Air Bag Problems of Tesla Model X - part 1

The front passenger seat sensor failed. Without the sensor properly detecting weight, the airbag will deploy no matter the weight of the front seat passenger. Tesla has fixed the sensor placement in newer models as the service tech told us this is a common issue in later models where the only fix is to pay over $5k to replace the entire seat otherwise the airbag will go off no matter what.

See all problems of the 2019 Tesla Model X 🔎.

My 2022 Tesla Model X has two recurring safety-critical defects that remain unresolved despite multiple repair attempts. 1. Airbag / restraint system failure (rcm2 / OCS defect): the vehicle frequently misclassifies the front passenger seat. It shows a passenger when the seat is empty and activates passenger seatbelt warnings incorrectly. Recently the vehicle displayed: “front passenger safety restraint system issue: service required (rcm2_a064). ” Tesla attempted to repair an electrical harness in the seat, but the problem returned. A Tesla technician documented that the seat may still need a new occupancy sensor. Because this affects the occupant classification system and airbag deployment logic, it raises potential fmvss 208 compliance concerns. 2. Fsd / gps safety hazard (5 unsuccessful repair attempts): across five service visits, Tesla attempted to fix gps drift and unsafe fsd routing. The vehicle still attempts incorrect turns, performs premature lane changes, and misinterprets intersections. One recent incident involved fsd attempting a left turn one intersection early, nearly causing a collision. Tesla replaced the gps antenna, recalibrated cameras, and replaced the computer, but the unsafe behavior continues. These two defects—incorrect airbag/OCS behavior and hazardous automated-driving/navigation behavior—create a significant safety risk to occupants and other drivers. Both defects persist after repair attempts. I can provide service records, videos, and documentation upon request.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model X 🔎.

I own a 2019 Model X which I have been driving for six years without any driving issues. I did have a few incidents in which the screen went black while driving. That was scary - driving without controls. These issues reported to Tesla and were addressed by Tesla. Today I was pulling into a parking lot when all of a sudden my Tesla automatically accelerated to high speed. I could not control or stop the vehicle despite applying hard brakes. The car crashed through a metal fence and continued to accelerate through the wall of a building. The only reason it finally stopped was because the back tires got stuck on the ledge of the wall. The Tesla went through the metal gates and walls of the building, but the safety airbag never deployed. The car has been towed away and reported to the insurance immediately after the police report. There was no warning messages or indication prior to the incident.

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.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model X 🔎.

There is an error alert on my car that says front left safety restraint issue service is required. So seems to me the airbags or seat belt may not be working properly and its clearly labeled as a safety issue. We have to drive this vehicle nearly daily and Tesla is refusing to fix for a minimum of 10 days even though this fault could threaten our lives. Make them fix ASAP.

See all problems of the 2025 Tesla Model X 🔎.

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.

Got a warning notice on my dashboard that the passenger safety restraint system failed. . . Ie the airbag.

Component: driver airbag assembly required replacement risk: airbag assembly seems serious & life-threatening if not functinal inspected & replaced by Tesla service center symptom: horn stopped working.

See all problems of the 2017 Tesla Model X 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2016 Tesla Model X 🔎.

‘safety restraint system issue’ error pops up when ever car is turned on was told that can cause airbag to not be deployed when needed.

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model X 🔎.

System warning for the rear left safety restraint. Took it into Tesla and they charged me.

The horn on the steering wheel stopped working recently. Horns are important safety features on any vehicle, and electric vehicles are especially quiet so the horn is essential. The other buttons and scrollers on the steering wheel also stopped working. It's unclear if the airbag still functions.

1. Passenger (next to driver) side no-belt warning is not working. Seat belt warning is not shown even when the passenger (adult) does not wear belt. It is consistently reproducible even when the vehicle is at highway speeds. 2. Passenger side airbag is always off even when there is a passenger seated with their seat belt on. I purchased this vehicle in April'2024 and have been consistently having sensor issues. I took the vehicle to a Tesla service center but they did not do repairs. The seat belt and passenger side airbag issue has started very recently. We noticed it 2-3 days back and have reported it to Tesla customer service center via chat message in Tesla app but they have not responded. I called Tesla emergency road number and reported the same but they were not able to help. Hence I am reporting to NHTSA as a last resort to see if the major security issue can be fixed.

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model X 🔎.

On September, 21 2024 I scheduled an appointment with the Tesla service center for the “front row curtain airbag” recall to be performed. October 30th, I took my 2022 Model X plaid to the Tesla service center for the recall work to be performed. During the repair, their service technician broke-off an anchor nut that secures the airbag to the a-pillar. The advisor said in order to “fix” it they would need to take the car to a body shop to have a “new” anchor nut welded onto the a-pillar. I was told this repair would require cutting open the a-pillar to access the location where the nut should be welded. Cutting the a-pillar will compromise the structural integrity of the vehicle's roof. And retrofitting a new mounting point for the side curtain airbag will compromise the effectiveness of the airbag in the event of an accident. The manufacturer's airbag recall "fix" does not involve cutting open the a-pillar to weld in a new mounting point for the vehicle's airbag. Performing the airbag recall in this manner creates a greater safety issue for my vehicle. Therefore, this "recall repair" should not be allowed to be performed on my vehicle.

I had a reoccurrence of incident 11609414. After the original incident I had my car towed to the service center and "fixed". I paid out of pocket since my warranty did not cover the problem they claimed that caused my issues. 5 weeks later I had the same issue recur, while out shopping. My car would not shift into park, the emergency brake failed, my seat restraint failed, my airbag failed, my abs failed, my steering assist failed. I had to stay in my car with my foot on the brake until I could get my car towed to the service center. Had I taken my foot off of the brake my car would have moved forward into a coffee shop filled with people.

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).

My 2019 Tesla Model X suddenly accelerated as I was going to park and ended up hitting a tree. It did not stop even on braking. The car is currently being inspected by the car insurance company, geico. I checked online and found known issues of sudden unintended acceleration with Tesla vehicles.

I have received hundreds of intermittent safety faults which state: “ssfety restraint system fault - service is required. ” these messages pop up randomly and I have taken the vehicle in several times and no faults are seen during the service appointment. Tesla tells me there are at least 9 possible reasons for such a fault but they never provide me a checklist showing all 9 items were investigated. The last appointment they never gave me any feedback from the initial service center but transferred my car to another service center not stating why and then saying nothing found no precise timestamp was determined although I gave them a photo of the message and the date/time of the photo. Tesla says nothing is found but they want me to pick up the vehicle and wait for the next fault to occur. I stated that these faults occur intermittently and disappear by the time I get an appointment. They don’t offer to keep the vehicle for longer term monitoring or what is the impact of possible safety restraint malfunctions should I decide to retrieve and drive the vehicle. There is general lack of clarity on what other things could be checked given more time or resources, does this fault occur regularly on other Model X vehicles and what if any safety problems have been identified in any of those vehicles that may have been fixed. Tesla provides diagnosis for 1 hour only at $278 to vehicles not under warranty and they said repairs would be in addition to this. Since no other non-Tesla automotive service center can possibly troubleshoot such a complex electronics and software system I am effectively being charged almost $300 whenever the fault is detected so effectively there is no incentive for Tesla to ever fix my car. They have been sending me emails to trade in my vehicle and purchase a new one so there is many reasons to keep this 7 year vehicle broken!.

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.

I have encountered what seems to be a very common issue in 2018ish Tesla vehicles. Seatbelt sensor issues. While I believe it is due to wiring below the seat, Tesla claims the only fix is an entire seat replacement. Researching this it seems to be a widespread issue, especially as the cars age.

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.

The car was parked on street and when I go inside the car and try to start car first on my Tesla screen show alert 7 error after that couple minutes the front passenger airbag is deployed for nor reason I want to let you know the car it’s not involved any accidents or any impact.

Two separate safety issues. The horn and drivers airbag are not functional. Also, the vehicle stops steering when driving at times. According to Tesla, the airbag assembly needs to be replaced at $1200 as well as the steering rack needs to be replaced at $5300. The vehicle is available for inspection. I have had several safety incidences. A couple where I needed to honk my horn and was not able to honk. As well as the steering going out and not being able to continue driving. The problem has been reproduced by the dealership. No one, besides Tesla has inspected the vehicle. There were no warning lamps for the horn and airbag. The steering warnings were steering assist reduced and steering may require increased effort while stuck in the middle of a lane or almost striking another vehicle. I figured out you could reset it by getting out of the vehicle with the key and walking away and coming back. I had to get out in the middle of the road and reset the vehicle by walking away and walking back to it. This has happened several times since I purchased the vehicle nine months ago.

The vehicle consistently displays the message "rear right safety restraint system fault" on the dashboard since its delivery in January 2024. This indicates a potential malfunction in the airbag or seatbelt system, posing a safety risk to passengers occupying the rear right seat while the vehicle is in operation. Despite multiple inspections and diagnoses by Tesla, the dealership has attributed the issue to a firmware or software glitch without providing a definitive solution. Consequently, the warning message persists on a daily basis, necessitating urgent resolution to ensure the safety and functionality of the vehicle's safety systems.

I had my two Teslas parked in the garage. The Model X was charging at about 1:30 am. We heard explosions coming out of the garage. Went to check only to see my Model X in flames. We evacuated and called 911 eventually a fire investigation report was made showing the fire started within the vehicle outward. The battery pack was on fire. We had lithium contamination all over the house and this fire endangered five lives. This incident has been two years ago and until now Tesla refuses to acknowledge the faulty battery and is refusing to do anything about it.

The steering wheel was dysfunctional; the wheel was locked in the middle of the highway, and the car started to change lanes, causing a massive accident. There was a significant accident between my car and a truck; both cars were totaled. My airbags didn't open as well. I got a massive concussion, and I do not know about the condition of the other driver. There was a recall about the steering wheel, and we brought our car to the dealership, and supposedly they fixed the issue. There was no warning or message before the accident. The message appeared on my Tesla screen for the first time less than a few minutes before the accident.

Unknown.

Tesla mentioned the seat alga’s a sensor malfunction. It is a 2019. The sensor malfunction impacts the airbag deployment. They will not fix and requires $4100 replacement of the seat.

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.

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.

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.

A safety recall letter regarding the front-row curtain airbags was sent by Tesla on 6/1/2022, but no further action is taken up to this day.

Car is displaying a warning reading “rear right safety restraint system fault. Service is required. ” same for the left side. I took the vehicle for service and was told that this is a “known characteristic of current firmware”. Tesla sent me a message stating that “all the hardware components are ok and the alert is caused by a firmware bug at the moment which will be resolved in a future update”. They did not provide any estimates of when this update will be available. They returned me the car without making any statement on whether it is safe to drive, and whether rear passengers would be safe.

May 21, 2021 air bag had to be replaced, horn did not function as well as other components of the unit on the steering wheel. I am now dealing with the same issue again and the air bag and horn again are not work less than a year later after replacement. I will be getting it serviced again.