Tesla Model 3 2018–2020 — technical service bulletin
Bulletin SB-20-31-006 R2 · NHTSA communication 10203341 · issued Jul 1, 2021
Technical service bulletin
communication type
Suspension
component
2018–2020
model years
7
vehicle entries
Official summary
On certain Model 3, Model Y, and Model X vehicles, there may be a water ingress path to both front upper control arm ball joints that, over time, could possibly lead to surface corrosion of these ball joints. This may result in a creaking sound coming from the front suspension when steering at low speeds and under high loads. This is exclusively an NVH condition only and does not result in premature failure of the ball joints.
Vehicles covered
What a TSB means. Technical service bulletins are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls, and repairs are not automatically free (warranty extensions are an exception worth checking). The full document is available via NHTSA’s vehicle lookup.