Table 1 shows one common seats related problems of the 2016 Tesla Model S.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Seats problems |
The driver’s seat back will only rise partly from the reclined position. All other driver seat functions seem to be normal. I estimate the maximum upright angle to be 30 degrees from vertical, making driving difficult and sometimes painful. The manual states to not drive the car with more recline than 30 degrees as seat belts may not function as intended (driver may slip under belt during impact).
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 center touchscreen display is failing. This display controls most functions of the vehicle from climate control to entertainment. Currently, I am unable to active the rear defroster or adjust the climate controls. This is a known issue and the problems will get worse over time.