Model 3 / Model Y suspension wear and European inspections

Suspension is where GNSGO's own Tesla data is deepest — 128 references in the suspension and steering category — and where European independent workshops have the clearest commercial stake. A Model 3 or Model Y wears like any heavy, torquey, low-slung car. The difference on a Tesla is not the wear; it is the catalogue. Left and right are separate numbers almost everywhere, revisions run three and four deep behind the same base, and some positions carry a stiffness figure inside the part name. GNSGO supplies Tesla-compatible parts to workshops, fleet operators and parts buyers across Europe. This page is about identifying the right reference and the new-versus-core choice. No torque values, no fitting procedures.

1. Why this matters at inspection time

Across Europe the periodic inspection regimes — the German HU, the Dutch APK, the French contrôle technique, the UK MOT, the Austrian §57a and their equivalents — converge on the same concerns: play in joints and linkages, deteriorated bushes and mounts, damper condition and leakage, and corrosion or damage at load-bearing components. The test method and pass threshold belong to each national regime and are not something we publish.

What is worth saying to a workshop is narrower. A Tesla is heavy for its size and delivers its torque immediately, so front-end wear shows up earlier than on an equivalent combustion car.

2. Work out which situation you are in

3. Front upper control arms — left and right, and four generations

This is the clearest example in our data of why side and generation both matter.

• 1044321-00-F — front upper control arm assembly, left hand — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044326-00-F — front upper control arm assembly, right hand — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044321-00-J — left front upper control arm assembly — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044326-00-J — right front upper control arm assembly — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1344321-00-A — front upper control arm assembly, left hand — Model 3 (2024–).
• 1344326-00-A — front upper control arm assembly, right hand — Model 3 (2024–).
• 2188321-10-A — front upper control arm assembly, left hand — Model Y (2025–).
• 2188326-10-A — front upper control arm assembly, right hand — Model Y (2025–).

Four generations visible at once: a 104432x family at revisions F and J, a 134432x family for the 2024-onward Model 3, and a 218832x family for the 2025-onward Model Y. Same position, four bases. The VIN decides, not the photo.

The mount is a separate part — the most useful thing here for a buyer:

• 1044031-00-B — mount isolator, front upper control arm, left hand — Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044036-00-B — mount isolator, front upper control arm, right hand — Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044371-00-D — mount, front upper control arm, left hand — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1044376-00-D — mount, front upper control arm, right hand — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1344031-00-A and 1344036-00-A — mount isolator, left and right — Model 3 (2024–).
• 2188391-00-A and 2188396-00-A — mount, left and right — Model Y (2025–).

Two families — 104403x/134403x isolators and 104437x/218839x mounts — run alongside the arm families. Whether a job needs the arm or only its mount is worth deciding before quoting.

4. Knuckles, and the Model 3 / Model Y split

• 1044311-00-E — front knuckle, left hand — Model 3.
• 1044316-00-E — front knuckle, right hand — Model 3.
• 1188311-00-E — front knuckle, left hand — Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1188316-00-E — front knuckle, right hand — Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044411-00-F — rear knuckle assembly, left hand — Model 3.
• 1044416-00-F — rear knuckle assembly, right hand — Model 3.

Model 3 and Model Y use different knuckle bases at the front — 104431x and 118831x — both revision E, both handed. The rear knuckles are recorded for Model 3. Ordered by model name alone, this pair arrives wrong.

5. Links — including the one with the stiffness in its name

• 1044354-00-A — front lower comp link assembly, 0.975 kN/mm, left hand — Model 3, Model Y.
• 1044359-00-A — front lower comp link assembly, 0.975 kN/mm, right hand — Model 3, Model Y.
• 1044341-00-D — front lower lateral link assembly — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1044341-00-E — lower lateral link, front — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1188341-00-C — front lower lateral link assembly — Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044391-00-D — front stabilizer link assembly, left hand — Model 3, Model Y.
• 1044396-00-A — front stabilizer link assembly, right hand — Model 3, Model Y.
• 1044431-00-G — rear toe link assembly — Model 3, Model Y.
• 1044431-00-H — rear toe link — Model 3 (2017–2023).

The compliance link pair is the one to look at. Tesla records the rate — 0.975 kN/mm — inside the part name: a tuned component rather than a generic bar with two bushes, and part of the identity. A link quoted without it is not confirmed to be the same part. Left and right stay separate references even though the rate is identical.

6. Dampers — new assembly versus remanufactured core

This is the clearest price-logic decision in the category, and our data contains the evidence directly:

• 1044090-00-A — damper assembly, front left, coil, E2 RWD — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1044090-00-AX — front LH hydraulic two-wheel-drive shock absorber core — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044095-00-A — damper assembly, front right, coil, E2 RWD — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1044095-00-AX — front RH hydraulic two-wheel-drive shock absorber core — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044363-00-F — damper assembly, front left, E3, all-wheel drive — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1044368-00-F — damper assembly, front right, E3, all-wheel drive — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1044461-01-E — rear damper assembly, coil, E3 AWD — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044461-01-EX — shock absorber core, rear, L/R, hydraulic — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).

The -X suffix appears on both front and rear dampers, and each record reads as a core — a remanufactured unit supplied against the old unit handed back. The pattern suggests an exchange route: same base number, same side, revision retained, X added. Recognising it is the whole point: a quotation that reads the AX or EX record as ordinary new stock has misread the line, and the return condition that comes with it is part of what is being bought.

A core suits a fleet with a returnable old unit and a job that can wait; a new assembly suits a job that cannot, or a customer who will not accept a remanufactured component. Neither is a quality judgement — it is availability, price and turnaround. Remanufactured units can be quoted on request by part number; availability is confirmed order by order. Dampers are also configured by drive layout: E2 RWD and E3 AWD are different references at the same corner, as are front and rear, and left and right.

7. Steering and subframe — the deep end

• 1044831-00-F — steering gear assembly, left — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044831-00-H — steering gear, left-hand drive — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1044841-00-E — steering gear tie rod, outer — Model 3 (2017–2023), Model Y (2020–2024).
• 1044531-00-B — front subframe assembly — Model 3 (2017–2023).
• 1044531-00-C — front subframe assembly — Model Y (2020–2024).

The steering gear references carry a drive-side distinction — left-hand drive is recorded explicitly — another reason a European enquiry should carry the VIN. Subframes follow the same pattern: one base, several revisions.

8. What to send with an enquiry

Five items: the VIN, the model and build year, the corner (front or rear, left or right), the drive layout if a damper is involved, and whether a new assembly or a core is acceptable. Omit the corner and you will be quoted the wrong side; omit the drive layout on a damper and you will be quoted the wrong unit. We publish no torque figures or geometry specifications — GNSGO does not hold that data.

Short answers

Can I order one control arm, or do I need the pair?

You can order one — left and right are separate references. But wear is usually symmetric, and the arm you did not replace fails the next inspection. We confirm, part number by part number, whether we can supply it, and side is stated on the enquiry rather than inferred.

Is the mount sold separately from the arm?

Yes. 1044031-00-B and 1044036-00-B are the Model Y (2020–2024) isolators; 1044371-00-D and 1044376-00-D the Model 3 (2017–2023) mounts.

What does the 0.975 kN/mm in the compliance link name mean?

It is the rate recorded for 1044354-00-A and 1044359-00-A — a tuned component, and part of the identity.

New damper or remanufactured core?

Depends on the job. The core — 1044090-00-AX — suits a returnable old unit and a job that can wait; the new assembly — 1044090-00-A — suits one that cannot. Remanufactured units can be quoted on request by part number; availability is confirmed order by order.

Do you publish torque settings?

No. GNSGO does not hold that data and we will not fill the gap. Work to the vehicle manufacturer's figures.

Where this comes from.

The references quoted above are taken from GNSGO's own parts index for China-built and China-sourced Tesla parts — the same list at Tesla compatible parts — OE reference index. Availability and application are confirmed per enquiry against the OE number and, where it matters, the VIN. We have not drawn on Tesla's copyrighted workshop documentation for this page, and we do not reproduce any manual pages. The -X core suffix, the multiple arm generations and the handed-mount split are patterns we observe in our own data, not definitions published by Tesla. Where GNSGO does not hold data — torque values and geometry specifications — we say so rather than filling the gap.