Table 1 shows one common air bag related problems of the 2023 Tesla Model X.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Air Bag problems |
The vehicle has start throwing a safety restraint error. We got into the service mode and it shows there is electrical problems with the driver side airbag system and that it may not deploy in the event of an accident. Tesla is delaying the appointment to review this for 12 days. Their app advised to not drive the car due to a safety issue as all safety measures may not work appropriately. Seems to be a safety level recall.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, another vehicle attempted to merge near the contact’s vehicle, which caused the passenger front end of the vehicle to collide into a pole. The contact stated that the airbags did not deploy during the incident. The contact also stated that the front driver's door became inoperable, and the contact had to break the front driver's window to be removed from the vehicle. No injuries were sustained, and no medical attention was provided. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
Recurring front passenger safety restraint system fault that Tesla cannot permanently repair despite 4 service attempts over 16 months. Issue: vehicle intermittently displays "front passenger safety restraint system fault - service required" with persistent warning chimes and airbag warning indicator. Occurs with and without passenger present. Causes significant stress/anxiety and erodes confidence in restraint system reliability during a collision. Repair history (all under warranty): [xxx] (30,638 mi) - invoice #[xxx] - connector grease treatment. Recurred after ~3 weeks. [xxx] (32,399 mi) - invoice #[xxx] - replaced restraint control module. Recurred after ~3 weeks. [xxx] (36,106 mi) - invoice #[xxx] - pin retention repair. Recurred after ~3 weeks. [xxx] (43,204 mi) - invoice #[xxx] - harness tension adjustment. Recurred late Nov 2025. Current status: fault resurfaced 5th time. Service appointment scheduled ~Dec 14, 2025. Vehicle at ~48,000 miles, approaching 50,000-mile warranty limit. Pattern: each repair temporarily resolves issue, but fault consistently returns after 2-4 weeks. Tesla unable to identify root cause despite multiple different repair approaches. Additional: original owner. Also had driver-side restraint wiring repaired Feb 2024 (23,310 mi). Issue may relate to known Tesla restraint system concerns. Requesting NHTSA review whether this pattern warrants investigation. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
Description of the problem: component/system failure: on [xxx], while using the full self-driving (fsd) feature of my Tesla Model X, the vehicle experienced severe phantom braking and unexpectedly veered off the road near rio vista, antioch, CA. The failure appears to be related to the fsd system, braking, and steering. The vehicle is currently in Tesla’s possession and available for inspection upon request. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) safety risk: the malfunction put my safety and the safety of others at significant risk. The sudden phantom braking and veering off the road could have caused a serious accident. Fortunately, there were no immediate external damages or injuries, but the incident highlighted a critical safety failure. Reproduction/confirmation: the problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by an independent service center. Tesla has had the vehicle for over three weeks, claiming to conduct a diagnostic check, but has not communicated any findings. Inspection: the vehicle has been inspected by Tesla, but no results have been shared. No inspections have been conducted by the police or insurance representatives as there was no collision or external damage. Warning lamps/messages: there were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure. The incident occurred suddenly and without prior indication of a malfunction. Summary: the incident highlights a severe malfunction in the full self-driving system of my Tesla Model X, posing significant safety risks. Tesla’s lack of communication and failure to provide a loaner vehicle during the extended diagnostic period is unacceptable. I am requesting NHTSA’s assistance in addressing this safety concern and ensuring a thorough investigation.
I just had a forth occurence of the "safety restraint system error" message on my Tesla. I say forth, because the three times previous, I had to go into Tesla to have them "fix" the issue, only for it now, to happen again for the 4th time. I don't think this is a small issue, and you guys need to know about it. Not sure, this is just faulty service teams, or inexperience, or. They are just failing to fix it properly. But given that the messaging has to do with seatbelts and/or air bags, I think this is pretty important.
My vehicle has had a multitude of errors for 5 months now about the safety systems being disabled, seat controls malfunctioning, etc. Tesla refused to repair the car (despite only being months old) because I had requested a buyback due to other electrical issues with the vehicle. The driver facing errors (ones shown on the screen that the driver would see) simply said "safety systems disabled". I contacted Tesla about this months ago and after they pulled the logs from the car, I was assured it was just a generic error and assured me that the car was safe to drive. Today, I found out how to access "service mode" where I could read all of the service alerts. It turns out the vehicle is reporting electrical "resistance too high" errors with the airbags which is clearly a safety issue. These errors go back months and were present when Tesla lied about the vehicle being safe to drive. Could the electrical issues cause the airbags to not deploy in a crash or, worse, deploy when they should not which would likely result in a crash? the errors appear to indicate that as they state "the left seat airbag may not perform as designed" and "the farside airbag may not perform as designed". Meanwhile, it's been nearly 5 months since I requested the buyback from Tesla due to this vehicle not being safe to drive, breaking down repeatedly, etc, and they have still not responded to my requests. I am at a loss as to how a car manufacturer can get away with such egregious behavior that puts their customers in danger.