Tesla has had their fair share of quality control issues. Most are cosmetic, like misaligned body panels leading to infamous panel gaps.
Sometimes they can be more serious, like the recent situation where a Model 3 Performance was delivered missing a rear brake pad.
Unfortunately it wasn’t an isolated incident and has happened again, this time on a Model Y Performance delivered to Drive Tesla reader Alex in Ontario.
Alex tells us he took delivery on December 28, 2021 in Ottawa. During his delivery he found no apparent issues except one small malfunction with the driver side coat hook, which was fixed before he drove off in his new car.
In the weeks that followed he began to notice a strange sound coming from the rear of his car when braking. By February 9 the noise had become loud enough to become annoying.
It was at this point he remembered reading our article on the Model 3 Performance, and after watching the video several times came to the conclusion it was the exact same sound his car was making.
Wanting to be sure, he decided to take off the rear passenger wheel and the first thing he saw was that the “inner rear brake pad was missing, and the brake caliper was just shaving off metal and carving deep into the inner side of the rotor.”
Alex immediately contacted his local Service Center, and upon inspecting the car verified the missing brake pad.
Much like the situation last month, some of the required parts were on back order from California. As an interim measure they put in a new brake pad and sent him on his way saying the car was safe to drive.
The damage was apparently too much for just a new brake pad however. Alex received a “Brake fluid low” warning just a few days later, which told him to pull over safely. Fortunately he was relatively close to the Service Center, and was immediately provided with a Model S loaner until the parts arrive, which should happen this week.
Alex tells Drive Tesla he remains a shareholder and wants the company to succeed, but felt the need to share his story to show that the original incident did not happen in isolation, and there appears to be a missing quality control check in the production line process that is putting lives at risk.
“These particular issues put my whole family at risk, I have two small children and a big dog; the five of us take frequent drives in the Tesla since that was the sole purpose of getting it, comfort, practicality and safety. The safety factor has greatly failed us and my confidence has been damaged unfortunately. Although not a huge deal relative to other people, I did refer 12 other people to buy a Tesla due to my annoying excitement with the company but for the past few days I find myself wondering if I still believe in my own advertisement of the company. This issue could’ve cost the lives of my family members if it wasn’t for my curiosity and perhaps sheer luck.”
Despite all of this, Alex says that having the 2015 Model S loaner after driving his Model Y has shown him how much Tesla has matured as a company over the years, and is excited for future products like the Cybertruck, which he still has a reservation for.
He just hopes that Tesla recognizes this quality control issue and takes the necessary steps to prevent it from ever happening again.
