2021 M3 - no problems but hitting 55k miles and going to have Control Arms inspected

YouTubeBrySi | 2026-02-18 16:05 | 23 views

I have read some posts where people say this model/year/series can have troubles with the upper and lower control arms. I am taking this vehicle to a local shop (not Tesla dealership) to put on the lift and take a look at how things are going. This is what I was going to suggest: Request: While the car is on the lift, please do a front suspension/steering safety inspection with special attention to front control arms and ball joints. Please check BOTH front sides for: 1. Upper & lower control arms: damage, cracks, bent parts, worn/torn bushings. 2. Ball joints: check for play/looseness. 3. Rubber boots: any tears, cracking, grease leaking/slinging. 4. Corrosion / wear: rust around joints/arms/fasteners, shiny “witness marks,” binding/dry joints. === I was curious if you think this is a stupid idea. Thank you!

Comments (8)

DueOne1223 2026-02-18 16:13

Never a bad idea.. but you would hear the clunking and squeaky sound way before the control arm ever goes bad... The grease in the rubber gets contiminated with water and that's what makes the part eventually fail .. .but you would hear it long before ... Search up the sound ... You most likely hear it first thing on a cold morning as you turn the wheels ... But when it starts going it won't go away and then you will hear the thuds going over the humps and bumps ..

LMrningStar 2026-02-18 16:15

If you have the cash and the time to do this go right ahead. Personally though, unless there was some data to back up the claim (comments on Reddit don't count as data), that a 2021 M3 is likely to have this issue I wouldn't waste my time and money on it.

YouTubeBrySi 2026-02-18 21:31

Just wanted to report back that a two hour inspection inspection cost me 150 bucks and everything looks good.

LMrningStar 2026-02-18 21:47

Cool. I figured as much but for only $150 and 2 hours .... I'm sure it was worth it for your piece of mind. I'm also sure Tesla would have charged considerably more.

FLawless______ 2026-02-18 21:55

wouldn't be concerned unless you habitually push the car to its limits, or if you bought used and don't know its drive history.

Competitive_Yak_6247 2026-02-18 22:43

Ehhh it’s a very common issue . Reddit is where you’d see the data . Nowhere else is live user data collected and reported . Although you def see a lot of bitching here to lol . FWIW my started creaking and I made a service ticket and put in notes that I’d request it under warranty when I was at 49k . I have extended anyways. But before I even dropped off car they gave me a quote of 172$ lol. Unsure if that’s parts and free labor or what . But they agreed it’s something they fix because of known faulty parts without even seeing it . Idk if I got lucky or what going on. I pushed back the apt bc games sick so I still haven’t dropped it of yet lol. Fingers crossed

YouTubeBrySi 2026-02-18 22:45

Yes, I bought it used and have just been paying attention to some service bulletins about failing control arms so just wanted to little peace of mind

FLawless______ 2026-02-19 15:28

I hear you. I have a new '26 juniper and since we use FSD > 75% the suspension and arms over time will be worry free to me. However I'm picking up a used 2020 MS LR+ (83k miles) and the first thing I'm doing is running it to a Tesla SC for a general inspection.

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