There are 11 owner-reported fuel system complaints for the 2014 Tesla Model Sin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The drive unit was leaking coolant into the electrical inverter space. The issue was verified by a mechanic who then repaired the drive unit to prevent additional coolant intrusion.
TESLA OTA SOFTWARE UPDATE 2019.16.X CAPPED BATTERY CAPACITY TO 72.8 KWH, PREVIOUSLY 85 KWH, VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY.
RE: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT : BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES THE BATTERY RANGE ON MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN CAPPED VIA A SOFTWARE UPDATE BY TESLA WITHOUT MY CONSENT. I WAS NOT NOTIFIED THAT TESLA WOULD CAP MY BATTERY'S MAXIMUM CHARGE, WHICH IN TURN REDUCED THE RANGE AND POWER OF MY VEHICLE VIA AN OVER THE AIR SOFTWARE UPDATE. THE CAR WAS ADVERTISED AS A 85 KWH BATTERY, BUT NOW, WITH THE BATTERY CAP, THE BATTERY IS MUCH LESS THAN 85 KWH. IF THERE WAS A SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE BATTERY, TESLA SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED ME. ALSO, THE BATTERY SHOULD BE REPLACED INSTEAD OF HAVING THE SAFETY ISSUE STILL THERE AND DECREASING THE PERFORMANCE.
THE BATTERY RANGE ON THE CAR WAS LIMITED BY 10% IN ORDER TO PREVENT A FIRE FROM HAPPENING.
BEGINNING IN JUNE, THE SUBJECT VEHICLE SUFFERED FROM A SEVERE AND SUDDEN DECREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF RANGE AVAILABLE AS A DIRECT RESULT OF SOFTWARE UPDATES ISSUED BY TESLA WITHOUT DISCLOSURE TO OWNERS. PRIOR TO THE UPDATES, THE SUBJECT VEHICLE HAD APPROXIMATELY 255 RATED MILES AVAILABLE. FOLLOWING UPDATES 2019.16.1 AND 2019.16.2, THE SUBJECT VEHICLE SUFFERED IMMEDIATELY FROM A RANGE DROP TO 225 AVAILABLE MILES. THE SUBJECT VEHICLE HAS ALSO BEEN UNABLE TO CHARGE FULLY AND NOW SUFFERS FROM DECREASED CHARGING SPEEDS. THE OWNER OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLE WENT TO NCDS ARBITRATION, SEEKING A MANUFACTURER REPLACEMENT OF THE BATTERY UNDER WARRANTY, BUT THE ARBITRATOR DECIDED THAT THERE WAS NO PROOF OF DEFECT. TESLA CLAIMS THAT THIS IS NORMAL DEGRADATION. HOWEVER, THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS WERE CAUSED SOLELY BY TESLA'S SOFTWARE UPDATES, FOR WHICH IT HAS YET TO DISCLOSE WHETHER THERE ARE CARS AFFECTED AND POTENTIALLY AT HIGHER RISK OF CATCHING ON FIRE. TESLA HAS FAILED TO COMMUNICATE ANYTHING WITH REGARDS TO THE SAFETY OF THE AFFECTED VEHICLES AND HAS CONTINUED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE SOFTWARE WITHOUT PROVIDING OWNERS WITH ANY NOTICE OR INFORMATION THAT THEIR VEHICLE MAY BE AFFECTED. THE OWNER OF THIS VEHICLE WAS DENIED A WARRANTY REPLACEMENT AFTER HAVING THE CLAIMS ARBITRATED WITH NATIONAL CENTER FOR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT, WHERE THE ARBITRATOR FOUND THAT THERE WAS NO MANUFACTURING DEFECT. THE SUBJECT VEHICLE CONTINUES TO SUFFER FROM A HIGH RATE OF BATTERY LOSS WHEN THE CAR IS PARKED AND NOT IN OPERATION. THE CAR HAS NOT REGAINED ANY MILEAGE AS A RESULT OF TESLA'S MOST RECENT UPDATES THAT HAVE ATTEMPTED TO REMEDY THE SITUATION. THE SUBJECT VEHICLE SUFFERS FORM REDUCED CHARGING SPEEDS AND IS NOT CAPABLE OF REACHING THE SAME NUMBER OF MILES AS IT DID BEFORE.
NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 ' INVESTIGATION SUBJECT: BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY BEING IN AND AROUND MY CAR. ON MAY 29, 2019 I RECEIVED SOFTWARE 2019.16.2 73D3F3C. ALTHOUGH NOT KNOWN AT THE TIME, WHEN INSTALLED, IT REDUCED BATTERY CAPACITY BY ABOUT 8KWH, AND PERFORMANCE BY ABOUT THAN 40KW. THERE WAS NO NOTIFICATION FROM TESLA THIS WAS BEING DONE. ON 14 FEBRUARY 2017, (BEFORE SOFTWARE 2019.16.2 73D3F3C), AT 100% AND 76.6KWH OF 76.4KWH REMAINING CAPACITY, MODULE VOLTAGES WERE ABOUT 4.19V. THIS IS EXPECTED AND TYPICAL FOR A FULLY CHARGED LI ION BATTERY. AFTER THE SOFTWARE CHANGE THE BATTERY CHARGES TO 390V, AND A MAX CELL VOLTAGE OF ABOUT 4.07V. IT IS WELL UNDERSTOOD THE LI ION BATTERIES DEGRADE WITH USE. HOWEVER, LIMITING THE CELL VOLTAGES AT 100% SOC IS NOT 'NORMAL DEGRADATION', BUT THIS IS CLEARLY NOW BEING DONE, BASED ON THE DATA ABOVE, AND THE LACK OF REGEN WHILE DRIVING THE CAR AT THESE REDUCED CELL VOLTAGES. THIS APPEARS TO BE A DELIBERATE ACTION ON THE PART OF TESLA. IT MAY BE THE RESULT OF SOME NOW-DETECTABLE DEFECT, WHICH THROUGH DECEPTION, TESLA IS ATTEMPTING TO COVER UP. TESLA CLAIMS TO HAVE DONE THIS 'OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION' AFTER SEVERAL NON-CRASH FIRES. I BELIEVE THAT THIS MAY BE A SAFETY ISSUE. IF MY BATTERY IS 'NORMAL" THEN IT SHOULDN'T NEED PROTECTING VIA A SOFTWARE UPDATE, THE CONDITIONS WOULD HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO TESLA FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS. IF TESLA DECIDES TO SUDDENLY, AND WITHOUT ANY OWNER NOTIFICATION, TO "PROTECT" SOMETHING FIVE YEARS AFTER IT WAS MANUFACTURED, I SUSPECT IT'S BECAUSE SOMETHING IS VERY, VERY WRONG. THERE ARE ALSO INDICATIONS THIS WAS DELIBERATELY DONE IN SUCH A WAY AS TO MAKE IT LESS NOTICEABLE TO OWNERS. PLEASE PROVIDE AN INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF THE SAFETY OF MY CAR AND BATTERY PACK.
RE: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT : BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATESSTARTING WITH A SOFTWARE UPDATE IN MAY 2019, TESLA REDUCED BATTERY CAPACITY FROM 73KWH TO 62KWH. THEY CLAIM THEY DID THIS "OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION" AFTER SEVERAL NON-CRASH FIRES HAPPENED TO THESE MODELS. TESLA TOOK ACTION TO DOWNGRADE HORSEPOWER AND RANGE ALONG WITH ALL OTHER ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE THROUGH A TOTAL VOLTAGE CAP AFTER CLAIMING TO BE RELEASING A FIRE-SAFETY UPDATE, BUT OFFICIALLY NO SAFETY UPDATE WAS RELEASED. THIS CHANGE HAPPENED WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE AND STATIONARY. THERE IS A FIRE SAFETY ISSUE HERE THAT IS NOT MADE PUBLIC BY TESLA.
RE: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT : BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES A SOFTWARE UPDATE IN MAY 2019 IS WHEN THIS BEGAN, TESLA HAS CAPPED THE MAX VOLTAGE THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY WOULD CHARGE TO, SHOULD BE 4.2 VOLTS AND NOW ITS 4.08 VOLTS. TESLA CLAIMS THIS WAS DONE "OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION" AFTER SEVERAL NON-CRASH FIRES HAPPENED TO THESE MODELS. TESLA TOOK ACTION TO DOWNGRADE HORSEPOWER AND RANGE ALONG WITH ALL OTHER ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE THROUGH A TOTAL VOLTAGE CAP AFTER CLAIMING TO BE RELEASING A FIRE-SAFETY UPDATE. THERE HAS BEEN NO OFFICIAL SAFETY UPDATE TO DATE. THIS CHANGE HAPPENED WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE AND STATIONARY.
TESLA S AND X BATTERIES ARE A DESIGN FLAW. TESLA'S PANASONIC CELLS ARE MADE WITH THIN METAL CASINGS SO THAT THE HEAT FROM ONE BURNING CELL CAUSES THE NEIGHBORING CELLS TO BURST ESPECIALLY WHEN EXPOSED TO AIR IN AN ACCIDENT. THESE FIRES EMIT TOXINS SUCH AS FLORINE GAS. THESE CARS SHOULD BE RECALLED AND THE BATTERIES REPLACED WITH A SAFER DESIGN. THE RECENT ACCIDENT IN FLORIDA SHOWS THE NEED FOR THIS RECALL.
HERE IS A TESLA IN THE JUNKYARD: HTTPS://WWW.COPART.COM/LOT/39926687/PHOTOS IT HAS BEEN TOTALLY DESTROYED BY FIRE. THERE WAS AN INVESTIGATION INTO TESLA FIRES BACK IN 2014 AND IT WAS CLAIMED THAT FIRES WERE CAUSED BY ROAD DEBRIS PUNCTURING THE BATTERY PACK AND THIS PROBLEM WAS SOLVED BY FITTING A BATTERY SHIELD. TESLAS ARE STILL CATCHING FIRE AT AN ALARMING RATE. I BELIEVE THAT THE CAUSE OF MANY OF THESE FIRES IS NOT THAT THE LITHIUM BATTERY CATCHES FIRE FIRST BUT THAT THE ETHYLENE GLYCOL LEAKS OUT AND CATCHES FIRE. THE ATTACHE PHOTOGRAPH OF A 2013 FIRE CLEARLY SHOWS THE COOLANT BLAZING BENEATH THE CAR. A GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH FOR "TESLA FIRE" SHOWS MANY OF THESE GLYCOL FIRES. THE LITHIUM BATTERIES MAY WELL IGNITE AS WELL BUT IN MOST CASES IT SEEMS THAT THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF FIRE IS THE GLYCOL. ADVICE TO FIRST RESPONDERS SHOULD BE MODIFIED BECAUSE USING WATER IS NOT THE BEST WAY TO EXTINGUISH A FLAMMABLE LIQUID FIRE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. CONCERNED CITIZEN.
THE CAR GAVE A FAILURE MESSAGE AND THEN LOST ALL POWER. IT SHUT DOWN COMPLETELY AS I NAVIGATED THROUGH TRAFFIC IN NEUTRAL ONTO THE SHOULDER. I CALLED TESLA AND WAS TOLD THIS IS A KNOWN SOFTWARE RELEASE BUG. THEY SAID TO TURN OFF RANGE MODE AND THE ISSUE WILL NOT RECUR. MEANWHILE THEY ARE WORKING ON A SOFTWARE FIX. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A LIFE AND DEATH ISSUE. IT IS BEING REPORTED BY MANY OTHER MODEL S P85 D OWNERS ON THE TESLA FORUM. I BELIEVE THAT TESLA SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CONTACT ALL OWNERS AS THIS ISSUE IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND MAY CAUSE SERIOUS ACCIDENTS. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS - THE ERROR CAUSES THE CAR TO SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING AND HAS AFFECTED MANY TESLAS ALREADY. IT ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT IN MY CASE AND WILL CERTAINLY CAUSE A MORE SERIOUS EVENT IF NOT ADDRESSED. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026