There are 7 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2015 Tesla Model Sin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2015 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH at night, one of the headlights became inoperable. The contact stated that both headlights had become intermittently inoperable, causing the contact to hesitate to drive the vehicle due to safety concerns. Upon investigating the issue online, the contact learned that several other vehicle owners were experiencing similar failures. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH with the autonomous self-driving feature activated, the contact attempted to use the turn signal while changing lanes and almost struck another vehicle. The contact was able to control the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the mechanic made the contact aware that the failure was a known issue however, no cause for the failure was found. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 35,000.
System Failure: Adaptive speed control Safety Risk: My 2015 Tesla Model S, at highway speeds, smashed into the rear of a jacked up Ford F250 Pickup. A Head on collision at highway speeds put my wife (and dog) and I at great risk. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I am unsure if or how Tesla is dealing with the problem of adaptable speed control failure. Has the vehicle been inspected? Yes. Dan's Paint & Autobody and USAA Insurance Company adjuster My accident happened in the southbound passing lane at mile marker 178 on I-10, south of chandler on the Gila River Community in Maricopa/Pinal County It was dark outside with heavy traffic in both southbound lanes. My software version was 2021.40.6 I had the distance between cars at the closest setting , and had the adaptive speed control set at ~75. I was attentive with both hands on the wheel, eyes forward watching traffic with my wife whom was also watching the traffic. Without warning a Ford F250 stopped hard in front of me and my adaptive speed control did not react. The few beats I gave the adaptive speed control to respond first cost me precious braking time. I did hit my abs brakes and could feel the vibration as they attempted to slow down, but it was too late. I submarined under the bumper of the truck at a very high speed. There was no warning lamps, messages at the time of the accident. There was one early symptom that I recall. There was a Tesla software update a few days before the collision. On 11/27/22 before leaving for my trip, the dash screen to the far left did not display the map which it usually does when you set the GPS to map the path. I rebooted with the steering wheel toggles, and the display returned to normal. There were no other software malfunctions that I recall prior to the adaptive speed control failure.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 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 CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.
HEAD AND TAIL LIGHTS TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AND WOULD NOT TURN BACK ON. NEITHER HIGH NOR LOW BEAMS WOULD ENGAGE! A DRIVER BEHIND ME SAW WHAT HAPPENED AND TURNED ON HIS HIGH BEAMS TO GUIDE ME APPROX 1 MILE TO A SAFE STOPPING PLACE. ONCE STOPPED, I EXPERIMENTED: HAZARD LIGHTS WOULD TURN ON. NO OTHER LIGHTS TURNED ON. I REBOOTED BOTH THE "MCU" (CENTRAL 15" SCREEN) AND "IC" (INSTRUMENT CLUSTER) PER EARLIER INSTRUCTIONS FROM TESLA IN CASE OF AUTOMATION FAILURE IN THE CAR. THE MCU TOOK AN EXTREMELY LONG TIME TO RESTART AND DISPLAYED SCREEN CORRUPTION, PROBLEMS WHICH IN THE PAST HAD LED TESLA TO REPLACE THAT COMPONENT OF THIS VEHICLE UNDER WARRANTY. WHEN THE MCU DID START UP, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER DISPLAYED "DRIVER ASSISTANCE FEATURES DISABLED". I ATTEMPTED TO USE TESLA'S VOICE-ACTIVATED "REPORT" FUNCTION TO GET HELP FROM TESLA, BUT THIS RESULTED IN A MESSAGE STATING THAT "THE MICROPHONE IS BEING CALIBRATED". THIS ENTIRE TIME, THE HEAD AND TAIL LIGHTS REMAINED OFF AND WOULD NOT TURN ON. FINALLY I USED THE MCU TO ACCESS THE LIGHTING SETTINGS OF THE CAR. I OBSERVED THAT THE "EXTERIOR LIGHTS" SETTING DISPLAYED "AUTO". HOWEVER, IT WAS 6:40PM AND ALMOST COMPLETELY DARK AND THE LIGHTS HAD BEEN ON PREVIOUS TO SUDDENLY TURNING OFF. ALSO, WITH THE "AUTO" SETTING, THE HIGH BEAMS SHOULD STILL ENGAGE WHEN PULLING THE LEFT STALK - BUT THIS DID NOT WORK. I NEXT USED THIS SAME SCREEN TO TURN ON THE FRONT FOG LIGHTS. THIS WORKED! I THEN TURNED OFF THE FOG LIGHTS, CHANGED THE "EXTERIOR LIGHTS" SETTING TO OFF THEN BACK TO "AUTO" AND ALL EXTERIOR LIGHTS (HEAD AND TAIL) FINALLY CAME BACK ON! IT IS MY OPINION, BASED ON OVER 20 YEARS IN EMBEDDED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, THAT THE MCU'S "EXTERIOR LIGHTS" SETTING HAD BECOME CORRUPTED AND FORCED ALL VEHICLE LIGHTS OFF WHILE I DROVE IN DARKNESS AT 45MPH. I COULD HAVE DIED. MAKE TESLA FIX THIS BEFORE SOMEONE DIES!
WHILE DRIVING MAIN SCREEN TURNS OFF - REBOOTS ABOUT 5-10 MINUTES OFF- WHILE OFF- TURN SIGNALS ARE NOT AUDIBLE INSIDE CAR ALL OTHER SAFETY PARAMETERS ARE NOT ACCESSIBLE: COLLISION AVOIDANCE, BRAKE ASSISTANCE, THIS HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES - I MUST TAKE A PICTURE WHILE OCCURRING WHICH HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING. TESLA HAS FULL ACCESS TO LOGS. DIAGNOSTICS BY TESLA REPRESENTATIVE TELLS ME THAT MY MEMORY CHIP IS WITHIN PARAMETERS AND THUS NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE REPLACED. ALTHOUGH I MUST CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE THE REBOOTS THAT SHUTDOWN MOST OF ITS FEATURES WHILE IT OCCURS. NOT TO MENTION MY DAILY OCCURRENCES: - CHARGING SYSTEM ADJUSTMENT PANEL DOES NOT DRAW ON SCREEN PROPERLY; WHICH CAUSES INCORRECT SELECTION OF AMOUNT OF CHARGE NEEDED. CENTER ARROW WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO SHOW DOESN'T UNTIL AFTER SELECTED.
MY VEHICLE WAS SERVICED BY TESLA'S SUNNYVALE SERVICE CENTER AND WHEN RETURNED, THEY OBVIOUSLY NEVER DID A SAFETY TEST. AFTER DRIVING DOWN THE STREET I FOUND THEY DIDN'T RECONNECT SEVERAL CABLES, INCLUDING THE FOG LIGHTS AND THE EMERGENCY FLASHERS. THEY ALSO DISABLED SEVERAL SAFETY FEATURES (LANE DEPARTURE WARNINGS, SPEED WARNINGS, DOOR LOCKS, CHILD LOCKS) WITHOUT TELLING ME ANY OF THIS!
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