There are 8 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2018 Tesla Model Xin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Based on thousands of posts, replies, etc, this seems to be a well known issue with this model/year Tesla as well as other years/models. It seems that the Wheel Sensor Cable is not fastened properly, and over time, the cable runs against the tire, causing the internal wires to be exposed, this in turn causes numerous faults to occur, which includes causing ABS, lane departure avoidance, traction control, stability control, ABS, and regenerative braking to stop working. This happens while driving resulting in an immediate change in how the vehicle functions which could easily lead to a major accident While there are numerous forums where this issue is noted, below is one that details the issue with photos [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
On May 15. 2022 at 4:25PM while traveling north on highway 395 about 14 miles south of Bishop Californa. While traveling with little to no traffic, using adaptive cruise control (NOT SELF DRIVING) the vehicle suddenly stopped for no apparent reason in the middle of the highway. Fortunately, there were no cars behind us otherwise I probably would not be writing this. I have registered a similar complaint back in March for the same issue. We have had a total of 4 “phantom braking” incidents since buying the car in October 2021
Our Tesla has had the “phantom braking” on 3 occasions. The first incident happened on southbound interstate 5 near firebaugh. right after we purchased the car. The car suddenly stopped from 70 MPH to about 25 MPH in the middle of the freeway. The second event on northbound 395 at 2:45pm 3/20/2022The car went from about 60 mph to about 25 with out warning. It happened once again at about 4:03PM the same day. All of these events occurred while the car was in adaptaive cruise control, it in self driving mode. I have one event on video, that showed skid marks ahead at the same time the braking occurred.
I was driving down a ramp and the emergency brake engaged, causing All of my belongings in my passenger seat and rear seat to fly off the seat. It felt like whiplash and my daughter was in the backseat as well. The next day, I had severe neck and upper back pain to the point that I couldn’t move. I am seeking care with a chiropractor.
ON MARCH 1, 2021, WIFE AND I WAS DRIVING EAST BOUND ON ROUTE 80 HIGHWAY IN OHIO. TWICE THE VEHICLE BRAKED WHILE DRIVING IN CRUISE CONTROL. IT WAS A CLEAR DAY. THERE WERE NO CARS AROUND. NO BRIDGES OR OBSTACLES. AND THE ROAD LINES WHERE CLEAR. THE FIRST BRAKING OCCURRED WHILE WE WERE ON RIGHT LANE ON A TWO-LANE HIGHWAY. THE SECOND BRAKING OCCURRED (AROUND 5:15PM) WHILE WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF 3-LANE HIGHWAY. WE WERE DRIVING APPROXIMATE 65MPH. AT BOTH BRAKING, MY WIFE WAS DRIVING. WHEN I HAPPEN, WE BOTH CONFIRMED THERE WAS NO CARS OR OBSTACLES AROUND US. WE CONTACTED TESLA, WHO AFTER REVIEWING THEIR LOGS SAYS IT WAS WORKING IN "NORMAL". THAT THE VEHICLE SAW SOMETHING AND BRAKED. EVEN THOUGH BOTH MYSELF AND WIFE CAN CONFIRM THERE WAS NOTHING AROUND US, PARTICULARLY SINCE COVID HAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED ANY TRAFFIC. THERE HAS BEEN A HISTORY OF ISSUES. ON OTHER OCCASION, ONE OF MY SIDE DOORS INDICATED THERE WAS SOMETHING THERE, EVEN THOUGH I WAS THE ONLY VEHICLE IN COMPLETELY EMPTY PARKING LOT. ONLY AFTER MANY COMPLAINTS AN ATTEMPTS DID THEY FINALLY REPLACE THE SENSOR. IT SEEMS THAT THEY ARE REPEATING THEIR DENIAL OF CLAIMS BY TWO EYE-WITNESSES OF THE ISSUES.
IT HAPPENED ON FREEWAY 57 WHEN I WAS ON THE WAY TO WORK IN THE EARLY MORNING. I WAS DRIVING MY TESLA MODEL X, AND IN THE AUTOPILOT MODE. SUPPOSEDLY IN THE AUTOPILOT MODE, TESLA WILL DETECT THE SPEED AND THE OBJECT IN FRONT AND SLOW DOWN OR ACCELERATE. IF TESLA IS TOO CLOSE TO AN OBJECT, IT WILL BEEP AND STOP. BUT IN THAT MORNING, THE CAR SLOWED DOWN BUT DID NOT STOP. AND ALSO THERE IS NO 'BEEP' THE WARNING SOUND WHEN CAR IS TOO CLOSE TO THE CAR. BECAUSE THE VIDEO IS TOO LARGE, I CAN NOT UPLOAD SO I PUT SHARING LINK YOU CAN REVIEW: HTTPS://DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM/FILE/D/11H_PDLKSLG0JARLNKEVF9YTF6WK0HWKD/VIEW?USP=SHARING. ALSO I CALLED TESLA AND REPORTED SAME DAY, I HAD BEEN TOLD THEY WILL INVESTIGATE AND CALL ME BACK BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED. ACCIDENT HAPPENED ON APRIL 29 2019, AND IT HAS BEEN 4 MONTHS. TESLA IS STILL IGNORING EVERY CALL I MADE IN THE PAST.
A TESLA MODEL X WAS ABLE TO BE STARTED AND SHIFTED INTO GEAR BY A 2 YEAR OLD WHO WAS THEN ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE FORWARD AND PIN HIS PREGNANT MOTHER BETWEEN THE VEHICLE AND GARAGE WALL. APPARENTLY THERE ARE NO SAFETY-INTERLOCKS PREVENTING STARTING OF THE ENGINE, SUCH AS TRANSMISSION IN 'P' OR 'N'. FURTHER, THERE IS A WAND SHIFTER, BUT GEAR SELECTION IS COMPLETELY UNDER SOFTWARE CONTROL. THERE IS NO INTERLOCK SUCH AS WITH A TRADITIONAL PRNDL SELECTOR. THIS IS AN INHERENTLY UNSAFE DESIGN. CIVIL DOCKET DESCRIBING THE ACCIDENT AND TESLA'S RESPONSE ARE ATTACHED. NOTE IN TESLA'S RESPONSE: 1) THEY DO NOT STATE HOW MANY MINUTES ELAPSED BETWEEN DRIVER EXITING THE VEHICLE AND TODDLER ENTERING IT. THEY USE THE VAGUE TERM "MOMENTS." IT COULD WELL HAVE BEEN 10 OR 15 MINUTES. 2) THEY CLAIM IT IS NOT REASONABLY FORESEEABLE THAT A CHILD WOULD MANAGE TO SHIFT A VEHICLE INTO GEAR, WHICH IS PATENTLY FALSE. SAFE VEHICLE DESIGN ABSOLUTELY INCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF UNSUPERVISED CHILDREN PLAYING AT THE CONTROLS.
ESSENTIALLY NEW CAR PURCHASED 3 MONTHS AGO WITH LESS THAN 5000 MILES ON IT. CAR FAILED WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH SPEED ON HIGHWAY AND COULD NOT PUT IN PARK, CAR WAS STRUCK IN DRIVE MODE. TONS OF ERRORS AND SAFETY ISSUES. PARKING BRAKE FAILED. AIRBAG AND ABS SYSTEMS FAILED. THIS CAR FAILED ONE MONTH PRIOR ALSO WITH SAFETY ISSUES AT HIGH SPEED AND TESLA SAID THEY FIXED IT BUT CLEARLY NOT.
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