Table 1 shows one common exterior lighting related problems of the 2022 Tesla Model S.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting problems |
The center high-mounted stop lamp (chmsl / third brake light) fails on 2021 and newer Tesla Model S vehicles (including plaid). This is a common issue reported by many owners, particularly as vehicles exit the warranty period. No redesigned or corrected replacement part has been made available by Tesla. Pre-2021 chmsl units are incompatible and will not fit. Repair requires removal and replacement of the entire rear liftgate glass assembly, which is extremely expensive and labor-intensive for owners. Prior model years did not experience this problem. A non-functional chmsl reduces the vehicle's visibility to following traffic and increases the risk of rear-end collisions, especially at night or in poor weather. This appears to be a design or manufacturing defect affecting safety. Discussions [xxx] repair process [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
Tonight, shortly after dusk, on a lightly traveled road near my home, the high-beams failed to function as described in the manual, or according to any alternative way to activate them. Traffic is 30 mph with a single lanes divided by a double yellow center line with cat-eyes. This area frequently has deer and other wildlife. Accordingly, whenever possible, high beams should be activated. Conditions were dry, and clear, without oncoming traffic -- while driving at or near the posted limit. Pushing and persistently holding the high-beam light maintained high-beam only while pressing the high-beam marked part of the steering wheel. Typical operation, in the past, operated the high beam if the button (capacitative sensitive surface on the steering wheel) was held in for about a full second and then released. This is no longer how it operated tonight. Driver pushed the high-beam for a full second. Upon release the high beams reverted to normal low beams. Driver repeated this 2 more times. After doing this twice, the driver is already distracted from wildlife and starting to focus on the car -- looking for error messages of some kind. After three times, its clear that it is Tesla software that is broken. Although the car is in good repair, no messages were presented. Again, conditions were clear and dry. Failure to operate visibility mechanisms is highly contrary to safe driving. Some features which should always work: 1. Wind shield wipers; 2. Defogger 3. Defroster 4. Head lights 5. High beams hopefully, Tesla has not abandoned functional high-beams like they have with full self driving. On the other hand, if fsd is no longer among the executive compensation goals, perhaps providing a visible landscape to the all-camera fsd algorithm is also superfluous.
All Tesla models have excessively bright headlamps, blinding oncoming traffic. There are many Teslas where I live and commute. I had many instances where I could not see what was in front of me on a two lane road due to a Tesla coming in the opposite direction at night. It is seriously dangerous to have these cars with such bright lights on the road. They create a hazard for every driver in the oncoming lane. I strongly believe that these bright headlamps ought to be illegal, as they jeopardize safety of drivers.
Tesla provides a back-up input form to its touch screen -- namely voice commands. Voice commands operate, among other things, map positioning, hvac, lighting. Unfortunately, as quiet as the car is, the voice commands are a roulette wheel of results. 80% accuracy in detecting the specific command is the best Tesla manages. This would be a problem, by itself. However, even when the voice commands are accurately 'read back', and even when the voice command is one that Tesla explicitly has among the commands that Tesla reports (in its manual, etc. ) to be an active function that produces an active result to the car's operation -- even then -- the commands/car still are unable to perform the documented function. 1) I commanded the car to 'turn on dome light'; 2) the car recognized 'turn on dome light'; 3) the car acknowledged 'dome lights on'; 4) but the car did not turn on the dome lights. The entire user interface operates in a random way at random times in random traffic. This is a recipe for distraction. Tesla needs to encourage eyes-up, on the road. Instead the multiple stages of failure, result in many unnecessary risks. The car was/is made available to Tesla's service center, and they are aware of the contents of this report. I expect zero result from their 'diagnosis'. Sw release is 2022. 20. 8.
Steering yoke safety issue: Tesla Model S plaid cars come with a steering yoke instead of steering wheel. The steering yoke’s horn, turn signal, high beam, voice assistant, windshield wiper, and cruise control led indicators that identify these buttons become invisible due to sun glare when the sun is behind or to the left of the driver. The glossy surface of the yoke combined with the weak led lights of the indicators make the yoke unusable for honking the horn, make it impossible to find the horn, turn signal, windshield wiper, and other buttons, effectively making these features unusable. At a minimum, these critical safety buttons being invisible and having no tactile way to finding them during sunny days causes a significant distraction away from looking at the road. In the attached photo, you will see the effect of sun glare on the yoke while driving. This design flaw in the steering yoke/wheel puts my safety and the safety of others at risk because of inability to use the horn, windshield wipers, voice assistant, high beams, and turn signals when the sun or any other bright light causes yoke glare. Furthermore, the lack of tactile indication of where the buttons are, because they are only indicated/separated by lighting (leds) causes the driver to have to divert attention away from the road and onto the steering yoke to find the controls, or push parts of the yoke randomly until the correct function button is found. This is a serious safety issue which can be resolved by using a different material for the steering yoke indicator buttons, by having tactile separators/notches where the yoke buttons are so the user can find where to press during sunny days.
The left headlight does not work and the airbag compartment is protruding out at a weird angle. This has been like this since delivery.