Mark: Hi, it's Mark Bossert. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver. Vancouver's best auto service experience. And we're talking cars. How are you doing Bernie?
Bernie: Doing very well.
Mark: So today's victim is a 2017 Tesla Model X. What was going on with this vehicle?
Bernie: So, the owner of this vehicle had a complaint with his steering. He'd taken it to the Tesla dealer who told him that the steering rack and pinion need to be replaced. It was an expensive job, and he wanted a second opinion on it because he wasn't too happy with the price.
Mark: I can imagine. So, let's go right to the pictures. What did you find? You guys do some road testing first?
Bernie: Yeah. So we did a steering suspension inspection. We went for a road test in the vehicle. My technician never found any issues with it. He said it actually drove just fine. Nothing occurred and went for quite a long drive. He said he did hear a slight little clunking noise in the front occasionally. Took it back to the shop, put on the hoist, did an inspection of the steering suspension system, and we found a loose outer tie rod end. That was the only issue we found with the steering.
So didn't really notice the client's concern as he described it, but sometimes, you know, when people describe things, it isn't always the same as what we find. Anyways, we found the outer tie rod end was worn out and we replaced that piece because that was the only issue of anything that we found. The left was fine, it was tight. So the red arrow points to the outer tie rod end. This is the part that we replaced. It's like a ball and socket type joint and they do wear out over time. You know, being an EV too, these vehicles are very heavy with the weight of the batteries, so they are actually harder on suspension parts than a internal combustion engine vehicle of the same size would be.
Other issue. If you want to just move in from that tie rod in, you can see the bellows, yeah, right there. That's the bellows of the rack and pinion and inside there is another tie rod end. That's an inner tie rod end. They wear out from time to time too on any car. These ones were good on this vehicle, so we didn't replace it, but that is a wearable item too.
Mark: So is this part, I'm assuming that this whole piece here, this whole, I can't get my thing to draw along here.
Bernie: Yeah, you're kind of right at the end of it. The top right corner of that little dot is the end of the tie rod end. It that's what you're saying.
Mark: Up here.
Bernie: Yeah, right there. Yeah.
Mark: And so that just bolts on or screws on to it.
Bernie: It screws on there's a lock nut that holds in place. And this is how you set the toe in on a wheel alignment is by adjusting that. So if you do it too much, the wheels will toe out or if you do it in too much, the toe in. So the other thing that, you know, is that we do after the tie rod end, of course, is a wheel alignment. I mean, we set it as best we can with our eyeballs, but it's never quite as good as it would be with an alignment machine. So you want to make sure that stuff is good to make sure it steers properly and prevent tire wear.
Mark: And how common is this on vehicles, you know, what would you normally expect? How long would it be until you needed to replace tie rod ends?
Bernie: Well, typically it depends from vehicle to vehicle. I'm thinking like Dodge trucks often have tie rod ends that get loose very quickly. They're kind of crappy. Other vehicles, they may last 10 to 20 years depending on the car. Others, you know, they'll, they'll wear out sooner. You know, this vehicle is what a 2017, so seven years old. Not even a hundred thousand Ks on this vehicle. So, you know, not a huge amount of mileage.
Mark: Does how somebody drives make much difference?
Bernie: Not really. You know, if you have the habit of hitting curbs, it would probably put a strain on your tie rod ends.
Mark: And your rims.
Bernie: And your rims too. Yeah. But I was going to say that that would be one thing. But other than that, if you're driving like a race car and just driving over rough roads and just flying like crazy over you know, potholes, it'll probably wear them out sooner. But these are sort of normal items that will just sort of wear out over time. And often, you know, one will wear out and the other one, you know, five or 10 years later will still be good.
Mark: Manufacturing vagaries.
Bernie: Yeah, exactly. And just things just happen. Sometimes one will just wear out before the other, and it doesn't mean you necessarily have to change all of them, just change the one and see how it goes.
Mark: So looks like a pretty straightforward repair job?
Bernie: Yeah, yeah, it's very straightforward front end repair. An uncomplicated job for a complicated vehicle.
Mark: And save the customer quite a bit of money.
Bernie: Yeah, absolutely. Pretty simple. Now again, you know, it's been a couple of weeks. We haven't heard back that there's any other complaints. So I'm assuming the steering rack is good based on our drive of it. And we did take it for a very long drive after doing the tie rod end. And again, there was nothing noticeable. Everything felt really good. So happy ending so far.
Mark: So a lot of Teslas starting to show up in your repair regime?
Bernie: They are. Yep. They're wearing out. Many of them are off warranty now, a lot of them were on warranty for a while. But yeah, they're off warranty. And this part we put in actually was an aftermarket part as well, so parts are starting to become more available. This is always the issue with Tesla is getting parts. A lot of them are restricted to the dealer and they're difficult to order. They take time. So anything aftermarket we can get is good.
Mark: If you're looking for a second opinion on your Tesla repair in Vancouver, the guys to see are Pawlik Automotive. You can reach them online to book at pawlikautomotive.com. You can book your appointment right there. Or you can call them at (604) 327-7112 to book your appointment. You have to book ahead. They're always busy. Pawlik Automotive, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Thanks so much for watching and listening. Thanks Bernie.
Bernie: Thanks Mark. And thanks for watching.
