Model 3 & Y Front Suspension Creak: How Owners Fixed the Upper Control Arms

A 2020 Model Y owner compared it to a creaky staircase when turning the wheel or going over bumps; replies pointed straight to the upper arms, a problem seen on earlier Model 3s around 30,000–40,000 miles. Two weeks later Tesla had replaced the arms and the noise was gone ^[4].

A Model 3 on a road trip developed a left-front squeak that was loudest in slow turns ^[2], and an out-of-warranty car at 77,000 miles had a creak that got worse as the car warmed up ^[3]. One member explained the mechanism: a split boot lets water in, the ball joint corrodes, and that damage cannot be reversed ^[3].

A 2019 Model 3 owner was offered a reseal of the boot instead of new arms and asked whether to push back. Other owners said grease only quiets a worn joint for a while, and one reported the creak returning about a year after a reseal ^[1]. Grease injected through a torn boot or a penetrating spray were described only as roadside stopgaps ^[2][3].

The arms are normally replaced as a left/right pair. A warranty invoice posted in one thread listed part numbers 1044326-00-J (right) and 1044321-00-J (left) with an alignment check, and about five hours at the service center ^[2]. Another owner had both arms swapped by mobile service and the squeak disappeared ^[2]. One owner, though, said the noise came back within a month of a replacement ^[1].

A 2019 Model 3 kept creaking from the front driver side, worse on hot days, after the ball joint had been greased twice. A responder found cracked bushings on the lower lateral link and rear lower control arm and replaced them with polyurethane-bushed aftermarket parts, then had Tesla swap the upper arms and align the car ^[5].

The twist: the polyurethane parts later creaked badly and the owner tried to return them ^[5]. Inspect the lower link bushings before buying parts, and be careful with stiff aftermarket bushings.

Aftermarket arms are sold by febi and EVANNEX among others, and both have published install videos. Tesla’s Model 3 service manual gives the torque figures: 56 Nm for the arm-to-knuckle nut (use a new nut), 50 Nm for the arm-to-mount bolts, and 35 Nm or 62 Nm for the mount-to-body bolts depending on size, followed by a ride height check and an alignment check ^[6]. That page is from the 2024 manual edition, so confirm the figures for older builds.

Whichever route you take, budget for a front alignment afterwards.