Table 1 shows one common air bag related problems of the 2016 Tesla Model X.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Air Bag problems |
Was stopped at a red light behind the car in front of me. I was stopped at a appropriate distance from the car in front of me. I had my right foot on the brake pedal, when the car accelerated on its own. It launched its self into the car ahead of me. I looked down and my foot was still on the brake pedal. None of the air bags inside the car deployed.
The drivers airbag in my 2016 Tesla Model X deployed without incident while in a drive thru so maybe 2 mph. I didn’t hit anything nor is there damage to the vehicle or previous repairs that would cause it to explode. Thankfully I wasn’t seriously injured just the airbag slapped my arm off the steering wheel leaving a red mark for a couple hours and my families ears running for 15 minutes. Embarrassed going through a drive thru with an airbag in my face but thankful it didn’t happen at high speed driving. I drive it home s as everything was functional, even steering wheel audio controls. About three weeks prior there was a safety restraint light on the dash but I thought it was a seat belt related issues as I replace the third row seat belt a couple months ago. Also about two weeks ago I heard what sounded like some loose beads in the steering wheel when turning a really slow speed, obviously something was coming apart but I had no clue it would be this. It was dropped off the next day at the Tesla service center in league city, TX, 04/08/24. At this time they have not had a chance to look into it.
My 2016 Model X has been experiencing front passenger and rear passenger safety restraint system faults off and on since we purchased the vehicle in 2019. This notification requires service and the Tesla service center has done a mixture of hardware checks, replacement of parts and keeps blaming the issues on a firmware update that will eventually happen in the future. Tesla says that when the system is tripped the airbags may not deploy and to schedule service when it happens. Because the vehicle is under a used warranty they refuse to address this as a recall or possibly defect.
On Tuesday September 13th 2022 morning around 10. 55am est, I had entered the hindu temple of florida premises driving my Tesla Model X. I slowly progressed towards the parking spot and mad a slow right turn to park the car. At that time the Tesla suddenly accelerated at full speed, took off like a rocket, jumped the curb, knocked down a sign post and jumped into the ditch which leads into a pond. The car veered to the right, jumped out of the ditch back toward the parking spots, hit two vehicles ( a Honda crv and a Lexus) with a significant force and hit a tree with a big impact and finally stopped. Surprisingly airbags did not deploy. I was wearing the seat belt and was the only one inside the vehicle. Fortunately with gods grace I escaped with minimal injuries. I get nightmares every day since then thinking about how close to death I was. Had the gone gone straight into the pond, I could have drown to death inside the vehicle, had it gone in a different direction and hit those concrete walls of the temple, I could have been crushed. More significant was it did not run over any of the visitors who frequent thaw temple! this sudden unintended acceleration not only shocked me but also shocked several people who were witness to this crazy event. The cctv footage I obtained shows the car going towards the parking spot and caught the initial acceleration and take off and the big thuds twice that ensue within a few seconds. I have heard Tesla cars were involved in certain freak accidents but never imagined that I could be part of one. I’m uploading a few photos, a video clip and a cctv footage clip for your review. I read reports that Tesla blamed these type of unintended acceleration on driver errors pressing the gas pedal! I’m in total disbelief how in the USA with so many safety standards and accountability, that this can continue to happen. ~ swarnalatha chowdappa.
On January 28, 2019 I backed out of my driveway in my 2016 Tesla x, braked, stopped, put it in drive and barely, slowly started down my lane when the car suddenly accelerated at full speed down the lane. I tried the brake twice but it did nothing to slow the acceleration. Approximately 75 yards down the lane the Tesla entered the cross street below and clipped another car, demolished a large bank of mailboxes across the street, took briefly to the air several feet due to the hillside there, hit a large cedar tree, glanced off and finally stopped nose down, high sided on a large landscape boulder. But for the boulder, I would have continued down into the deep ravine behind the neighbor's house. The airbags had deployed during these events. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance and diagnosed with a t-12 spinal compression fracture, which is still painful a year later. The car was totaled. Police report and medical records available on request.