NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Tesla Model S. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
During placing the car in highway Autopilot mode by clicking the stalk twice the car made a hard right turn that I had to correct manually until the auto drive dropped out. On a separate occasion, in Autopilot, the braking system was applied when there was no reason. On another occasion, in Autopilot, the car went out of the lane over the yellow line. I took the car to a Tesla Service Center where I was told that my MCU1 needed to be replaced with a MCU2 at my expense at $1610. There currently is no recall for the failure of the MCU1 that controls the Autopilot functions. Other symptoms are screen blackout. seat loss of position sync, slow navigation commands.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, he heard a popping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and inspected the vehicle but found no failure. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact continued driving however, at 5 MPH he heard another popping sound. The contact called a local towing company to have the vehicle towed to the dealer. While attempting to place the vehicle on the flatbed, the contact was informed that a large metallic part had fractured and detached from the vehicle. The dealer’s diagnostic result was that the driver’s side front lower fore link collar had broken off the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired out of pocket. The mechanic was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 57,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the center display screen went blank, causing the gear shifter, cameras, and defroster to become inoperable. The center display screen inadvertently rebooted shortly afterwards. The contact stated that the Tesla app confirmed that the EMMC was still operating and functioning as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by the dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lightning). The contact stated that the display screen for the cameras was inoperable. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and sent an associate to the contact's residence to inspect the vehicle. The associate inspected the hood latch and tires but not the display screen. The manufacturer informed the contact that there was a shortage of parts for the recall repair and canceled the recall repair appointment. The failure mileage was unknown.
While driving the vehicle car shutdown and went into park for unknown reasons. The steering wheel became almost impossible to turn. I also experienced the regenerative emergency braking and brakes malfunction. Car rolled off into the street nearly hitting another vehicled parked in front of it. The malfunction was initially reported to Tesla on January 5, 2022. Appointment was made for January 26, 2022, but was later rescheduled for a later date due to the service centers backlogged. This pushed my coverage outside the warranty periord rendering my warranty claim useless. Tesla refused to make repairs for free citing, "vehicle is out of warranty period"
The tail light flooded during rain and the tail light would not turn on. I was notified of this issue after an officer pulled me over and gave me a notice. There were no warning signs. In search of the issue online, it appears that it is a very common issue with the Model S tail lights.
Tesla has released new Firmware 11 software, Version 2021.44.25.2, for the Master Computer Screen which is what controls all the software controlled functions of the vehicle. During the update, which was not communicated in advance of the update, Tesla did a complete USER INTERFACE change & redesign. This materially changed how the vehicle functions from a usability standpoint and a safety standpoint. With the said User Interface update and change (Again, Complete redesign), Tesla changed locations of "buttons" to activate functions required for safety. One major change (Among too many to be able to list in a Safety Complaint) was Window Defroster/Defogger, to keep windows clear of fog & frost. Tesla has moved buttons and options which were directly accessible with a single touch and no menu changes, and has moved said changes into sub-menu's. Doing this now requires the driver to take their eyes off the road, and at least one hand off the wheel for an extended length of time to navigate sub-menu's to find the placement of the button to activate defrosters. Instead of a fraction of a second glance to hit the button, now requires 2-5 seconds of looking to find it. Same goes for heat/ac controls. Further, the redesign materially changes the functionality of the vehicles menus, and completely changes the functionality of every and all options under the menu's. Again, Tesla did this with no prior notification that such a change would be taking place. Further, Tesla service will not reverse the software changes. Tesla, with this update, has focused more on a stupid "Holiday Light Show", and providing more games to the driver. I do not want a stupid light show or games. I want my vehicle to operate how it was advertised in a usability manor that does not decrease safety.
Car was being pulled out of parking spot and front suspension failed. TESLA rode side service took car to TESLA dealer. TESLA said car was too heavy for parts and now the knuckles and the fore links for the front suspension need to be replaced. The car had a full alignment in February and everything was good. They said they were aware of a problem others are concerned about bit they can't do anything at this point as there is no open recall in the United States.
- when using TACC / "autopilot", especially when cruising at speed limit on the rightmost lane of the highway, i have experienced quite some occurrences of "phantom braking". this happens especially more frequent when approaching freeway on ramps (even with no incoming vehicle) and when there is vehicle parked on the right shoulder. - the automatically actuated brake really shocked me. if i hadn't reacted quickly enough to step on the accelerator pedal, i would had been rear ended really badly. - i thought that was a one off situation, but since it happened more than once and now that this issue has become headlines, i think it needs to be seriously investigated and fixed. - i have reported this issue to TESLA. the service manager of the local service center promptly responded that unfortunately this is a software issue which is still in "beta". - vehicle did have problem with the left repeater camera which TESLA replaced as goodwill. but i believe that was not the cause of the "phantom braking" episodes. the vehicle was purchased with the (now $12k) "Full Self-Driving" package. now, almost 6 years later, the development of the software is still not done. TESLA promised to upgrade the cameras suite, but several requests of service were cancelled due to, i believe, lack of parts, and/or they need to upgrade the MCU to be able to deploy the latest FSD package. i appreciate TESLA efforts to push the boundary of ADAS to reach full autonomy. i just wish they communicate better to the early adopters and provide us all with clearer timelines (with best/worst case scenarios). (i also appreciate my local TESLA service manager for responding quickly to my initial report of concerns. i acknowledge that completely fixing the issue is beyond his control at this time.) (date provided in this report is approximate, i think TESLA can review the logs of such emergency braking occurrences)
I backed my tesla out of my driveway on 12/17. I could see as I backed into the street another car at the stop sign waiting to turn left. I was blocking part of the road so as the car was in reverse moving back, I put my tesla in "D". I clearly saw the D. I stepped on accelerator seeing they were patiently waiting and I wanted to get out of their way. As I touched gas I was in shock-I kept going in reverse! The car dash said "D" and in my shock i pressed down on the gas more. I ended up accelerating more in reverse and smashed right into a parked car on the street! I knew I was swerving back and steered into the middle of the street I thought. I never heard the warning sign on my car because it was in D. I didnt see the car in my rearview mirror and in the shock of the speed and my correct into the middle of the road, I dented my neighbors front left bumper only. Thankfully I didn't damage their lights. It only did a small scrape in the front right rear side of my model S. I did replicate the problem one more time on camera about 15 minutes later. But I was in such shock the camera drops below the road so it has my voice on it and I didn't want to hit someone else again. This is very dangerous to accelerate backwards when the dash says "D". I've taken the tesla in many times for the screens freezing. They say its memory issues and want me to pay 2500 to upgrade the internal parts. This puts my kids and anyone at risk if they're behind me when Im shifting to drive and drive off. There again were no warnings before the crash because the car was in D.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 - 35 MPH, a loud bang noise was heard, then the front passenger’s side tire kicked back and damaged the wheel. Upon inspection, the contact saw that the front passenger’s side control arm was fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
Windows both on passenger and driver side won’t close once open. They close halfway and go back. It takes multiple attempts to close them. It is happening for more than 3 years.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The manufacturer's app was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the screen display had malfunctioned while driving the vehicle. The failure mileage was 37,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The right Front Lower Control Arm broke off. When I applied the break (abruptly) at the light ( driving speed ~35mph and the street was wet), the front right wheel was bouncing and making a weird noise. I managed to drive home and found out that the control arm has broken off. I did some research and realized that this is a common problem with Tesla vehicles. I am wondering if this is a recall issue. This is a safety issue and I think Tesla needs to recall and fix this problem.
My Tesla is under a recall for bad memory. My Tesla constantly reboots. I often have to wait several minutes from when I get in the car until it is ready to drive with all functions. I sometimes am forced to drive with the center screen not working. This takes away my backup camera. A required safety feature. Tesla says the part is not available. I request a reliable loaner until they get the part repaired under recall.
A heater which warms the large battery which powers Tesla's EVs burned out while I was charging my vehicle at a Tesla supercharger. It appears to have been caused by a high voltage 'short' from moisture. I was able to continue driving the vehicle for over 100 miles, but did not have 'regenerative' braking. This made the stopping distance much longer - nearly causing a collision. When I stopped at another Tesla supercharger the car would not charge and had to be towed. This defect should warrant a recall.
2 problems: 1.) the eMMC chip for the screen has not yet been replaced due to supply issue? 2.) the battery heater stopped working causing driving ability issues. This should be a recall. the car lost both acceleration and braking power and made it dangerous to drive. I was unable to charge the battery, and had to have the car towed a long distance, costing me over $1,000 to have repaired.
NHTSA has asked Tesla to recall faulty EMMC base boards, but even after repeated service requests with proof of of center console going completely blank while driving, backup camera failure from time to time, voice commands unusable and now maps going completely blank, Tesla refuses to change the board and says their system does not show signs of wear and due to limited parts availability they won't perform replacement. They have been updating firmware to delete processes to slow down 'wear' as per their definition so that they can get around NHTSA direction.
I was backing out my car from the garage at home and on the driveway my wife and I heard a weird sound. After checking we found a broken metal part on the driveway and a closer look, taking a picture, I could see that the suspension arm for the front passenger side wheel was broken, very much metal fatigue,
I purchased a used 2016 Tesla Model S in September 2021, with 58,961 miles. Within a month, a strange scraping sound can be heard as I was backing out of my driveway, it was the metal piece that was connected to the wheel. Somehow it had broken off and was bent in a position where it was grinding my brake pads down to unsafe levels. Telsa said it was caused by making a 'sharp turn' and is not covered under warranty. The work to fix costed $1450.03 to replace brake pads and wheel that was cracked. But didn't disclose in the invoice what was causing the scraping sound. They claimed that when they drove the vehicle they could not hear any scraping sound. Based on Tesla's TSB report, this is a known defect and Tesla should have repaired it without charging me. But they would rather have me believe that I was a terrible driver.
While backing out of a parking stall I felt a large vibration. I could tell something wasn't right. I pulled out of the parking lot and checked my tires and brakes as every time I pressed the brake pedal I felt the vibration. I couldn't tell what was going on, but the car was not driving correctly. I slowly drove to a nearby tire center when they diagnosed it as a broken control arm on the driver's side. No collisions took place before or after, nor was a pot hole or other road hazard hit before.
I have had to bring the car in for vibration in the front drivers wheel/tire over 3 times in less than 5 years. A part of the suspension was replace once or twice and I was told that I needed several tires replace less than 10,000 miles of wear. The problem has returned again with both vibration and noise, yet I can't get an appointment for 3 weeks after I reported the issue. I can't find any of my receipts for these repairs as they don't communicate in a way that is useful to humans and there is little record of it.
The car sped up automatically after slowing down (when the accelerating padel was release) due to the coming red light, I tried to apply brakes but it did not work, i immediately put the car in parking which stopped the car, I got the error similar to "Could not activate the emergency brake and move the car to the side" I was lucky that there was no one in the front of my car when i happened otherwise it could have resulted into an accident I was able to drive the car after 10 minutes.
Front control arm separation.
I was stopped at a red light, left signal on, when the car suddenly accelerated forward through the intersection in an aggressive 0-60 kind of start. I braked safely and was about to execute a U-turn a minute or two later when the car bolted forward again. There was no traffic other than the car behind me at the light, thankfully. There were no warnings or other signals and the car was not operating in AutoPilot. I reported the incident immediately to Tesla and the car is now out of state in their custody while an escalated investigation is conducted. They have, however, told us that the car is safe to drive and that it is not possible for this to have occurred. They also assert that all sudden acceleration cases to date have been related to AutoPilot and all have been driver error.
1. MY INFORMATION DISPLAY SCREEN LEAKS LIQUID ONTO THE LOWER CPNSOLE CAUSING THE DISPLAY TO FIL INTERMITTENTLY. 2. IN HOT WEATHER MY DASHBOARD DISPLAY SHOWS SIGNS OF MELTING AND THEN FAILS TO DISPLAY ANY INFORMATIONSUCH AS SPEED, MILEAGE CAPACITY, ETC. WHEN THE WEATHER IS COOL THIS DOES NOT AHPPEN.
Instrument cluster screen was suddenly black despite the center touchscreen being on. I can't read speed meter, winker, transmission, and tire pressure.But the car moves. I have never hard that Most of Vehicles (Toyota,GM,Ford etc')have instrument screen is Black . I'm not doing any harm, no accidents. Tesla gave the invoice is $3235.96
The drivers seat has a rocking issue. When braking and accelerating the seat rocks forward and backward which Tesla states they do not have a fix for and which their engineers claim is not a safety concern. I had to make a hard stop recently to avoid a collision and almost flew with my whole body into the steering wheel because the seat flung forward so far. I want to bring this to your attention before someone actually gets seriously injured because of this manufacturer turning a blind eye to something they believe is safe. I have never driven a vehicle that has had a seat fling forward when breaking and don’t believe this is safe. Tesla has refused to do any further work after 3 attempts to fix the seat and will not lemon or buyback the vehicle or replace the vehicle or seat. My final course of action would be to bring this to your attention as I believe your agency has the tools, resources, and ability to take on a car manufacturer who chooses blind negligence overt safety of their consumers. If necessary I can provide invoices / repair orders for the seat. They supposedly changed the seat to a new one (which I don’t believe happened), added an extra bolt to the frame, and finally did a test drive check and confirmed it’s a known issue and basically said too bad but another car.
The doors on my Tesla are electronic from the inside and outside. Sometimes the car will not let me out or in, especially in the rear drivers side door where the kids are. It will not open the door and presents a huge safety issue. My sons was trapped in the door previously and we couldn't get the door to open - it took about 5 cycles of locking and unlocking the car for the doors electronic door handle to finally allow the door to be opened Recently there was a lawsuit for a similar issue in which a man became trapped inside a Tesla and died of smoke inhalation because the doors would not open and first responders couldn't get in the car either. I contacted Tesla, who was able to diagnose my car and create a repair estimate for the malfunctioning door handles without even looking at the car because the problem is so widespread and well known. They want $700 to repair my door handles that are locking me and the kids inside the car but i don't have money to repair right now.
Steering became progressively stiffer over the course of a few days as the steering wheel turned to about 15 degrees. Turning the wheels became erratic, almost causing me to lose control on the highway when changing lanes and entering or exiting the freeway. It felt like there was no power steering. I felt it was unsafe to drive and putting me and others at risk of an accident. I had the car towed to the Tesla dealership and the STEERING I-SHAFT LINK LOWER (1060802-00-B) was replaced. It was completely rusted and stiff. There was no evidence of any lubricant on it. The dealership told me that this was a known issue and said they had replaced it with an improved part that would not fail again. A search for "STEERING I-SHAFT LINK" on the Tesla Motors Club forum (Teslamotorsclub.com) reveals that numerous other Model S cars have had the same problem.
To whom it may concern, On July 26, 2021, my Tesla was hijacked remotely and controls were overridden while I was on the highway (I almost crashed). This happened sometime between 11:30am and 4pm. I reported the issue to the NY State AG consumer affairs office. In December 2021, the car suddenly turned off and locked me out. It was then towed to another State and I’ve been unable to get it back in my possession. Regards, Gaetano
Notes from service center: AC will only work when driving found condenser fans were not turning on, found condenser fan relay melted recommend harness replacement and recheck, harness fixed and ac is working at this time, (Possible ac compressor wear/damage due to high ac pressure and high ramp up speeds. Verified Proper Operation at this time ac works on idle now.
Failure of L front fore link resulting in unstable wheel, contact of wheel with wheel well, difficult steering and inability to drive vehicle.
My Tesla Media Control Unit v2 went to a black dark screen while the car was still on. I just put the car in reverse and the instrument cluster and control unit froze, then did 3 cycles of restarts before coming back on. The whole time I had to press the brake pedal because I wasn't sure if the car had been put back into park by default. Should I have released the brake pedal the car may have rolled into the street and caused an accident if the system failed to allow me to depress the break pedal again. Tesla is doing a "remote" diagnostic but is being very secretive and or non-transparent about the cause of the issue. There was no warning and the cluster and media control unit just froze. This has occurred on 2 previous occasions as well, though thankfully those times I was parked and charging the vehicle rather than about to drive. This is extremely unsafe and quite frankly frightening to drive a vehicle that may at any time shut off without warning not allowing me to pull over or avoid a potential collision.
My Vehicle is part of the eMMC Media Chip Recall. I have tried repeatedly in past 6 months to have Tesla repair my vehicle, which continues to suffer screen blackouts daily during operation. These blackouts render my backup camera blank, creating a major safety concern. Each time I schedule an appointment, Tesla will cancel and tell me they do not have the part. They are not complying with the NHTSA recall. I cannot in good faith believe their excuse that part is unavailable given the massive volume of cars they are producing quarterly.
This model's Main Computer Unit (MCU) is malfunctioning by spontaneously rebooting thereby disabling major functions of the vehicle including the rear camera that is enabled when driving the car in reverse. This is a safety hazard since rear visibility is completely disabled during the reboot of the system. As the NHTSA is likely aware, this problem has been previously reported and Tesla has previously issued a voluntary recall for this problem. It resolves the problem by installing a larger memory chip (a daughterboard) on the main board to prevent these functions from being disabled. My vehicle was included in this voluntary recall and was expedited to receive the recall after I reported this problem (the problem I reported is apparently different from the one that was the main impetus of the recall). However, the installation of the upgraded memory chip DID NOT resolve the problem that I have been experiencing and the safety hazard persists. I was told at the time of the voluntary recall service appointment that this installation would likely solve the problem that I was experiencing but it has not done so. I have reported these results to Tesla and they claim that they are working on a software update to eliminate the problem but they have not provided any timing for the availability of this software update and I continue to experience the effects of the problem on a regular basis. The dealer is aware of the problem and the vehicle was inspected in connection with the voluntary recall. No warming messages are provided in connection with this problem. The MCU also known as the touchscreen in the Tesla simply unexpectedly reboots until the the functions are restored, a process that takes several minutes to occur.
Door/Door Handle. Puts my children at risk, as when I place car in park, door opens on it's own. With or Without someone sitting there. Drivers side rear door. Not the first time this has happened. Tesla blames their self-extending door handles. This will happen if I am outside the vehicle and unlock it. Door opens, it also happens if we are driving, and I put the vehicle in PARK. When the door handles extend, the door opens. My son has unbuckled himself preparing to exit the vehicle, not expecting the door to open on it's own. When it did, if a passing car drove by, the door may even have been ripped off and/or my child injured. Thankfully, THIS TIME, he only got a few scrapes when he hit the concrete. The whole mess of the self-extending door handles has been a nightmare since the beginning. These handles have caused endless problems, and have been replaced on both my current and previous Tesla Model S multiple times, at minimum FIFTEEN DOOR HANDLES HAVE BEEN REPLACED. I would need to go through countless service invoices to get an exact number. A door handle should operate problem free for the life of the vehicle. I should NOT have so many problems with one of the most basic functions of the vehicle.
Pulling my car out of my driveway, I heard a loud pop noise and the steering wheel refused to turn. Attempting to turn the wheel at all resulted in a grinding noise because the entire front driver side wheel was shifted backward and was resting on the rear of the wheel well liner. I had the vehicle flatbedded to the Tesla service center and they told me one of the fore links had failed. They blamed it on an impact or pothole, neither of which actually happened. After researching online, I've come to find there have been many documented failures of this same part - for no reason at all. Tesla even recognized they had a manufacturing issue and even issued a recall in China. This could have been a very dangerous situation. There was no warning, no cause, and the car has only 50k miles. I asked them to save the parts as I'm sure upon expert examination, they would prove to be defective.
This automobile has had the Tesla recall completed, replacing the 8GB with the 64GB. However, this fix is temporary and after a few months the control and information screens are malfunctioning and with ever-increasing frequency. I understand Tesla’s recent update ensures basic driving functions will continue to be operational during a screen blackout but it’s at best distracting and at worst plain dangerous depending on how lights/HVAC are set prior to the screen freeze, not to mention distractions associated with a sudden loss of navigation and an inability to control other components. As a frequent highway driver this is dangerous, even after experiencing various versions of this event. Per Service Dept., the only existing actual (non-temporary) repair for this is replacement with the newer version of the MCU, yet Tesla insists on using language as a loophole, calling the MCU2 an upgrade- which it was, but now as the sole remedy to restore previously existing functionality and safe operation of the effected vehicles, this should not be categorized as an option or an upgrade. Owners should have a better course of action than having to pay for an unwanted “upgrade” to regain original functionality.
My Tesla regularly has the instrument panel and center display go completely black and turn off while driving. This includes not being able to adjust climate control, access rear view backup camera, use lane indicators and determine speed or status of autopilot and driving safety features. I have noted this to Tesla Service Center on 3 occasions and they refuse to provide thr necessary repair under the applicable recall notice 21V-035.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal popping sound coming from the front passenger’s side tire. The contact stated that the failure caused damage to the passenger’s side front fender. The contact took the vehicle to a Tesla service center where the mechanic discovered a defective front fore link. Due to the failure, the driver’s and passenger’s side fore links were replaced at the service center's recommendation. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.
Update to complaint # 11418220 May 22nd 2021: I stopped the vehicle to make a turn. The steering wheel locked up and was not able to drive the car. I contacted Tesla, I was instructed to reset the computer. However this did not resolve the steering issue. I was then instructed to completely do a power shut down using the LCD control panel. This resolved the issue. It took several minutes to regain control of the steering and I was able to drive to a safe location. I am very concerned about the loss of steering and the vehicle requiring computer reset and power shut down before being able to safely drive the vehicle. I am also concerned that this issue may arise while the vehicle is in motion. May 25, 2021 Tesla service department informed me that they were not able to find any issues with steering. I insisted that they look at the vehicle logs to identify the root cause. After further investiagation they informed me that they have located a "loose wire". I am concerned that "loose wire" may be indicative of a larger safety issue.
front suspension lower fore link broke; this led to a car that cannot be moved in the middle of the road; Tesla knows about it, they have 2 bulletins on it, but do not replace them, despite being a road hazard
I stopped the vehicle to make a turn. The steering wheel locked up and was not able to drive the car. I contacted Tesla, I was instructed to reset the computer. However this did not resolve the steering issue. I was then instructed to completely do a power shut down using the LCD control panel. This resolved the issue. It took several minutes to regain control of the steering and I was able to drive to a safe location. I am very concerned about the loss of steering and the vehicle requiring computer reset and power shut down before being able to safely drive the vehicle. I am also concerned that this issue may arise while the vehicle is in motion.
Tesla designs a single piece headlight with no serviceable parts. This includes headlights, high beams, and namely daytime running lights. All of these components are on an LED strip that overheats and un-solders due to this high heat, which causes premature failure. Some owners have reported as little as 3 months of life before failing. The day
The rear passenger door would open itself. This happened numerous times. An example of when it occurred and why it was dangerous is I would be in carpool line at my kid’s school and would slow down, stop, put the car in park, one passenger would leave from the front right door, I would put the car back in drive, start to drive off and then would see a warning that the rear right passenger door had popped open all by itself. I’m now driving 20 mph. I have young kids who are in the car which is very dangerous with a moving vehicle and a door next to them that has opened unexpectedly while now in motion. The car door would also open itself when it was just parked in a parking lot with no one inside it. I would come back from the grocery store and I would see the rear passenger right door just open. Tesla told me that I should disable the auto present door handle option for all doors except the driver door as a temporary solution until I could fix it with the dealership. I did this and it made the passenger rear right door inoperable. It jammed the door handle in a fenced out position and then it wouldn’t open or close at all which was another safety issue. If I had been in an accident and people needed to escape the car they would not have been able to through the rear right passenger door at all. Tesla told me they knew they had a problem with these door handles and would “upgrade” me to the new ones (they wanted to do both the rear door handles) for $1,000. They were asking me to fix both the broken one and the one that hadn’t broken as they said it would fail too. I was out of warranty and the manager did not think this was a serious issue. I thought it was a very serious safety issue. I told them that they should investigate and consider doing a recall. They ended up only fixing for free when I brought up filing an official complaint with NHTSA. Moving vehicles with car doors unexpectedly opening is a recipe for accidents that can be prevented.
I WAS STOPPED, PREPARING TO PULL INTO MY GARAGE, WHEN THE CAR ACCELERATED RAPIDLY AND SMASHED THROUGH MY WALL, BREAKING FREEZER & SHEVING UNIT IN MY GARAGE. IT ALSO DAMAGED MANY ITEMS IN THE BATHROOM AND LAUNDRY ROOM, DOORS, AND WALLS ON OTHER SIDE OF GARAGE WALL. THIS IS THE 2ND INCIDENT, IN 2019 THE SAME THING HAPPENED ON A STREET. I WAS STOPPED IN TRAFFIC AND WHEN I STARTED TO MOVE THE CAR ACCELERATED AND HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT I DID NOT FILE A CLAIM. TESLA WAS CERTAIN THAT I HAD ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR INSTEAD OF BRAKE, AND ACCEPTED THAT. IN BOTH INCIDENTS THE CAR FELT AS THOUGH IT WAS FLYING, THE CAR WAS MOVING SO FAST.
THE VANITY MIRRORS CAN EASILY FELL OFF FROM THE SUN VISORS. I GOT THIS PROBLEM, AND FOUND THE HEAVY MIRROR IS GLUED BY WHITE DOUBLE SIDED ADHESIVE TAPE WHICH WILL LOSS ADHESION AT HIGH TEMPERATURES. THEN THE MIRROR FELL BECAUSE OF GRAVITY. ALTHOUGH, THERE IS A PLASTIC MIRROR COVER, THE COVER HAS VERY FRAGILE THIN SPIN AXLES. I DID NOT WITNESS THE WHOLE PROCESS, BUT SINCE I DO NOT USE THAT MIRROR SO THE MIRROR COVER SHOULD NOT BE DAMAGED BEFORE THIS HAPPED. SO I GUESS THAT IN MY CASE THE FALLEN MIRROR SMASHED THE COVER, AND THE COVER AXLES ARE BROKEN AND SO THE COVER GOT OPENED AUTOMATICALLY AND LET THE MIRROR CAME OUT. THERE ARE AIRBAGS BEHIND THE SUN VISORS, SO THE FALLING MIRRORS AND COVERS ARE NOT ONLY A RISK FACTOR FOR DAILY DRIVING BUT ALSO MAY CAUSE SEVERE INJURY WHEN THE AIRBAGS ARE ACTIVATED. I DO NOT USE THAT MIRROR, I ONLY USE THE SUN VISORS, SO THIS IS DEFINITELY A CAR DEFECT. THE FALLEN MIRROR IS NOT SHOWED IN MY PICTURES. WHEN I FOUND THE PROBLEM, THE COVER WAS NOT COMPLETELY DETACHED FROM THE SUN VISOR, SINCE I CANNOT CLOSE IT ANYMORE AND IT SEEMS LIKE WILL FALLING SOON, SO I PULLED IT OFF.
May 1, 2021 Heard some noise from front of car and then went away. Loud noise coming from the right front side of car when we back up from parking spot. Car literally cannot move an inch but we had to move car out of traffic. No warnings from the car. We saw the right front tire literally touching the back liner. Tesla towed car to Tesla service center which is almost 3 hours away from home. Weekend road trip cut short. Service center was closed. Rental car companies nearby closed. Uber voucher not enough to cover fee. Service found RF fore links broken, and RF fender liner damage and replacement of 2 front tires and alignment. Estimate of $1602.90. Back in 2020 September, I heard soft noise coming from left front. Tesla took care of it under warranty. But we asked if they should inspect and replaced the right side. They refused. Now manager said that it’s wear and tear and refused to cover under warranty when it’s still under 50,000 miles. I asked them about condition of back links and they did not inspect or given estimates for replacement for back links after 7 requests. Manager told me it’s super pricy labor alone is around $700. We feel it’s a serious safety concern. We were lucky this didn’t happen on a highway. The parts definitely broke pre maturely. Also has to file with warranty department with written letter to dispute the charge now. What a hassle. They should recall asap.
AS I WAS PULLING OUT MY PARKING SPACE AT WORK AT ABOUT 2 MILES AN HOUR I HEARD A LOUD THUMP AND I THOUGHT SOMETHING WAS UNDER MY TIRE. AFTER GETTING OUT TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE, I NOTICED A 2-3" PIECE OF ALUMINUM NEXT TO MY FRONT LEFT TIRE. I ATTEMPTED TO PULL THE CAR BACK INTO MY PARKING SPOT AND THE LOUD NOISE CONTINUED. I LEFT THE CAR AT WORK OVERNIGHT AND INSPECTED IT THE FOLLOWING MORNING AND NOTICED THAT THE SUSPENSION ARM WAS BROKEN. LUCKILY THIS DID NOT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS DRIVING AS THIS COULD HAVE KILLED ME. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH ON A TESLA FORUM, I LEARNED THAT THIS EXACT BREAK OF THE SUSPENSION ARM IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE COMMON ON THE S AND X MODELS WITH SOME PRETTY SCARY CONSEQUENCES. TESLA NEEDS TO DO A RECALL ON THIS BECAUSE IF THEY DON'T THERE WILL BE LIVES LOST.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026