Body Problems of Tesla Model S - part 2

While in autosteer, I pressed on the brakes which normally deactivates the autosteer while coming to a stop. In this particular case the car did not brake upon command and the car maintained acceleration thru a stop light and veered into a median causing a collision with a curb causing structural damage to the frame of the vehicle. I have put in a claim with both my insurance and Tesla and advise that the brakes did not activate in a timely fashion upon disengaging from autosteer thus causing the collision and was advise by Tesla that I would be responsible to cover the damages when the accident was caused by the vehicle not disengaging. I was only advised after the fact of the recall for the very reason I complained to Tesla in the first place and have been waiting 5 months for a resolution.

See all problems of the 2017 Tesla Model S 🔎.

I have had my Tesla to their shop four times to try to fix a safety airbag issue in the drivers side which they have had my car for weeks and weeks on end, only for me to get it back with the same issue after only a few days of repair! I asked them for a refund and other things and they have done nothing! they still make me pay full price for my lease even though they have had my car in their shop more than I have driving it.

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Three separate reports from car to Tesla: traction control disabled stability control disabled automatic emergency braking disabled two hours later my car caught on fire while parked at my home. It was declared a total loss.

See all problems of the 2014 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Every time the car was put into park, or when the car turned off the passenger front door would pop open. Please see concern 7 on Tesla repair invoice.

See all problems of the 2016 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Front trunk latch would not engage to latch frunk, and when frunk opened, would not engage to lock frunk. Error message kept repeating that frunk was opened, but it would not latch. When asked about the existing recall, was told that it does not apply to my vehicle, despite the problem being exactly as described in the recall.

This is the second time in the last two weeks that my backup camera has stopped working. I have talk to the service center about this I was told that it is not a safety issue but a convenience to the driver and that I should use my mirrors and turn my head around to see what is behind me. I have taken my car in the service center to see if they can fix the problem (8/23/2023). Backup camera worked for a while than stopped again . I have made another appointment with the service center to see if they can fix the problem (8/29/2023.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model S 🔎.

First the passenger door handle broke and Tesla fixed it, now the driver door handle broke. Seems like a safety issue and these things are just designed to break.

See all problems of the 2013 Tesla Model S 🔎.

So essentially I stopped for a charge about 30 minutes before, I charged it, then hopped back on the turnpike as I was heading to outer banks nc, while I was on the turn pike where I believe at the time I started to go around a curve not a sharp one but a curve right after coming off this bridge. Every 1 minute and 30 seconds you have to put your hands on the wheel and give it a jerk to keep it enable so it had to have popped up within the 1 minute and 30 seconds. As I was changing the album of the artists I was listening too I heard the beep beep beep which means you are approaching something and are about to hit it, as I looked up all I saw was blinking lights and really smacked the rear end of this traffic control truck, anywhere from 65-75 miles per hour with no time to react. If I remember correctly I had my car on 7 lengths away (maximum amount you can have away). As I hit the control I hit my head pretty hard on the steering wheel so the whole memory is blurry following when it happened and my adrenaline was very high but I didn’t wanna go to the emergency room even though they suggested highly because I have no health insurance and that would have had to come out of my own pocket and I was stuck in pennsylvania by myself and didn’t wanna get stuck in the hospital too. Thank you so much for taking your time to look at this it means a lot.

Recently I had an accident while I was driving my car (Tesla Model S) with my wife and daughter in the car. The reason for accident was the front hood popped up in the middle of the county highway due to the secondary latch malfunction leaving us completely blinded as the hood fully blocked our vision. Luckily we were not met with a collision and had no bodily injuries, but the hood of the car got damaged. The repairs are running in thousands of dollars but Tesla is not covering. When we reached out to Tesla they informed there is a recall for the latch malfunction and sent us the recall, unfortunately they were sitting on this recall for 3 years and only sent us when we actually reached out. Still they denied any coverage owning no responsibility and even refused to fix the latch until we get the hood fixed by ourselves leaving it in unsafe condition as the hood might pop up again if we drive.

See all problems of the 2015 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Door handle that allows for opening the door from the outside fails to present. Motor just turns and turns, and it is impossible to open the door from the outside. This is the second time for this defect on this vehicle - in 2021 the driver-side door failed in the same manner. This is the passenger side door that has failed now. Tesla said in 2021 that this was a known defect with a cheap gear that fails. There is also a class action lawsuit pending in California federal court, urban v. Tesla, related to this identical defect which involves 2014-2016 Model S vehicles. No warning signs before the failure. In the event that the vehicle is in an accident, this failure would make it difficult for emergency personnel to open the door from the outside (which they otherwise would be able to do, because the key fob in the vehicle would ordinarily allow extension of the handle upon merely pushing in the handle).

Rear bumper assembly separated and blew off into traffic while driving the legal speed limit (85mph) on texas interstate highway. Road conditions were dry and windy. The vehicle had had no known or observable damage prior to this incident and had been maintained and inspected annually by Tesla.

Drivers door will not latch and car thinks the door is closed/latched. This allows the driver to drive away with the door unlatched. I've had to open and close the door while moving to get it to latch which is obviously unsafe. In attached picture you can see how open the door is but the car gives no indication this is the case. Tesla has confirm the issue and has tried twice to correct the issue but it has not been corrected yet. No warning lights or error messages even with the door obviously open.

In April, 2023 we received a recall notice directly from Tesla about a safety recall involving the front trunk hood opening while driving. The letter stated we would be contacted later about the fix. But we have never heard anything since from Tesla yet the recall does not show up on your website for our car. Can you explain what happened to the supposedly required repair?.

My wife was driving the car through a twisty road, and she heard a clunking noise come from the front passenger door, and then the door opened. A warning came up that the emergency door release was pulled and that the door was open. My wife was the only person in the car and could not have pulled the emergency door release on the passenger side door. I took the car to Tesla, and they were able to confirm the error messages, but did not see anything wrong within the door that they felt explained the issue. They did not have an explanation other than suggesting we pulled the emergency handle, which was impossible since no one was sitting in the seat at that time. They also admitted that a recent software bug in Model S and x cars was likely the cause of previous errors about the emergency handle being pulled, since we know not to pull it. We were obviously concerned since the door opening suddenly could be quite dangerous. We have not had any symptoms before or since.

I have repaired my Tesla door handles once under warranty and then again to a “3rd generation” out of warranty by a Tesla service center. 2 weeks after the “upgrade repair” another door handle stopped operating and would not close the car door continually unlocking and propping the door open while driving. I had to drive home with an open door handle. There was most recently a class action with another owner having the same issue, and numerous videos and articles posted online regarding the faulty safety defect.

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model S 🔎.

I was driving on i93 north in massachusetts when the front trunk (frunk) suddenly released. The secondary latch stopped it from coming all the way open. Since then it has happened 6 other times! I have a service scheduled with Tesla and thought I should report it as this could have been really bad.

The hood/frunk open by itself. I was driving at around 25 mph when hood/frunk suddenly opened. This is a serious saftey issue luckily I was able to avoid an accident as I could not see with the hood obstructing view. Vehicle will be taken to Tesla for inspection. No warning lamps or indications also seems as if there is no secondary latch.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Second door handle has failed and no longer unlatches door from outside, therefore dangerous to be unable to reach the back seats.

The retracting door handle mechanism is defective. The motor that activates the door handles breaks and I cannot open my passenger doors from the outside. I have to deactivate the child safety locks and open the door from the inside. This creates a hazard in emergency situations. I have two young children that are still in car seats. They need assistance in and out of the vehicle. Tesla has replaced both the rear passenger door handle mechanism at cost. The tech says this is a known problem for early models of this car.

Driver door of vehicle will unexpectedly and randomly unlatch and open whenever the vehicle is unlocked. While moving, as well as parked and when vehicle is unattended.

Windshield cracked after preheating the car and pulling out of driveway in cold weather. Saw and heard the crack happen. Found hundreds of other complaints online of owners reporting similar issues. Brought into Tesla dealer and they claim it was from an external windshield chip that then spread although no external chip was present. They seemed very knowledgeable about this issue and trained to try to not cover this under warranty.

1. When I was driving, the left rear door suddenly opened by itself. 2. It would cause car accident, injures and even death. 3. I haven't go to the service center yet, because it's very hard to make a timely appointment with Tesla. 4. No. 5. No.

All 4 door handles have ceased working. 1st responders wouldn't be able to gain entry.

Driver side door will not open from the outside of the car. The latch is not releasing inside. However the door can be open from the inside. The handles present themselves but it seems to be an issue with the latch releasing so the door can open. This can lead to a really bad outcome if it was an emergency situation. There has already been one fatality because of this known defect and I don't want to become another statistic. Tesla needs to recall all vehicles that are having this issue and fix it.

The driver side door handle does not present itself. It is now stuck and doesn't open. I need to press the door handle a certain way in order to open the door. This is a safety issue because in the case of an accident somebody who is not aware how to open the door maybe confused. This has not been inspected by a dealer. There is no police case or report related to this.

Warning doors are opening by itself headlights are not working and parking sensors emergency braking as well a lot of issues with this car.

Door handle is supposed to pop out to open the door. This is the 2nd time my door handle is stuck and does not pop out, making it impossible to open the door from the outside. This appears to be a systematic defect in Tesla Model S cars as seen from numerous online complaints. It is a safety issue as not being able to open a door can prevent help from getting in in case of any accident. Tesla refuses to consider this in issue and treats it as an out-of-warranty expense to be covered by the owner. The right thing to do is to recall these broadly and fix this correctly.

Spontaneous explosion of front passenger door window while driving.

The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, he heard an abnormally loud sound come from the driver’s side wheel. The contact pulled over and inspected the wheel but did not see an issue. The contact stated that he continued driving and while driving approximately 35 mph, the driver’s side wheel detached and went into the wheel well. The vehicle then began to steer slowly to the left independently and the contact was able to get the vehicle into a parking lot. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to his place of employment. The local Tesla dealer was contacted however, the cause of the failure not yet determined. The dealer informed the contact that the driver’s side control arm needed to be replaced but the part was not available. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was not related to the control arm, but that the wheel well and the front fascia lower valence needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,466.

Like everyone else who owns an early Model S, we have had numerous issues with our door handles. A couple were replaced under warranty, but now the car is out of warranty. The design is obviously defective. Our best friends have the same car and they have had to replace all four of them. Our car just started opening two of the doors randomly. Not just unlocking, its actually opening the doors all the way. This is seriously concerning to me. Tesla wants $700 to fix the doors. It would seem to me that Tesla needs to recall these handles or at least fix them for free as issues arise for people. Its not okay to have doors that randomly pop open with children in the back seat. So dumb! please help!.

During my ownership of the car I have experienced very severe issues with the door handles. In total I have replaced 5 door handles in just my ownership. Meaning that I have replaced the same door handle more than once. One particular instance I had an issue while I was on a job where both the door handles on the driver side failed at one time. One was a mechanical malfunction and the other was a software related problem. I ended having to climb across the car for 3 weeks before they could get me into my appointment. Tesla has the ability to fix the problem. They have stated several times to me that it is just an outdated door handle with poor parts that they used on the first generation. If you have a child locked in the car it could be a serious issue.

Two issues to flag: 1) door handles are defective. I have now had to replace all 4 door handles at $500+ each. There is clearly a design issue that should have been addressed and every part failing in the same way is unacceptable. 2) phantom braking when 'autopilot' engaged. . . Rarely the car will brake hard at highway speeds for no apparent reason. I have noted this seems to occur on specific parts of road such as driving under an overpass with an uphill slope. . . This has been dangerous and required quick reactions to prevent the car from stopping on the highway.

The safety latch on the front hood has failed 3 times. The first two times were not reported to Tesla, because I assumed that it must have been my fault and there was little actual damage to my car. Fortunately, both occurances were at low speeds in a parking lot. The result was that my hood didn’t align properly. There was no other damage to the hood. I read about a Tesla recall for this very issue, so when I had my last service with Tesla (may 1) to replace the drive train (under warranty), I asked them to fix the safety issue on my hood. They refused to cover it saying that 1. ) I was out of warranty. 2. ) they could find no record in their system of the occurrences because the timing of the incidents was further back than what their system can recover and 3. ) they couldn’t fix the latch without fixing the hood hinge mechanism I have since had a 3rd incident with my hood flying up. It happened on July 6. This time, there was damage to the hood of the car. I am uploading photos of the damage. I feel that Tesla should cover the entire cost of this repair. Clearly my 3 incidents were the result of a defective latch mechanism. I am fortunate that all of them happened at low speeds because it could have resulted in very serious injury if it would have happened on the road or highway. I am guessing that the latch in my Tesla is the same design and part number as the one in the recalled models. I,hope you can help me with this. Thank you for considering it.

Driver's door handle does not function. When car is unlocked, the door handle pops out but the door will not open. I had this same issue two years ago with the front passenger door handle and see that this is a recall item on my model (s) for vehicles starting in year 2016. Don't know why the 2014 sedan is not included in this recall, as it should be. It is a safety concern.

The door handles on my car get excessively hot in warmer weather. My 7 year old daughter burnt her hand attempting to open the door. I’m unsure of what material they are made out of, however it is impossible to open without using something to put over them first. I will be getting a temperature on them today. I’ve never had this be an issue with any other vehicle previously.