There are 6 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2013 Tesla Model Sin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Vehicle lights turned off while driving home with my family. Pulling over and turning off and on the car reset the problem. When lights turned off I received a warning light identifying a faulty right headlight and faulty left headlight. No accident and vehicle is currently outside manufacture warranty.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. 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 local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). The contact stated that the recall repair was performed twice however, the vehicle experienced an unknown computer failure. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the seats moved independently. The contact was unaware of a warning light being illuminated. The contact stated that the driver’s side seat would revert to the seat settings of the second driver independently while the vehicle was in motion. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the eMMC controller needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure occurred again and the eMMC controller was replaced a second time. The failure persisted. The failure mileage was 123,864.
THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) IN MY 2013 TESLA MODEL S STOPPED WORKING WHEN I REBOOTED THE CAR WHILE STATIONARY (COMMONLY NEEDED TO RESTORE LOST FUNCTIONALITY), APPARENTLY DUE TO A FAILURE OF THE EMBEDDED MULTI-MEDIA CARD (EMMC) MEMORY. AS PART OF THIS FAILURE, THE TURN SIGNALS DID NOT WORK WHEN I LATER WENT TO DRIVE THE CAR, THE PASSENGER AIRBAG DEFAULTED TO 'OFF' (PIC ATTACHED), AND THE HVAC SYSTEM (INCLUDING THE WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER) DEFAULTED TO AN UNKNOWN SETTING AND COULD NOT BE CONTROLLED (NEITHER BY THE DEAD MCU NOR THE SMARTPHONE APPLICATION), THOUGH THE CAR WAS OTHERWISE STILL DRIVEABLE. APPARENTLY, THE OEM EMMC HAD LIMITED RE-WRITE CAPABILITY AND A RELATIVELY HIGH RE-WRITE FREQUENCY; WHEN IT FAILED, IT NOT ONLY CREATED DRIVING SAFETY HAZARDS, BUT ALSO COST MORE THAN $1,000 TO REPAIR WHAT WAS PROBABLY AN INEXPENSIVE PART (UNDER $10) FOR THE OEM.
MCU MAIN COMPUTER FAILED, PREVENTED ME FROM USING DEFROST COULDN'T SEE WHILE DRIVING ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT AS MY ENTIRE FRONT WINDOW VIEW GOT BLOCK. THE MCU ALLOWS YOU TO USE THE SCREEN WHICH LETS YOU TURN ON DEFROST. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THIS ALSO CONTROLS YOUR HEADLIGHTS.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) unit became inoperable causing the vehicle to stall. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the VCM unit needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact then stated 18 months later, he received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V035000 (Back over prevention, Visibility, Exterior lighting). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026