Creaking, clunking, or a loose feeling over bumps on your Tesla usually means a control arm is worn out. When we give you the estimate, you'll see a full control arm on it — not a bushing. That's deliberate, and it's one of the things we're strictest about in the shop.
The bushing is pressed into the arm
The bushing is a rubber insert pressed into the control arm itself. It can only be replaced by pressing the old one out and forcing a new one in — and that pressing is exactly the problem. It stresses the arm, and it assumes the arm is still in good shape. On a Tesla with real miles on it, it usually isn't.
A bushing-only replacement doesn't save you money — it buys you the same repair twice. The arm keeps wearing, the noise comes back, and you pay for the labor all over again.
The arm itself wears out too
Control arms take every pothole, speed bump, and hard turn your Tesla sees. Ball joints loosen, the metal fatigues, and the mounting points wear. Swapping a bushing into that arm is like putting a new hinge on a rotten door. We see bushing-only jobs come back to us from other shops — the customer paid once for the shortcut, then pays again for the real fix.
What a full replacement gets you
A new control arm means new bushings, new ball joints, and straight, unworn metal — everything in that corner of the suspension back to spec at once. Then we align it, road test it, and back the labor with our 6-12 month labor warranty. It's the repair done once, done right.
If your Tesla is creaking or clunking up front, don't guess. Book our free 1-hour inspection at EV+ Auto Repair in Sun Valley — we'll put it on the lift, show you exactly what's worn, and tell you straight whether it's the control arms or something else. Call (818) 281-7757 or book online.
Related service: Suspension & steering →