2018 Tesla Model X Electrical System Problems

For the past year, the battery will not hold it charge. I am getting about 30% of predicted mile range in colder weather and about 50% of predicted range in warmer weather. This makes the car unusable except for short trips and even then requires frequent charging. In addition, intermittantly, it will not charge quickly at a Supercharger. When others cars present are charging 180 range mph, I am charging at 20-50 range mph. I have had Tesla evaluate the issue and they claim there is nothing wrong but refused to share their evaluation with me. The rep would not give me any specific reason for my problem other than they found nothing wrong. I started the process before the end of the battery warranty (8 years) which has now expired. I feel Tesla service is committing systemic fraud in their approach to warrantied battery failure.

My 2018 Tesla Model X experienced repeated over-the-air software update failures starting in late December 2025. Each update attempt would run for hours and then fail with a timeout error. This pattern continued for several weeks with the same error every time. After these repeated failed update attempts, the Autopilot ECU (computer) completely failed. Tesla service diagnosed the issue on January 6, 2026 as a failed Autopilot ECU 3.0 requiring full replacement at a cost of $1,808. The failure has disabled Full Self-Driving, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking, and all driver-assistance safety features. I am concerned this represents a systemic defect where Tesla's software updates are damaging or exposing failures in Autopilot hardware. Multiple other Tesla owners have reported this same pattern in 2024-2025: update timeout errors followed by complete Autopilot computer failure requiring expensive replacement. Tesla is charging customers to fix problems created by their own update process. The loss of critical safety features occurred solely due to Tesla's software update attempts.

I own a 2018 Tesla Model X 100D. The high-voltage battery has failed twice in seven years. Tesla replaced both with re-manufactured batteries. My battery warranty ends in December 2026, and if it fails again the replacement cost is about $17,000. The car’s full-charge range has also dropped from over 300 miles when new to about 220–240 miles. The value of the car has dropped to around $24,000, largely because of battery issues and the risk of future failure. A high-voltage battery should not be failing this often. If it fails again after the warranty expires, the car is not usable or safe. I believe this may affect more owners than Tesla acknowledges. I am requesting that NHTSA review the safety and long-term reliability of Tesla’s high-voltage batteries and the re-manufactured replacements.

Vehicle: 2018 Tesla Model X Recall Reference: Tesla eMMC Recall – NHTSA Campaign Number 21V-035 (Recall 21V035000) Defect Description: In March 2021, Tesla notified me by email of a recall involving failure of the eMMC memory chip in the Media Control Unit (MCU). This defect is known to cause loss of vehicle system functionality and safety-related features. Despite this notification, Tesla has refused to honor the recall and replace the eMMC when I brought my vehicle in for service. Current Vehicle Condition: My vehicle exhibits severe and worsening symptoms consistent with eMMC failure, including: System freezing and frequent unresponsiveness GPS extremely slow or nonfunctional Turn signal indicators intermittently fail Horn fails to operate approximately 95% of the time Vehicle reset/reboot does not work Touchscreen and vehicle controls are very slow or nonresponsive These issues occur regularly and without warning. Safety Risk: This defect creates a significant safety hazard. The failure of turn signals, horn, and system responsiveness increases the risk of accidents. The inability to reset or restore the system while driving further endangers occupants and other road users. Due to these failures, the vehicle is unsafe to operate. Manufacturer Response: Although Tesla issued a recall notice in March 2021, they have declined to perform the recall repair on my vehicle. No effective remedy has been provided, and the vehicle’s condition continues to deteriorate. Request for NHTSA Action: I am requesting that NHTSA investigate Tesla’s failure to honor Recall 21V-035 and require Tesla to provide the mandated repair. This unresolved defect affects safety-critical systems and presents an ongoing risk. When I went there last Dec 4 to get this repaired, they wanted me to upgrade and pay almost $2000. I am willing to pay half of the cost but not the entire amount.

Door is not working and causes the car to be unable to drive and to run out of battery. The door failure prevents emergency exit from the vehicle. In the event of a crash, fire, or submersion, I/occupants would be trapped inside the Model X, directly leading to an injury or fatality.

See attached document for complaint.

One fine morning Car would not start and shows some errors. tried using a AAA service and Had the car towed into Tesla SC. After diagnosis they mentioned that a HV x099 connector is corroded. To me this cannot be a vehicle owner fault. This seems to be a failure of an integral part associated with the Battery pack. Tesla has charged me a total of $2891.46 including taxes out of which $85 was for the part replacement and $2626.80 for labor costs. This seems like a major issue with a connector so deeply protected if corrodes this should be a Tesla design/manufacturing fault. ------------- Notes from tech: Repair Notes: towed vehicle into service center and utilized maintainer to power on. Once vehicle was online attempted to pull logs. While logs uploaded verified Hvil alerts present on UI. Began investigation checking hvil circuit from x099 to x098. Removed hv battery pack and found corrosion on connector x099. Inspected battery pack and also found corrosion on pack side connector. Will require removing ancillary tray in order to investigate corrosion further into the pack. after removing ancillary tray i found the corrosion had not gone past the low voltage rapid mate connector. Removed and replaced rapid mate and verified proper operation after reassembly. Test drove and verified no alerts present and vehicle functionality restored Total Parts Amount 85.00 Total Labor Amount 2,296.80 Labor Hours 10.44 ----------------------- Concern: corrosion found on connector X099 Repair Notes: performed wire repair on connector x099-11/12. Removed all corrosion from connector and reinstalled. Verified wire repair performed to tesla specification Correction: Wire - Electrical Harness (Does Not Include Access Labor) (Repair) Labor Hours Price Adjustment Subtotal 1.50 330.00 0.00 330.00 Pay Type: Customer Pay Total Parts Amount 0.00 Total Labor Amount 330.00 Labor Hours 1.50 Should these parts connecting to the battery be covered under the Battery warranty? Please help..

As proactive and responsible car owners, we experienced an alert on our Tesla X stating it needed service, vehicle may not restart. We also recorded a concerning noise that clearly showed a problem ...And brought the car into the Tesla Blue Ash service center. It was estimated 3/4 hours to repair. After a day or so, we inquired and we were informed of "difficulty" performing diagnosis. We once again patiently waited for a diagnosis that was not received until we inquired again, days later. The car was held for a week and deemed acceptable as noted in the invoice. We drove this vehicle for less than a total of 1-2 hours over Saturday to Sunday to discover it unresponsive in our garage. It was stuck on the charger. HV battery fully charged. Tesla remote came out to remotely help us. They attempted replacement of the 12v and then stated it wasn't safe and that he couldn't put it into tow mode due to the voltage leak concern. We had two AAA tow truck drivers refuse attempt to tow the vehicle due to the impossible location. We were informed by Tesla that based on their algorithm at the first appointment nothing alerted them despite our video of the concern. They were not able to locate the problem and that led them to release an unsafe vehicle to us. We took our car to a trusted Tesla service center immediately and as experts of the vehicle they were not able to accurately and proactively diagnose a problem until the ac compressor was completely dead. We then were stuck to tow the vehicle back to them despite bringing it in with an early concern.

I was driving on [XXX] from Carson City to Reno in Washoe Valley while on autopilot, the car suddenly alerted with very loud alarms, showed 1. steering assist reduced, 2. Automatic Emergency Braking is unavailable 3. Traction Control disabled 4. Stability control disabled 5. Park Assist unavailable. I pulled over to a safe parking area. Then the car locked out for 75 mins, in Neutral gear, can't shut off, can't park, can't reset the car at all even after talking to Tesla support. While waiting for the tow truck, I turned it into Tow mode, was able to change into Park mode finally, and hard reset the car. I took it in and Tesla told me the steering system was the problem and I was out of warranty so I had to pay A LOT OF money to repair/replace it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while attempting to park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward independently. As a result, the vehicle careened through an outdoor dining area, causing extensive property damage. The air bags did not deploy. A Police report was not filed, and injuries were not reported. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed from the scene directly to a body shop for the repair. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V838000 (Electrical System) and the VIN was included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 40,000.

Feb 2022 while driving horn engaged and would not go off , had to pull over , steering wheel then locked up and car would not start again but horn continued to go off and had weird smell until it died out. Took vehicle to Tesla service center, was told multiple fuses were blown , mother board and several other electrical/computer issues. May 2023 while parked in driveway horn engaged wound not stop, steering wheel once again locked up and unable to use any features in the car, while looking for fuse to pull to stop horn, noticed smoke coming from under frunk and smelled like something was burning , pulled main front end fuse which stopped the horn and burning. Called Tesla emergency services, advised not to drive it and have it towed to Tesla service center . Tesla repair shop once again said horns were fried along with other electrical problems, the smell of something burning was still present , same as event in 2022. Rear safety belt malfunction alert pops on and off for past 2 years .

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been taken to a local dealer on multiple occasions for various unknown failures; however, the cause of the failures could not be duplicated. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact then stated that after starting the vehicle, the instrument cluster was inoperable. The contact made the dealer aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the media control unit (MCU) display screen and instrument cluster became inoperable. The contact restarted the vehicle and on the third attempt, the media control unit operated as designed. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the MCU was operating as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,300.

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in self driving mode, the vehicle would experience phantom braking during events when a vehicle was not in front of the contact’s vehicle. The contact spoke to a dealer and they informed the contact that they were unable to assist. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000.

While driving on interstate highway at 75 mph, the instrument display and MUC display both go blank. The cruise control did not disengage. No display of vehicle speed, rear camera or other parameters. The display did not return after approximately 2 minutes. The driver then instituted a reboot while still driving. After another 1 to 2 minutes, the instrument panel began to redisplay information. The MUC subsequently displayed information. This is a first time event for this vehicle.

Main touchscreen failed while reversing the car leading to loss of rear view camera. Car was being back out from a crowded parking area after an event risking the health and safety of pedestrians and other vehicles. Failure was sudden and complete without any warning signals. Failure has happened at least twice in the past 2 months, and 2-3 times before that since 2018. It seems to be getting more frequent. Dealer claims this a "software issue" that engineers are working on

ALL SCREENS IN THE CAR SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING AND THERE IS NO ACCESS TO YOUR SPEED, BLINKERS, CONTROL OF LIGHTS, CONTROL OF CAR SAFETY FEATURES, WIPERS, ETC. TESLA WAS NOTIFIED MULTIPLE TIMES AND EACH TIME THEY TRIED TO CORRECT THE ISSUE, IT WAS NOT RESOLVED. IT HAS BEEN A YEAR SINCE THE ISSUE STARTED AND HAS HAPPENED OVER A DOZEN TIMES, RESULTING IN UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS. TESLA KEEPS STATING THEY "REMOTELY DIAGNOSE" THE PROBLEM AND TOLD ME TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT AND SEE IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN, ALTHOUGH THEY TOLD ME LESS THAN 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO CALL IMMEDIATELY IF IT HAPPENED AGAIN. THEY HAVE REFUSED TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND IT HAS BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE WITH DRIVING THE VEHICLE.

THE CENTRAL DISPLAY UNIT/MEDIA UNIT (MCU) HAD MORE AND MORE FREQUENT REBOOTS, FREEZES, BLANK SCREENS. WHEN IT OCCURS, MY AUTOPILOT WILL STOP FUNCTION, TRAFFIC INFORMATION WILL NOT WORK, RADIO/SPEAKER WILL BE SILENT, NO TURN LIGHT SIGNAL CLICKING IS AUDIBLE. THE MANUFACTURER REFUSED TO FIX THE PROBLEM, GIVING ALL TYPES OF EXCUSES.

I AM FILING A COMPLAINT AGAINST TESLA REGARDING THE MCU INFOTAINMENT ON THE MODEL X. MY VEHICLE IS 2 YEARS OLD AND BEGAN TO SUFFER MCU FAILURE AFTER UPGRADING TO TESLA'S HW3. THE MCU FAILURES HAS RESULTED IN SEVERE LAG, LOW VEHICLE STARTUP. VEHICLE START UP HAS TAKEN ANYWHERE FROM 10 MINUTES TO 20. RECENTLY, A FAMILY MEMBER WAS REQUIRED TO BE DRIVEN TO THE HOSPITAL. DUE TO THE MCU CAUSING MY BEHAVE SLOWLY, 911 WAS REQUIRED TO BE CALLED FOR AN AMBULANCE. THE MCU FAILURE IS SEVERELY EFFECTING MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. TESLA SHOULD UPGRADE ALL MCU 1 VEHICLES TO THE MCU 2 FOR FREE. .

HELLO, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BEST TO SEND MY LATEST SERVICE NOTE ABOUT MY CAR. TESLA CONTINUES TO AVOID FIXING OR ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM. WE ARE NOT SURE WHERE ELSE TO TURN AND SEE SO MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ONLINE. I FINALLY DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO REACH OUT TO YOU. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ASSISTANCE OR GUIDANCE YOU CAN PROVIDE. ' HI THERE ARE NO TIME STAMPS, AS IT HAS FOR THE PAST 6 MONTHS, THE SCREEN IS PERPETUALLY SLOW. I ASSUME IT IS IN THE RECORDS, WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO SERVICE MANY TIMES. WE'VE HAD THE SCREEN REPLACED, WE'VE CLEARED OUT THE MEMORY, GONE THROUGH REBOOTS AND WE STILL HAVE ISSUES. WE CAN RARELY GET TO OUR REVERSE CAMERA IN A TIMELY MANNER, AND ALL FEATURES ACCESSIBLE VIA THE TOUCHSCREEN ARE UNUSABLE. OUR VEHICLE IS NO LONGER SAFE TO DRIVE. WE'VE RECENTLY GONE ONLINE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE HAVING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE AS OTHER VEHICLES. WE'VE GONE FROM THE BIGGEST TESLA FAN AND TURNED OUT 50+ PEOPLE TO THE VEHICLE, TO HAVE LOST FAITH IN THE BRAND. ESPECIALLY WITH THE SAFETY ISSUES THIS IS CAUSING US. WE HAVE GONE THROUGH MONTHS OR TROUBLESHOOTING AND REPAIRS AND IT IS STILL NOT RESOLVED. WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST FOR OUR PATH FORWARD? HOW DO WE GET THIS IN FRONT OF TESLA'S LEADERSHIP TEAM?' LEE SCHOR