There are 11 owner-reported body & structure complaints for the 2017 Tesla Model Sin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
on 1 occasion the front trunk opened on its own, on 2 occasions the rear trunk opened on its own. The last occasion was on August 3. all these events occurred with in 3 weeks. The car was brought to a service center where the problem was misdiagnosed since the incident on August 3 was after the service call.
While in autosteer, I pressed on the brakes which normally deactivates the autosteer while coming to a stop. In this particular case the car did not brake upon command and the car maintained acceleration thru a stop light and veered into a median causing a collision with a curb causing structural damage to the frame of the vehicle. I have put in a claim with both my insurance and Tesla and advise that the brakes did not activate in a timely fashion upon disengaging from Autosteer thus causing the collision and was advise by Tesla that I would be responsible to cover the damages when the accident was caused by the vehicle not disengaging. I was only advised after the fact of the recall for the very reason I complained to Tesla in the first place and have been waiting 5 months for a resolution.
Rear bumper assembly separated and blew off into traffic while driving the legal speed limit (85MPH) on Texas Interstate highway. Road conditions were dry and windy. The vehicle had had no known or observable damage prior to this incident and had been maintained and inspected annually by Tesla.
Driver side door will not open from the outside of the car. The latch is not releasing inside. However the door can be open from the inside. The handles present themselves but it seems to be an issue with the latch releasing so the door can open. This can lead to a really bad outcome if it was an emergency situation. There has already been one fatality because of this known defect and I don't want to become another statistic. Tesla needs to recall all vehicles that are having this issue and fix it.
The driver side door handle does not present itself. It is now stuck and doesn't open. I need to press the door handle a certain way in order to open the door. This is a safety issue because in the case of an accident somebody who is not aware how to open the door maybe confused. This has not been inspected by a dealer. There is no police case or report related to this.
I have a 2017 Tesla Model S whose warranty just expired. The Model S is known for door handle defects and my car is no exception. The door handles on the Model S extend and retract and the defective design causes wire failure. This is well documented on the teslamotorsclub.com forums. I paid Tesla to replace the front passenger handle which would present but not open the door when pulled. Since this was an inconvenience and a safety issue I paid to have it replaced even though Tesla should cover the defect repair. I just checked my remaining door handles and they do not extend to open the door when the car is unlocked. The only one that functions is the new one I paid to replace. This means that if I were unconscious in the drivers seat anyone responding to aid me wouldn’t be able to open my door from the outside. In fact unless they started breaking in only one door would work. My chances don’t sound that great! I contacted Tesla with my concerns and they have provided me with a quote for replacement. I think they should cover the repair and recall all Model S to replace known defective handles. My car has version 2.5 of the defective design. The replacement I paid for is the 3.0 design which allegedly finally fixes the defect. I’m a Tesla shareholder and I know it would be expensive but everyone should have working door handles.
I WAS ATTEMPTING TO PARK, THE CAR WAS TRAVELING AT PERHAPS 2 MILES/HOUR, WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED, CLIMBED A BURM, HIT A TREE, AND STOPPED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BURM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.
WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PARK THE CAR IN A PARKING SPACE THE CAR ACCELERATED ON IT'S OWN AND CRASHED OVER A SMALL CONCRETE RETAINING WALL AND CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. MY CAR AND THE CAR THAT WAS STRUCK WERE TOTALED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GLASS ROOF OF THE VEHICLE WAS CRACKED ALL THE WAY TO THE POWER LIFTGATE. THERE WERE NO SENSORS WHERE THE GLASS MET THE GLASS ROOF, WHICH CAUSED A POSSIBLE HAZARD FOR THE VEHICLE OCCUPANTS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TESLA (115 KISCO AVE, MT KISCO, NY 10549, (914) 218-8900) AND THEY STATED THAT THEY WOULD NOT COVER THE REPAIRS. THE DEALER ADMITTED THAT THERE THERE WAS A SAFETY HAZARD REGARDING THE LIFTGATE AUTOMATICALLY CLOSING, WHICH COULD SEVER A HAND OR FINGER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 18,350.
I WAS MAKING A LEGAL U TURN ON A CITY STREET TO PARK. I PULLED BEHIND A PARKED CAR AND WAS GOING ABOUT 1MPH WHEN MY CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND HIT THE PARKED CAR. THERE WERE NO WARNING SOUNDS UNTIL THE CAR HIT THE OTHER CAR AND THEN THE HORN AND LIGHTS ON MY CAR WENT OFF. THE CAR WAS NOT ON AUTO PARK AND NO AIR BAGS WERE DEPLOYED HOWEVER MY CAR AND THE CAR THAT WAS HIT HAD EXTENSIVE BODY DAMAGE. THERE WERE NOT INJURIES TO PEOPLE. I DON'T KNOW WHY THE CAR ACCELERATED INSTEAD OF STOPPING. I HAVE NEVER HIT THE ACCELERATOR PEDDLE INSTEAD OF THE BRAKE AND I DOUBT IF I DID IT IN THIS CASE.
HERE IS A REPORT FROM AN OWNER OF A BRAND NEW MODEL X THAT HAS A CRACKED IN HALF A-PILLAR. HTTPS://TESLAMOTORSCLUB.COM/TMC/THREADS/HELP-A-PILLAR-DEFECT-FOUND.88657/ PHOTOGRAPHS ARE ATTACHED. SNIP "I PICKED UP MY S90D LAST FRIDAY AND WAS SUPER HAPPY ABOUT IT, THERE WAS SOME TRIM MIS-ALIGNMENT ON DELIVERY BUT NOTHING SERIOUS. TODAY, I WAS SHOWING OFF THE CAR TO MY BROTHER IN-LAW AND NOTICED SOMETHING VERY WRONG WITH THE A-PILLAR. ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WHERE IT TOUCHES THE FRONT OF THE WINDSHIELD, THE ALUMINIUM WAS ACTUALLY CRACKED AND THERE IS A GAPING HOLE TO THE INSIDE! THERE IS NO WAY THAT I WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY CAUSED THIS AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY PAINTED THE CRACK PART AS WELL. I HAVE EMAILED MY DELIVERY PERSON AND AM SUPER SAD ABOUT THIS AS I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY CAN ACTUALLY REPLACE THAT PART WITHOUT RIPPING APART THE CAR. THIS CRACKED PART IS OBVIOUSLY UNACCEPTABLE BUT I DON'T WANT THEM TO CAUSE MORE ISSUES RIPPING IT APART TO REPLACE IT. WHAT SHOULD I DO?" IT IS SCANDALOUS THAT SUCH A SERIOUS STRUCTURAL DEFECT COULD PASS QUALITY CONTROL. THIS IS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF TESLAS BEING RUSHED OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE IN ORDER TO MEET QUOTAS WHILE IGNORING THE PRODUCTION DEFECTS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE HOW THIS CAR WAS ABLE TO ESCAPE FROM THE FACTORY. CONCERNED CITIZEN ETC.
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