general problems of the 2013 Tesla Model S - part 1

While charging my 2013 Tesla Model S, the vehicle experienced a charging system failure and would no longer charge. Upon inspection, I discovered water intrusion and corrosion on the lower portion of the charging-related electronic circuit board at the bottom of the charging port and right where the high voltage cables are located as well. The affected electronics are located in an area that is not normally exposed to water and is not owner-serviceable. Later model Tesla Model S vehicles (2014 and newer) include a drain in this exact location, which this vehicle does not have. This design change appears to directly address the same water accumulation issue that caused the failure in my vehicle. The failure results in loss of the vehicle’s ability to charge, rendering the vehicle inoperable. Tesla declined to repair the issue, stating the vehicle is out of warranty, despite acknowledging the design change in later models. This appears to be a latent design issue related to water ingress into critical charging electronics, which presents a safety and reliability concern due to loss of propulsion capability and water exposure to high voltage parts.

On [xxx], at approximately [xxx], I was driving my 2013 Tesla Model S (VIN: [xxx] ) on [xxx] in barrow county, georgia when the instrument cluster/speedometer display went completely blank while driving. This is an intermittent issue that occurs without warning - the display turns off and sometimes freezes. Because the speedometer was not displaying, I had no way to know my actual speed. I was pulled over by barrow county sheriff’s office and cited for speeding. I explained the instrument cluster malfunction to the officer at the scene and showed him the blank display. I took my vehicle to Tesla service center in duluth, GA (3380 satellite blvd) on November 4, 2025 - as soon as I could get an appointment after the incident. Tesla cleared the filesystem caches but did not inform me about the existing emmc recall (sb-21-21-001) that affects my vehicle, nor did they perform the recall repair. My 2013 Model S is equipped with the mcu1 with the 8gb emmc that is subject to NHTSA recall 21v-119. This is a known defect that NHTSA determined to be a safety issue because it affects critical displays including the speedometer, backup camera, and turn signal indicators. I have video evidence of the malfunction occurring and the Tesla service receipt documenting the issue. The fact that Tesla’s service center did not notify me of the applicable recall or perform the free recall repair. This defect directly resulted in me receiving a traffic citation because I could not see my speedometer while driving information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The instrument panel went blank permanently posing a safety hazard due to loss of vehicle function status indicators such as speed, direction, gauges, warnings, and signaling.

November 20, 2025 to the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) office of defects investigation subject: safety defect complaint – Tesla Model S I am submitting this complaint regarding a serious and dangerous safety defect involving my Tesla Model S. Safety defect summary:    •   after the high-voltage battery failed, the vehicle would not enter neutral.    •   I had to use tow mode in the middle of a street on a hill to avoid blocking traffic.    •   once in tow mode, the car could not enter park and the emergency/parking brake would not engage.    •   the car became completely free-rolling, posing danger to myself, other drivers, and pedestrians.    •   when Tesla returned the car to my home, their technicians also could not get the vehicle into park or activate any emergency braking system.    •   the car is currently stuck in tow mode in my driveway with physical objects placed behind the wheels to prevent it from rolling. Why this is a safety hazard: a vehicle that cannot shift into park, cannot use its emergency brake, and remains free-moving after a failure represents a serious safety defect. This occurred without warning and left the vehicle unsafe to operate or even store. Request: I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate this as a potential safety defect affecting the Tesla Model S when the high-voltage battery fails. A car should never lose all ability to secure itself.

2013 Model S VIN [xxx] : 'voltage sense open detected' poses shutdown risk on may 2021 replacement battery. Tesla claims 4-year warranty vs. Standard 8-year; local service redirects without resolution. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Premature hv battery bms failure after Tesla replacement – safety risk of fire and sudden power loss.

The screen abruptly shuts down and that is a safety hazard. Tesla has refused to fix this issue.

Tesla instrument cluster screens are leaking fluid and eventually failing. The instrument cluster is the only place I can see my speed, thus my car is now unsafe as I can not tell what speed I am driving at.

I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding two critical component failures in my 2013 Tesla Model S within the past 12 months, both of which occurred shortly after the manufacturer's warranty had expired. These issues have not only been financially burdensome but also raise questions about the reliability and longevity of Tesla vehicles. Motor replacement: in sept 2022, I was compelled to replace the motor in my Tesla Model S at a cost of $6,304. 89. This occurred despite my vehicle maintaining a clean record and having only around 70k miles on it at the time. The timing of this failure, immediately after the expiration of the manufacturer's warranty, is concerning and suggests a potential design or manufacturing flaw. Battery replacement: most recently, I have been informed that the battery in my Tesla Model S requires replacement at an estimated cost of $15,545. 97. Like the motor failure, this comes as a substantial financial burden, and again, it has happened just after the warranty period has ended. I find these consecutive, high-cost component failures within a short timeframe to be unacceptable and have led me to question the overall reliability of Tesla vehicles. As a responsible and safety-conscious consumer, I believe it is vital to report these issues to the NHTSA to ensure the safety and protection of all Tesla owners and the general public. I respectfully request that the NHTSA investigates these repeated component failures in Tesla vehicles, particularly the motor and battery, and assesses whether there may be any systemic issues that warrant further action or recalls. It is crucial for the NHTSA to uphold and enforce safety standards in the automotive industry to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future. I have attached relevant documents and receipts as evidence of the mentioned repairs for your reference. -michael d. Roberts.

On August 23, 2023 I was driving my 2013 Tesla Model S on the van wyck expressway when suddenly the steering wheel became very stiff making the car hard to steer. I experience a loss of electronic power in steering the car. I called Tesla road service they dispatched a tow truck one of their tow provider and I was charged $475. 00 dollars. It was towed Tesla service center @ 160 van brunt street brooklyn, NY 11231. I mentioned to Tesla service center per information I reviewed online this is a recall sb-22-00-014 per the year of my vehicle 2013 Tesla Model S. Tesla service center charged me $500. 84 cents for a diagnosis they said the electric power steering gear rack & pinion is the issue and refused to acknowledge the recall per the model of my 2013 Model S Tesla. They quote me an amount of $4, 500. 00 dollars before tax to fix the issue. When I declined the repairs per this expensive price I was informed by Tesla service center @ 160 van brunt street to come and pickup the car. I arrived on Friday, August 25, 2023 to pickup the car with a tow truck the service department could not locate my keys. It took them 3 hours to find my key and then they put the car on service mode not allowing the car to go on park or drive only staying on neutral. They claimed that happened because the car reset itself. When I insist by a manager for them to fix that problem since the car did not come in with that issue only a stiff steering problem they refused. After several discussion with different staff and managers they had one of their mechanic to fix the issue and the car was able to go on drive & park again so I can have it towed to my location which took 3 tow trucks since Tesla wasn't cooperative in the beginning. I had the car towed to my location with the stiff steering the failed electric power steering gear rack & pinion Tesla refused to repair the problem per the recall safety issue on this car. They want to charge me $4,500. 00 plus tax out of pocket.

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the message “unable to drive, voltage supply” and “vehicle may not restart” was displayed. The vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the local service center who diagnosed that the drive unit was faulty and needed to be replaced, due to water ingress coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. In addition, while operating the vehicle, a warning alert was displayed regarding the battery system and that the battery would no longer recharge. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the hv battery pack had failed due to corrosion caused by condensation from the hvac system. The hv battery was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,000.

My main center computer touch screen has been leaking a sticky toxic glue for over 5 years. This toxic sticky glue continues to leak all over the interior of my vehicle which regularly needs to be cleaned. This saftey issue has been reported to Tesla several times and Tesla refuses to take responsibility for this saftey issue. The sticky toxic glue leaks severly worse when exposed to higher temperatures and definitely is related to heat/thermal heat exposure. Tesla did not utilize an automotive grade computer screen on earlier production vehicles and has since changed the type of computer screens utilized in their current production vehicles. This is an ongoing problems with thousands of earlier production vehicles. Tesla is aware of this problem and refuses take responsibility to issue a recall which affects thousands of customers who are experiencing this same saftey issue. Tesla will not help or do anything to resolve this problem saying my vehicle is out of warranty. I had to take the interior of my vehicle apart to constantly clean this leaking toxic sticky glue. This glue has been leaking on other interior electrical components which is a serious saftey issue!.

Screen in front of the driver froze. Speedometer did not change, odometer did not change, map and directions did not change, gearshift indicator did not change, clock was frozen.

At random the steering assist reduce, traction control disabled, stability, control, disable, regenerative breaking reduced. Wipers are affected during these error messages. The car is trying to get me killed!! on different days, all those errors are gone and the car drives normal. Suspect this is a software defect and can be very dangerous. Seems like something got reset after the car is turned off. All software are up to date on the car and on the phone app. Once no more errors from the car, it would drive normal until it randomly disable traction control, stability control and wipers becomes very slow, get stuck at times.

1. 2nd row seat behind driver malfunction for years. (mean can not insert) 2. On Dec. 5th, 2022, drive off the Tesla Model S off highway to local road and car just die. Tow to Tesla service station in bellevue, wa. I was told drive unit was water damaged a day later. This drive unit was put in on June, 2018 to replace original drive unit, which broken in June, 2018 at 76k miles. 4. 5 years later, and under 45k miles driving splashed water from road cause damage of drive unit. Unbelievable. If car died on the 520 bridge before I got off it really can be a serious car crash. This is really a safety issues.

Last week, my vehicle could no longer charge fast and I am unable to charge past 107 miles. The following message appears: bms_u029 / "maximum battery charge level reduced" after researching the issue, I found that hundreds of other Tesla drivers have experienced this problem (see: https://teslamotorsclub. Com/tmc/forums/model-s-battery-charging. 109/). Some were unable to charge after receiving this message, and some were capped at 30-50 miles, making the vehicles practically unusable. Tesla charges $15,000 (remanufactured battery pack) to $25,000 (new) to fix the problem. But many drivers are reporting that the defect is caused by a Tesla design, where the ac condensation drips onto the battery pack and create rust and corrosion, which then cause the batteries to malfunction.

The touchscreen failed and I need it replaced, but Tesla says it’s not part of what the ntsb negotiated with Tesla to do regarding these screens. 2014 Model S. It’s not fair to me to have to replace what I believe is a defect. Also, I believe this car was salvaged in another state and then brought to CA and resold to me. There was a salvage record on bumper and now it disappeared. There’s also a code on my car that reads that acceleration may be reduced and Tesla wants to replace connectors but I keep getting more and more parts added to the quote. They say this is a “preemptive” repair. They made a new firmware/software rollout which took away my sirius xm capability and they say they know about it, but won’t reinstall my software. I believe their software/firmware has taken away attributes on my car. Tesla won’t give me the repair history to the car and I fear they are hiding all the recalls saying they’ve been done when in reality they haven’t. I’m worried about driving the car.

As I was driving the vehicle home one night on the highway, the vehicle had a 13% charge and told me to pull over safely as it was shutting down. I had it towed to a charging station and the issue seemed to be resolved. Then after a couple weeks, I was driving on the highway and revived another warning, “maximum battery charge level reduced- ok to drive- schedule service. ” I brought it to the nearest supercharger and it only charges to 24% charge and it charges extremely slow. I took it in for service and the told me I need to replace the high voltage battery and quoted me at $19,414. I have seen reports of investigations taking place currently in canada for the same issue. Apparently, these older Teslas have an a/c condensor unit that dumps water onto the battery and causes battery problems. Please look into this for me as I believe a recall is warranted. Thanks so much! I also included the contact information of the dealership where my car is being serviced.

Battery packs on older Model S are dying while driving. Puts the car non responsive and limp mode. No choice but to try and pull over. No acceleration and car dies. First occurrence warning happened, however went away upon charging the vehicle. Drove to a Tesla service center under its own power, left service center under its own power with no warning messages. Tesla is aware of the issue with older battery packs, demands 20k or to scrap your car, or they require a legal release pertaining to the battery pack. I was locked out of my vehicle and it was held without a mechanics lein. This legal release absolves them of all responsibility over the vehicle especially if you bring it to another shop. Owners have no right to repair their vehicles at shops with certified technicians. The second time this happened, luckily the vehicle was parked and died in a driveway. No warning messages prior. Tesla says it gave warnings however I was not aware. Car was towed by aaa to a service center where it currently sits. Reference to another vehicle which received International attention for exact same issue. . Read more...

Main lcd screen has cracked. This screen controls all aspects of the car. I was told by Tesla repair that the crack will start to discharge toxic fluid and the car will cease to function.

Electrical system power reduced warning. Vehicle shutting down.

My 2013 Tesla Model S 60 kw didn’t drive on July 2022 and I got a warning on the screen that all electrical systems are shutting down . The car had to be towed to Tesla service . Tesla service told me the battery pack has to be replaced for 13k. I went down to Tesla service and told them I want to see the battery pack but I was told that I couldn’t see it and was shown a piece of the corroded fuse box cover. I was told I couldn’t take a picture of it even though this was my car and own the battery pack . I was told only then that there was corrosion on the fuse box cover to the battery pack and the battery pack has to be replaced for 13k. I paid 13k and Tesla replaced the battery pack 6 weeks later. I have learned since then that many Teslas Model S year 2012-15 have this problem. The problem is that the air conditioner hose leaks on to the fuse box cover and corrodes it. Tesla knows about this problem and refuses to do anything and just says that the entire battery pack has to be replaced. This is a defect in the battery pack that fuse box is located under the air conditioner hose. I asked Tesla before paying for the replacement battery pack if this would occur with the replacement battery and was told that the replacement battery has the fuse box at the other side of the battery pack . Not like the old battery. Apparently Tesla knows about this problem and redesigned the battery pack. This a defective battery pack and the car could stop driving suddenly and crash into other cars. This very dangerous and Tesla knew about this for years and didn’t do anything. I was under warranty from 2013 till 2021 for the battery pack and Tesla should have repaired the battery pack or replaced it. I want to reimbursed for my 13k that I spent on the replaced battery pack. Tesla knowingly knows this problem and deceived me and said just the fuse box got corroded. This happened in July 2022 in the heat when I had the air conditioner on and water leaked on to the battery pack.

Center lcd screen bubbling and leaking fluid from panel into car.

Appointment for the federal recall NHTSA recall no. : 21v-035 - 8gb embedded multimedia card (emmc) VIN: fp24819 appt. Date: 24 may 2022 incident: racial profiling, Tesla customer service told the owner that he must provide the 'pink slip' (not the registration slip) for the vehicle in order for any repair or service would be provided or permitted. This is racism, and not the first time.

Bubbles are developing on the instrument cluster screen that may pose a safety concern by obscuring sight of important vehicle information, including speed and battery charge status. This is getting worse (more bubbles developing and becoming larger in size) by the day. This is a known problem that has been reported by other owners. Please see the following links: https://teslamotorsclub. Com/tmc/threads/bubble-on-instrument-cluster. 91537/ https://teslamotorsclub. Com/tmc/threads/instrument-cluster-bubble. . Read more...

I brought in the car to be parked as part of NHTSA recall no. 21v-035. The "fix" provided has led to my center console in the Model S to shutdown completely. I contacted Tesla to inform them that their fix as part of the recall has actually led to more problems.

I was just getting off the freeway, into a business area, and all of a sudden car stopped without any warning, with a quick "power reduced flash on the screen, unable to move at all. I was in the middle of busy area, blocking the street and cars parked on each side. The rear wheel drive locked, even in neutral position, and also tow mode. 4 people tried to push the car into a safe area without success. Had to wait for a tow truck to take the car to Tesla facility. Was told there was an internal failure of the inverter and the unit its self, which would coast over 6k. Very scary and a stressful situation I suffered and it needs to be addressed of the danger.

2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 prior 2022 I shared with Tesla several times about my tires constant notification on the dashboard for low air. Tires were constantly being checked due to the dashboard display. I was told by Tesla it was covered, but no repair was done. When Tesla mobile or service only air was placed into the tires. Then I was told by Tesla mobile & calling 1800 when service, then when recall was performed it should fix the problem. Vehicle was not driven often due to black screen and tire issues/dashboard display. 2022 emmc is finally replaced but now the warning on the dashboard reads 'tire pressure monitoring system fault. Pressure sensor fault 'may' clear next drive. This is negligent for Tesla to say it may clear next drive (see pic). Tesla service had the vehicle in shop several times and refused to repair/correct this safety issue. I have complained and Tesla has blocked me from messaging Tesla. What if there is a blow out, low pressure, faulty system and an accident occurs causing hurt, harm, or death?.

Part ii after I emailed Tesla kearney mesa service station, with my concern about their billing for the recall and customer service; I was sent a new billing. Mind you, all my issues are related to the recall and Tesla schemes and falsehoods. See attached.

Tesla, please assist me in the following: 1. I have life time charging, explain the $305. 00 fee for a brand new battery Tesla charged/bill me and installed. 2. Tesla has a suggested billing of $100. 00 to put air into a (1) tire. Or $100. 00 to bring all tires to federal standards. Basically, no tire repair just air into tires. Please explain the charge. 3. Tesla called me at 9:21 a. M. Inform me that my 27 March appointment was canceled (I had no say so). Then, I was instructed to have Tesla roadside assistance to tow my vehicle to your kearny mesa service station for $386. 00 (aaron - 1-877-798-3752). 4. I was instructed that Tesla roadside assistance memberships was not an option to me. 5. I have an appointment but was told parts for my vehicle might be available or might not be available for a 2021 federal recall, but today date is 22 March 2022. I've waited 1 year not months for Tesla to contact me when my vehicle parts were available in regards to the recall. It feels like a scam: $630. 00 Tesla $386. 00 Tesla roadside assistance. 6. Also, an uber credit would be grant. Please explain why my vehicle that has an appointment for air in four tires, supercharged, recall and software update, is not a priority when I have an appointment. 7. In 2021, I was made to believe and instructed to purchase a 12 volt battery to repair recall. 8. In 2022, Tesla again instructed me that my brand new battery to be replaced.

The following recall is active on my 2013 Tesla Model S: NHTSA recall number21v035. Yesterday I had a booked date to fix this recall on my car and other small items. The Tesla dealership completely refused to do this work! they sttated that my vehicle was too old and that the warranty period had expired. They are completely wrong, of course, since the recall has nothing to do with the warranty nor the age of the car. Please help! greetings, franz.

There is a current recall on my Tesla. It is my 3rd time returning the car after Tesla performed a recall with emmc . My screen continues to go black and signal won’t work. I have to pull over and reset my car. Only way to resolve the issue is an mcu2 upgrade that I don’t want to pay. I need help please. It happens every other day. I have numerous of photos with date and time as proof.

"center display unavailabe" message on dashboard. The center display screen that is critical for operating the vehicle controls and camera etc. Was blank.

Screen went totally blank and I can’t control anything. No access to heating, backup camera, navigation, etc.

Main screen is black, subject to current recall. Also, vehicle takes about 15mn to start. Tesla is trying to make us pay $1500 for the repair. Tesla non compliance reported on December 22 2021 to NHTSA by email and only now we are directed to file the complaint here.