2014 Tesla Model S Complaint Log

So this is actually a complaint about how an existing recall was processed - I’m not sure if this is the right place to submit, if not please let me know. My car is subject to EMMC recall and I had the recall service done at the dealer a week ago. When I picked up the car the touchscreen had bubbles and was leaking; they were not there when I brought it in. They claim that the touchscreen problem is age and temperature related and just a coincidence that it happened while in their service center. The cost to repair the touchscreen (which was fine before recall service) is $800+. It feels to me as though they are trying to surreptitiously charge $800+ for a recall that is supposed to be free, by damaging something else and denying responsibility.

I was driving on I93 North in Massachusetts when the front trunk (frunk) suddenly released. The secondary latch stopped it from coming all the way open. Since then it has happened 6 other times! I have a service scheduled with Tesla and thought I should report it as this could have been really bad.

In 2014, I ordered this Model S P85D, received it on 12/20/2014, I also purchased a 4-year extended service plan. Starting from March 2017, it started to encounter random yet serious problems. The car would randomly produce critical errors, displaying several types of error messages, while losing most of its driving power; the driver would have to perform emergency pullovers onto the road shoulder, if available, before the power rapidly reduce to zero. Then the driver need to restart the main computer (sometimes several times), to reset the error messages. Only after that, the car became drive-able again. I wrote an email to ServiceHelpNA@tesla.com on 03/23/2017 describing the problem, since then, this became a chronic issue; Service centers in Virginia, Maryland, and San Juan PR have performed numerous attempts on this problem, none of them was able to fix it. According to my records, for this issue, the car has been in the shop for more than 10 times, and more than a dozen components have been replaced. The total time it has been out of service is more than 380 days. I now consider it "unfixable" by Tesla. This kind of problem have created many dangerous situations when it occurred on the road, especially when the driver doesn't know how to handle it, doesn't pull over on the shoulder quickly, or there's no safe place to pull over.

Car won’t shift gears just stuck on park. Battery reduced.

Car was parked in a lot for 15 minutes and suddenly accelerated, jumping the curb and hitting a structure. The car seemed possessed.

Traveling on the interstate, car shut down unexpectedly at 70 mph in the fast lane was barely able to clear right most (slow) lane before car cut off, not even safely clearing the shoulder. Warning that brake and gas were both activated at same time which was not done by me. Insufficient time from warning until total failure less than 5 minutes, almost hit by diesel traveling northbound on I-5 Power reduced so no ability to use caution to warn surrounding drivers. Currently 5 months pregnant and this failure could have caused bodily injury to myself, unborn baby and others on the road. Tesla performed diagnosis and said that the internal rear drive unit failed and there were no symptoms, alert or prior indication besides unexpected power failure. There are quite a few complaints of drive unit failures with Tesla

The rear sub-frame mounting point for the rear toe arm failed. Likes like shire metal fatigue. It broke while going 70 MPH on the high way and the car fishtailed almost causing me to crash into the cars next to me. I was able to slow down and pull over. But an in experienced driver would have lost control and crashed. Basically rear drive tire just fell off. Tesla service center has inspected it and found the broke metal mount point. Noting a new sub-frame is needed. No warning lights, and I could probably drive it around all day with no lights or warning, as this was a suspension issue and nothing related to a computer. Even AutoPilot1 continued to work just fine.

Instrument display is frozen at 0mph at 7:57am even while driving. Uploaded photo was taken at 9:19am as indicated on time stamp and on larger display at center of vehicle.

After updating vehicle to software version 11.0 (2022.8.10.6 d2b84545e244) my center screen which controls the majority of my functionality and safety features including my backup camera AND my instrument cluster will intermittently go blank. This prevents me from being able to use my backup camera, see warnings about the car, as well as be able to tell how fast my car is going. In addition, my turn signals no longer have a consistent audible tone when engaged.

Tesla has, by design, altered a safety feature in existing cars (via a software update) that decreases safety when defogging is needed. When I purchased my 2014 Tesla Model S, the defog could be turned on or off with the press of a button that was always visible on the touchscreen. Recently, Tesla made a major change to the user interface (version 11), that cannot be reverted, which removed the defog button. It now takes about 4-7 steps to activate and then turn off the defog. The new system also requires viewing pop-up window(s) while driving. Now, when you notice visibility is decreasing due to a fogged up windshield, you have to press the temperature (e.g. "70") twice, which brings up the full climate control window (if you press slightly high/low, a "Climate Popup" instead appears, with button located in different locations). You then have to scan for the defog button and press it. To turn it off, if it has been less than 10 seconds since you turned it on (often all you need), the window will still be there, and you can press the "climate off" button to turn it off. After 10 seconds, you have to repeat the same 2-3 steps used to turn it on. However, if the Climate Popup appears rather than the full window, you need to start over again to turn the climate control off (otherwise, a bug causes the climate control to stay on when you turn the defog off). A new version (not available for my car) reportedly has a workaround, but the defog button needs to have a permanent location on the screen like before, by default. My concern is that this software update will get people into (or has gotten people into) "distracted driving" accidents as they have to look at the screen about 4-7 times while driving, rather than the minimal 2 times that the old user interface allowed.

Both the main lcd computer screen and the speed display have leaked the liquid crystal fluid out from the displays due to high cabin heat even with the cabin heat protection feature enabled. This has been brought to teslas attention and they are requesting I pay $1750 to upgrade the entertainment system which replaces both screens but I have not asked for an upgraded entertainment system. I am asking that the flat lcd panels do not leak from heat in the first place !

The vehicle went into "REDUCED POWER" (Turtle Mode) error. Which reduced the power and the ability to accelerate out of an intersection and away from incoming traffic. I followed the recommendations of powering the vehicle off. It would correct itself then randomly does the same thing. This is SAFETY ISSUE and needs to be resolved before someone gets into a major accident which will result in great bodily injury or death.

As a concerned vehicle owner, I would like to draw your attention to the recent recall related to the front trunk hood of my vehicle. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, if the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly, obstructing the driver's view and increasing the risk of a crash. This recall specifically impacts my vehicle, and I am deeply concerned about the safety risks it poses to me and other drivers on the road. While I understand that recalls are a common occurrence in the automotive industry, I believe that the responsible party should take full responsibility for addressing this issue and ensuring that all affected vehicles are repaired in a timely and effective manner. The safety of drivers and passengers should always be the top priority, and I strongly believe that the responsible party should bear the cost of repairing this potentially dangerous defect. I urge you to take immediate action to address this recall and ensure that my vehicle is repaired as soon as possible. I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a prompt resolution that prioritizes the safety and well-being of all drivers on the road." My hood latch unexpectedly has opened during a drive on the freeway and street. I almost crashed and had to pull over multiple times to get it fixed. There is an active recall for this vehicle 2014 tesla model s front hood latch, but apparently my vehicle does not qualify. Its a known issue and would like to speak to tesla to add this year and model to the recall and reimburse me for the charges.

Rear lower control arm broke, causing extreme twitch and near loss of vehicle control about 1/4 mile before getting on highway. There was a loud ping in a parking garage the day before while turning, but nothing seemed to be wrong with the car at that time and I assumed there must have been a water bottle cap or something that went under the tire (can't see ground well in a tight parking garage, which had some litter here and there). Drove about 30 miles home without incident. I suspect that the control arm was only fractured at that point, but retained enough metal to hold the wheel in place (terrifying to think we were driving at highway speeds like that). The following morning, reversed out of garage and was approaching highway at neighborhood speeds when car veered very suddenly. Immediately returned to garage and changed to my other car. Found the control arm completely separated when inspecting it that evening. Part was revised and cars built just prior to mine (same part number) were covered by a TSB. Tesla refused to offer any TSB coverage and are the sole supplier of replacement parts ($350/each). This kind of part does wear out but should not catastrophically fail-- appears to be poor quality part, cast, or metallurgy. It was nearly a huge accident twice, and both times would have been at highway speeds. As unnerving as the sudden skew was, it was the best warning/outcome I could have since Tesla did not recall this widely reported failure. I don't understand how production dates take precedence over part numbers when TSB/recalls are issued -- it makes no sense.

Loud whining noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. Tesla says it needs a new rear drive unit. The noise has been going on for some time and gradually gotten worse.

Have experienced phantom braking at high speeds which could cause a rear end collision involving the vehicle or vehicles behind me. The phantom braking occurs about once per 500 to 750 miles and always occurs while traveling on the freeway at 60 to 70 mph. Approximately 80% of the time, it occurs at exactly the same place just before a large freeway sign. The occurrences are regardless of surrounding traffic. Sometimes it occurs with many other cars (at safe distance from me), sometimes with a few cars around me and sometimes with no cars within 100 yards in any direction. This one location is located in mid-California, at the north end of Ventura, on US 101 (freeway) northbound about 200 yards south of the Highway 33 (Ojai) cutoff.

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that her husband had buckled their son in the rear passenger’s seat and closed the door; however, while her husband was attempting to open the driver’s side door, the vehicle locked independently. The contact’s husband attempted to unlock the vehicle with the key fob however, the vehicle would not unlock. The contact stated that her husband downloaded the Tesla App to attempt to unlock the vehicle but the vehicle remained locked. The contact’s son also attempted to unlock the vehicle from the inside however, the vehicle failed to unlock or start-up. The contact’s husband was able to lower the rear passenger’s side window and remove the child from the vehicle. The contact stated that several hours later she was able to unlock and start the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the Tesla Service Center however, the mechanic found no failure with the vehicle. The mechanic stated that the vehicle might have rebooted itself. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

This is a follow up report on the issue of sudden swerves by Teslas that have often proved fatal. Please note that I have used a random VIN since the VIN of the car in the crash is unknown. Also please not that as a non US resident I have had to use a dummy US address to enable the report. My true contact details are supplied. Here is a video taken by dashcam showing a Tesla ( actual year and model unknown) making a sudden violent swerve to the left and then back to the right and colliding with other vehicles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTk_T4olbws Sudden suspension breakages are happening to all years and models of Telsas. The quality of parts is not good and Tesla does not follow up on the causes of these failures. I beg of you to take action before more tragic crashes occur. They are crashes, not accidents. There is nothing accidental about weak suspensions snapping on the highway.

This is a follow up to my last two complaints of sudden swerves that are probably causd by suspension failure. It is in my opinion highly probable that the suspension is likely to snap when brakes are suddenly slammed on hard at speed. This is known as Tesla "Phantom Braking" and you have hundreds of complaints about this on file. This situation is extremely dangerous. Not only might a Tesla that Phantom Brakes be run over by a following truck but if the suspension snaps it can cause the Tesla to veer into the oncoming lane with fatal results. As a precautionary measure I believe you should immediately ban Tesla adaptive cruise control and autopilot because these are the reason that phantom braking occurs. People are getting killed almost daily. Please stop this deadly experiment. Here is a near miss event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTk_T4olbws&lc=UgyIL5XI31XvUg7cg_F4AaABAg

Please note that this complaint is about a fatal crash involving a 2014 Tesla Model S but because I do not know the VIN I have used the VIN of a wrecked car in a junkyard. Please also note that I have supplied my full name and contact details in this submission but I have used a dummy USA address to satisfy your website requirements. I have been informed that is OK for a non-Tesla owner and a non-US resident to file a complaint particularly when it is regarding a defect that is a danger to the public. There has been a quadruple fatality crash today in which a Tesla veered into the front of an oncoming semi. https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/08/15/four-killed-when-tesla-and-big-rig-collide-near-hollister/ The 2014 Tesla predates Autopilot so it is almost certain that this sudden swerve into the truck was caused by a mechanical failure, Teslas have been suddenly swerving since the Tesla was first released. There is sufficient evidence from the actual owners complaints that are listed on NHTSA database. Additionally my Flickr Album shows multiple examples of broken suspensions and also a report from an employee of a cast alloy suspension part supplier who reports that proper quality procedures were not followed. https://www.flickr.com/photos/136377865@N05/albums/72157658490111523

On Hwy 156, a farm country road near Hollister, California, a motorist travelling immediately behind a white Tesla reported that the Tesla suddenly and inexplicably accelerated from 55 mph to 65 mph and crossed the double yellow lines. It made no apparent attempt to cross back into the original lane. In less than 3 seconds -- 170 feet by CHP ground measurement -- the Tesla collided head-on with a semi traveling in the opposite direction. All four occupants in the Tesla were killed instantly. The truck driver was injured, but not seriously. The four deceased occupants were my daughter (53), my twin granddaughters (14), and my grandson (12). According to the CHP report, all wore seat-belts. The airbag for the driver did not deploy, but the other three did. My grandson was ejected and dismembered but the other three were not. His seatbelt status is therefore questionable. Her grief-stricken and angry ex-husband, father of the three children, accused the driver of deliberately committing suicide and took the lives of the three children with her. Yet from the CHP investigation, the four had just enjoyed a pleasant outing in their favorite restaurant and shops for several hours with no sign of anyone distraught. The restaurant receipt shows no alcohol was consumed. They had texted people and showed nothing out of the ordinary. Forty minutes later, they all perished. Her mother and step-father, her boyfriend, her best friend, and other close acquaintances, were all surprised by her sudden death. No suicide note was found anywhere, not in her journal and not in her media posts. No despondent communication of any kind was conveyed to anyone. Her extreme devotion to the children would make her willfully taking their lives very uncharacteristic. If not suicide, what made the Tesla behave so strangely and deliberately? NHTSA has been investigating Tesla crashes involving sudden left turns into oncoming traffic. Please use your expertise and resources to investigate this.

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model- S. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH another vehicle was merging into the left lane where she was driving, and she made an immediate turn into the right lane. The contact stated she felt the vehicle pulled strongly into the right lane and then pulled back strongly into the left lane, and it happen several times until the vehicle started to operate normally. The dealer was contacted and was not able to set an appointment. The failure mileage was 48,000.

During my ownership of the car I have experienced very severe issues with the door handles. in total I have replaced 5 door handles in just my ownership. Meaning that I have replaced the same door handle more than once. One particular instance I had an issue while I was on a job where both the door handles on the driver side failed at one time. One was a mechanical malfunction and the other was a software related problem. I ended having to climb across the car for 3 weeks before they could get me into my appointment. Tesla has the ability to fix the problem. They have stated several times to me that it is just an outdated door handle with poor parts that they used on the first generation. if you have a child locked in the car it could be a serious issue.

My 2014 Tesla Model S is an unsafe vehicle as my dash goes black constantly and I lose control of the car safety items included in the dash panel such as speed, back up camera, visibility and power train. I have complained many times but Tesla does not respond with results that will make the car safe again.

While driving the car at regular freeway speeds (50-65 MPH) on a sunny spring day, the vehicle displayed a warning message that "Power steering was reduced." This made steering the vehicle more difficult and dangerous in curves or during unexpected lane adjustments to accommodate traffic changes. The car's warning message did not go away and continued to warn that "Power steering was reduced." After bringing the vehicle to the Tesla Service Center, the staff confirmed that the steering rack and the harnesses attached to the steering motor had corroded and needed to be replaced. This Tesla model and year had another voluntary recall due to the bolts on the steering bolt corroding but the Tesla Service staff said this new issue was not related to the bolts but rather than steering rack and harnesses connected to the steering motor. When I asked what causes the steering rack and harnesses to fail, the technician said that exposure to the elements light water and snow causes corrosion. I asked if there was any way to prevent this from happening again and they said no. He mentioned that Tesla's newer Model S models now have a protective gear around the steering rack to prevent water corrosion but that the older Model S models did not have this protection and thus caused them to corrode and eventually fail. This issue is not normal wear and tear. This steering rack and harness failure has to do with exposure to the elements, the same reason that led Tesla to do a voluntary recall on the steering motor bolts. This steering rack issue is caused by the same issue affecting the steering motor bolts and therefore, Tesla should do a recall and replace the rack and harnesses at no cost to the customer.

Air bubbles and leaking glue on instrument cluster obscuring visibility of speedometer and other displays.

Driver's door handle does not function. When car is unlocked, the door handle pops out BUT the door will not open. I had this same issue two years ago with the front passenger door handle and see that this is a recall item on my model (S) for vehicles starting in year 2016. Don't know why the 2014 sedan is not included in this recall, as it should be. It is a safety concern.

The instrument cluster display screen on this model used defective adhesive causing "bubbling" and blurring of the information displayed, and may include the speed of the vehicle. This bubbling defect in the instrument cluster screen is a know defect by Tesla who is currently charging customers approximately $1600 to repair. This defect in the screen can make it impossible to determine the speed of the vehicle, as this is the only place it is displayed. The attached photo is not of my car but it shows what happens as these instrument clusters break down and blur visibility.

The door handles on my car get excessively hot in warmer weather. My 7 year old daughter burnt her hand attempting to open the door. I’m unsure of what material they are made out of, however it is impossible to open without using something to put over them first. I will be getting a temperature on them today. I’ve never had this be an issue with any other vehicle previously.

Front end suspension started making creaking noises, rattles when driving over bumps and holes, steering wheel makes popping sound when turning. Had estimate from Tesla for repair totaling almost $7,000. After doing some research myself this is a common issue with these vehicles from 2012-2018 and some have been repaired at no cost to keep consumers quiet about the issues.

noticed very loud HVAC fan noise when car trying to cool off battery during moderate to warm weather. taken to tesla service center found to have broken front vent louvers which were replaced.

creaking noise when turning wheel. suspension jumpy when driving over bumps. taken to tesla service center found to have cracked aft left and right suspension links which were subsequently replaced.

When using Autopilot / TAC cruise control the vehicle sometimes applies the brakes for no reason.

On January 3, 2022, at approximately 7:30pm we plugged our car into a dedicated 240v outlet that was installed by a licensed electrician and permitted by the city of Menlo Park. At approximately 8:30pm the charge was interrupted and then started again (per Tesla's records). We heard a couple of small noises and then a louder noise at 8:38pm. We opened the garage door and saw a large flame where the charging cord plugs into the outlet.

The TPMS system has failed and has been a known issue with Telsa since 2014. The system will not reset and Telsa has said it has to be upgraded for 1000. The warning light comes on randomly and goes away after the car drives for a while or gets parked.

The vehicle was part of the eMMc recall, we paid out of pocket, approved for reimbursement but Tesla refuses to actually pay

Recently my drive unit has begin to fail. This is the second drive unit in the vehicle, approaching the 3rd. Then there is The issues with the doorhandles. The doorhandles when the sensor breaks or motor breaks can cause safety concerns related to doorhandles freely opening or inability to open. When the doorhandles motor defects the door handle cannot extend preventing access to any door in the car. When the door handles sensor fails, the doors will freely extend out words assuming someone is grabbing onto the handle. Recently my dog escaped the vehicle due to just me unlocking the car upon entry. I have had 2 door handle replacements and I am sensing a fault in another one. This is a common issue on the generation 1 Tesla model s door handles.

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked a charging station was charging. When the contact came back to the vehicle the contact tried to open the exterior front door latch to open the door and it would not open. The contact had to go to the passenger side to open the interior latch on the door to open. They left the vehicle again and came back the front driver's side door swung open but was caught with the safety latch. the contact had to enter the vehicle from the passenger side to enter and closed the driver's door properly. When the vehicle stop charging The contact was driving and all of a sudden the front driver's side door just open on its own while the contact was driving the contact had to close the door from the internal latch to shut the door again, however, the failure persisted again. The contact took the vehicle local dealer to have the vehicle inspected but could not diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,101.

This vehicle has a faulty parking break that will enable it to roll when placed in park. Tesla previously recalled this issue on Model S and X but wants us to pay $1486.66 to have this repaired.

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that both infotainment screens located inside the vehicle would display blank images which rendered several electrical safety features inoperable. The contact had taken the vehicle to a service center on three occasions where they informed him that they are aware of the failure but could not repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and he was given the same information as the service center. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

The front suspension on the drivers side just broke down. I was luckily at extremely low speed since I was reversing the car. Previously the rear subframe on my car was also damaged. Tesla repaired it and made me/insurance pay for those damages even though it was issues with the frame of the car.

Tesla refuses to fix my eMCC recall. Told me that my car doesn't have an issue and will contact me someday.

My car has severe phantom breaking due to adaptive cruise control. When I use my Tesla's cruise control on the freeway, on a complete flat straight away that has no vehicle in front of me, no sign/bridge in front of me, and no items/object in front of me, my vehicle while randomly/violently slam on the break violently hurling me and all passengers in my vehicle forward. This is even more dangerous when there are vehicles being me in close proximity who could easily could have rear ended me all those times. I am forced to not use my cruise control due to these dangerous conditions.

We have owned this car for a couple of months. Today, when I pulled into a parking spot at my office, the car accelerated quickly as soon as I made the turn to get into the parking spot. It jumped the curb and I barely missed hitting the office building. My feet were not on the gas pedal, the car did this on its own. None of the sensors went off to warn me of the curb like it normally does too. You can see from the skid marks how hard I had to slam on the brakes. Car damaged on front, assuming the windshield wiper fluid line was also cut with the fluid on the ground. Pictures attached.

THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 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 UNAVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TESLA (5544 OKEECHOBEE BLVD, WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33417) WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAD EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

THE POWER STEERING SUDDENLY WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING.

2014 TESLA P85. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INTO THE WALL OF THE GARAGE, WHILE HER FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE REAR WALL AND THE FRONT WALL OF THE GARAGE WERE BADLY DAMAGED. THE CONSUMER WAS INJURED. *JS

MY 2014 MODEL S TESLA ONLY HAS 61,000 MILES ON IT. YET THE MCU CONTINUALLY FREEZES AND CRASHES. ESPECIALLY ON LONG TRIPS. TESLA CLAIMS MY 8GB EMMC IN THE MCU IS NOT MALFUNCTIONING DUE TO ACCUMULATED WEAR. BUT THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO DIAGNOSE WHAT IS WRONG. I READ THE JAN 13TH NHTSA RECALL WITH INTEREST. ALTHOUGH THE SYMPTOMS ARE SIMILAR, EXCESS "READ/WRITES" OF THE EMMC CHIP DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE PROBLEM IN MY MCU. THERE ARE OTHER REASONS THAT THE MCU IN MY 2014 TESLA S IS MALFUNCTIONING AND CRASHING. I HAVE VIDEOS TO SHOW THE PROBLEM BUT I CANNOT LOAD VIDEOS ON THIS SITE.

THE SCREEN IN THE MIDDLE/COMPUTER IS KEEP RESTARTING AND SOMETIMES SHUT OFF FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES, AND FROM WHAT HEARD IT DISABLE THE TURN SIGNALS AND OTHER FUNCTIONS IN THE CAR. IT HAPPENS SEVERAL TIMES RANDOMLY AND THE LAST TIME WAS YESTERDAY

The front passenger door handle has not extended for more than 90 days. The right rear door handle was replaced on 3/22/21 and has also failed. Tesla apparently has a giant parts shortage and has thus been unable to replace this door handle for months. All four door handles have already been replaced at least once due to failures, some at least twice. This appears to be a chronic nationwide manufacturing defect. The result is that first responders and passengers are unable to open doors with broken handles. Although a short-term failure of a single door handle may not be a significant problem, that problem multiplied by hundreds of thousands of non-functioning Tesla door handles will almost certainly lead to serious injuries.