2013 Tesla Model S Speed Control & Cruise Problems

While driving on the freeway at 70 MPH with 39 miles of range left, the vehicle abruptly slowed down to 20 MPH...cars behind us almost hit us due to the car slowing down despite me accelerating. We pulled to the right shoulder, rest the car and then was only able to go up to 20MPH...range still said 39 miles. Shortly after the car stopped, there was a warning displayed, and the car turned off and could no longer turn back on. I believe the battery failed. The car was towed to Tesla Irvine Barranca Service center and diagnostics confirmed the battery needed replacement. I traded in the car for a new vehicle. Safety of the driver, passengers, and the around us on the freeway were all at risk and we were lucky to avoid any issues. All Tesla told me was the battery died There was a warning that appeared when the car slowed down to 20mph...stating the car was no longer able to be driven

Brake pedal switch is malfunctioning causing the brake lights to turn on by itself when driving 60mph+ when I am pressing only the gas pedal and then it’s causing the engine to shutoff or power reduced due to “both pedals pressed” alert in the system. This can cause an accident 1st for sending the wrong brake light signal for the drivers behind me and 2nd to shut off engine when driving at high speeds. If this happens when driving uphill can cause the car to slow abruptly and even start going backwards due to engine shut off. Also I have concern that I had to reverse press (pull back) the brake pedal with my left foot in the middle of the highway to get rid of the alert while I was pressing the gas pedal with my right foot and then to regain gas power to continue to speed. Again, this is dangerous action that can cause an accident.

Screen behind steering wheel that displays Speedometer goes black from time to time. Am told by a Tesla tech that this issue is related to outdated MCU1 hardware and that a 1500 upgrade to MCU2 hardware will resolve the issue. The current software that runs on 9 year old hardware (same chips are used from 2012-early 2018) is too bloated and causes usability issues that create unsafe driving conditions. It is imperative that speed, climate control and other functions that MCU handles have 100% uptime, especially when the vehicle is in motion. This is only possible by a hardware upgrade that can run Tesla’s latest software (which is automatically pushed several times per year). Right now, Tesla will sell customers an upgraded MCU for $1500-2000, depending on vehicle. This MCU can handle the latest software that inevitably finds its way to every Tesla vehicle through automatic updates. Customers should not have to pay $2000 to maintain basic features, such as timely vehicle power up, reliable speedometer and climate controls, and consistently performing music playing. I have had dozens of issues with MCU performance over the 5year ownership period. NHTSA should do a performance and reliability evaluation of a model S or X with MCU 1 vs MCU 2 and use this data as evidence to demand Tesla recall for all 2018 and earlier vehicles with MCU 1. Common issues include: 1. Waiting 30-90 seconds for vehicle to power up and become drivable. This is especially concerning when driver needs to move vehicle in a timely fashion (think of scenario with impending danger). 2. Either of 2 screens going blank for 2-30 minutes, including while driving. This creates anxiety and distraction for a driver loosing gauges and loss of vehicle controls 3. Inability to change climate control, especially in dangerous conditions Think of the vehicles core functions and controls relying on iPhone 4 hardware !

i was driving over 100mph, let off the accelerator and the car kept going that fast. Then all of warning lights came on, traction turned off, anti skid turned off. etc etc. I immediately applied brakes to NO affect. I called the Tesla Road Side Assistance. Lady was on the phone looking at my warnings. She could see the same warnings i was seeing. Applying brakes as hard as possible got the car to eventually slow down. It acted like the Cruise Control was stuck on 100mph. BUT, i never turned it on. EVER. This happened around first of May. Well two weeks later it happened again. This time Help Desk referred it to Jacksonville Service Center. The mechanic said he referred it to the "engineering" team at Tesla on 6/10/21. Have not heard back, I have been there several times, NO help at all. Refuse to discuss it.

ON 8/6/2020 AT APPROXIMATELY 3:50 PM [XXX], I [XXX] WAS PARKING MY 2013 MODEL S 85 TESLA IN MY CARPORT. I HAVE LIVED AT THIS ADDRESS FOR 7 MONTHS AND HAD PARKED MY CAR THERE WITHOUT INCIDENT NUMEROUS TIMES. I WAS NOT DISTRACTED NOR INTOXICATED IN ANY WAY; I WAS SIMPLY PARKING MY CAR. AS I WAS ABOUT TO PUSH THE PARK BUTTON ON THE TESLA, SUDDENLY THE CAR UNINTENTIONALLY ACCELERATED, OUT OF CONTROL, THE BRAKE DIDN'T WORK, AND CONTINUED TO LEAP FORWARD AT FULL SPEED, CAUSING ME TO CRASH THROUGH THE GATE, AND BACK OF MY CARPORT, BOUNCING ONE TRASHCAN OFF MY SHED DOOR AND PUSHING ANOTHER ONE, AS I VEERED AROUND THE SHED CORNER KNOCKING THE CARPORT SUPPORTS OUT AS I WENT. CRASHING THROUGH MY NEIGHBORS BACK FENCE, I PLOWED OVER MY NEIGHBOR'S GARDEN AND BACK YARD WITH MY GARBAGE CAN AND CAR ACTING AS A BATTERING RAM. THE TESLA EVENTUALLY CAREENED INTO NEIGHBORS BACK CARPORT PLOWED OVER A GAS MAIN, POWER MAIN PANEL, WATER MAIN, AND SEWER DRAIN LINE. BASICALLY, ALL THE UTILITIES WHICH FED HER HOUSE, AND FINALLY STOPPED AFTER HITTING THE SIDE OF SPACE# 46 HOUSE. I SAW AND SMELLED GAS ENTERING THE CAR FROM THE BROKEN GAS PIPE. FORTUNATELY, THE POWER TO MY HOUSE ALONG WITH 40 OF THE SURROUNDING HOUSES HAD BEEN SHUT OFF THE PREVIOUS DAY DUE TO A TOTALLY UNRELATED INCIDENT. A POWER TRANSFORMER WHICH FED THE COMMUNITY HAD BEEN MIS-WIRED AND DESTROYED ALL THE ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND ELECTRONICS IN THE 40 HOUSES THE TRANSFORMER FED. IF THE POWER HAD BEEN ON, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN SPARKS AND AN EXPLOSION UNDER MY TESLA BATTERY PACK; WHICH WOULD HAVE CAUSED A SECONDARY EXPLOSION. I WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED INSTANTLY ACCORDING TO THE FIREMEN AND PGE GAS REPAIR MAN WHO SHOWED UP AFTER THE INCIDENT. ANYONE PRESENT WITHIN THE VICINITY AROUND MY CAR WOULD MOST LIKELY HAVE BEEN KILLED TOO OR INJURED. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

2013 TESLA S P85 WITH MANUFACTURE QUALITY CONTROL PROBLEMS. MY CURRENT CONCERN IS THAT MY MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) TOUCH SCREEN IN MY MODEL S MANUFACTURE IN 2013 FAILURES OF THE TOUCH SCREEN WITH BUBBLES ON THE LCD TOUCH SCREEN AND SOMETIME JUST LINES ON THE LCD DISPLAY WHEN IT IS HOT UNDER THE SUN. THE CAR TAKES A LONG TIME TO START UP AFTER DRIVER GET INTO THE DRIVER SEAT- SOMETIMES IT CAN TAKE UP TO 3 MINUTES TO START UP THE CAR AND, LINES ON LCD DISPLAY, STICKY GLUE LEAKING DOWN UNDER THE DASH AREA FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE. THIS MCU AND LCD TOUCH SCREEN IS THE ONLY CONTROL THAT CAN BE USE AS AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR THIS VEHICLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUES WHILE DRIVING AND CAN BE VERY DISTRACTING AND CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT WHILE DRIVING. THIS IS A MANUFACTURES DEFECT AND IT SHOULD BE RECALL FOR REPLACEMENT OR REPAIR. IT IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PARK AT APPROXIMATELY 2 MPH, THE VEHICLE SPONTANEOUSLY ACCELERATED WITH THE FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE CONTACT STRUCK THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE WAS DAMAGED. THE POLICE WAS NOT PRESENT. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE (TESLA, 6692 AUTO CENTER DR, BUENA PARK, CA 90621), WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT IT WAS VEHICLE OPERATOR ERROR. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT IT MAY TAKE APPROXIMATELY A WEEK TO GET THE RESULTS FROM THE EVENT DATA RECORDER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

SUDDEN ACCELERATION OF THE VEHICLE CAUSING CRASH. VEHICLE WAS IN PARKING LOT. FAILURE OF THE MCU CAUSING BLANK SCREEN. *TR

SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION TESLA. I DROVE MY TESLA FROM WORK, DRIVING OVER 35MILES DURING RUSH HOUR OF THE BAY AREA. WHEN I ENTERED MY SUBDIVISION, I WAS DRIVING AT 10 MPH, PULLED INTO MY DRIVEWAY MADE 90 DEGREES TURN AT 5 MPH, APPLIED THE BRAKES. INSTEAD OF STOPPING, CAR SPED UP AT EXTREMELY HIGH ACCELERATION. IT DROVE THROUGH THE GARAGE DOOR, HIT MASERATI PARKED IN THE GARAGE, AND A MOTORCYCLE PARKED NEXT TO IT. THE MASERATI TRUNK WAS PUSHED IN APPROX 3 FEET, IT SLID SIDEWAYS, HIT THE PILLAR, SMASHING DRIVER DOOR AND WINDOW, SLID TO THE FRONT AND HIT THE MOTORBIKE PARKED NEXT TO IT. IT COMPLETELY SMASHED THE REAR TRUCK, FRONT AND SIDE OF THE MASERATI. IT SMASHED THE FRONT END OF THE MOTORCYCLE. THERE WERE FLUIDS FRONT TESLA, MASERATI, AND BIKE ALL OVER THE GARAGE. THE BATTERY IN MASERATI EXPLODED LEAKING ACID ALL OVER THE GARAGE. WE THOUGHT THE FUEL TANK IN MASERATI BROKE. WE HAD TO CALL 911, DOZENS OF PERSONNEL SHOWED UP INCLUDING SEVERAL FIRE TRUCKS, POLICE CARS, AMBULANCE, HAZMAT AMONG OTHERS. THEY SPEND OVER THREE HOURS CONTROLLING THE SITUATION. THEY HAD TO CUT THE GARAGE DOOR TO PULL OUT THE MASERATI AND TESLA. IT WAS TOWED TO A STORAGE FACILITY NEARBY. MASERATI WAS DECLARED A TOTAL LOSS. I WAS COMPLETELY SHAKEN AND HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SLEEP AT ALL FOR LAST THREE DAYS. WHAT IF MY KIDS HAD BEEN PLAYING IN THE DRIVEWAY OR IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THIS IS NOT A RANDOM INSTANCE. THERE ARE DOZENS IF NOT HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR INCIDENTS WHEREIN, WHEN A DRIVER MAKES A SHARP TURN INTO A DRIVEWAY OR GARAGE AND APPLIES THE BRAKE, RATHER THAN SLOWING DOWN CAR JUST DECIDES TO SPEED UP LIKE A BULLET AND GOES THROUGH THE WALLS OR WHATEVER COMES ITS WAY. I HAVE STOPPED DRIVING FOR FORESEEABLE FUTURE, I AM NOT GOING TO PUT MY STEP IN ANOTHER TESLA FOR MY SAFETY AND SAFETY OF OTHERS. STAY AWAY FROM THIS UNPROVEN TECHNOLOGY FOR YOUR/OTHERS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2013 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE STATIONARY WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE INDEPENDENTLY ACCELERATED RAPIDLY WITHOUT WARNING AND CRASHED INTO A WALL. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES SUSTAINED BY THE CONTACT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND DEEMED DESTROYED. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000.

DRIVER STOPPED CAR WHILE PULLING INTO GARAGE WITH REAR WHEELS ON DRIVEWAY SLOPING DOWN AND AWAY FROM GARAGE AND FRONT WHEELS JUST INSIDE GARAGE. VEHICLE CREEP MODE IN OFF POSITION. CAR AT REST. BRAKE RELEASED, AND VEHICLE BEGAN ROLLING BACKWARD DUE TO GRAVITY. ACCELERATOR APPLIED, AND NO INITIAL RESPONSE, CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE BACKWARD ROLL SPEED, SO PEDAL DEPRESSED FURTHER (TESLA VEHICLE LOGS SHOW 25-50% PEDAL TRAVEL AT THIS POINT), AT WHICH TIME DRIVE UNIT QUICKLY ENGAGED AT 25-50% OF FULL ACCELERATION RESULTING IN A SUDDEN UNINTENTIONAL FORWARD ACCELERATION. DRIVER CAUGHT BY SURPRISE AND ATTEMPTED BRAKING. UNFORTUNATELY, VEHICLE IMPACTED FREEZER UNIT IN GARAGE DESTROYING THE FREEZER AND CAUSING SIGNIFICANT VEHICLE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. THIS SET OF OPERATING PARAMETERS WAS REPRODUCIBLE AND RELIABLY RESULTED IN A SHORT, BUT NOTABLE, DELAY IN PEDAL RESPONSE WHEN ROLLING BACKWARD, RESULTING IN FURTHER PEDAL DEPRESSION, THEN FOLLOWED BY A SUDDEN ACCELERATION FORWARD, WHICH WAS SHORT, BUT, WITH THE POTENTIAL TO BE SIGNIFICANT WHEN COLLISION HAZARDS EXIST NEARBY. THE VEHICLE OPERATING MANUAL CONTAINS NO WARNING REGARDING THIS SITUATION. TESLA WAS MADE AWARE AND WOULD ONLY COMMENT THAT THE VEHICLE DID NOT MALFUNCTION. WHILE THAT MAY BE THE CASE, THE VEHICLE DESIGN SETS UP DRIVERS FOR ACCIDENTS THAT MIGHT RESULT IN INJURY AND PROPERTY DAMAGE WHEN DRIVERS ARE NOT WARNED OF THE VEHICLE'S RESPONSE IN THIS UNIQUE OPERATING CIRCUMSTANCE. AT THE VERY LEAST, IT SEEMS, TESLA SHOULD INCLUDE A WARNING TO DRIVERS ABOUT THIS SITUATION SO THAT DRIVERS MIGHT BE READY FOR SUDDEN ACCELERATIONS IN SUCH INSTANCES, OR DRIVERS MIGHT SIMPLY SELECT CREEP MODE ON IN SUCH SITUATIONS, WHICH WOULD PREVENT THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION.

THE DRIVER OF OUR CAR WAS PARKING OUR TESLA MODEL S P85+ AND SLOWLY MOVING INTO THE PARKING SPOT NEARING THE FINAL DISTANCE IN TO THE SPOT, WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY LURCHED FORWARD, HITTING AND KNOCKING DOWN A LIGHT POLE. THE DRIVER DID NOT CAUSE THIS ACCELERATION TO OCCUR AND WAS QUITE SURPRISED TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN. THERE WERE NO INJURIES INVOLVED IN THE INCIDENT, BUT A LIGHT POLE LOCATED 1.5 FEET WAY FROM END OF THE PARKING SPOT WAS KNOCKED DOWN AND WE HAVE MINIMAL DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING TO ITS MAXIMUM ACCELERATION RATE AND CRASHED INTO FIVE PARKED VEHICLES. THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE WAS DAMAGED AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AWAY BY AAA. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED BUT WAS UNABLE TO ADVISE THE CONTACT OF THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 9,021.

I PREVIOUSLY FILED A COMPLAINT TO NHTSA ON 9/24/2013 WITH NHTSA ID NO. 10545230. I NOTICED SIMILAR ISSUE WAS REPORTED BY 3 OR 4 OTHER TESLA OWNERS: (1) 9/26/2013 NHTSA ID NO. 10545488, (2) 9/29/2014 NHTSA NO. 10639849, (3) 9/29/2014 NHTSA NO. 10639935, AND (4) 6/8/2015 NHTSA ID NO. 10723925. THERE WAS ANOTHER SIMILAR CASE IN CAMARILLO CA AS REPORTED BY VENTURA COUNTY STAR ON 3/29/2013 BUT APPARENTLY WAS NOT REPORTED TO NHTSA. THERE WERE SO MANY SIMILAR INCIDENCES HAPPENED WITH ONLY A LIMITED NUMBER OF 2013 AND 2014 TESLA MODEL S ON THE ROAD, SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT WITH THE MODEL S. TESLA CANNOT KEEP BLAMING THE DRIVERS BEING AT FAULT.

THE CAR WAS GOING AT ABOUT 5 MPH GOING DOWN A SHORT RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAY. BRAKE WAS CONSTANTLY APPLIED. THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. IT HIT A CURB AND THE MIDDLE PORTION OF THE CAR LANDED ON A 4.5 FT HIGH VERTICAL RETAINING WALL. THE WALL IS ONE FOOT AWAY FROM THE CURB. THE FRONT PORTION OF THE CAR WAS HANGING UP IN THE AIR. THE CAR WAS AT ABOUT 45 DEGREE UP AND ABOUT 20 DEGREE TILTED TOWARD THE RIGHT SIDE. AN ENGINEER FROM TESLA SAID THE RECORD SHOWED THE ACCELERATING PEDAL WAS STEPPED ON AND IT ACCELERATED FROM 18% TO 100% IN SPLIT SECOND. HE BLAMED MY WIFE STEPPING ON THE ACCELERATING PEDAL. BUT HE ALSO SAID THERE WAS A BUILT-IN SAFE-GUARD THAT THE ACCELERATOR COULDNOT GO BEYOND 92%. THE STATEMENTS ARE CONTRADICTORY. IF THERE IS A SAFEGUARD THAT THE ACCELERATOR CANNOT GO BEYOUND 92%, THERE WOULD BE NO WAY THAT MY WIFE COULD STEP ON IT 100%. THERE WERE SOME MECHANICAL PROBLEM THAT CAUSED THE ACCELERATOR TO ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN FROM 18% TO 100% IN SPLIT SECOND. *LN UPDATED 12/30/2013 *JS

I WAS AT A FULL STOP WAITING TO TURN LEFT INTO THE PARKING GARAGE. WHEN IT WAS CLEAR OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC FOR ME TO MAKE THE LEFT TURN, I RELEASED MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE CAR INSTANTLY SURGED FORWARD VERY FAST AND HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE PARKED IN THE FRONT OF THE GARAGE. THIS ALL HAPPENED SO QUICKLY THAT I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO AVOID THE IMPACT. THE TIME OF OCCURRENCE WAS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT AT ABOUT 6PM PST. I HAVE DRIVEN THIS CAR FOR ALMOST 10000 MILES PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT AND KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THE CAR AND UNDERSTAND THE TORQUE THIS CAR HAS. I HAVE MADE THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF STOPS AND STARTS WITH THIS VEHICLE AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS EVER HAPPENED. THERE IS NO OTHER TERM TO DESCRIBE THIS OTHER THAN SUDDEN ACCELERATION. THE LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT DISPATCHED AN OFFICER AND NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL WAS INVOLVED. *JS TESLA INSTRUCTED THEIR STAFF TO NOT COMMUNICATE WITH ME ABOUT THIS ACCIDENT. *JS