Equipment Problems of Tesla Model S - part 1

I was driving to work this morning and engaged fsd mode in standard when suddenly the vehicle began to speed towards traffic and did not slow down while approaching a stopped semi truck. When I tried to brake, the fsd mode did not disengage and the car skidded a bit before I swerved out of the way to avoid the truck. Fsd was still engaged for another minute or two before I was finally able to get it to turn disengage. The vehicle was stuck in fsd mode and speeding for about 3 minutes before I was able to gain control back.

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model S 🔎.

I am filing this complaint regarding a potential safety issue involving a 22-inch forgiato ev001 forged wheel installed on my 2021 Tesla Model S. The affected wheel is the front passenger-side wheel. I discovered a crack/hairline fracture on one of the rim spokes of the wheel. The wheel is a 22-inch forgiato ev001 (ev-001) forged wheel. I am concerned that the crack in the rim spoke may represent a potential structural safety issue because the wheel is a critical component of the vehicle. After doing extensive research on the wheel, I was informed that the forgiato ev001 has been discontinued. I am concerned about the availability of a proper replacement if the wheel is determined to be unsafe or defective. I have contacted both forgiato and ev sportline regarding the issue and have provided/requested information and photographs for warranty evaluation. I have also asked about having the wheel returned for inspection. I am currently waiting for further instructions, an inspection, or a determination regarding the wheel. At this time, I have not received a resolution. I am requesting that NHTSA document this complaint and consider whether similar complaints involving this wheel or other forgiato forged wheels indicate a potential safety defect or trend. I can provide photographs, purchase information, warranty correspondence, and other documentation if requested.

My Tesla Model S has a touch-sensitive horn button on the right side of the steering wheel. In urgent situations, I've often had difficulty quickly locating it to get another driver's attention. Tesla quoted me $1800 to replace the steering wheel with a model that has the horn in the center, like most other cars. This is a safety concern because owners shouldn't have to pay to move the horn for safety reasons. Tesla should be required to retrofit any model with a touch button for the horn to one with the horn in the center of the steering wheel.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Instrument cluster and/or infotainment systems frequently freezing or not showing anything. Instrument cluster freezing/blackout this is a daily occurrence making it impossible to to know if you are in drive, reverse, or neutral. Additionally you not know how fast you are going, charge level, nor any status lights (airbag, low tire, etc. ). Infotainment systems freezing/blackout this is also a daily occurrence shutting down environmental controls, backup cameras, speakers, charging, etc. While neither of these issues inhibit the operation of the vehicle both make driving a significant risk. I have taken it in for repair and the only option is a $1,500 upgrade to a completely new system.

See all problems of the 2016 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Turn signal inaccessible.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Dashboard is leaking glue out the bottom center causing the computer screen and dash control panels to move. I'm not feeling safe driving as I'm not sure if they will drop down or stop functioning at any point. Tesla wants $1500 to fix, and I don't have that money being retired. How can Tesla glue their cars together, and it only last for about 10 yrs?? I feel like this is a safety issue that they should be fixing.

See all problems of the 2014 Tesla Model S 🔎.

The vehicle was being driven northbound in the regular (non-hov) lanes of route I-95 under the control of version 12 of fsd software. I believe that the vehicle would have crashed into the lowered gates preventing vehicles from entering the hov lanes, which operate in only one direction at a time. Beyond the gates, the hov lanes contained high-speed oncoming traffic. The problems occurred south of the dale city exit from northbound I-95. The car’s navigation system gave an audio instruction to keep left to bear onto northbound I-95 and the car did exactly that. Twice. I believe that both crashing into the lowered gates or crashing head-on into oncoming vehicles would likely have resulted in multiple deaths, including my own. I saw the developing problem and took control of the vehicle before it could bear left onto the closed ramp to the hov lanes.

This car does not have reliable horn system. I have the steering wheel version (not the “yoke” version) but I believe it’s a similar problem on both. The steering wheel center (airbag) does not operate as a horn. Instead there is only a extremely small horn sensor on one side of the wheel that cannot be reliably accessed in an emergency situation b/c of its tiny size and b/c its position depends on where the steering wheel has been turned. This is extremely dangerous. On a recent drive a car pulled into our lane from a side street and I was unable to locate the horn in a timely manner. Fortunately the car braked and I was able to pull around but it was very close and could have resulted in a head on crash. I contacted Tesla about this issue. The service rep acknowledged the problem and said it was an “issue” that had gotten numerous complaints but that all he could offer was a Tesla aftermarket replacement that would cost nearly $1,000 to install. I presume ntsb has gotten many complaints about this incredibly dangerous and egregious latent safety defect in the car’s design. Tesla (at least for the 2024 and on model 3 - which I also own) has corrected this design defect such that the center area does operate as a horn (as I am sure 99% of cars do). The ntsb should investigate and require Tesla to retrofit any of its cars which have this safety defect. I have no doubt that people will (or likely have been) seriously injured (or even killed) in car crashes that could have been avoided had Tesla retrofitted its vehicles built with this dangerous safety design defect. Please, please open an investigation and require Tesla to correct this inherent safety design defect. Tesla already has the fix (and have implicitly recognized the defect by correcting it on its current models). Ntsb’s failure to require Tesla to act will result in many avoidable accidents/injuries. Owners should not have to pay nearly $1k to correct Tesla’s latent/non-obvious safety defect.

Front hood popped open during a tow, while the car was on the hood. This damaged the hood.

This issue appears to be related to a known mcu failure affecting early Tesla Model S vehicles. The touchscreen exhibits screen melting/discoloration and eventually goes blank or becomes inoperative. When this occurs, critical functions including occupant detection indicators, seatbelt warnings, and windshield defrost controls may become unavailable. The loss of these functions creates potential safety risks involving visibility, occupant protection, and driver awareness while operating the vehicle. ".

I feel Tesla has introduced two safety issues with a recent version of software relating to the "full self driving (supervised)" feature. Issue #1. When disengaging the full self driving ("fsd") software, Tesla positions a dialog box over the main center display screen. The box takes up a fairly large portion of space. The purpose of the box is to provide feedback on the reason for disengaging fsd. This dialog box does not dismiss by itself. The only way for the user to dismiss it is to tap one of the 4 options presented or leave a voice message. This is an unnecessary distraction that in no way is required for the user to operate the vehicle. Tesla is mandating feedback and introducing distractions when users take over control of the vehicle for their sole benefit. It is also akin to a penalty for disabling fsd, as it a generally negative experience for most people. Issue #2. Tesla has introduced a mandatory "fsd streak" counter. This number appears on the smaller instrumentation screen for the s & x models. The counter counts the number of miles consecutively traveled by fsd. When a driver disables fsd for any reason, the counter resets to 0. The gamification of keeping fsd enabled is a major safety issue. Some people are highly susceptible to increasing this number as high as possible as if it were a video game. In situations where they should likely disable fsd and make manual control, there are inevitably users that will hesitate or maybe even not take control at all because they do not want to reset the counter. Tesla does not have any options to disable or remove this counter, so even people who know they are susceptible to this cannot remove it. This is akin to placing an open beer in the car and saying people will not drink it because they have self control. . . Only - as we know, addiction is a disease, and games are just as addicting as many substances.

I have been consistently at risk since I picked up my car in late December 2023. The horn icon which is impossible for older people to see, especially at night, is located in a place that is very hard to find on the steering wheel and unintuitive. Just yesterday, a large truck was coming around the corner near my house in my lane in the opposite direction and I could not find the horn to honk. It was another near miss. Interestingly, Tesla changed the design and put the horn in the middle of the steering wheel where it belongs starting in January 2024 just a few days after I picked up my car. I need the horn in an intuitive place in the middle of the steering wheel for my safety and the safety of the other people on the road I believe Tesla should pay to change out the steering wheel.

My car had a software update last night. This morning, there is now a forced "feedback" prompt that comes on the information screen whenever I disengage the autopilot. This prompt grays out the rest of the screen and does not disappear until I manually select a feedback option. This forced prompt is very distracting, requiring manual user input to get rid of, which makes driving distracting and dangerous.

I was in full self driving mode and was travelling north bound 110 freeway transitioning to 405 freeway northbound. In the right lane. Transition curved left. Looked at my speed for a split second and as I looked up we were a split second from hitting freeway barrier head-on. We crashed through the barrier and ended on the embankment of the freeway. My car front end was totally demolished, front airbags went off. I was ok, but my wife suffered a l1 vertebrae fracture and was taken to harbor ucla hospital for treatment. She was released 9 hours later with a back brace and pain meds. The accident occured at 8:34 am Sunday April 5th, easter Sunday while on our way to church. Its been over a month and my wife is still in a back brace, but healing slowly. Usb drive taken out of the glove box showed that all cameras cut off about 10 seconds before the crash. Not sure if the whole system turned off.

Emmc memory recall, took into Tesla today April 2 2026 for them to address the issue and they have refused to accept their issue on memory failure and replacement of the emmc 8gb module for a 64gb micron emmc module. Instead they insisted a $1,500 upgrade package instead of the free recall that is required for change. The current car screen in does not work due to this module failing.

Car was in summon mode and crashed into a fence . Caused damage to frond end of the car.

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model S 🔎.

While using Tesla's actually Smart summon feature via the phone app in a hospital parking garage, my unoccupied 2017 Model S initiated an unexpected turning maneuver and struck a clearly visible parked SUV (a 2019 Toyota rav4). I was within line of sight and actively supervising per Tesla's instructions, but the vehicle turned into the parked car without any meaningful opportunity to intervene before impact. The failure appears to involve the summon system's object detection, path planning, or control logic. The incident occurred at low speed. Both vehicles sustained property damage; there were no injuries. The vehicle's own cameras captured the entire incident; full video is available on request and still frames are attached. I reported the incident to my local Tesla service center the same day; no investigation was performed. On 3/13/2026 I formally requested all data associated with my vehicle for the day of the incident, specifically including moment-by-moment vehicle system data: summon session logs and command history, telemetry and event data recorder data, sensor and object detection outputs, and path planning/control decision data. Tesla provided only basic account-level data and did not provide any of the requested vehicle-level event data. A formal notice of defect and evidence preservation demand sent to Tesla legal on 5/2/2026 received only automated replies. Although I have contacted Tesla many times by phone and email since the incident (first written claim 3/30/2026 went unanswered), Tesla has refused to follow apart from two brief emails from a corporate case representative on 5/4/2026 and 5/11/2026, my litigation hold and data preservation requests and all subsequent emails and calls have received no response. The vehicle remains unrepaired and available for inspection. My insurer has paid the other party's property damage claim.

See all problems of the 2017 Tesla Model S 🔎.

2024 Tesla Model S. Repeated rear tire and rear wheel failures with abnormal wear and possible rear alignment or suspension-related defect. Tesla service history shows repeated rear tire replacements beginning at about 5,165 miles, a later four-wheel alignment, a right rear tire replacement for uneven tire wear under the basic vehicle warranty at about 21,594 miles, a documented bent left rear wheel at about 27,047 miles, a left rear wheel replacement due to crack after a low-pressure/pull over safely alert at about 30,489 miles, and then a right rear tire blowout at about 38,358 miles. In the same March 12, 2026 service record, Tesla also noted inner sidewall damage on the opposite rear tire. Concern is an unresolved recurring rear tire, wheel, alignment, or suspension defect creating blowout risk and unsafe operation. Tesla has replaced tires and wheels but has not identified or corrected the root cause.

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model S 🔎.

The rear door handle has failed and now the door pops open when parked.

I have a 2013 Tesla model-s, I have so far spent thousands on this car for door handle related problems over its lifetime. And Tesla still keeps charging for any door repairs. As of now, the driver side door doesn't open from outside and this is a serious safety hazard in case of an accident.

See all problems of the 2013 Tesla Model S 🔎.

On February 11, 2026, at approximately 11:00 a. M. , I picked up my Tesla vehicle from the Tesla service center located at 16955 chesterfield airport road, chesterfield, missouri following battery repair. After paying for the service and being told the vehicle was ready, I discovered in the parking lot that the hood was not latched and was misaligned. The hood had been opened during service. Prior to drop-off, the hood latched properly and securely. Releasing the vehicle in this condition created a significant highway safety hazard. At highway speeds, an unlatched hood can deploy and completely obstruct forward visibility, potentially resulting in a catastrophic collision. When I immediately reported the issue to service management, responsibility was dismissed and attributed to a prior front collision history, despite the hood functioning normally before service. The service center did not promptly correct the unsafe condition. I was forced to leave the premises, purchase mechanical tools across the street, and physically resecure/realign hinge hardware myself in order to safely operate the vehicle. I have preserved video documentation of the hood condition at the time of release, along with service records and receipts. This represents unsafe post-repair vehicle release and failure of final safety verification. I have video evidence of my vehicle after I paid $1170 service fee and inspected the hood not latching. It was too big to attach but I am more than willing to put on a flash drive and send. Please call me and instruct where to send it. Thank you. [xxx] , concerned missouri resident [xxx] cell information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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 🔎.

The horn is a little button on the steering wheel. Tesla has since switched to a center horn. I assume this is due to safety concern that accessing the horn during a panicked situation is difficult. I have almost been in a few accidents as it is impossible to find the horn while evading a potential accident. Tesla will not modify my vehicle as a safety related issue and instead wants to charge almost 2,000. This should be a recall. Tesla switched back to a center horn, a clear admission that there is a design flaw. How they can't modify a vehicle under a recall is ludicrous.

My 2015 Tesla Model S has a serious safety issue where the vehicle suddenly reverts to park while driving and will not stay in drive. I had the car serviced at Tesla’s austin ridgepoint location, and they documented that the issue was “resolved” and “validated,” but the problem continues exactly the same. Tesla replaced the rear motor speed sensor, performed tests, and charged me $522 for the repair. However, the vehicle still cannot stay in drive and remains unsafe to operate. After I reported that the repair did not fix the issue, Tesla deleted the entire service appointment and technician notes from my account, removing documentation of the failed repair. This is a critical safety defect involving unexpected shifting behavior and high-voltage component concerns. Tesla has not resolved the issue and has removed evidence of the repair attempt from my service history. I am requesting NHTSA assistance so Tesla properly addresses this safety hazard.

Critical safety failure: loss of driver override and extreme hmi/signaling latency. 1. Loss of override & unintended acceleration: while operating fsd (supervised), the vehicle ignored a 65 mph set-point and accelerated to 80 mph. I attempted to reduce speed by pulling down on the steering stalk 4-5 times, but the vehicle ignored all manual inputs, requiring a hard disengagement. 2. Lane departure / path failure: the vehicle failed to maintain lane centering, specifically crossing over the centerline into opposing traffic. This occured without warning or system-initiated steering alerts 3. False signaling / path failure: I’ve seen at least two occurrences where system exhibits dangerous signaling conflicts, such as activating a right-turn signal while simultaneously executing a left-turn maneuver. One time it was on a 45–55 mph rural corridor where trailing drivers frequently overtake slower vehicles. A false right-turn signal acts as a dangerous "all-clear" for a trailing driver to pass on the left, creating a high- probability broadside collision scenario when the Tesla physically executes its left turn. I have no idea if this has occurred more than these two times as I don’t check this. The other time I caught on video, by chance, as I was trying to capture the surging behavior to show the Tesla service center 4. Audio & visual hmi latency: audible instructions arrive 100+ feet after turns, and the map ui auto-zooms away from the driver’s focus, requiring constant manual screen contact to view street names. This forces significant visual-manual distraction. 5. Confirmed inadequacy: Tesla service invoice #[xxx] (Jan 27, 2025) documents: 'the current computer is a little too slow for full self driving function. . . ' confirming the hardware is unfit for safety-critical processing. This incident is directly relevant to NHTSA investigation pe25012. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I am reporting a serious safety defect regarding the front control arms on my 2017 Tesla Model S (VIN: [xxx] ). The front control arm bushings are failing, with visible cracking and tearing, as documented by a certified mechanic. These failures directly compromise vehicle steering, handling, and safety, creating a high risk of loss of control or accident. Tesla has issued a known service bulletin related to this issue, yet refused to perform repairs free of charge, despite acknowledging the bulletin exists. Timeline of communications and attempts to resolve: Dec 2015 – first reported issue to Tesla service center. Inspection was refused without a payment of $270. Tesla claimed the vehicle was out of warranty and refused free inspection or repair. Independent mechanic inspection – confirmed front control arm bushings are cracked/ripped; photos were taken. Dec 27, 2025 – email sent to [xxx] . Received a call from a local Tesla center stating nothing could be done because the car was out of warranty. I explained it is a safety issue, but it was disregarded. Jan 10 and Jan 18, 2026 – follow-up emails sent to [xxx] , but no response was received. Jan 23, 2026 – email sent to [xxx] , documenting safety concerns and service bulletin reference; no acknowledgment or response was received. I and Tesla have all the emails amd photos but unfortunately I was nit able to attach. If requested I can email or fi d out ways to shareholders. Please let me know. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

While driving on the freeway in the fast lane at 75 mph i80w, the car began a loud humming sound that came from the rear. My passenger and I noted that it was significant sound that we took a video to record the sound. I was the driver and I noticed that the sound increased as I accelerated. Then without any warning the car began to decelerate and no longer accelerated. The car slowed considerably to 35 mph and it became a major safety issue because I had to cross all lanes of traffic at this slow speed. It was only after the car had completely shut down that the warning messages began to display. I reached the side of the road and we waited for the tow truck driver for about an hour. Subsequently, the car was towed to a Tesla dealer near my home. I was informed that the drive unit needed to be replaced with an explanation of internal failure, costing over $7000. However, the root cause of the internal failure was never explained or investigated even at my request stating that they do not take apart the drive unit. This incident occurred after driving 7hrs of heavy rainfall for 2 days. A quick google search of "2016 Tesla Model S drive unit failure" reveals plenty of Tesla owners that had similar issues.

I am reporting multiple safety-related defects on my 2017 Tesla Model S (VIN [xxx] ) that were present at the time of purchase but not disclosed by the selling dealer (starling Ford, titusville, FL). A certified independent ev repair facility (the electrified garage) inspected the vehicle on 11/17/2025 and documented the following safety defects: • failing/worn suspension components (control arms, thrust arms, cracked bushings) • torn sway-bar link boots • inoperative right-rear window regulator • driver window contacting internal wiring harness • moisture in the rear inner tail lamp • previous a/c drain blockage causing interior water intrusion these issues pose risks related to steering stability, electrical safety, visibility, and structural integrity. All of these conditions existed prior to the sale and were not disclosed. I am requesting NHTSA to log this complaint for federal safety review as these defects involve suspension, electrical moisture intrusion, and visibility issues that may impact the safe operation of the vehicle. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

After a high-voltage junction box repair performed by Tesla, the vehicle shut down 15 miles after leaving the service center. Tesla replaced the high-voltage harness at no cost but provided no explanation. After the hv harness replacement, new proximity/sensor alerts began triggering that were not present before their hv work. Multiple reasonable diagnostic procedures were refused, including bench-testing the sensors. Tesla is pressuring me to take possession of the vehicle without providing written confirmation that it is safe to operate following the hv system failure and subsequent replacement of hv components. I am concerned the vehicle may have unresolved high-voltage or wiring issues that could pose a safety hazard.

Rear emergency release cable does not open the trunk. The latch mechanism failed with a trunk full of groceries, I pushed down the rear setts to access the trunk compartment and crawled back and popped open the emergency release cable and it did not function. I have a service for the car scheduled for Dec 2nd to repair/replace the latch mechanism.

See all problems of the 2020 Tesla Model S 🔎.

The main touchscreen (mcu1) and instrument cluster on my 2014 Tesla Model S frequently freeze, reboot, or go blank while driving. When this happens, I lose access to defrost, turn signals, backup camera, and speed display. I contacted Tesla service, but they refused to repair or replace the unit under recall ea20-003 or the extended warranty, even though the symptoms match the known emmc 8gb memory failure. The black screen and frozen instrument cluster create a clear safety risk. Tesla should cover this issue under the recall or provide an equivalent mcu2 replacement if mcu1 parts are unavailable.

Needed to honk the horn to alert another driver of impending collision but the small button, now located to the right of the center of the steering wheels, is too hard to locate in a quick emergency situation. You look away , miss the button and set off wipers instead. ,. . . Shd be put back as pushable center.

I was using full self-driving (fsd) supervised capability. We were turning left and the car took us into an oncoming turn lane. I had to take over to get us out of the lane.

Tesla Model S 2021 long range: upon closing the rear trunk close button from the app or close button on the hatch, the hatch goes down but won’t lock. It gives 3 beeps. Upon pressing open, it won’t go up and gives 3 beeps.

November 20, 2025 to the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) office of defects investigation subject: safety defect complaint – Tesla Model S I am submitting this complaint regarding a serious and dangerous safety defect involving my Tesla Model S. Safety defect summary:    •   after the high-voltage battery failed, the vehicle would not enter neutral.    •   I had to use tow mode in the middle of a street on a hill to avoid blocking traffic.    •   once in tow mode, the car could not enter park and the emergency/parking brake would not engage.    •   the car became completely free-rolling, posing danger to myself, other drivers, and pedestrians.    •   when Tesla returned the car to my home, their technicians also could not get the vehicle into park or activate any emergency braking system.    •   the car is currently stuck in tow mode in my driveway with physical objects placed behind the wheels to prevent it from rolling. Why this is a safety hazard: a vehicle that cannot shift into park, cannot use its emergency brake, and remains free-moving after a failure represents a serious safety defect. This occurred without warning and left the vehicle unsafe to operate or even store. Request: I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate this as a potential safety defect affecting the Tesla Model S when the high-voltage battery fails. A car should never lose all ability to secure itself.