Table 1 shows one common engine and engine cooling related problems of the 2016 Tesla Model X.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling problems |
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light and activating the air conditioning, the computer system was stuck or frozen for a moment. The contact stated that the vehicle restarted independently, and the computer was buffering when the light turned green, and the vehicle hesitated before responding and driving as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
The car started giving error messages of systems failing one after another on the highway. It slowed down instantly as if someone pressed the brakes and I could not accelerate. Obviously I did not press the brakes. There were a lot of vehicles behind me and this could have easily caused an accident putting a lot of people at risk. I had to get off the highway ASAP and get the car towed. The error messages included charge port disabled, automatic emergency braking is disabled, power reduced, traction control disabled, stability control disabled, cruise control disabled, power reduced. Tesla diagnosed and confirmed this being an issue with the onboard charger being faulty and replaced that with charge port itself for a total of $3727. 60. They refused to cover any part of this which I think should have been taken care of by the company.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, the vehicle inadvertently began to stall. The warning message " front motor disabled" appeared on the instrument panel. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the failure recurred several times while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and arrived at the contact's residence to diagnose the vehicle. The dealer diagnosed that the motor had failed and advised the contact to take the vehicle to their location for repair. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who informed the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair. The contact also stated that the steering wheel was making abnormal sounds while driving. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 20v062000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.
I had my Tesla Model X mcu replaced per the recall. Prior to having the mcu replaced I had numerous (more than 20) episodes of the car just shutting down and losing all power and would not restart for anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes. Many times after the vehicle would restart the main control screen would remain black, there would be no access to any of the controls usually accessible there. Other times there would be no navigation, radio or hvac available. When reporting these issues I was told to keep trying to reboot that it was a known software issue. When the recall was finally announced I checked frequently for appointments for a replacement chip which were not abundantly available. When I was finally able to get an appointment for the recall, the service center assured me that the replacement mcu would make things better but I also had the option to upgrade to a better chip for $2k but lose many options like fm and xm radio, which I use. Since the mcu replacement I have continued to have these same issues and my phone will no longer pair with the vehicle to provide the hands free use I had previously. I have worked with Tesla to try to resolve these issues and I am told by their technicians that this is a known software issue that is happening to "older" model s and Model X vehicles and there is no current projection as to when this will get resolved as it is on the back burner. My car is a 2016 with 40k miles! how is this ok? how is this not a safety issue? today the car went completely dark/dead while I was driving!!! luckily I was driving in a parking deck and there was no resulting accident. I have called Tesla customer service and messaged the local service center to report these issues multiple times. Even the corporate customer service rep has difficulty reaching them directly. It is so sad to have such a nice vehicle with issues like this. We have talked about trading it in but ethically cannot fathom passing these known issues on to someone else.
In June of 2020, the entire power/electronic system in my 2016 Model X failed (at 73k miles), leaving the car undrivable (and even unable to be put into neutral for towing). I had it dragged onto a truck and taken to a Tesla service center, where they diagnosed a failed mcu. The failure, I was told, in rare cases caused a failure across the entire system. They replaced the mcu and charged me $1400. Tesla has supposedly offered a refund on the repair to customers who had the part fail (while refusing to acknowledge the safety issues associated with failure), but has not included my VIN in their database of impacted vehicles. The company is not acknowledging my car was one of the vehicles in the recall, but the failure clearly happened. How can I hold them accountable for that? is there any way the NHTSA can help?.
Total main computer failure (mcu) - many safety features were unaccessible and not available including but not limited to turn signals and hazard lights stop working, the settings for autopilot and driving are gone, the suspension settings, the ability to turn on headlights manually, ability to manually lock and unlock the vehicle, navigation, a/c, sunroof controls, etc.
During charging, the car mcu screen went blank, and the car was not accessible or controllable. Vehicle was unresponsive until tow truck driver bypassed unit by jump starting the 12 volt battery. Limited control was regained. Car was drivable, but the rear doors were inoperative. I am not sure what other systems were inoperative. I am concerned about this happening during driving or getting stranded in a remote place.
The mcu is dead. Car cannot be operated safely. No side blinkers, no horn, no ac. At this point my car cannot even turn on and cannot be driven. Contacted Tesla, but it is not a safety issue and they sent me home as parts were out of stock. It is not safe to drive as blinkers don't work.
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.