4 ms·

I was considering a tesla until I saw reports of the whompy wheels problem, and then started reading what tesla was telling people about the problem. https://w

I was considering a tesla until I saw reports of the whompy wheels problem, and then started reading what tesla was telling people about the problem. https://www.flickr.com/photos/136377865@N05/sets/72157658490111523/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/136377865@N05/sets/72157658490...

root_axis 6y ago
Damn. I bought a Model 3 in Feb of this year, I definitely would have held off if I had seen this first. Anecdotally, my car has been perfect, 0 issues cosmetic or otherwise, but it's obvious I've just been lucky. I really love the car, it's a dream vehicle that exceeded my expectations despite the hype, but there's no getting around the fact that I am sacrificing an unnecessary amount of safety for a cool car. Certainly I could not justify purchasing another Tesla the next time I need a car.
- abc_lisper 6y ago
  Unsafe is not how I would describe a model 3. It is not as comfortable as other cars.
- maxdo 6y ago
  Relax that Flickr account is known fake
- _ph_ 6y ago
  I don't think there are any safety issues with the suspension of the Model 3. Check our the teardowns by Sandy Munro. He is not shy of critisizing Tesla, but had nothing bad to say about the suspension. The suspension is the one part in a car, which is easily inspectable by just looking at it. And which has not changed much over time. Any competent mechanic should be able to check it. If there were fundamental issues with Tesla suspensions, the net would be full of reports about it and of course authorities would have acted, but beyond that one crusader against Tesla, no one has claimed they are unsafe. Actually, by most accounts, the Model 3 is one of the safest cars you can buy. However, the suspension of any car is a vital part that is exposed to the outside and exposed to wear constantly. While most electric cars don't require much maintenance - Tesla does not have a maintenance plan any more - the brakes and suspension I would have checked by a mechanic at least biyearly, as this is a very important mechanical part you want to be serviced before there is a failure.
mdavidn 6y ago
That's incredible. Meanwhile, my Honda has received free repairs after multiple recalls for far less serious defects identified after far fewer incidents.
omgwtfbyobbq 6y ago
Tesla has may legit problems, but I doubt "whompy wheels" are one of them. Someone who goes by Keef has been cataloging/submitting complaints to NHTSA about cars they find via salvage listings that they think are from something they've termed "whompy wheels".
- userbinator 6y ago
  1. Someone is deliberately breaking the suspensions of otherwise intact Teslas. 2. Someone has observed a large number of otherwise undamaged Teslas with this peculiar failure and is documenting it. Which one of those is more likely...? If you search for "suspension failure" at teslamotorsclub.com there are a surprisingly large number of results too.
  - omgwtfbyobbq 6y ago
    For Keef's "whompy wheels", I think this is more likely. 3. Suspension damage is common in vehicles that have been in accidents. There are legitimate threads about suspension damage due to failed components and/or improper assembly on TMC, but that's probably not what happened in most of the vehicles in Keef's Flickr account.
    - userbinator 6y ago
      I've seen the other comments about his crusade against Tesla, but unless he's breaking them himself or being extremely skilled at editing photos, I think the evidence speaks for itself --- so either Tesla's bodies are extremely tough, or their suspensions are below average in strength. I would expect to see some more damage elsewhere on those cars if they've been in accidents. (IMHO a low-speed impact of the sort that doesn't cause other damage beyond minor scratches and dents should not be enough to break suspension parts.)
      - keefwivaneff 6y ago
        Tesla suspensions are made from cheese.
userbinator 6y ago
WTF. That looks like a symptom of CAD/CAM "cost/weight optimisation" taken to extremes --- parts designed to be as light and flimsy as possible for their use-case, thus any small statistical outliers cause catastrophic failure. (It's not only Tesla who does this, but perhaps they have been cutting it a bit too close, given their relative inexperience compared to other auto manufacturers.)
maxdo 6y ago
Those complains is a known fake
- marvin 6y ago
  Can you expand on this?
  - _ph_ 6y ago
    I wrote it already in another posting here, but this individual was in a crusage against Tesla. He even grabbed pictures of crashed Teslas and submitted them under fake names to the authorities.
_ph_ 6y ago
This "whompy wheels" thing was brought up by an individual who crusaded against Tesla. He even filed reports to authorities under fake names with images of totalled Teslas, he found on the web. The suspension is a part which can be easily inspected on a car and is one of the parts which is not different on electric cars. Any mechanic can inspect it. How does it come, that beyond that crusader, no one called out Tesla for this? Neither the authorities, nor any mechanic working on Teslas. Check the teardowns by Sandy Munro, who is an automobile expert. He criticised many things about Teslas, but not the construction of the suspension.
- userbinator 6y ago
  The suspension is a part which can be easily inspected on a car Parts can be weakened internally and break suddenly, especially those of the cast-alloy that Tesla uses. The aerospace industry has extensive knowledge of that process, and the methods required to detect such defects are well beyond "easily inspected".
spiralx 6y ago
I was amazed at how many photos there were on the page, and then noticed it was page 1 of 3, holy crap.

root_axis 6y ago

Damn. I bought a Model 3 in Feb of this year, I definitely would have held off if I had seen this first. Anecdotally, my car has been perfect, 0 issues cosmetic or otherwise, but it's obvious I've just been lucky. I really love the car, it's a dream vehicle that exceeded my expectations despite the hype, but there's no getting around the fact that I am sacrificing an unnecessary amount of safety for a cool car. Certainly I could not justify purchasing another Tesla the next time I need a car.

abc_lisper 6y ago
Unsafe is not how I would describe a model 3. It is not as comfortable as other cars.
maxdo 6y ago
Relax that Flickr account is known fake
_ph_ 6y ago
I don't think there are any safety issues with the suspension of the Model 3. Check our the teardowns by Sandy Munro. He is not shy of critisizing Tesla, but had nothing bad to say about the suspension. The suspension is the one part in a car, which is easily inspectable by just looking at it. And which has not changed much over time. Any competent mechanic should be able to check it. If there were fundamental issues with Tesla suspensions, the net would be full of reports about it and of course authorities would have acted, but beyond that one crusader against Tesla, no one has claimed they are unsafe. Actually, by most accounts, the Model 3 is one of the safest cars you can buy. However, the suspension of any car is a vital part that is exposed to the outside and exposed to wear constantly. While most electric cars don't require much maintenance - Tesla does not have a maintenance plan any more - the brakes and suspension I would have checked by a mechanic at least biyearly, as this is a very important mechanical part you want to be serviced before there is a failure.

mdavidn 6y ago

That's incredible. Meanwhile, my Honda has received free repairs after multiple recalls for far less serious defects identified after far fewer incidents.

omgwtfbyobbq 6y ago

Tesla has may legit problems, but I doubt "whompy wheels" are one of them. Someone who goes by Keef has been cataloging/submitting complaints to NHTSA about cars they find via salvage listings that they think are from something they've termed "whompy wheels".

userbinator 6y ago
1. Someone is deliberately breaking the suspensions of otherwise intact Teslas. 2. Someone has observed a large number of otherwise undamaged Teslas with this peculiar failure and is documenting it. Which one of those is more likely...? If you search for "suspension failure" at teslamotorsclub.com there are a surprisingly large number of results too.
- omgwtfbyobbq 6y ago
  For Keef's "whompy wheels", I think this is more likely. 3. Suspension damage is common in vehicles that have been in accidents. There are legitimate threads about suspension damage due to failed components and/or improper assembly on TMC, but that's probably not what happened in most of the vehicles in Keef's Flickr account.
  - userbinator 6y ago
    I've seen the other comments about his crusade against Tesla, but unless he's breaking them himself or being extremely skilled at editing photos, I think the evidence speaks for itself --- so either Tesla's bodies are extremely tough, or their suspensions are below average in strength. I would expect to see some more damage elsewhere on those cars if they've been in accidents. (IMHO a low-speed impact of the sort that doesn't cause other damage beyond minor scratches and dents should not be enough to break suspension parts.)
    - keefwivaneff 6y ago
      Tesla suspensions are made from cheese.

userbinator 6y ago

WTF. That looks like a symptom of CAD/CAM "cost/weight optimisation" taken to extremes --- parts designed to be as light and flimsy as possible for their use-case, thus any small statistical outliers cause catastrophic failure. (It's not only Tesla who does this, but perhaps they have been cutting it a bit too close, given their relative inexperience compared to other auto manufacturers.)

maxdo 6y ago

Those complains is a known fake

marvin 6y ago
Can you expand on this?
- _ph_ 6y ago
  I wrote it already in another posting here, but this individual was in a crusage against Tesla. He even grabbed pictures of crashed Teslas and submitted them under fake names to the authorities.

_ph_ 6y ago

This "whompy wheels" thing was brought up by an individual who crusaded against Tesla. He even filed reports to authorities under fake names with images of totalled Teslas, he found on the web. The suspension is a part which can be easily inspected on a car and is one of the parts which is not different on electric cars. Any mechanic can inspect it. How does it come, that beyond that crusader, no one called out Tesla for this? Neither the authorities, nor any mechanic working on Teslas. Check the teardowns by Sandy Munro, who is an automobile expert. He criticised many things about Teslas, but not the construction of the suspension.

userbinator 6y ago
The suspension is a part which can be easily inspected on a car Parts can be weakened internally and break suddenly, especially those of the cast-alloy that Tesla uses. The aerospace industry has extensive knowledge of that process, and the methods required to detect such defects are well beyond "easily inspected".

spiralx 6y ago

I was amazed at how many photos there were on the page, and then noticed it was page 1 of 3, holy crap.