general problems of the 2018 Tesla Model S

15 problems related to vehicle speed control have been reported for the 2018 Tesla Model S. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2018 Tesla Model S based on all problems reported for the 2018 Model S.

1 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 01/30/2026

I was entering my drive way waiting for the garage to open suddenly my car just accelerated and hit the wall.

2 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 10/20/2023

While driving using cruise control, in the space of 9-10 miles, the vehicle had 14-16 instances of sudden, unexpected braking for no reason. Most were moderate braking incidents slowing the car 15-30 mph before I hit the accelerator to get the car back up to speed. 2 incidents were where the car slowed 5-10 mph then resumed speed. Very disconcerting. There was little to no traffic on the road and in every case, there was no other car within a 1/2 mile or more to the front. Finally got fed up with this and turned off cruise. Left cruise control off as I passed through a city then decided to try it again. Soon after engaging cruise at 72 mph, the car suddenly and violently braked for no reason. It was such a hard braking that one of my dogs in the back seat crashed into the front seat. The hard braking continued until the speed was about 20 mph at which point, I hit the accelerator in order to resume speed. Note that no other car was visible on the roadway which was a 4 lane highway. Conditions were clear and dry. Soon after this incident, while still on cruise, the car suddenly braked moderately hard. Since the road was clear before and behind me, I decided to see what would happen. The car slowed to 38 mph and stayed at that speed for 3-4 seconds then slowly resumed the set speed. A short time later 1-2 miles further, the exact same sequence happened again. Again, note the road was clear with zero traffic ahead of or behind me. I then turned off cruise and decided to drive manually the rest of the way. This car is dangerous and should be removed from the road.

3 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 01/24/2023

On freeway in traffic, autopilot is enabled. Vehicle is running perfectly fine in start stop traffic slowing down and speeding up as needed. Traffic starts to clear up, and as vehicle speeds up, there is a sudden slowdown again. Instead of braking/slowing down, autopilot turns off without an additional audible alarm (just the standard sound for turning off autopilot), instead the forward collision warning alert goes off. Able to brake in time to prevent accident.

4 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 12/17/2022

While driving out 2018 Model S, it will brake hard while in adaptive cruise control of full self-driving mode for no reason. This happens frequently, whether driving on the highway or on city roads. It is terribly unsafe. I'm afraid eventually someone following too close will hit me.

5 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 11/24/2022

Driving down an interstate at the speed limit, with light traffic. No cars immediately or in ahead of me. The car put on the brakes, or what is commonly referred to as "phantom braking" as I understand it. It has done this on prior occasions and I am familiar with it. It generally seems to be triggered by inconsistent pavement coloring or shadows. The car rapidly braked until I took over (I was using "navigate on autopilot" which was managing the speed and lane-keeping). There were no injuries or dangerous situation created during this event, besides being quite abrupt and startling. There are no known failures or issues in my vehicle that would have been likely to contribute. This occurred on Nov 24 in the late afternoon, driving westward. Weather was overcast.

6 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 11/07/2022

Apparent software issue with adaptive cruise control causing unexpected hard braking at highway speeds. Random hard braking occurs on open road when road is clear, flat, and no other vehicles nearby. Narrowly avoided being 'rear-ended' during several occurrences by car behind. I drove the car this week on a two day road trip from palm springs to santa fe and this issue must have occurred 18-20 times during the 750 mile trip. I also tried using difference settings and nothing seemed to eliminate the issue.

7 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 04/22/2022

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving down an inclined driveway the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to lose control of the steering and crash into the nearby RV garage. During the incident the airbag deployed and the driver sustained injuries to both knees and left hand. No police report was taken. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact indicated that the failure had previously occurred in 2018. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 38,000.

8 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 03/13/2022

Vehicle will routinely reboot while driving. During this time the turn signals, speed information and other vehicle information is not available while driving.

9 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/05/2022

This incident happened some time ago but I read recently about complaints related to "phantom braking" which I also experienced. I was driving on the highway at speed with my cruise control activated. There was no traffic close in front of me, but a large semi was in the lane to my right. This vehicle triggered sharp braking of my car. It was very scary, but I immediately overroad the braking to avoid being hit by a vehicle behind me. I have never used my cruise control since that incident.

10 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 01/27/2022

Driving on a freeway at 75mph with autopilot turned on, the car suddenly braked, requiring manual intervention to accelerate to intended speed. After this the car continued as normal. There was no visible obstruction. Fortunately I have had this happen while a vehicle has not been behind me otherwise there is a possiblity of a crash.

11 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 04/27/2020

The car software has been modified and appears to be compromised. Settings related to safety and autopilot have been unstable. Driver profile does not work properly. Factory reset performed by Tesla paramus and by switching email account doesn't not remove the malware. Personal data and malfunctioning of the car continue despite several complaints to Tesla.

12 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 01/22/2020

I was using the autosummon on my Tesla. I had used the car to park itself so figured that it would be safe to try. Car was close to a wall. Car immediately moved forward and hit the wall. There was no time to stop it as it turned immediately.

13 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/20/2019

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. While attempting to make a left turn from a parking space, the vehicle accelerated backwards in a tight circle. The vehicle struck some trees on the passenger side and crashed into another vehicle that was parallel parked on the same street. There was no warning indicator illuminated. A police report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was damaged and towed to a tow yard. The contact called the manufacturer and was connected to Tesla roadside assistance. The contact requested the dealer. Tesla (831-264-6896, located at 1901 del monte blvd, seaside, CA 93955) was notified, but did not assist. The contact did not know if the vehicle was totaled. The cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage was 4,757.

14 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 12/02/2018

Car was stopped prior to entering car garage. Car suddenly reversed then sped up autonomously and crashed into the home. Suspect car electronics compromised and endangered driver. Requesting investigation if car defect vs user error. Thank you !.

15 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/17/2018

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. While approaching a red light, the speed increased and the vehicle failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle drove through the traffic light and crashed into a vehicle that was making a left turn. The front driver's air bag and knee air bags deployed. The front driver's side curtain air bags had not deployed. The driver sustained shoulder and back injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The insurance company towed the vehicle to a collision repair facility. The dealer (san diego miramar Tesla, 9250 trade pl, san diego, CA 92121, (858) 271-5100) was notified of the crash and the contact was waiting for feedback from the insurance company. The dealer and the manufacturer were waiting to retrieve the information from the electronic data recorder to investigate the cause of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49.


Other Vehicle Speed Control related problems of the 2018 Tesla Model S


Model S Service Bulletins
Model S Defect Investigations