It's that time again, a Tesla in Klokje Rond. It's the second time, and the previous one came around 4,5 years ago or so.
That one had done 270.000 km, and this has done 346.000 km. Also, the previous one was three years old, whilst this is now eight years old.
That means they were built at around the same time. And still remember the previous one, because there wasn't a lot wrong with it.
However, in the front suspension, a couple of bearers were quite worn out. Just like the brakes at the back. Just small things.
However, the owner hadn't once changed the brakes or the calipers, because the car has regenerative braking.
This is supposed to have the original brakes installed as well.
I liked the way the previous Model S drove very much. And since I've driven several Tesla's nowadays, I can tell the difference.
And in general, just like other modern cars in this class, they usually drive very well.
And with this one... Well, it's partly true. Because I can already hear that there are things wrong with it.
And they're annoying things. There's a lot of things rattling at the front, and it's not only going on when I'm driving around.
Even when I'm stationary, there are sounds annoying me. And they're coming from the dashboard.
And if I change the settings of the climate control, the noises change too. So I can hear rattling heater valves, which control...
the airflow in the cabin. In general.
I don't have any experience with fiddling with climate controls in Tesla's, so I don't know if it's very simple to do. But since that already isn't...
the case with most conventional cars, I don't have high hopes. I also noticed some weird behaviour from the touchscreen.
The owner already mentioned that, but I didn't really know what he meant until now. Everytime you select something, it seems to save...
a setting. That shouldn't be the case, I think. The steering wheel is crooked as well, which means the alignment is off.
And right now, I'm getting it up to speed to find out if there's any vibrations.
For now, it's not that bad. It remains on track. At 130 km/h, it starts shaking a little bit though.
140 km/h... There's a bit of unbalance in the drivetrain. And I usually check out things like that, but I had an extra reason to test it out today.
Around the backroads in Soesterberg, the car was shaking quite badly at around 70 km/h. It became quite bouncy really.
That could be because of a flat spot on a tire, or because of a wheel that has gone bad, but I should've felt it at higher speeds as well.
But it wasn't that bad, so there must be another reason we can feel imperfections too well.
We're almost back now, so let's drive in the city for a little bit. That way, I can test some other things like electric windows...
and mirror adjustments. And, of course, speedbumps. Because it's no secret that a heavy car like this with this mileage puts quite a lot...
of stress on the chassis. That's why there are noises coming from the chassis. So it's not a big surprise if the chassis is a little worn.
It already stood out to me that I really like the way it rides and that the damping isn't that bad either, but whenever...
the rear rises up again after a speedbump, it'll literally shoot upwards. That's called the rebound, but it feels like the damping of the rebound...
isn't good anymore. That's why I've altered my route to encounter some additional speedbumps. That way, I can test it out a little.
I actually have to take speedbumps a little too fast, but I'm kind of scared of breaking something.
It doesn't feel right, but it's not fully broken either. If it was my own car, it would've been a different story. Slamming it, my dudes.
This is the future of Klokje Rond, electric cars. And we'll be getting more of these, hopefully with a lot of mileage.
Like this very early Tesla Model S. Gino, you've been driving it for a year now, how many kilometres have you done?
I've done 25.000 kilometres with it, but it will be more. - And why did you choose a Tesla?
I was able to purchase it from my father, so I knew all of the history. I really like the way it drives and since I drive a lot,
it was cheaper at the end of the month. - No taxes, right?
That's right. You can keep charging it for free for life, coming from the factory. That saves me a lot of money.
Have you serviced it yet? - This year, I've replaced the bearing arms at the front...
which were worn out. Other than that, a set of tires, but nothing else. - Well, Joep has completed his test drive, let's find out what he has to say.
Do you have any questions of your own? - Well, I know there are some rattles at certain speeds,
and there are some other creaks when you're setting off. But not too long ago, the bearing arms at the drivers side have been replaced.
That shouldn't be it. I hope. - Not on that side, but there are some noises coming from the front.
Especially on bumpy roads the become more audible. So there could be some play in certain bearings or something.
What I found really annoying was that it seemed to rain whenever you're stationary, but it wasn't raining at all. It was noise coming from the dashboard.
Those are rattling heater valves. I recognize the sound from other cars. Not from Tesla's as such, but I recognize it either way.
But there's something going wrong there. I noticed that the brake pedal is creaking at low speeds, but that's the pedal itself.
Also, there's something going on in the car as well. The steering wheel seems to be crooked, so it's not aligned properly.
What else was there? Oh right, lastly: the car is shaking at certain speeds. Even at 130 km/h.
You can feel it shaking still. I noticed that because I found it wobbly when I was driving around 70 km/h on a backroad.
I think the suspension is worn or anything, so let's raise it up to find out.
A lot of people don't even bring these cars in for maintenance. They just go to KwikFit for new tires and that's it.
That's why cars start braking badly, you know?
We've removed some panelling from the underside of the Tesla to get a better look at the technology.
The spine of the car consists of batteries, over here we've got the front suspension and steering, there are cooling parts, an air...
suspension divider, brake pump, and what's interesting to see is that the car has taken some damage, which has ruptured the bearer arm...
of the cooling system. That hasn't been replaced, and it stood out immediately. Also, a lot of wires seem to hang loose.
Maybe that's correlated. What stands out as well, is that they've only mounted one new bearer arm. The reaction bearer, to be precise.
The left rear arm and right rear arm at the front are different ones as well, despite the advice being getting them as a pair.
The car should've been aligned as well, but they haven't done that properly, but when I go in a straight line, the steering wheel is in the wrong direction.
What's confirmed here, is my story about brakes. On this Tesla, there's quite a lot of rust on the discs.
The brakes are barely used, so they will degrade in time. If I were to judge, I'd say cleaning the brakes isn't included...
in the maintenance manual. I'm going to raise the front a little, so I can tug and pull at the front suspension to find some play.
To do that, I have to put the car in 'jack'-mode. Because this car has adjustable ride height, I have to follow a certain procedure.
In the case of the Tesla, I have to put it in the highest riding mode, which is done through the control panel on the inside,
after which you're allowed to jack it up.
If you want to look underneath how the spring is connected to the bearing arm, you can see the problem.
You should've done them all at the same time man.
There's a drought-rupture in there as well, right? - Yep, so my month's work was for nothing all over again.
At the front, there are a few things that haven't passed the standard check. One of them is a connecting rod with play on it,
which connects the anti-roll bars. And I noticed some play in this wheel when I moved it in this manner.
I could feel there was some play in it. And the wheel is connected to a bearer arm here, and two down there, and all the way at the...
back, there's a anti-roll bar. So it was hard to detect, but I've discovered that the ball bearing of the bearer arm back there, is completely worn.
One of the causes of the noises from the chassis and weird handling. We've also measured the brake pads, and they're...
still within the legal margins, so they don't have to be replaced. Yet. If this were a conventional car, I would advise replacing them though.
They're really thin. But you barely use them on this car. On the other hand, it doesn't brake very well. The owner already...
mentioned that as well. So what do you do? I think I'd still replace them. It's eight years old and it has done...
almost 350.000 kilometres. All things come to an end you know, and this car just doesn't really drive that well anymore.
We just put it in 'jack'-mode, to be able to lift it a little. And because of that, the compressor for the air suspension coughed into life.
Usually, when you're in the car, you don't notice that, but when you're standing next to it, you can clearly hear it doing its thing.
And if you ask me, it didn't sound too good either. And since we're standing next to it, the wheel has been damaged as well.
Right Joep, the engine works very well, I can get that. But what about the rest of the car?
Well, it's not that bad actually. Especially if you look at the mileage, but there are a few things that need sorting out.
They replaced the bearer arms on one side, but not on the other. They should've noticed that last year, because they were already...
worn out too. We already mentioned the brakes, because the car just doesn't brake properly. That has to be taken care of immediately.
We haven't even been able to take a look at the rear suspension, but I can already tell you that has to be looked at soon too.
It's a huge piece of technology, and despite it being electrical, it still has a lot of parts that a conventional car has as well.
And partly because of the high weight and big power output, the car wears quite quickly.
And there's quite a lot of maintenance that needs to be done. I'm not going to call it unsafe, but it could be a lot better.
Right Gino, you've heard it all and stood next to it, are you still happy with your Tesla?
Absolutely, 1000 percent! - But are there more thing wrong with it than you expected?
No, I kind of saw it coming. When the bearer arms on one side have been replaced, the other side would've probably needed...
replacing as well. I also felt the fading brakes, but I didn't know it was this bad, so I'll have to replace them.
No big surprises though.
So you drive on until you reach the 500.000 kilometers?
Yes, I will continue to drive the car for a while.
Nice, have fun with it.
Thanks!