operator made several unsuccessful attempts to torque a fastener to specification, the operator may have subsequently loosened a properly secured fastener,” reads the attached report. “The torque record may not have accounted for the loosening of the fastener.”
Tesla became aware of this matter on June 2nd, 2021 when the Production Quality and Process Engineering team escalated 39 service repairs that had accumulated over the production of the Model 3 and Y. This prompted Tesla to analyze the production records as well as the assembly step operations.
The remedy procedure starts by inspecting for proper torque of the fasteners that secure both front suspension lateral links to the subframe. If a fastener is found to be loose, damaged, or missing, Tesla Service will retorque or fit a new fastener at the correct spec. Over in Fremont, Tesla now uses a multi-spindle tool with a disabled loosening feature. The operator cannot unlock the tool to loosen or back out a bolt without a production manager’s approval.
In these vehicles, the front suspension lateral link is attached to the subframe using two fasteners. If these fasteners aren’t secured to the correct specification, they loosen over time, separating from the subframe. In addition to making a mess of the wheel alignment, the instability caused by this condition may increase the risk of an accident. That said, care to guess who is to blame for this problem? Tesla singles out the operators tasked with securing fasteners to the correct spec at the Fremont factory.
“In rare circumstances, if the operator made several unsuccessful attempts to torque a fastener to specification, the operator may have subsequently loosened a properly secured fastener,” reads the attached report. “The torque record may not have accounted for the loosening of the fastener.”
Tesla became aware of this matter on June 2nd, 2021 when the Production Quality and Process Engineering team escalated 39 service repairs that had accumulated over the production of the Model 3 and Y. This prompted Tesla to analyze the production records as well as the assembly step operations.
The remedy procedure starts by inspecting for proper torque of the fasteners that secure both front suspension lateral links to the subframe. If a fastener is found to be loose, damaged, or missing, Tesla Service will retorque or fit a new fastener at the correct spec. Over in Fremont, Tesla now uses a multi-spindle tool with a disabled loosening feature. The operator cannot unlock the tool to loosen or back out a bolt without a production manager’s approval.
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