Exterior Lighting Problems of Tesla Model X - part 1

The turn signal buttons intermittently fail to work. Many presses of the tuen signal buttons do nothing. When it stops working it stops for several minutes and then will start to work again. The problem is happening more and more frequently. The yoke has been replaced 3 times already for the same issue and after about a year just started happening again.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model X 🔎.

After the latest software update, the icons to show your headlights are on and high beams are active are now blocked in the top left corner of the dash. There's no seating position possible that the steering wheel doesn't block this critical information.

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model X 🔎.

Hazard flasher button in my 2-weeks old new Tesla Model X is not working. On August 23, 2025, I was in a parking lot and needed to turn on the hazard flashers to signal to the car behind me that I was waiting for another vehicle to leave a parking space. I discovered that the hazard flasher button on my 2025 Tesla Model X did not work at all. Since I could not activate the hazard lights, I had to continue driving to find another parking spot. This was the first time I tried to use the hazard flashers since purchasing the vehicle two weeks earlier, and they have never worked. I attempted both a power cycle and vehicle reset, but the hazard button remains completely unresponsive. On this model, the hazard flasher is integrated into a touch-sensitive bar in the center console, and there is no alternative physical or touchscreen backup control. The absence of functioning hazard lights poses a significant safety risk. If I only discovered this defect during a true emergency situation (e. G. , breakdown or accident), I would not have been able to warn surrounding traffic. In my opinion, relying on a touch bar for such a critical safety function is unreliable; a physical pressable button should be required. Tesla has scheduled a service appointment, but it is two weeks away, and in the meantime, I am driving a vehicle without working hazard lights. This is a safety-critical defect that should be investigated.

See all problems of the 2025 Tesla Model X 🔎.

On [xxx], around [xxx], I was driving my 2018 Tesla Model X on [xxx] , waiting to turn left into [xxx]. While stopped in traffic on the slight incline, my vehicle unexpectedly shifted into automatic park without input. The car rolled back slightly, and the vehicle behind me bumped into my rear bumper. I shifted back into drive and moved forward, but moments later, the same malfunction happened again—the Tesla went into automatic park, rolled back, and was bumped once more. Both incidents frightened my [xxx] daughter, who began crying and was visibly shaken. The likely cause is a failure in Tesla’s “roll-away prevention” safety feature, known to trigger due to sensor errors. This is a serious hazard. Sudden uncommand shifting into park in live traffic creates risk of rear-end collisions, injuries, or worse, especially in school zones or high-traffic intersections. I have since found numerous reports of similar issues from other Tesla owners, including incidents on highways, showing this is not isolated. See example: reddit thread . At this time, the car has not yet been inspected by Tesla, police, or insurance representatives. There were no warning lamps, error codes, or prior symptoms before or during the failures. This malfunction caused two rear-end collisions in minutes, endangered my child, and could easily have escalated into a major accident. Tesla must urgently investigate and correct this automatic park/roll-away prevention defect before it results in severe injury or fatalities. No repairs for my vehicle as I was able to pop back in the light cover. Other driver is making a claim into which I believe is a preexisting issue but cannot prove. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Sometimes I’m not able to activate left turn signal. It works most of the time (I would guess it works 95% of the time), sometimes it doesn’t work. Car does not have turn signal stalk, push button on steering wheel to activate turn signal.

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model X 🔎.

Placing the turn signal 'buttons' on the steering wheel makes them impossible to use when the wheel is not centered. While driving parking lots and roads with immediate left/right turns and or intersections it is impossible properly signal while driving this vehicle in it's current condition. By not being able to signal, it increases the likelihood of a collision.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model X 🔎.

Turn signal buttons do not work for short periods of time while driving. It is available for inspection upon request. I am unable to signal for merging and turning which is unsafe. The problem was not reproduced, but was confirmed. Yes the vehicle has been inspected by the manufacturer and corrective action was taken. However the issue has not been fixed. No other warning lights, symptoms, or messages.

My 2022 Tesla Model X is equipped with yoke steering wheel with capacitive turn signal buttons integrated, and there's no turn signal stalk. While I like the simplicity, the turn signal buttons sometimes do not respond. It happened about 10x in the past 12 months / 10k miles of ownership. I took the vehicle to Tesla service center twice in the last a few weeks and they couldn't do anything other than a customer paid diagnostics. The most recent occurrence was 9/17. Here's what I put in my service request. "I was about to move to the right lane, but right signal button did not respond for 10-15 seconds. In the meantime, left signal button worked and I was able to activate it twice just to confirm it wasn't my thumb being wet of something else, but the right signal button would not respond at all. I wanted to record a video but it wasn't safe to do so. I captured a dashcam recording in case that helps. " here's the service result on my invoice "unable to duplicate concerns present on steering yoke. Checked vehicle logs and no hardware related concerns or abnormalities identified. Performed inspection in-house and verified proper operation. " (I was charged $70. 5 for the diagnoses) the same also happened on 9/4. I put in the service note "I pressed on the left turn buttons about 5 times when the first 4 times it didn’t respond. I’ve capture a dashcam video to record the exact time in case that helps. " here's the service result on my invoice "unable to verify the customer concern, diagnosed and pulled car logs and customers time stamp. Reviewed data with the lead technician, and found no issues or cracked alerts during the time of when the button was operated. Unable to replicate concern. Buttons are working as designed. No repairs needed at this time. " this imposes road safety issues for me and other drivers, especially when I have to change lanes on busy roads.

Touch capacitive buttons on the steering wheel and doors are major safety hazard. The touch buttons on the steering wheel for critical functions like blinkers, headlights, wipers and the horn are all moving with the steering wheel (so you have to look down to locate these critical functions while still moving, especially if you are turning at all), and worse, these buttons sometimes fail to activate even when you do push them. I have several times tried to turn on my blinker for a sudden lane change due to a hazard ahead, and the blinker does not respond / activate. My wife was driving and someone started to run a stop sign in front of us - I yelled "hit the horn!" and she replied with "I can't find it!!!" (we were driving on a bend in the road, the steering wheel was not in the neutral position, and the horn is a tiny touch capacitive button). The button on the driver door to get out is the same or very similar, and I have a 30 second video I can forward you of how this button can fail to respond. In the video, you can see the tip of my finger bend when I first touch the button, I move my finger all over and around the button, and nearly 15 seconds later, the button finally responds and opens the door. The driver door also pops out about 10 degrees when it does open, then becomes very stiff and you have to push hard to get the door to open the rest of the way. The button for the headlights is also a safety issue - if you push and hold the headlight button for too long, it locks the high beams on, instead of just flashing them (or a long duration flash). When you push the headlight button, a menu pops up on the bottom center portion of the center screen, that will allow you to toggle automatic high beams on and off, but when moving, it is only there for 2-3 seconds, and the buttons are extremely small, making it hard to change settings for the headlights safely (must look away from the road, and try to hit the small buttons while moving / bouncing around).

Interior rear light constantly blinks spontaneously while driving. There is no control to turn this light on or off. I have scheduled repair with Tesla and they have not fixed the issue. When I drive at light I get distracted by the strob light effect effect of this blinking slight. It’s on land off for no reason whether I’m driving or parked with the car powered off and all doors locked.

Mcu1 onboard computer system becomes overloaded with data that eventually and periodically causes the computer system to "crash" and requires a reboot, even with 8 gb emmc replacement having already been installed. This means that vehicles with mcu1 (generally model s and x manufactured pre-2019) are increasingly becoming safety risks on the road because the mcu1 system crash can occur at any time, even while driving (not just when the car is going through it's start-up cycle). Whenever this occurs, it means the driver is unable to change the headlights which is especially harmful during dawn and dusk hours since these models do not have daytime running headlights. Drivers may be unable to use turn signals, unlock power doors (the Model X has power-driven doors on all sides) and advanced systems may be inoperable during the mcu1 rebooting process. This issue can be resolved by replacing the mcu1 operating system with the mcu2 operating system, but Tesla requires mcu1 owners with auto pilot computer version 1. 0 to pay $1,750 for what they are calling an "infotainment upgrade. " this is disingenuous terminology used by Tesla because the mcu1 operating system is not just for "infotainment" - it is beyond that and includes significant safety features as mentioned above (headlights, doors, locks, windows, adas, and more). Tesla needs to cover the cost of replacing mcu1 with mcu2 or a new system that is stable and does not experience frequent data crashes. In other words, there must be a fix beyond the 8gb emmc "band aid" that has not resolved the chronic failure of mcu1 systems. This is a continuing safety issue and driving hazard for all Tesla owners with mcu1 until a recall is issued.

See all problems of the 2016 Tesla Model X 🔎.

The headlight high beams do not properly light upward and the service center refuses to replace the headlight. They also had another new car the same way. Both defective which is a manufacturing problem and safety risk.

On Jan 1st, approx 6 pm (completely dark), I was driving my 2019 mx (41k miles) traveling at 60-65mph on i5. All of a sudden, I noticed a series of dashboard warnings popped up with warning sounds -> "acceleration/top speed reduced", "performance reduced", "service require", and "vehicle system shutting down". I had to pull over to the left shoulder due to limited control of my mx and I was only able to coast without any control of my power padel. . It was a scary moment hearing the beeping warning sound and the cars flying by in the express lane. Feeling the mx shaken every time when car passes by. I tried to call Tesla roadside assistance and waited for >40 min without anyone picking up the call. Decided to call the highway patrol and we were extremely lucky when the patrol car pulled up to protect us with its flashing warning lights. Because within five minutes of highway patrol arrival, all power shut down!! my warning light blinker and headlights were out completely!!! we could have been in a detrimental situation if the patrol car did not show up and ended up with cars/semi running into our parked mx. After the tow truck (summoned by the officer) towed our mx to the nearest SC (4. 5 miles away), we paid the outrageous $930 fee. After the Tesla rep informed me the hv battery and the 12v needs to be replaced.

See all problems of the 2019 Tesla Model X 🔎.

If breaks you to change the entire head light at the cost of about 2500usd.

Headlights will not work. Due to the vehicle not having a method of turning on headlights without access to a properly working media control unit which happens to be of all touch screen functionality a blackout of the screen will cause the driver to have no other access to the headlights or other vital safety features. This issue has been ongoing with Tesla for a long period of time and it continuously put the occupants of the vehicle at risk for injury both severe or fatal. Repeatedly addressed this malfunction of the vehicle with the repair facility and it has failed to be corrected or repaired.

See all problems of the 2017 Tesla Model X 🔎.

My headlights always tuned on automatically whenever the windshield wipers would turn on as required by florida law. After a software update a few months ago, this functionality is no longer occurring. I must now manually turn on the headlights if it is raining and my windshield wipers turn on. I reported this to my local Tesla service center, and they were aware of the issue and stated that a future software update would correct this issue and return the functionality. I am still waiting for this to be corrected. Not only does this lead to a safety issue, but it also violates state law if the wipers turn on in the rain and the lights do not. Please note that I received a software update (2021. 44. 5) last night and this issue is still not corrected or addressed.

Since delivery in December 2020 the computer mcu has shut down for two minutes while driving over a dozen times. The computer reboots after a couple of minutes but during this time it disables all instrumentation, turn signals and other driver information. I brought it in to the Tesla service center in highland park, illinois with a list of dates and times that it shut down and they told me it was a known firmware issue and that there would be a solution sometime in the future. I don't believe a 2021 Tesla that cost nearly $100 k would force me to stick my arms out the window to make turn signals.

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model X 🔎.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that his vehicle was initially placed under NHTSA campaign number: 21v035000(back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting). The contact stated that the main computer screen would intermittently fail to operate as needed. The contact had taken the vehicle to a service center where it remained in their possession. The contact was informed that dealer was unable to install a chip needed to perform the recall. The contact was then informed that the entire computer system would have to be replaced out of pocket. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the instruction screen failed to function properly or turn on. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called Tesla (6701 amador plaza rd, dublin, CA 94568, (925) 361-1173) where it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. Parts distribution disconnect. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

We purchased this vehicle back in August 2019. We have been experienced both instrument panela fail on hwy in daytime and night time. We have returned to Tesla service center almost every month for this issue. However, Tesla isnt able to solve the problem for us. It seems very common to have both panels failed after more than an hour of driving it. Please kindly help to investigate it. This really put myself and family members in danger.

Rear view camera is too dark in low light conditions (particularly night time). Only occurs on cars with updated infotainment systems (referred to as "mcu2"). Image is very hard to make out, exhibiting high levels of black crush, making it very unsafe when parking or driving.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the center display screen would not turn on or would black out. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and informed the contact that he would be contacted when the hardware emmc upgrade was available. The failure mileage was 76,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla model-x. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the center display intermittently turned blank while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that upon engaging the turn signals, there was no indication that the turn signals were engaged. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

After I put my car in park mood . . Within few second car started taking off speeding over the grass /plants area of parking lot in to the office unite ( meta/ glass door ) shattering glass was all over broke through frame work of the office unite all the way to the examination chair of dr office . . Had there be any worker / patient/ dr in the unitr someone would have been dead or injured . . I am scared for my life to drive this car around after police & fire department arrived at the scene I was informed by firefighters that code they were called in to a house near me for another Tesla speeding through the garage to the living room of the house I believe there is defects in these cars as most of complaints file 2020 has reported same issue . . I received my car in the middle of pandemic where no body walked me through this car so I had any idea there has been injury and death reports as well . .

See all problems of the 2020 Tesla Model X 🔎.

Touch screen stayed off for more than 30 minuets on a 2 hour freeway drive with no control of the vehicles defroster, climate, navigation or audio controls. Touch screen does not always respond and glitches. Rear view camera does not always respond nor works immediately when in reverse and goes all black. Defrost would not work on freeway multiple times due to black non responsive screen. Rear driver seat sequels/squeaks a lot when sat in. Car often takes a minute or longer for the dashboard and touchscreen to turn on. Battery does not hold correlating charge to miles driven. Loud whirling/grinding when accelerating. . .

The 17 inch screen keep going off while driving and unable to defrost windshield also hvac doesn't work doing driving when this display 17 inch screen go blank this may be related to previous report on the 8 gb memory on the 17 inch screen displays gone bad my car had only 40,000 mile when this happened it's still under warranty but have asked Tesla to help and they were not helping the car still under warranty.

The touchscreen went black while driving causing the lights to go out. The screen has gone out multiple times over the past 6 weeks requiring rebooting. Each time the screen goes out more features are affected.

Tesla issued a recall for the mcu after I had the mcu replaced because it was failing. The screens in my car would go blank and I would have no idea how fast I was going while driving. The a/c wound shut off in the middle of the drive. I didn't have turn signals. These were all the reasons why the NHTSA ask Tesla to issue a recall, and finally Tesla agreed to this recall. Tesla is however not reimbursing me for the replacement of the mcu. I have spent months trying to get Tesla to honor their recall. I would like to be reimbursed for this recalled mcu that I had to pay for myself as it was a major safety issue. I would appreciate you help.

Tesla reboot while driving on a freeway! super scary experience driving home on cold and rainy October night in my one year old 2019 Model X. I turned on my auto-pilot and within few seconds, the dashboard as well as the speedometer turned black. The dashboard turned dark, lights out, and the car seemed to be free rolling at a high spped on the freeway. . . No indicators, no speedometer. Nothing. I thought that the car systems failed and I panicked, did not know what to do and my whole life flashed in front of me with the impending catastrophe. I continued driving. After a few minutes I turned on my right indicator (not knowing whether it was working) with the intent to exit the freeway. After a few minutes I managed to exit the freeway, found a spot to stop the car and waited for the functions to resume in 5-7 mins. Afterwards I called up Tesla roadside assistance. To my surprise, it seemed that they are aware of such issues. They advised me to not to use autopilot feature for 24 hours. They promised to evaluate the reasons and get back to me. It's been 2 days and I have not heard back from them. From the user forums I gather that this incident happened due to rebooting of the car's systems on its own and is not rare and other owners have expereinced this nasty issue. I am shocked that how could Tesla not fix this issue when they are aware of this? by not fixing this issue, we are waiting for a tragedy to happen or probably it happened already and no one know of the reasons. I am scared to drive this car knowing that this issue can happen again. I have put through undue stress and psychological trauma due to this incident.

Center consule went completely dark after mcu failed. Side mirrors could not be controlled and blinkers stopped working.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that the display screen went blank while driving at various speeds without warning. The contact restarted the vehicle and the display screen functionality returned; however, the failure recurred soon after restart. The contact then received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting). The contact took the vehicle to a service center and was informed that there was a limited amount of parts to repair the vehicle. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not on the priority list for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle remained at the dealer and was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Main computer system died. All screens stopped functioning (including speedometer). Car wouldnt lock/unlock. Tesla said the mcu had to be replaced and they were going to charge me because it was 5 days out of warranty.

I am filing a complaint against Tesla regarding the mcu infotainment on the Model X. My vehicle is 2 years old and began to suffer mcu failure after upgrading to Tesla's hw3. The mcu failures has resulted in severe lag, low vehicle startup. Vehicle start up has taken anywhere from 10 minutes to 20. Recently, a family member was required to be driven to the hospital. Due to the mcu causing my behave slowly, 911 was required to be called for an ambulance. The mcu failure is severely effecting medical emergencies. Tesla should upgrade all mcu 1 vehicles to the mcu 2 for free. .

The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the center display would inadvertently turn blank or reset on its own. The contact stated that the rear-view camera would inadvertently turn blank and the center display would take more than five minutes to reset while driving. The contact also stated that the audio sound of the vehicle would fail to work, including the turn signal beeping sound. The vehicle was taken to a Tesla service center who reset the software; however, the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to a second Tesla service center, Tesla (320 w golf rd, schaumburg, IL 60195) several times and the software was reloaded; however, the failure persisted. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting) however, the dealer informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 19,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model X. The contact stated the mcu home screen intermittently failed to operate while driving at various speeds. The contact then received notification for NHTSA campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. Parts distribution disconnect.