Two WoF inspectors failed her Tesla — why the manufacturer said it was safe to drive
Friday, 30 January 2026
Mechanics are being given more information about how Teslas work after one owner’s frustrating journey to get a warrant of fitness.
The woman, who doesn’t want to be identified so will be referred to as ‘Sarah’, says she can’t understand why two mechanics told her that her Tesla was not roadworthy while the manufacturer insisted it was.
Sarah bought her car, a used 2021 Tesla 3, in mid-2023. It had a four-year warranty that entitled its owner to annual check-ups.
Late last year Sarah arranged to have a check-up carried out at the Tesla service centre in Māngere, Auckland.
She said she was told the knuckle ball joints (part of the suspension system) in both rear wheels and the front left wheel had some play in them and the car was booked in for a repair in mid-January. The play was deemed sufficient to need attention but not enough to fail a warrant of fitness (WoF) inspection.
A few weeks after getting the car checked she took it to her local mechanic to get a WoF. She said the mechanic told her the car could not get one due to excessive play in the knuckle ball joints.
Sarah said she called the Tesla service centre that day and explained what had happened. She claims Tesla advised her to inform the mechanic that the play was not excessive according to manufacturing specifications.
She said Tesla also asked her if the mechanic had read the Tesla handbook that allowed for play in knuckle ball systems.
Sarah said she conveyed Tesla’s advice, but her mechanic told her the car would fail a WoF under NZ regulations, regardless of the Tesla specifications.
Sarah then took her car to an AA centre, told them the situation and asked them to check the suspension.
She said the AA mechanic told her there was excessive play in both rear wheels and the car would fail a WoF.
In an email to Sarah, the AA mechanic said: “We have done many Tesla WoFs and have never had this movement before.”
By this point, Sarah said, her patience was running thin. She had trips planned and did not have a roadworthy car.
She said she had several lengthy phone conversations with Tesla staff. She claims she was told she should drive the car back to the Māngere service centre for repairs. This was a five-hour trip each way, and she was not prepared to drive that distance in a car that did not have a WoF.
Sarah said she asked Tesla if they could collect her car on a truck and take it to Auckland, as they had when its service charger needed to be repaired. But she claims Tesla said it would not do that.
Sarah’s calls and emails with Tesla continued. In late December, Tesla sent her an email with a section of the New Zealand Transport Authority/Waka Kotahi’s vehicle inspection requirements manual (VIRM).
The manual states that if a suspension component has play beyond manufacturer’s specifications it would be grounds to reject a WoF test.
She claims Tesla told her that when the car was serviced at the Māngere centre, the play was not outside manufacturer’s specifications and, given that the car had only travelled 880km since then, this was likely to remain the case.
“Since the measured play is significantly below the manufacturer’s maximum allowable limit, this condition does not meet the threshold for rejection,” Tesla told Sarah.
Further communications ensued, with Tesla eventually agreeing to collect the car and take it to a service centre for repairs and a WoF. The car was returned to her earlier this month.
Sarah was happy with the eventual outcome but believed the experience revealed a concerning issue.
“This experience has cost me in time and money, and has been a huge inconvenience, but the main issue here is one of safety. I could not, for the life of me, understand how two experienced and capable mechanics could consider the car unroadworthy when Tesla says it's fine to drive.
“Given the proliferation of Tesla vehicles, this is clearly something that needs to be rectified.
“Clear, honest, concise communication could have resolved a long drawn-out process that need not have occurred.”
Tesla announced last November that there were 20,000 Teslas on the road in New Zealand.
The company declined to comment.
A NZTA spokesperson said specifications for suspension components can vary greatly between manufacturers, models and makes, and it was not practical to have a single standardised or national guideline.
“If a vehicle inspector believes that the suspension movement is excessive after inspecting the vehicle, the vehicle may fail the inspection. If any additional information can be provided to show that the movement is within the manufacturer’s specifications, the vehicle would pass,” the spokesperson said.
“We can confirm that Tesla has approached NZTA to discuss the application of the VIRM in relation to WoF inspections of suspension components on their vehicles. NZTA is working with Tesla to make their suspension specifications more widely available to the vehicle inspection industry,” he said.
This story was updated on January 30, 2026, amending the name of the joints from buckle ball to knuckle ball.