My Tesla Model 3 total maintenance costs after 150,000 km in 5 years.
I lied. At the time of writing this post, my Tesla is at 145,202 km.
Short answer : HKD$52,824
My Tesla Model 3 Performance was delivered to me in September 2020. It’s June 2025 now, so my car is almost 5 years old. In 57 months, I’ve driven 145,202 km, which equates to an average of 2,550 km per month. I should reach 150,000 km in another 2 months, which will take me to the 5-year mark.
Below is just to record how much I’ve spent on maintenance, excluding all the charging costs. If you want to know more about the charging costs of my Tesla, please see this post.
It also excludes minor issues, like changing the wiper blades once or twice by myself or topping up windshield washer fluids. These are minor costs which I will not include.
Also, I only went to Tesla for all my services (excluding changing of tires). I did not question anything that they did. What I mean is that for the issues I came across, below is probably the most expensive that would cost someone to do what I needed to do for my Tesla. I did not go to any external garage for any consultation or price comparison. I simply did what is the safest, easiest, and fastest for me.
As for the tires, my non-negotiable is using the best tires possible and always the Michelin PS4S, even if it is the most expensive. Safety is where the car meets the road, and your tires are the only contact point between your car and the road. A few thousand saved could mean life or death.
I have to commend how quickly the car was returned to me during the Tesla Service. All services were done within a day. The longest was changing all 4 upper and lower control arms, and I dropped the car off early in the morning and got it back before 8 PM. It was fantastic service.
September 2020 – Took delivery of my Tesla
| Month/Year of Service | Issue for Service | Work Completed | Total Costs |
| May 2023 (71,000 km) | Upper Arm Control Noise | Control Arms Replaced | HKD$15,879 |
| May 2023 | 2nd Annual Service | Regular Service | HKD$3,979 |
| May 2025 (144,000 km) | Annual Service | Regular Service | HKD$1,766 |
| Sept 2020 -> June 2025 | All 4 Tires Replacement | 3 times (12 tires) | HKD$31,200 |
I’ve changed the front windshield twice during this period, but it was covered by my insurance, so I will exclude the costs of those. If you are interested, they are listed below and in the invoice linked.
Therefore, in total, I’ve spent HKD$52,824 in the past 5 years having driven 150,000 km. That equates to $0.36/km for maintenance costs of my car in these past 5 years.
The Control Arm is a big issue in the Tesla. They were having unbearable noise after 70,000 km. If this is the mean time for failure, I am due for another set of replacements. I am sure the warranty would cover it if you did not have any aftermarket suspension in your car and if your Tesla is within the warranty period of your specific model. If you remove that HK$15,879 bill, then it will be even less. The work done on the Annual Service can be completed at non-Tesla service centers for cheaper, but like I said before, the bill you see here will be the most expensive route if you run into the same issues as I did.
The bulk of the costs will be the tires replacement. But I am surprised that the brakes are still in relatively good condition. I do make very good use of single pedal driving and very conscious about it. I did not have to change any of my brakes parts/consumables with 150,000 km driven; other than, flushing of the brake fluid system in the 2nd annual service.
For the detailed work done, please see below and the invoice attached.
Hope this helps all of you thinking about the maintenance costs of a somewhat high mileage Tesla Model 3 in Hong Kong.
I will add the battery health check of my Tesla in another post just focusing on the battery degradation.
Detailed Work/Summary Below
1.) September 2021- Cracked Windshield from rock chip during driving – Replaced – HKD$7,117.50 (Insurance Claimed) Invoice
2.) June 2022 – Water ingress in the right rear taillight – Replaced – $0 (Vehicle Warranty) Invoice
3.) October 2022 – 12V (Lead Acid) low voltage battery warning needs replacement – Replaced – $0 (Vehicle Warranty) Invoice
4.) May 2023 – Rattle or Squeak – Upper arm control noise – Replaced –
Control Arm – Upper – Front – Pair
Links – Lateral – Lower – Front – LH/RH
Links – Compliance – Lower – Front – RH/LH
Knuckle – Suspension – Rear – Pair
– $15,879 (I’ve had aftermarket suspension which warranty did not cover) Invoice
2nd Annual Service
Replaced front wiper blades.
Replaced cabin air filter.
Performed thermal system test
Checked cooling system / Topped up coolant
Front brake pads 7 mm,
Rear brake pads 7 mm,
Refill washer fluid
Flushed brake fluid system
Lubricated all door latches
Inspected seat belts
Checked / Re-torqued Front Ground Nuts
Adjusted all tire pressure to 42 psi,
All wheel nuts torqued, Suspension – Front and Rear- Checked Torque
Performed latest firmware update / Map update
-$3,979 Invoiced together with Upper Arm Replacement
5.) May 2025 – Annual Service – $1,766 – Invoice
Annual service
Annual service-Checked firmware version: Up to date-Suspension – Front – Check Torque-Suspension – Rear – Check Torque-Replaced Cabin air filter-Replaced wiper blade-Wheel lug nuts torqued.-Topped off washer fluid.-Verified wiper and washer jet operation: Good, no issue.-Adjusted tire pressure to: 42 PSI front, 42 PSI rear.-Measured tire tread depth at:
Brake pad thickness:mm
FL:5 FR:5 RR: 5 RL:5
Hand brake:5
Cracked Windshield from rock chip during driving – Replaced – HKD$8,221.07 (Insurance Claimed) Invoice
Tire Replacements
I’ve replaced all 4 tires around every 40,000km with Michelin PS4S. My Performance rims tires are 235/35ZR20. Each tire costs $2,600. All four costs $10,400. Invoice
In these 5 years with 150,000 km driven, I’ve changed all 4 of my tired 3 times with a total costs of around $31,200.
