Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by defrost 912 days ago
Thank you for the full quote of the Tesla statement.

    Misleading headline: “Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective.” 
and

    Reality (buried in the article): Tesla paid for most of the 120,000 vehicle repairs under warranty.
can of course both be true - and side steps a followup on why Tesla hasn't paid for all warrenty repairs.
1 comments

I was one of the few who had to pay for it, since my warranty ran out.

The problem outlined in this article was so absolutely banal I don't believe it caused any safety concerns at all. The front control arms were poorly designed so that the wear in the bushings would cause them to squeak. This happened to ours car after 4.5 years. It cost me 200$ out of warranty to repair.

That's what this whole article is about squeaky bushings. Notice how they make no definitive claims about anything and vaguely make some throw away comments on safety without mentioning anything concrete? That's because it's all over a squeaking noise.

Good part is the new control arms make the car feel like even more planted and improved cornering (which was previously amazing already).

200$ that's the only maintenance cost my Tesla had in the first 4.5 years. What a scandal!

> The problem outlined in this article was so absolutely banal

This article | thread is about the Tesla PR response to a long form Reuters report.

> That's what this whole article is about squeaky bushings.

Maybe you read a different report, not the Reuters one that highlighted premature failures of suspension or steering parts described as:

     chronic failures, many in relatively new vehicles, date back at least seven years and stretch across Tesla’s model lineup and across the globe, from China to the United States to Europe, according to the records and interviews with more than 20 customers and nine former Tesla managers or service technicians.
> 200$ that's the only maintenance cost my Tesla had in the first 4.5 years. What a scandal!

Oddly the Reuters report wasn't all about you.

I'm glad for you that all you've personally seen or experienced is squeaky bushings and $200 out of pocket.

As this is HN, a technical forum, I'm sure no one needs to explain how your personal anecdote has no real bearing here and fails to negate the documented stories of many many others.

The chronic failure is literally squeaky bushings. The article doesn't identify that because then outraged sanctimonious posters on the internet would seem foolish.

Thanks for your concerns about my technical understanding. I hold a PhD in material science. What's your expertise and how does it relate to suspension safety?