Are rusty, faded brake callipers acceptable on a £54K Tesla?

[Ussrcossack]

Acceptable
It's what happens when you opt for a Tesla

[Baldchap]

Think yourself lucky they're attached properly and not with stickers. That's how they fixed our old Tesla when we had a problem.

[ashleyman]

You want to google the story about Model Y Performance rear brakes using calliper covers to hide the fact they're the same as the standards.

[SimonTheSailor]

They look good !!

[SteveStrange]

5 year old car, with (if average) around what. 60k miles? I'd say they look fine, better than anything I've had at 5 years old!

[J4CKO]

Possibly not, but half an hour a side with a bit of sanding/cleaning and some silver VHT paint will have it looking fine.

Its a five year old car at the end of the day, brakes get hot, get doused with water, road salt and whatever. However much you pay for it, all cars will degrade a bit after 54k miles, and Teslas arent exactly the best built. Would take longer to take it in, leave it with them and them do the painting for the sake of a couple of hours and £20 or less.

I wouldnt get into a pissing contest with Tesla for the sake of whipping the wheels off and cleaning it up and painting it. Can probably buy the stickers as well if you are so inclined.

[zedx19]

Where's the rusty, faded caliper? All I see is some relatively clean calipers, with a sticker that's wearing off. Looks like normal wear and tear for a car that's been on the road since 2018, through 4 winters where water will have been constantly washing against that surface. If the cosmetics aren't to your liking, you can probably buy new stickers off ebay for a couple of quid.

[Wacky Racer]

Can't see an issue, it's not a six month old car.

Still,... good luck.

[Chucklehead]

The calipers look fine to my eyes.. The bolts holding them together may be incorrectly spec'd though.

[shtu]

I say you'll get a solid 15 mnutes' youtube content out of that. Maybe even a 6-parter - "Internet LOSES IT'S MIND over INSANE fault with my TESLA! Is this THE END??" that sort of thing.

It's several years old, steel bits go surface rusty. More at 11.

[ghost83]

It’s a 2018 car so 5yr old!

Why would you spend 54k on a 5yr old Tesla :lol:

[Court_S]

I don’t think they look that bad either given the cars age.

Brakes getting get hot and cold, add it road salt and the finishes take a hammering.

[66HFM]

They look ok but f you'd only bought it in October and paid £54k for it then, why at the time of buying it did you not get Telsa to sort out the calipers as part of the deal, unless you negotiated some money off for them, either in a private purchase or with a dealer...?

[Pica-Pica]

Chucklehead said:

The calipers look fine to my eyes.. The bolts holding them together may be incorrectly spec'd though.

Yup. All I see are rusty screw heads and a dodgy centre cap.

[PHZero]

rossoncars said:

I'm having a 'discussion' with Tesla about the state of the front brake calipers on my '68 plate 75D bought in October '22 for £54K

They have said that the wear is just 'cosmetic' and falls within Tesla approved used standards.

I say no other main dealer garage would sell a car of that value with calipers in that state.

What do you say PistonHeads?

Edited by rossoncars on Wednesday 11th January 13:56

Minor corrosion aside (which I think is fairly normal on brake components), do you get a reasonable range from a five year old Tesla compared to the original range figures when new?

[Acuity30]

Looks fine, those bolts look a bit poxy though

[swisstoni]

What were they like in October 22 when you bought the car?
I’m not expecting any help from Tesla tbh, especially as they’ve already basically said ‘tough’.

[Freakuk]

As requested, what were they like when you bought the car, the same?

Or has this happened since purchase, could it be the wheel cleaner you have used, or do you take it to your local hand car wash where they'll use aggressive chemicals like TFR to remove dirt?

[Olivergt]

A bit of Hammerite, or equivalent, on the bolt heads and some new stickers and they will look a lot better for very little outlay.

New stickers are a fiver off Ebay.

As others have said, brake calipers live in quite a harsh environment, trying to keep them looking pristine would be a full time job. But if you can keep them looking good enough to pass the 10ft test, then you are doing well.

[NS66]

I think your expectations are too high - nothing to see there!