Assist Problems of Tesla Model S - part 1

Tesla Model S has a notorious back hatch latching failure. It’s a flawed design that every replacement is a “when” and not “if for failure. As an owner its failed be about 4-5 times in 5+ years of ownership. The hatch back latching issue causes cruise control as well as their autopilot steering navigation feature to be disabled when latch starts acting up or failing to fully close, which are helpful safety components to keep your car on the road going at proper speeds and staying in lane. Reporting this in hopes someone pushes Tesla to do something about this flaw that should be a manufacturers defect.

See all problems of the 2015 Tesla Model S 🔎.

I have documented examples of 3 total incidents now where a Tesla ota "update" on my vehicle caused a safety issue. Event 1: Nov 27, 2025. Tesla ota update renders my left turn light non-functional for ~24 hours. Resolution per forums only was to not touch the card for 24 hours to allow it to shift into "sleep" mode which would resolve the issue. Instructions were that only a service center could resolve the issue. Event 2: sept 3, 2025. Tesla ota update renders my car unable to charge. The issue is resolved following a ~24 hour "sleep" cycle which allows my car to somehow resume charging. Telsa advised the only resolution was to come in for service and to replace a $3000 part. Event 3: sept 23, 2025. Tesla ota update once again renders my car unable to use it's left turn light. Power cycling the vehicle was able to resolve the issue but once again the instructions was only that service could resolve the issue. Each "update" risks sigificant "safety" related issues and Tesla's only resolution is to pay hundreds of dollars for someone to "troubleshoot" that which shouldn't be a problem.

See all problems of the 2017 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Using software version 2025. 14. 1 with fsd (full self driving) version 12. 6. 4. About 50% of the time the vehicle attempts and fails to change lanes when using fsd. It will: 1. Turn on signal and not change lanes, confusing cars around me. Or more often 2. Swerve between lanes indefinitely. See example at [xxx] it drives like a drunk driver. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My Tesla supervised fsd is a safety hazard. Promised programming updates have not improved the erratic, unsafe “assistance. I try it after each update, but I’m afraid to rely on it other than 5-10mph bumper to bumper road conditions. I don’t have one specific occurrence to report and thank goodness no fatality!.

See all problems of the 2019 Tesla Model S 🔎.

While fsd was engaged. It made a sudden aggressive, swerving maneuver with no warning towards the cars next to us, sounded alarms, and then forcefully disengaged nearly causing an accident.

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model S 🔎.

When turning right from [xxx] onto [xxx] using my blinker, it sounded three beeps and jerked the wheel left towards the pedestrians in the crosswalk and the turning cars coming from [xxx] onto [xxx]. I was allegedly driving manually, but the car decided to override my input autonomously. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

“full self driving” was sitting at a red light at 5:07 pm and observed a light a block ahead of us turn green and accelerated through the red light with no warning or time to react.

While driving both north (in the evening) and also south (in the morning) on [xxx] between washington, DC and richmond, va I have experienced an issue with Tesla’s auto pilot that can be very dangerous and scary. While using the navigation system and with auto pilot on while in the left most line on this divided highway, the car made multiple attempts to steer into the express lanes even when the large gates are closed and the red lights are on to indicate that the express lanes are closed in the direction of traffic. To counteract this, it is necessary to quickly take control of the steering wheel and to get it to cancel auto pilot, otherwise the car would go into the gates and cause an accident. This has happened to me several times when I was traveling in the left most lane and when the gates were closed. This happened in November, December and in January. The system has not learned to handle this situation and to avoid steering into the barriers. I reported these incidents to Tesla’s support team by phone and after several weeks I received a phone call whereby the local service center (rockville, MD) called me. Josh, the person that called me read a lengthy text to me that essentially reviewed the driver’s responsibilities when using auto pilot. I asked if there was any indication that they will work on fixing this issue and I was told that the explanation I got (which was no explanation at all, just a reminder of driver responsibilities) was the entire response. I informed him that I would report the incident to NHTSA. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model S 🔎.

While driving in autopilot mode, approx 70 mph in light rain the vhicle began to drift side to side almost crossing over the lane dividing line. Upon grabbing the wheel to take control the vehicle entered multiple 360 degree spins crashing into "k" rail. In the past I have noticed when taking control of the vehicle from autopilot the wheel jerks.

7:38pm pulling into garage it jerked wheel right towards wall/edge of garage door assembly and sounded audible alarms (was driving manually and lane departure settings are allegedly disabled).

Oct 31 4:03pm blinker on turning into gus’ parking garage off noriega I have lane departure disabled, am manually driving under 15mph, and use proper blinker but this “safety feature” causes it to “jerk” the wheel and display warnings to the detriment of safety. This affects the entire fleet and was never an issue before around 2022-2023.

I have lane departure disabled, am manually driving under 15mph, and use proper blinker but this “safety feature” causes it to “jerk” the wheel and display warnings to the detriment of safety. This affects the entire fleet and was never an issue before around 2022-2023. Oct 9th - 3:48pm blinker on turning into supercharger on geary blvd oct 4:09pm changing lanes with blinker on, 4:10pm left turn at intersection with blinker on.

Sept 29th 12:35pm passing truck double parked jerked wheel back towards truck I have lane departure disabled, am manually driving under 15mph, and use proper blinker but this “safety feature” causes it to “jerk” the wheel and display warnings to the detriment of safety. This affects the entire fleet and was never an issue before around 2022-2023.

Since the installation of software version 2024. 27. 25, which includes fsd version 12. 5. 4, on sept 26, 2024, any driving which occurs on fsd results in emergency braking events for green lights, unprotected/unsignaled crosswalks without pedestrians present, parallel parked cars not encroaching on the lane of travel, vehicles traveling the same direction and similar speed (+/- 5mph), not encroaching on my lane. These frequently reoccurring events were not remedied by any of the subsequent updates received: v2024. 32. 10 (fsd v12. 5. 4. 1) on oct 8, 2024 v2024. 33. 5 (fsd v12. 5. 4. 2) on Nov 2, 2024 2024. 44. 25. 2 (fsd v12. 5. 4. 2) on Dec 10, 2024 while not all events occurred with surrounding traffic, those that did posed a hazard to not just occupants of my vehicle, but those in and around other vehicles, including pedestrians. Most other drivers do not expect and are unprepared for a vehicle to apply panic-level emergency braking and come to full stop at green lights, before unprotected crosswalks with no pedestrians present, or along well-traveled streets without significant errant other drivers. No warning lights, chimes, or other indications ever appeared on any of the displays or instrument clusters within the vehicle during any of the events. The fsd traffic display did not indicate or highlight any features of the surrounding area that were causing it to slow or stop. The problem has been regularly experienced by many other drivers, as evidenced by the large number of similar reports across the various Tesla driver communities online. I and my vehicle are available for inspection and I'm additionally willing to take an inspector on a ride-along to demonstrate the issue.

See all problems of the 2020 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Sept 27th 8:59am turning into serramonte center, blinker was on, sounds alarms and jerks wheel 6:53 pm into garage my garage jerked wheel swerved towards wall I have lane departure disabled, am manually driving under 15mph, and use proper blinker but this “safety feature” causes it to “jerk” the wheel and display warnings to the detriment of safety. This affects the entire fleet and was never an issue before around 2022-2023.

Sept 26 1:38pm pulling in garage it swerved wheel towards wall and sounded alarms I have lane departure disabled, am manually driving under 15mph, and use proper blinker but this “safety feature” causes it to “jerk” the wheel and display warnings to the detriment of safety. This affects the entire fleet and was never an issue before around 2022-2023.

Driving into my garage the vehicle is swerving the wheel and sounding alarms that I am “departing a lane” even though I do not have a lane departure alerts or assistance enabled. Unlike Tesla response to my reports, this is when I am driving manually auto pilot is not engaged like they keep asserting.

Sept 25 2:14pm pulling into garage and it swerved towards wall and sounded alarms 7:04pm turning into stonestown shopping center right from stop sign, alarms and jerking wheel force to go straight. Blinker was on. I have lane departure disabled, am manually driving under 15mph, and use proper blinker but this “safety feature” causes it to “jerk” the wheel and display warnings to the detriment of safety. This affects the entire fleet and was never an issue before around 2022-2023.

I have lane departure, avoidance in lane departure assist both turned off in the settings. Despite this, the alarms are constantly going off (even when I am not departing a lane). It even overrides my steering inputs incorrectly! 8:28am 5/24/2024 for example, I am pulling into my garage and it’s yanking the steering wheel trying to crash me into the wall. I immediately verified the settings are all still turned off. I have an open service ticket with Tesla where I am supplying them dates and times every time it happens and no one is responding. Previously had them replaced the whole vehicle (lemon law), and it still happening.

1. ) passenger side door is a potential hazard. Door latch and door mechanism does not open from the outside. 2. ) lane keep assist on autopilot veers off to the right when it is first engaged and does not want to stay centered until it's been on for awhile.

See all problems of the 2016 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Incident Tesla Model S was up to date on recalls as far as we can tell, including the recent autopilot update via Tesla internet vehicle update releases. While driving in autopilot mode on the freeway in the lane next to the hov lane, the autopilot got confused as to which lane it should keep and failed to maintain its lane. Incident vehicle drifted across the double lines into the hov lane, where another Tesla Model S was driving. Both cars were damaged in the ensuing side bump impact, then the incident vehicle made a slight impact to another car rear bumper in front of the incident vehicle. No injuries were reported. A subsequent traffic crash report was filed as required with CA highway patrol. We are awaiting this report in the mail. Our safety and others was put at risk due to the failure of the autopilot to maintain its lane. Insurance was contacted. The insurance company, usaa, has deemed the incident vehicle (our vehicle) damage too expensive to fix due to the very high cost of replacement/repair parts and has deemed our vehicle a "total loss. " we have not been able to access the software of the vehicle. Since usaa has deemed the vehicle a total loss, they are selling the car for salvage and thus we have no further access to the vehicle for legal purposes. As far as I know, usaa has not pulled the vehicle software records nor has requested such records and has completely ignored the autopilot issue. That is part of the reason for our complaint here as well. Since there were no injuries, legal representation in this case has not been forthcoming. We ask the NHTSA to investigate since we can get no help from Tesla, usaa or any other legal advocate.

Autopilot drove me off the road during turning right on hwy 183 on April 4, 2023. 9:04 pm. My Tesla Model S was on autopilot and car went off the road during right turn and about to hit the red light pole.

Recall 23v-838; tc2023-657. Tesla not providing software update for recall from last year. I can't get an update for this recall unless I pay $2000 for mcu2.

Unknown.

The update that you required for auto steer has made the car undrivable. I get a written and audible warning immediately when I engage auto steer. Literally within 2 seconds. I always keep my hands on the wheel, lightly, while I drive on the highway. Anything short of a death grip on the wheel causes the warning to go off. However, the nag feature (after the changes you required) goes off constantly. Honestly, it's very distracting. If I look at the radio to change the channel, the warning goes off. You need to undo the changes you required. It makes auto steer less safe, not more.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Nhtsa recall 23v-838; tc2023-657 has made my car less safe to drive. The constant nagging and nannying requires me to take attention off the road. Please stop.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Multiple components failed or malfunctioned. Fsd beta, lane keeping assistance, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking, all failed or malfunctioned. I have requested Tesla to provide me the details on what happened, but after multiple attempts of reaching out to them, they are not providing any answers. I was driving with my son and we both got injured, my son was admitted to the hospital for 4 days. I am not sure if Tesla inspected it, they are not answering my questions. There was no warning or there were no symptoms of the problem before the failure. This is what happened, I was driving on fsd beta on a 2-way street with one lane in both directions, the car suddenly drifted, crossed the opposite lane, went over the sidewalk, and hit a tree. The airbags were released, and the front of the car was destroyed. The speed limit on the road was 25, and as it was in fsd mode, the speed was locked in at 25 mph. I was driving with my son, and my son got a lot of bruises internal and external from the seat belt, I had some bruises on my forehead. This is a complete failure of Tesla's fsd capability because it didn't detect the tree or the sidewalk and failed to apply the brakes. The car was declared a total loss by the insurance company. I am attaching a few photographs of the car after the accident.

There was a trash can on the edge of the road and my vehicle was in autopilot/fsd mode and for some reason it swerved over too close to the edge of the road. I intervened in time to avoid hitting the trash can head-on but it still struck the passenger side mirror and scraped across the passenger rear fender. The mirror got slammed into the passenger side door causing damage to the door and trim at the bottom of the passenger side window.

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model S 🔎.

On 10jul2023, approximately 1:00pm, while traveling southbound on hwy 69, south of toll road 49 in lindale, texas, while driving in the right lane and speed set at 75mph, when all of a sudden the car activates the right blinker and - without slowing - pulls into a fairly short, dedicated right turn lane that turns into a business. At the end of the turn lane is a drainage culvert. The route of travel did not include a turn and the car should have been continuing straight down the highway. The car enters the turn lane and never slows from 75mph. I immediately hit the turn signal button to use the camera to get a look to my left to see if a car is there and also look over my left shoulder when there was no response (no camera) to activating the left turn signal. This all occurs as my hand is grabbing the yoke and my foot moving to the brake. I see the blue "path indicating line" wavering left and right and then lock into a right turn into the business parking lot at the end of this dedicated turn lane. Again, there is a culvert at the end of the turn lane also. As soon as I see over my shoulder that the lane to my left is clear the car attempts to make a 90 degree right turn at 75mph. At that exact moment I am able to yank the yoke left and tap the brake to disengage the full self driving beta as the car is starting the right hand turn. The rear end of the car breaks loose and slides as I get the yoke steered into the right hand lane of the highway. I allow the speed to bleed off to get the rear tires behind me and continue on. My dog has been thrown around the back of the car, my wife banged her head on the passenger side window. This whole event occurred in mere seconds.

The issue began during the week of April 10, 2023. I started to experience significant steering wheel resistance in 90 degree intervals. My initial assumption was the power steering was starting to fail. The amount of force required to turn became progressively worse towards the latter half of the week. However, there were no warning lamps or messages indicating there were issues with the car. On the morning of Friday, April 14th after dropping my kids off at school, I was using the vehicle's autopilot function while turning on an eastbound interstate on-ramp and noticed the car began to veer off course towards the concrete ramp barrier, forcing my to immediately grab the wheel to prevent a collision. It felt as if the wheel was stuck again at one of the 90 degree intervals mentioned above. I've driven this route countless times utilizing the feature and have never had an issue. It's worth noting that the resistance was felt regardless of whether or not the autopilot feature was turned on. That afternoon I took my vehicle to the local Tesla service center and the representative immediately said it sounded as if the u-joint was going bad. They took the car in and had the part replaced within 24-hours. That evening I browsed numerous forums and learned this is a common issue due to the u-joint's lack of protection and exposure to the elements. I have never submitted a safety complaint before but the fear I experienced that morning combined with the lack of any warning lamps or notifications from the vehicle compelled me to share. I do believe this is a broader issue that needs to be reviewed.

On December 26, 2022 I was driving my Tesla s 2017. Full self driving was engaged. I have a video of the car footage showing the incident in full detail. The car took a left onto a 2 lane road and then without warning ran off the road hitting the curb and a metal drain. The force was so great that I suffered a contusion to my right knee from hitting the under side of the dash.

I have a video taken from the front camera of my Tesla s showing the entire incident that I can upload. On Dec 26, 2022 my beta fsd was engaged. The Tesla made a left hand turn onto the highway and then erratically ran off the road jumping the curb on a university sidewalk damaging wheels and tires. I suffered a right knee contusion from the impact of the hit.

On 10/25/2022 at approximately 2:54pm I was traveling north on I-5 through salem oregon in the middle lane. Autopilot was engaged as I approached slower traffic 1 block in front of me in the middle lane. A pickup was approx 1 block behind me in the left lane. I activated the left turn signal. The vehicle initiated the transition from middle to left lane. Halfway between both lanes the vehicle applied hard braking action while continuing forward halfway between lanes. I tried to take over with application of the accelerator and force on the steering wheel to return to the middle lane. The steering wheel fought against me and the vehicle made a series of s-turns while braking. I tapped on the brake pedal and the system deactivated. The vehicle decelerated from 65-70mph to what I would guess to be 20-25mph with maximum braking (objects in the cockpit flew forward). The pickup behind me was very close when I regained control. If any vehicles had been closer or had the roadway been slick, the incident could have caused a major accident. I filed a ticked with Tesla and they advised this was known as a "phantom braking" event. There is no known fix, timeline for a fix, or mechanism to advise when there is a resolution. Tesla closed the service request. I'm a commercial pilot (former part 135 captain) and former flight instructor. I've been driving for 38 years with zero accidents. I have not used the Tesla autopilot since this incident. It is not safe in the current configuration. Tesla tech characterized the vehicle response as "conservative". There is no reason for maximum braking when nothing is in front of the vehicle. I would like Tesla to provide me with updates on resolving whatever is causing this. I would like Tesla to provide notification when the software patch is applied. Until such point in time when I'm notified the trouble is resolved, I will not be using the autopilot. Tesla charged several thousand dollars for this system.

Fatal Tesla accident. Cause unknown. Vehicle suddenly left the highway resulting in fatal collision. Tesla model 2015 s d.

Tesla sent an “over the air” software update to my car that compromised the original functionality as designed at the date of manufacture. The software includes advancements that when installed on the original mcu1 hardware causes connectivity issues and significant delays in the Tesla autopilot system, making the safety assistance system untrustworthy. Tesla informed me this is expected behavior when using the new software on the mcu1 hardware and that it was on the customer to upgrade to the newer mcu2 hardware at a cost of $2250 even when the car is covered under a full warranty.