Tesla Model S Complaints (2022)

136 consumer complaints on file.

#11473476July 11, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was unable to quickly find and utilize the vehicle's horn because of non-standard and intangible horn button. As a driver was illegally turning left into me and other oncoming traffic without looking, I instinctively tried to warn him by honking the horn, specifically by pressing on the center of the vehicle's steering wheel/yoke. However, unlike other vehicles, that doesn't activate the horn, so I couldn't warn the driver that we were coming. I had to divert my eyes down to find the horn button. The horn button is also a capacitance button, which means it can't be found by touch, either, meaning that attention must always be diverted from the car's surroundings to find and use it--including during any emergency avoidance maneuvers. It shares the same area of the yoke with windshield wipers and cruise control controls, which I also accidentally activated when trying to honk the horn. I was aware of the non-standard horn placement before this incident and assumed that I could remember the location and quickly find it in the case of an emergency, but when the emergency came, the instinct still was to press the center of the wheel/yoke. I've found many other drivers of this model (on forums, etc.) who have experienced the same issue, and many have encountered multiple emergency occurrences and still have not been able to adapt to this non-standard horn implementation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11473077July 9, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The battery range is no where close to what is being presented. The long range model S does not give any where close to 400/miles per charg.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11467564June 4, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
During our first road trip with this auto, we traveled along I-76 and I-80 on clear days; after setting the "traffic-aware cruise control" (aka adaptive cruise control), the car would brake randomly and for no apparent reason (such as approaching a car ahead of us). This happened so frequently as to make the feature useless during much of the drive. At other times during our trip, the cruise control would seem to work for a while, then start with random braking. On two-lane highways, though it didn't seem to regard oncoming cars in the opposite lane as a hazard (that's good), it still engaged in random braking when no cars were anywhere in sight. Once again, we'd just turn off the feature, as it became more of a safety hazard than having any benefit. Certainly, any cars that might have been behind us would have been endangered by unexpected braking, and had road conditions been at all slippery, such as on ice, it could have been downright dangerous. I'd rather that Tesla reverted to a "traditional" cruise control, where we can set the speed and then be responsible for managing braking situations.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11465819May 23, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
There is a concern that the rear door handles are opened by motorized mechanism. In a case of power failure, the only way to open the door is to pull a string on the floor of the back seat. From the outside, there is no way to open the door. My concern is when a child is strapped in car seat in the back and power is out due to electric problem and the car is on fire, there is no quick way to get to the child and remove the child safely. This is a safety hazard that need to be addressed right away. I emphasis this has not happened, thank goodness but is a potential of a disaster.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11465531May 20, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, STEERING
Steering Yoke Safety Issue: Tesla Model S Plaid cars come with a steering yoke instead of steering wheel. The steering yoke’s horn, turn signal, high beam, voice assistant, windshield wiper, and cruise control LED indicators that identify these buttons become invisible due to sun glare when the sun is behind or to the left of the driver. The glossy surface of the yoke combined with the weak LED lights of the indicators make the yoke unusable for honking the horn, make it impossible to find the horn, turn signal, windshield wiper, and other buttons, effectively making these features unusable. At a minimum, these critical safety buttons being invisible and having no tactile way to finding them during sunny days causes a significant distraction away from looking at the road. In the attached photo, you will see the effect of sun glare on the yoke while driving. This design flaw in the steering yoke/wheel puts my safety and the safety of others at risk because of inability to use the horn, windshield wipers, voice assistant, high beams, and turn signals when the sun or any other bright light causes yoke glare. Furthermore, the lack of tactile indication of where the buttons are, because they are only indicated/separated by lighting (LEDs) causes the driver to have to divert attention away from the road and onto the steering yoke to find the controls, or push parts of the yoke randomly until the correct function button is found. This is a serious safety issue which can be resolved by using a different material for the steering yoke indicator buttons, by having tactile separators/notches where the yoke buttons are so the user can find where to press during sunny days.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11464430May 12, 2022
STEERING
The vehicle is equipped with a yoke style steering control. I find it difficult to use in the least and dangerous in many scenarios including emergency sharp turns, maneuvering in tight locations ie: a parking garage, parallel parking, trying to recover from a slip on ice and recovering from hitting a pot hole and having the yoke pulled from ones grip. In addition the yoke is fitted with turn signal buttons that are very difficult to discern when signaling is required in the middle of a turn. The yoke is also equipped with a horn button that I find impossible to find in an emergency. There were no test drives available when ordering this vehicle so I had no way of testing the yoke prior to taking delivery of the car. I would like to see Tesla offer a retrofitted traditional steering control in the form of a wheel similar to the control offered in older Model S vehicles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11463702May 7, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The horn button is not in the standard place in the center of the steering wheel. Rather, it is a small 1/2” button that must be found and depressed with the tip of the thumb to sound. In an emergency situation to avoid an accident, trying to locate the button wastes precious time or worse yet leads the driver to take eyes off the road potentially worsening outcomes. I believe this horn button should be recalled and a standard horn should be present on the center of the wheel/yoke
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11463670May 6, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving my car. 10s of error messages while on the Highway. Error messages were quite scary to the effect of “please pull over immediately and exit the vehicle” I ignored it the first time. Second time it occurred took a picture because tesla could not find the error the first time. Both times occur after super charging.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11463556May 5, 2022
STEERING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
I have used the self driving feature of my 2022 Tesla Model S on several highway trips, most recently a round trip between Seattle and Palm Springs. The following problems with the Tesla self driving feature were noted. (My car has only the basic self driving feature, not the full self driving upgrade) 1. Random “phantom braking” where the car, without apparent reason, suddenly braked. 2. On several occasions the car abruptly swerved off toward an off ramp. I think this occurred when the white line marking the side of the road was interrupted by the off ramp where there was no painted line. 3. On several occasions when the turn signal was activated in order to change lines the car started to move over into the adjacent lane but abruptly swerved back to the original lane. I was able to maintain control but it was a frightening event. Due to the unpredictable nature of these events I greatly reduced my use of the fsd feature.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11462603April 28, 2022
AIR BAGS, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The Left headlight does not work and the airbag compartment is protruding out at a weird angle. This has been like this since delivery.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459142March 31, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Driving at 70 mph with Autopilot on, vehicle slams on brakes when approaching Semi Truck in oncoming lane. No vehicles in front or behind me. No known reason for this action. AutoSteer was not engaged.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456312March 11, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SEAT BELTS
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while pulling out of the garage without the seat belt securely fastened, the audible seat belt reminder failed to engage. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a Tesla service center twice, where it was diagnosed that the software needed to be updated; however, the service center advised the contact that they were unable to update the software on his vehicle for unknown reasons. Additionally, a Tesla mobile technician came to the contact's residence to repair the failure but was unable to update the software. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated upon contacting the Tesla service center he had previously taken the vehicle to, to inquire whether a recall was associated to the failure, he was referred to the NHTSA.gov website. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V045000 (Electrical System, Seat Belts) and 22V063000 (Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance). The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 400. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455948March 9, 2022
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
The 3 rear-looking cameras display 3 images to the center display, when the car is in reverse. I rely on them as I pull my car into the narrow opening of my garage stall at home. The opening is for a single car, & has pillars on either side, allowing 8-9", total, clearance with mirrors folded. Even with mirrors extended, I have limited visibility to the clearance of the sides of the car, as they pass the pillars. The repeater cameras, in the front fenders, are a great support to see the garage as I back into my garage. However, the UI, immediately upon selecting 'Reverse' while near the home garage, conceals 50% of these side images from view with a pop-up rectangular user interface (UI) -- ruining any advantage I have to see the rear as I pass these obstacles. As a result, I have to dismiss the pop-up UI & avoid triggering the controls within it, by making a sliding motion on the center display, with my fingers applied to the UI. This is a problem because: 1) the UI displays the option to trigger one of my 3 garage doors, each of which have an associated homelink rectangular button. This is useless when the garage is already open. 2) I'm in reverse, so I'm trying to back-in to the garage in one motion. Adding an extra steps, by clearing this obscuring UI distracts. 3) With tight clearances added problems are: trash might lie outside the garage; items can be left in my garage stall; people could be nearby. Distractions mess this up. Tesla likely fails: a) that the garage could already be activated to be open (or even opening) -- & therefore, tends to prompt the user multiple times, while parking; b) that 3 homelink garages are at the home. They didn't budget screen real-estate to show the homelink buttons without obscuring the backup display-screens assigned to each of the 3 rear-ward facing cameras; c) that a driver prefers to back-in to the parking space, relying on views of the 3 cameras to avoid obstacles. Tesla counted on people to forward to park.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455846March 9, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that the shift bar became inoperable. The hazard warning activation switch was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the control bar needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 1,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447274January 13, 2022
STEERING
My Tesla plaid arrived with a yoke steering wheel. The sales associate told me that it's easy to get used to, and that it works well. I have driven the car for a couple weeks now and it is clearly a safety hazard. First off, it is difficult to steer, especially if you need to get out of a dangerous situation quickly. The yokes shape is extremely wide, and you have to reach hand over hand to turn. If you lose control on a icy road and need to keep the wheels facing in the direction that you wish to go, you will be unable to do so. Next, this yoke steering wheel has buttons for the horn and turn signals. I tried using my horn two days ago to tell someone in a parking lot that my car was close to theirs. I almost hit their car because the horn button was not working. Next, when I am steering, the turn signals and windshield wipers are accidentally triggered. This happens all the time. Furthermore, these issues do not make it safe to direct the vehicle under a high stress event. Having your windshield wipers triggered while trying to steer quickly is disorienting. It is only a matter of time till this steering wheel causes an accident on the roads.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446436January 6, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I own MSLR 2022, on the manual it says to open a rear door in the unlikely situation when no power, fold back the edge of the carpet below the rear seats to expose the mechanical release cable. Pull the mechanical release cable toward the center of the vehicle. I have a floor mat that covers the secret hole stated in the instructions as well. It adds an additional step. My concern is that in a circumstance when the car is on fire or submerged in water, the rear passengers may lack the knowledge or calmness to unlock the doors.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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