Anyone else have a single wheel that generates WAY more brake dust than the other 3?

[JCERRN]

My rear left wheel has been generally producing significantly more brake dust than the other 3 wheels. I noticed it after about 3 months of ownership.

i had previously seen threads of people saying their awd rear wheels in general collect a ton of reddish/brown brake dust and that was “normal” but in my case, it seems to just be the rear left..

the first time i brought it in for service (for this issue) the service advisor said the tech found a “partially seized caliper” and that it would be replaced, but when i picked up the truck, the service ticket said they performed caliper cleaning/lubrication and the issue was resolved because there was “no noise”…

needless to say, i cleaned the wheels, and noticed it again after only a few days.

I went into service mode and tried the burnishing procedure in case it was contamination or rust, but no luck.

i brought it back again, and they performed the same “cleaning and lubrication” procedure and declared the problem solved.

i am bringing it back for a 3rd time for the same issue next week, and this time the service fix says “perform brake pad burnishing”, and “caliper cleaning and lubrication” to an estimated price of $418.

i mean, im not a mechanic, but im also not an idiot… if cleaning and lubricating twice and already burnishing the brakes didnt resolve the issue, why would doing it a 3rd time fix it? At what point do you just say “maybe we were right the first time and you've got a sticky caliper and it just needs to be replaced? The vehicle barely has over 10k miles on it…

anyone else experience anything similar? What was the outcome?

Sponsored

 

[scjmc]

I have the same issue with the driver's side rear wheel. I did extensive searching online and have not found a single case of someone having work done by Tesla that resolved the issue.

 

[TyPope]

My rear left wheel has been generally producing significantly more brake dust than the other 3 wheels. I noticed it after about 3 months of ownership.

i had previously seen threads of people saying their awd rear wheels in general collect a ton of reddish/brown brake dust and that was “normal” but in my case, it seems to just be the rear left..

the first time i brought it in for service (for this issue) the service advisor said the tech found a “partially seized caliper” and that it would be replaced, but when i picked up the truck, the service ticket said they performed caliper cleaning/lubrication and the issue was resolved because there was “no noise”…

needless to say, i cleaned the wheels, and noticed it again after only a few days.

I went into service mode and tried the burnishing procedure in case it was contamination or rust, but no luck.

i brought it back again, and they performed the same “cleaning and lubrication” procedure and declared the problem solved.

i am bringing it back for a 3rd time for the same issue next week, and this time the service fix says “perform brake pad burnishing”, and “caliper cleaning and lubrication” to an estimated price of $418.

i mean, im not a mechanic, but im also not an idiot… if cleaning and lubricating twice and already burnishing the brakes didnt resolve the issue, why would doing it a 3rd time fix it? At what point do you just say “maybe we were right the first time and you've got a sticky caliper and it just needs to be replaced? The vehicle barely has over 10k miles on it…

anyone else experience anything similar? What was the outcome?

Mine does the same thing. Same tire even.

 

[TyPope]

My solution would be to rotate the tires and just keep them all evenly brake dusted... LOL

I was wondering if maybe the parking brake was biased to that one wheel which would put more "action" to that piston caliper and brake pad than the others.

You should be able to check the wear of the brake pads and see if there's a noticeable difference in them. That'll tell you if one is sticky. It'll be very obvious. I didn't notice a difference in mine so I just assume it's from the parking brake and the dissimilar metals being against each other in the rain while parked just makes it rust more than the others which would, in the end, produce more brake dust.

 

[webspeedracer]

My rear left wheel has been generally producing significantly more brake dust than the other 3 wheels. I noticed it after about 3 months of ownership.

i had previously seen threads of people saying their awd rear wheels in general collect a ton of reddish/brown brake dust and that was “normal” but in my case, it seems to just be the rear left..

the first time i brought it in for service (for this issue) the service advisor said the tech found a “partially seized caliper” and that it would be replaced, but when i picked up the truck, the service ticket said they performed caliper cleaning/lubrication and the issue was resolved because there was “no noise”…

needless to say, i cleaned the wheels, and noticed it again after only a few days.

I went into service mode and tried the burnishing procedure in case it was contamination or rust, but no luck.

i brought it back again, and they performed the same “cleaning and lubrication” procedure and declared the problem solved.

i am bringing it back for a 3rd time for the same issue next week, and this time the service fix says “perform brake pad burnishing”, and “caliper cleaning and lubrication” to an estimated price of $418.

i mean, im not a mechanic, but im also not an idiot… if cleaning and lubricating twice and already burnishing the brakes didnt resolve the issue, why would doing it a 3rd time fix it? At what point do you just say “maybe we were right the first time and you've got a sticky caliper and it just needs to be replaced? The vehicle barely has over 10k miles on it…

anyone else experience anything similar? What was the outcome?

I noticed same and tried to have TeslaSC fix it before I went out of warranty. They said normal behavior (and my SC has been excellent), but I think they missed the target on this one.
My hunch has been that FSD drags the brakes a bit, whereas I rarely touch the brakes when I drive, all one-pedal to stop. I notice more brake dust the more I use FSD. But it’s odd that it’s only rear.
For comparison I drove my Model s ~95,000 miles before needing brakes.

 

[Johoo]

I have the same issue with the driver's side rear wheel. I did extensive searching online and have not found a single case of someone having work done by Tesla that resolved the issue.

Same thing Same tire

 

[scjmc]

I have checked the temps by feeling the calipers by hand after driving 30 miles. Non-scientific I know, no noticeable difference in heat between the two rear calipers.

 

[JCERRN]

So strange that others are having the same issue with the same wheel…

 

[Mr Sir]

I rarely hit the brakes but now I want to check to see my dust collection. Thanks for the heads up guys.

 

[59K]

New DM AWD with 900 miles. My rear left wheel is noticeably changed color to a copperish brown.

 

[59K]

I have the same issue with the driver's side rear wheel. I did extensive searching online and have not found a single case of someone having work done by Tesla that resolved the issue.

Thanks for the insight. I guess I’ll just chalk this up to another “within spec” item for now:

 

[HaulingAss]

Thanks for the insight. I guess I’ll just chalk this up to another “within spec” item for now:

If both rear brake pads are within 1mm of thickness to each other, I wouldn't worry about it. You also might turn off the setting that applies the brakes automatically when regen potential is limited. I actually like to feel how much (or how little) regen I have (for example when charging past 95% or on a very cold morning) rather than guessing how much is actually friction braking.

In two years I've never noticed any brake dust on any of my wheels (but I only wash them 8-10 times/year).

 

[AU742]

I also have this same issue. Just seems so weird because I rarely ever touch the brakes. Haven't noticed any negative side effects. My efficiency is not effected and I get better than rated.

 

[JCERRN]

According to the service center, this is “normal operation” and they cant answer why the rear left wheel in particular does this more than the other 3 but they said all of the brake pads are equal. I will independently verify the brake pad thickness. Ive never heard of a single wheel throwing visibly more residue from the brake being “normal”.

I mean its clearly brake dust. it may also be brake dust contaminated with rust from the rotor. i cant post photos (forum hasn't let me for a few weeks now…) it may be a software bug for the “blended braking“ feature favoring that one wheel for some reason who knows…

Sponsored