2016 Tesla Model S Complaint Log

Similar issue to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V260000. Vehicle was in park. Shifted the vehicle into drive and the passenger side parking break seized and would not release.

You guys have ruined auto-pilot and made it 10x more dangerous and will cause more accidents in this format. It needs to be reversed back to what it was. Now when looking at the screen to change the temperature or change a song, or looking at the mirror, it asks you to touch the wheel immediately and causes unnecessary stress and potential mistakes, I've already oversteered the wheel several times swerving after it warns me to touch the wheel because I'm trying to look at a mirror quickly to not have the alert come on. In addition, it has 3 marks against me, and will be suspended from using it soon. never before have I even had a mark against me on the system. I believe your approach to fixing the situation is fundamentally flawed. People get into accidents with Autopilot because of their negligence, not because of autopilot. That is on the end user who has insurance and a driving record. Do not punish all of those who are good drivers, you are making us worse drivers now with the new autopilot to save a few accidents from bad drivers, but it will now cause many more in this format. This is a terrible decision on the regulatory part, and a sign of OVER regulation.

The fore link assembly on the drivers side of the car failed while pulling backwards out of a parking space at low speed. There was a loud snap and then the front suspension collapsed and the tire contacted the inside of the wheel well. I will attach a picture of the aluminum piece that I found on the ground and I also have the piece in the case you would like it. Tesla did not cover the cost of repair although they replaced both the right and the left fore link (sound like this is a very well documented failure Tesla TSB-17-31-001)

Daytime running lights de soldered themselves from the headlight assembly, Tesla suggested a $4600.00 replacement of headlights at customer cost, no warranty.

When vehicle is placed in park the wipers engage continuously on the intermittent setting. This occurs every time the car is put in park regardless of the weather. These uncontrolled wipes on a dry windshield are causing damage to my windshield and the wipers.

Driving 75mph on cruise control. Car sensed a vehicle in front of me (which there were no vehicles in sight) my Tesla started flashing the red car light and making the alert noise. My vehicle automatically slammed on the brakes dropping me to about 40mph instantly. My greatest fear continuing to drive this vehicle is if I use cruise control, and it senses a vehicle in front of me without their actually being a vehicle and slams on the brakes again myself or someone is going to get hurt. This has the potential to cause death or cause severe injury.

The car drove itself away without being summoned. It was parked in a parking lot, it reversed itself and started driving and stopped at next stop sign. Someone alerted me thankfully and I went to retrieve the car from stop sign.

Halfshaft and Control arm broke while backing up from a Walmart store. Tesla dealer diagnosed it but the repair was not covered. I had to pay out of pocket but this could have been prevented it the car was recalled.

Right front lower suspension arm bushing pulled out leaving wheel loose. Recognized right away but could have caused loss of control. No provoking reason. Taken to dealer who replaced part.

Sudden unintended acceleration appeared to cause the Tesla while parking the car on the street in front of home accelerate go out of control and crash into the home totaling the car and damaging the house. Two days prior the vehicle was brought into a Tesla service location where Tesla replaced the 12 volt battery that they believed was causing the car not to power on properly at that time. After the crash and googling to see if others suffered similar issues it appears the NHTSA recently reopened a review of sudden unintended acceleration and this incident seems to align with concerns of the petitioner [XXX] . The police filed a report and it’s at the towing place where the insurer Allstate is going to evaluate the car for a total loss. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The passenger door handle and locking mechanism was not functioning properly. The front passenger door handle was not presenting. Also, every time I parked the car or unlocked the car, the door would pop open. Also, while in drive and when the car was in motion the passenger door would pop open unexpectedly. Safety is put at risk as the door would pop open while the car was in drive and in motion. The problem was reproduced several times and the Tesla service center acknowledged the problem and fixed it. They charged me $477. There were no warning signs.

while parking the vehicle, a loud shot gun like noise eminated from the front of the car. The car was being driven at less than 5 mph. After this there was loud noises from the front of the cars suspension. The car seemed unsafe to drive farther. I took it to the tesla service center the next day driving at a very low speed. they replaced the right and left front contol arms and charged me $1204.98 on October 26, 2023. The vehicle had 77,626 miles at that point. I queried them as to why this would ocurr at such low mileage and vehicle age? I got not response other than these things happen and the car is out of the normal warranty and the extended warranty. I paid the invoice since i agreed to the repair estimate earlier.

Dear NHTSA, I am writing to file a complaint regarding a SUA incident that occurred on October 20, 2023, involving my 2016 Tesla Model S. On the day of the incident, I pulled into my garage and began to park my car. When I pressed the brake pedal, the car suddenly accelerated forward, crashing into the garage wall and totaling the vehicle. The garage wall was severely damaged and will need to be rebuilt. This is not the first time that my Tesla has experienced SUA. In 2017, I filed a complaint with NHTSA regarding a similar incident. In my previous complaint (issue # 11000097 dated June 19, 2017), I described a similar incident that occurred in December 2016. At the time, Tesla denied that the incident was caused by SUA and no further action was taken. I am convinced that the SUA incident on October 25, 2023, was caused by a defect in my Tesla Model S. I am also concerned that other Tesla owners may be at risk of similar incidents. I urge NHTSA to investigate this matter and take appropriate action to protect consumers. I believe that Tesla should be held liable for the damages to my vehicle and my garage wall, and that the company should be required to recall all Tesla Model S vehicles that are at risk of SUA. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely,

The screen frequently locks up, during which time the defrost controls and backup camera are inoperable. Tesla Seaside initially agreed to perform the EMMC recall, but now with my car in the shop and me stranded an hour from home, they will not agree to perform the recall unless I agree to pay $2200 for a new screen as well, as the adhesive holding the screen is failing.

I was backing into a spot and felt the fromt.left tire pull.I then took it too tesla and they told me that the front left fore link was broken. This is a manufacturer issue why are they not responsible.

Front trunk latch would not engage to latch frunk, and when frunk opened, would not engage to lock frunk. Error message kept repeating that frunk was opened, but it would not latch. When asked about the existing recall, was told that it does not apply to my vehicle, despite the problem being exactly as described in the recall.

Every time the car was put into park, or when the car turned off the passenger front door would pop open. Please see concern 7 on Tesla repair invoice.

This is the third lower control arm to fail in this vehicle. Left front, left rear and now front right. All failures are the same, cracked castings at the ball joint or bushing. This vehicle has had to be towed in all three times as the wheel is no longer property connected to the frame and is undrivable without vehicle damage. Seriously, NHTSA needs to stop worrying about FSD and go investigate these suspension failures. At 50K miles, this is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. Luckily my failures have happened at slow speeds. If these failures happen at high speed, total loss if steering is possible. Please go after Tesla for these defects. These parts must be redesigned and replaced on Model S vehicles on the road today.

Was merging onto the the highway when all of a sudden, my passenger rear suspension gave out nearly causing me to crash into highway traffic. The wheel almost came off completely causing $14K of damage that I was responsible for paying for.

The trunk on our Tesla has become locked shut and the emergency release will not work. This seems To have been caused by the software getting buggy from reversing as the trunk was closing. After this the trunk seems to be in an error state and wouldn’t register as closed. After opening it it the. Wouldn’t shut at all following multiple attempts via the key fob. Button. And touch screen. After closing manually it still did not register as shut and is now completely inoperable. Seemingly disabling multiple systems in autopilot and as mentioned can not even be opened via the manual emergency release

At low speeds, the rear control arm on the driver side disconnected from the wheel causing instability and a near accident. When looking into this issue, it appears it may be more common than what is published. This could have caused a serious accident if I were going highway speed.

On July 14 between 8:05 AM to 8:08 AM I was going on CA 87 as I went up the ramp suddenly the steering wheel malfunctioned. I’ve lost control of the car steering wheel which started swerving right to left aggressively. I tried to control the steering wheel, but it still kept swerving uncontrollably going from left to right from one lane to another. Luckily, there were no cars in front of me, or behind me, or on the side, but due to the uncontrollable swerving, I almost crashed into the highway wall all of a sudden it just stopped and I was left paralyzed with fear and traumatized with this near death experience, I was shaking uncontrollably and crying And almost had a heart attack. I do have high blood pressure I just don’t understand what exactly happened all of a sudden and I need answers. We contacted the Tesla service center and they gave us a date for July 19th to look into this incident. How is it not a high priority safety concern that needs to be looked into ASAP by the tesla customer service I sent them the timestamp and the date of the incident and all the reply that I got was thank you. this is a big safety concern. I am still traumatized by this incident, and I would like to lodge an official complaint against Tesla motors, cause if I could not have controlled the car in time, I would’ve lost my life and I could’ve endangered the lives of others on that road.

So essentially I stopped for a charge about 30 minutes before, I charged it, then hopped back on the turnpike as I was heading to Outer Banks NC, while I was on the turn pike where I believe at the time I started to go around a curve not a sharp one but a curve right after coming off this bridge. Every 1 minute and 30 seconds you have to put your hands on the wheel and give it a jerk to keep it enable so it had to have popped up within the 1 minute and 30 seconds. As I was changing the album of the artists I was listening too I heard the BEEP BEEP BEEP which means you are approaching something and are about to hit it, As I looked up all I saw was blinking lights and really smacked the rear end of this traffic control truck, anywhere from 65-75 miles per hour with no time to react. If I remember correctly I had my car on 7 lengths away (maximum amount you can have away). As I hit the control I hit my head pretty hard on the steering wheel so the whole memory is blurry following when it happened and my adrenaline was very high but I didn’t wanna go to the Emergency room even though they suggested highly because I have no health insurance and that would have had to come out of my own pocket and I was stuck in Pennsylvania by myself and didn’t wanna get stuck in the hospital too. Thank you so much for taking your time to look at this it means a lot.

The driver's side front suspension control arm (aka "fore link") spontaneously snapped. This occurred when I started the car in the garage, and began to slowly back out. The terrain was level and smooth, and my speed was under 5mph. One piece of the assembly fell from the car and is in my possession. The car was rendered undriveable.

while backing out from the garage at speed below 5 MPH I heard loud snapping sound from the front suspension, then immediately rubbing sound of the front passenger tire against the wheel well. Had the car towed to Tesla dealer in Burlingame CA, and upon inspection has been advised that Front Fore link assembly left and right have to be replaced at my expense since vehicle is out of warranty, yet only has 20k miles on it. If this happened while driving on the freeway the consequences would have been much more dire as reflates to safety. There was absolutely no warning signs that these critical parts are about to fail- absolutely shocking, yet Tesla refused to accept responsibility and Goodwill the repair cost. I am attaching the Tesla service invoice and the pictures of the broken fore link piece I have found underneath the car.

touch screen melting and leaking substance worried it will shut down dealer says not under warranty no warning or messages about leak

The right front suspension "Lower Fore Link" broke under braking. The Fore Link broke/separated from the ball joint connecting it to the right spindle/upright, causing loss of directional and braking control. The damaged Four Link is available for inspection. Once the Fore Link broke, any braking caused the wheel to move rearward and contact the body wheel arch liner. Once the body contacted the tire, it rode up on the rotating tire, causing the front end to rise and bounce up and down. Under my situation, with my advanced driving experience, I was able to bring the car to a stop before hitting the cars stopped ahead. But under more severe braking conditions, or lower experienced driver, the car might not be able to stop in time, putting me, my passengers, and those of any cars in front of the car at risk. This problem is documented by Tesla Technical Service Bulletin SB-17-31-001. The vehicle and defective component has been inspected by the local Tesla Service Center in Carlsbad CA, but not by any police/insurance/other representative. There were no warnings in advance of the failure.

On Friday, June 2, 2023, I was traveling at highway speed in the left lane south on Interstate 15 just south of Temecula, California. With no warning my vehicle speed started dropping quickly, and did not respond to pressing the accelerator pedal. I immediately started moving lanes to the right, as my speed quickly decelerated to 30 mph. Luckily, I was able to make it to the shoulder safely. There was an exit up ahead, so I continued to drive as my speed continued to decelerate, in the hopes that I could make the exit and have a safe place in which to stop and contact Tesla service. I was able to make that exit, but by the time I got there my speed had decelerated to 20 mph, and as I continued up the exit to a wider shoulder, the car rolled to a stop and would not move again. The car battery had been fully charged before I left home, and the indicator showed over 180 miles of range available. I contacted Tesla, and followed their instructions to attempt to reboot the car, but was not able to. I then arranged for a tow to the Tesla Service Center in Temecula, where the car is now, and we are awaiting a diagnosis. A similar event happened to us in this vehicle in December of 2022; however, at that time the max speed of the car was able to be maintained at 60 mph, and we were able to make it to our destination safely (10-15 minutes of driving.) Once we arrived at that destination and stopped the car, the car would not restart, and it was towed to a Tesla service center in Burbank, CA where repairs were made. The car has functioned normally until yesterday. I feel this incident definitely put myself, and other drivers at risk. A car suddenly dropping speed to 30 mph on a freeway is very dangerous, and should I have been in a situation where I was not able to change lanes quickly and get off the road, a serious accident could have occurred. A fatal accident re: what seems to be the same issue has been reported involving Terry L. Siegel in Missouri, Feb. 2022

The front suspension has failed at 124,947 miles and this is unheard of in a 6 year old car. There have been issues with this model S 2016 which Tesla is unwilling to recall and replace. The rear suspension had to be redone in 2021 with less than 100,000 miles

While driving reduced power light came on. On Highway speed reduced to a crawl.

The main screen has been going black approximately every 2 minutes while I am driving. It flashes off and then back on. I lose my backup camera, and all access to other features such as defrost, which can be scary, not to mention distracting. This issue started in May 2023, and I brought the car in. An upgrade to the 64gb eMMc (originally was an 8gb chip) was performed in May. I believe Tesla was asked to, but would not, recall cars with this issue; they would only upgrade the chip. In August, 2023 we had issues again. They "reflashed" the unit and it was ok, but only for a couple of weeks. In addition to the recall, I have a warranty, but they will not replace the the computer unit without charging repairs to me. They tell me the hardware is outdated and the only true fix is to upgrade (at my cost - $2,000) to the "Infotainment" system. Since the upgrade to the 64mb chip has not worked, I believe they are required to do more, but they are telling me they will not, unless I pay. For some owners, I believe the upgrade was sufficient, but it has not been my experience. I have tried to reach someone above the service center manager, but it is impossible to get to a person. I have filled out contact forms on their website, with no response. I believe Tesla is putting my safety at risk because they will not perform what they know is the only true remedy.

The car was on enhanced auto pilot and was moving at about 50 mph, the traffic in front of me slowed down. The car failed to give an alert, it failed to slow down and stop. I applied the breaks, but by then the car crashed into the pick-up truck in front of me. The car came to a complete stop after the crash and the computer system in the car completely shut down. The car had to be towed to the garage. My safety and the safety of the driver in front of me were at risk due to malfunction of the enhanced auto pilot system We immediately filed a service ticket with Tesla and upon repeated requests we were told that car could not be inspected and the breaks or auto pilot system could not be tested as the car was not drivable. Police and car insurance company were notified. Tesla was able to provide us with a EDR There were no warning signs or messages prior to the malfunction.

Tesla Model S touchscreen (MCU 1) continue to respond extremely slowly. Sometimes this means that the rear camera does not respond / turn on when the car is in reverse. Camera has been previously replaced under warranty. However, the issue remains. Have had several past appointments with various errors including black screen resets at random times and lack of responsiveness which impacts required safety features like the rear camera, but also convenience features such as climate control, radio, navigation, etc. Tesla continues to push for customers to pay for an upgrade to MCU 2. However, it seems that these safety features should work correctly in a consistent manner without the customer being required to pay.

In April, 2023 we received a recall notice directly from Tesla about a safety recall involving the front trunk hood opening while driving. The letter stated we would be contacted later about the fix. But we have never heard anything since from Tesla yet the recall does not show up on your website for our car. Can you explain what happened to the supposedly required repair?

Speedometer went completely blank and not able to see anything on that which includes safety features like blind spot monitoring and land departure. Also multiple time screen freezing issue causing absence of rear view camera.

Right rear suspension lower control arm part # 1021416-00-D broke on bushing mount with no warning while driving the car at 40 mph,… this part is available for your inspection and looks like corrosion may have played a part in this failure. This failure could have caused an accident as the car became uncontrollable especially if it failed while driving on a freeway. The dealer manufacturer/Tesla replaced this part and inspected it. No warning of this parts failure was given by the vehicle.

This vehicle had the driver side lower suspension connector link crack and fail at the lower ball joint at 22K miles. Now at 50K miles, the rear drivers side lower control arm has failed in the same way, In both cases, this is either due to a design defect or manufacturing defect. I have included pictures of both the front and rear links.

The glue that was used on the screen of the Tesla has been leaking and the service center refused to pay for the repairs. The glue is now exposed into the car and outside of the screen and is toxic. I am now breathing toxic glue and its giving me and my family headaches when we are inside of the Tesla.

Tesla designed a combined headlight with no serviceable parts. This includes headlights, high beams, and namely daytime running lights. All of these components are on an LED strip that apparently has a tendency to overheat and fail prematurely. For example, the replacement cost for a portion of the daytime running light (on one side) is over $1,000. This is apparently a known weak point and should be addressed.

While pulling out of a parking space at less than 5 mph the front left suspension fore link broke, resulting in damage to the wheel liner. The left front wheel could be described as loose or wobbly and resting at less than 1 cm from the rear side of the wheel liner, making turning nearly impossible. If this had happened at a higher speed it could have been catastrophic. There was no warning measures on the vehicle but a series of unusual metal grinding noises could be heard immediately after the break. The vehicle was placed on a flatbed and towed to the local Tesla, Inc. repair location where it was inspected and repaired. All 4 front lower fore links were replaced both on the left and right side for a total cost of approximately $2000.

All 4 door handles have ceased working. 1st responders wouldn't be able to gain entry.

Front air suspension failed while driving on the highway at 70 MPH while traveling from El P Paso, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico in July on 2023. front end of the car hit the ground and could not steer without tire grinding into the wheel well. Upon getting the car inspected for the problem, it was found that the front left air suspension had malfunctioned and because of the way the air suspension works, neither right or left side of the suspension would hold air and keep front of the car off the road. Cost of repairs was $1258.95 which Tesla refused to admit there was a design flaw that would render the car undrivable.

At 22 degrees fahrenheit, the vehicles cabin heat shut off after hearing a noise. The Noise appeared to be a broken cabin heating element. The window screen quickly fogged, and water began attaching to the outside of the windscreen, building up as ice. The windscreen was completely almost blocked. This problem has appeared common in my online research. I was informed by a non manufacture repair business that the issue became apparent during the low temperature cold weather in December 2022. The vehicle will be inspected by the manufacture. No warnings, alerts, or service indicators were show. The vehicle is still showing proper operation.

While driving, left front lower fore link broke. Front wheel became lose in the fender well. Smashing the wheel front and back in the well, whilst pulling the car very hard to the left. Front link completely broken. Inspection shows, two rear links cracked and ready to break . Telsa knows about this in Safety Bulletin SB-17-31-001 . They did not notify us. And additionally refuse to fix it unless we pay over $10,000 in repairs. I purchased this car brand new. Has never been wrecked, well serviced and well maintained.

When in Autopilot mode on I287S highway , the vehicle in my right lane changed to my lane with more than enough distance. But, Tesla applied sudden break bringing car speed from 65mph to around 45 mph. Luckily, no one was following me, and, I took control and disengaged autopilot.

While driving with Auto Pilot engaged on the highway, traffic slowed and AP applied the brakes at a light to moderate level. I immediately heard a loud squeal come from the front passenger wheel area that stopped when braking stopped. No warning lights or messages showed but I could tell I had reduced steering response after disengaging AP. I was able to get off the highway and navigate to a nearby service center, where they told me that a ball joint had sheared off. The squeal was a result of the tire contacting the wheel well. The service estimate called for replacement of right and left fore link and aft link assemblies of the front suspension. A web search revealed that Tesla was aware that "Some Model S and Model X vehicles may have been manufactured with front suspension fore links that may not meet Tesla strength specifications," per service bulletin SB-17-31-001.

There is fluid a fluid leak in the main large display and edges of driver display. The large display leak is obscuring driver view of display information. Driver side display is distracting and appears to move. Tesla verified that this problem exists in most of these vehicles, of this age, but it is not covered by warranty. Apparently, the fluid origin was from the breakdown of the adhesive used to attach glass. She could not assure me that the fluid would not leak out of glass screens or if the fluid was toxic to touch or inhalation. Despite the number of cars affected, there was never a recall, but many were fixed during another recall of a different display problem. The replacement of the screens will cost over $2000. Tesla was very much aware of this problem. There were many people affected and most were trusting Tesla’s replaced speech. Very sad.

Tesla did not include all of the vehicles on the power steering recall from last week. Mine developed the problem right after the software download. They won’t push me the fix. The recall starts with MY17 but I have a late MY16 which is the same refreshed model s as the MY17.

Tesla vehicles suffer excessive “toe-in” wear on all tires. Tesla claims it is a function of the vehicle being heavy and that it is “normal” Tires have to be replaced every 12-24 months as a result of the inner portion showing cord, wire, and losing air. The tread on the rest of the tires appears to have 1/8 to 1/4 inch of usable tread however all tires have to be replace as a result of the toe in. Vehicle was repeatedly aligned by Tesla but that did not alleviate the issue. Presents a real danger as the portion of the tire dangerously worn down is on the most inner side of the tire. Not easily visible.

We were entering our driveway to park the car at the garage As always, I drove towards the end of the driveway to reverse into the garage. I turned the wheel towards the right, pressed the break to stop the car to reverse, car lurched forward and went down the small hill (3-4 feet high) to the neighbors yard and when I pressed the break again the car stopped (after about 15 feet from the driveway). Damages : Car’s bottom hit the ground and all plastic parts came out. Also, some kind of fluid (likely radiator ) started leaking. Also noticed some scratches/damages to the bumpers