There are 2 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2025 Tesla Model Sin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The power train of my 2025 Model S failed similar to failure of 7-6-25 which I previously reported to NHTSA (complaint #11718413) and Tesla. Upon getting into my car on 2-7-26 and putting it in reverse, several alert messages displayed including "stability control disabled, traction control disabled, and emergency braking unavailable". I drove 1/4 mile to a safe area to call Tesla roadside assist, since my steering was noticeably degraded in real time and the car was not safe to drive. The car was towed to the nearest Tesla service center. Tesla made statements on their service report attached here, that this is a "known characteristic of the vehicle" and that if it happens again I should, "exit the car, let the car go to sleep and then once the vehicle is awakened the alert will not be present and it will operate normally". That is not a valid solution, and even though they told me they found nothing wrong when they looked at the car two days later on 2-9-26, I had walked away from the car for more than an hour on 2-7-26 when this happened and the alerts were still there. The tow truck driver who arrived three hours later also saw them and noticed the degraded steering when he drove it. Tesla's solution stated on their service report is not valid or safe. This issue has happened twice in seven months on this car of mine and it needs serious engineering attention.
The power train of my 2025 Tesla Model S failed. As a result, the car had several systems alert on my console that they were "unavailable" or "degraded", and in addition to the alerts I experienced their loss or degradation in real time. This included braking, steering, stability control, and traction control. Normally you don't have to hold the brake pedal down at a stop light on this electric vehicle, but when the failure occurred my car was rolling backwards at the stop light and so I had to hold down the brake. Also, steering was noticeably degraded and not stable. The car was also exhibiting behavior similar to a stuck accelerator whereby even with my foot off the accelerator the car would not slow up. Tesla had to tow my car to their nearest Tesla service center, and they replaced the front body controller and the battery controller which took three days. There were no warnings whatsoever or anything relating to the power train that were peculiar prior to this incident. It occurred all of a sudden after getting into my car and putting it in reverse to back out of a parking spot. I was then bombarded with several alert messages as mentioned above and drove only about half a mile until I pulled into a parking lot and called Tesla for roadside assistance as the car was obviously not safe to drive.
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