There are 17 owner-reported body & structure complaints for the 2014 Tesla Model Sin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Drivers door handle failed to operate, occupant was locked out of vehicle, safety of operator was compromised as elderly operator has to climb over passenger and center console to enter drivers area. Problem is ongoing as door handle will not operate at all. Vehicle has not been inspected yet. No symptoms, door handle failed and cannot be opened from the outside at all.
Can't open driver's side door from outside, safety issue for parents/first responders. Online search shows this is a common defect that needs a safety recall, the wiring is defective and costly to repair. Thank you
The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park(P), a person approached the driver’s side rear door, and the door unintendedly opened slightly. The contact stated that prior to entering the vehicle, the driver’s side rear door opened slightly, and while reversing, the door opened completely. The contact closed the door; however, the failure recurred. There were no alerts during the failure; however, afterwards the contact's door was opened, and the App showed a message that the door was opened. The contact stated that all the doors were not opening from inside or outside the vehicle unless the vehicle was in park. The contact stated that the driver's side door was not opening whether in park or drive. The contact added Velcro to the door handle that was used to pull the door handle open. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
I was driving on I93 North in Massachusetts when the front trunk (frunk) suddenly released. The secondary latch stopped it from coming all the way open. Since then it has happened 6 other times! I have a service scheduled with Tesla and thought I should report it as this could have been really bad.
During my ownership of the car I have experienced very severe issues with the door handles. in total I have replaced 5 door handles in just my ownership. Meaning that I have replaced the same door handle more than once. One particular instance I had an issue while I was on a job where both the door handles on the driver side failed at one time. One was a mechanical malfunction and the other was a software related problem. I ended having to climb across the car for 3 weeks before they could get me into my appointment. Tesla has the ability to fix the problem. They have stated several times to me that it is just an outdated door handle with poor parts that they used on the first generation. if you have a child locked in the car it could be a serious issue.
Driver's door handle does not function. When car is unlocked, the door handle pops out BUT the door will not open. I had this same issue two years ago with the front passenger door handle and see that this is a recall item on my model (S) for vehicles starting in year 2016. Don't know why the 2014 sedan is not included in this recall, as it should be. It is a safety concern.
The door handles on my car get excessively hot in warmer weather. My 7 year old daughter burnt her hand attempting to open the door. I’m unsure of what material they are made out of, however it is impossible to open without using something to put over them first. I will be getting a temperature on them today. I’ve never had this be an issue with any other vehicle previously.
The front passenger door handle has not extended for more than 90 days. The right rear door handle was replaced on 3/22/21 and has also failed. Tesla apparently has a giant parts shortage and has thus been unable to replace this door handle for months. All four door handles have already been replaced at least once due to failures, some at least twice. This appears to be a chronic nationwide manufacturing defect. The result is that first responders and passengers are unable to open doors with broken handles. Although a short-term failure of a single door handle may not be a significant problem, that problem multiplied by hundreds of thousands of non-functioning Tesla door handles will almost certainly lead to serious injuries.
THE FRONT TRUNK IS OPENING ON ITS OWN WHILE DRIVING. TESLA REPLACED THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT IN JUNE 2020 AND THIS PROBLEM HAS STARTED SINCE THEN. ADDITIONALLY THE REAR TRUNK OPENS ON ITS OWN TOO. THE FRONT AND REAR TRUNK OPEN ON THEIR FREQUENTLY WHILE PARKED AND THE FRONT TRUNK OPENED TODAY, WHILE DRIVING, ON A CITY STREET. TESLA HAS BEEN NOTICED OF THE ISSUE.
THE DOOR HANDLE SOMETIMES DOES NOT EXTEND AND STUCK IN POSITION. IF THE DOOR HANDLE STUCK IN CLOSE POSITION, DURING AN FATAL ACCIDENT, THE FIRST RESPONDER WILL NOT ABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR AND SAVE LIFE. *TR
RETRACTABLE DOOR HANDLES STOP WORKING, THIS IS A SMALL PIECE BROKEN THAT NEEDS TO REPLACED. I HAVE GOTTEN IT REPLACED TWICE. IT APPEARS TO BE A MANUFACTURE DEFECT
ALL FOUR HANDLE ON MY CAR HAVE BEEN REPLACED WITHIN 3 YEARS OF USAGE. THE DOOR HANDLE WERE STUCK IN CLOSE POSITION AND THE DOOR CAN NOT BE OPEN FROM OUTSIDE. IT SEEMS LIKE A SAFETY ISSUE IF THE DOOR HANDLE CAN NOT BE OPEN FROM OUTSIDE IN THE EVENT OF EMERGENCY. *TR
I WAS PARKING MY CAR I HEARD AND FELT THE CAR BEGIN TO ACCELERATE. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND STEP FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE PEDDLE.THEN OF IT OWN VOLITION IT MOUNTED THE ADJOINING EMBANKMENT AND COLLIDED WITH THE TREE. THIS CAUSED EXTENSIVE FRONT END DAMAGE.
CAR HAD BEEN RENTED IN NOVEMBER 2016 FROM A TURO MEMBER FOR FOUR DAYS IN LAS VEGAS. THE CAR HAD BEEN IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC WITH THE AUTOPILOT ON. THE CAR SENSED TRAFFIC MOVING CAUSING THE TESLA'S AUTOPILOT TO MOVE AT 10MPH. THEN THE CAR'S AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTIONED AND CRASHED INTO ANOTHER CAR THAT WAS ATTEMPTING TO MERGE LANES. DAMAGES TOTALED $3100 FOR THE TESLA AND UNKNOWN FOR THE OTHER VEHICLE. CAR HAD BEEN ADVERTISED AS BEING ABLE TO DRIVE ITSELF
THE CAR WAS STOPPED IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC ON LAS VEGAS BOULEVARD WITH AUTO-PILOT ENGAGED (BOTH ACCELERATION/DE-ACCELERATION/BREAKING AND STEERING). WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT BEGAN TO MOVE, THE TESLA BEGAN TO ACCELERATE. I WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION AND ANOTHER CAR TRIED TO MERGE INTO MY LANE. THE AUTO-PILOT FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THE OTHER CAR AND COLLIDED AT APPROXIMATELY 10MPH, CAUSING MINOR EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO BOTH VEHICLES. DAMAGE FOR TESLA CAME TO $600. VEHICLE WAS A RENTAL FROM TURO
THE DEFAULT SETTING ON A TESLA MODEL S IS TO LOCK THE CAR IF YOU LEAVE YOUR KEYS IN IT FOR EVEN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND RESULTED IN MY TWO YOUNG DAUGHTERS BEING LOCKED IN THE CAR ALONG WITH MY KEYS. ON 1/28 I ARRIVED HOME WITH MY DAUGHTERS. I LEFT MY PURSE WITH MY KEYS IN IT ON THE PASSENGER SEAT WHILE I WENT TO UNSTRAP THE GIRLS FROM THEIR CAR SEATS. IT WAS COLD, SO I CLOSED MY DRIVER'S DOOR. I PLUGGED THE CAR IN AND WALKED AROUND TO THE BACK PASSENGER SIDE DOOR. I WAS WALKING SLOWER THAN USUAL BECAUSE OF THE ICE, BUT I WAS NOT WALKING SLOWLY OR LINGERING. BY THE TIME I GOT TO THE BACK PASSENGER SIDE DOOR AND PUT MY HAND ON THE HANDLE, THE HANDLES RETRACTED WITH MY HAND ON IT AND ALL THE CAR DOORS LOCKED. I WAS IN MY DRIVEWAY AND HAPPENED TO HAVE MY PHONE IN MY COAT POCKET AND HAD THE TESLA APP INSTALLED AND HAD CELL SERVICE. I WAS ABLE TO UNLOCK THE DOOR FROM MY PHONE. IF ANY ONE OF THOSE ELEMENTS HAD NOT BEEN PRESENT, I COULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN MY DAUGHTERS OUT. IT TERRIFIES ME TO THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THIS OCCURRED IN A REMOTE LOCATION OR SOMEWHERE WHERE I WOULD BE FORCED TO LEAVE MY DAUGHTERS LOCKED IN THE CAR IN ORDER TO GET HELP. THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN AT ALL AND IT MOST CERTAINLY SHOULDN'T BE THE DEFAULT SETTING. WE CALLED THE SERVICE CENTER THINKING IT WAS A BUG AND WAS TOLD THAT TESLA WAS AWARE AND THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT WAS TO DISABLE THE AUTOLOCK FEATURE ENTIRELY. WE CAN DO THAT, BUT I WORRY ABOUT OTHER PARENTS LEARNING THE HARD WAY. I EMAILED TESLA'S FEEDBACK LINE AND WAS TOLD THEY WOULD MAKE A REQUEST FOR A NEW "FEATURE" FOR THE CAR TO NOT AUTOLOCK WITH THE KEYS INSIDE. THAT'S NOT A "FEATURE," THAT SHOULD BE BASIC. THIS AUTOLOCKING WITH THE KEYS INSIDE HAS BEEN DISCUSSED ON TESLA'S OWN MESSAGE BOARDS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS SO IT IS NOT SOMETHING OF WHICH THEY ARE UNAWARE. *TR
Rear Door handles are inoperable again after repairs made by dealer. The fault is due to design fault with the wiring harness on the door handles. Manufacturer refuses to make repairs under warranty
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