Tesla Model S Complaints (2022)

136 consumer complaints on file.

#11660717May 13, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH in inclement weather with no other vehicles nearby, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. The contact stated that the brakes were applied without driver input. The contact stated that the emergency stop message was displayed during the failure. The contact stated that on another occasion, while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stopped. The contact had since stopped using the Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 50,320.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11654763April 15, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and occupied, the message “Electrical System Power Reduce - Vehicle will Shut down” was displayed. The contact stated the vehicle had stopped charging and turned off once removed from the charger. The contact stated that the message “Climate Keeper Unavailable Due to System Fault” was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 47,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11654287April 12, 2025
SEAT BELTS
The rear seatbelt on the left stopped latching all of a sudden creating a safety issue to ride with family.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11652232April 2, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
While driving at approximately 5 MPH, the front passenger side window spontaneously shattered without any external or internal impact. I was alone in the vehicle and no one was seated in the front passenger seat. There were no objects in the car that could have made contact with the glass, and there was no indication of any road debris or other outside force. The window failure caused microshards of glass to scatter into the cabin, creating a potential safety hazard to the driver and any possible occupants. There were no warning lights, alerts, or symptoms before the failure occurred. The vehicle was inspected by a manufacturer service center, but the request for an engineering-level inspection was denied. The service center did not identify any external cause for the failure but still refused warranty coverage and did not escalate the issue for further analysis. The issue has not been reproduced but has not been properly investigated by the manufacturer either. Given the complete absence of impact and the sudden nature of the failure, this appears to be a glass defect or an installation issue. The broken component is available for inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648722March 17, 2025
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
The manual door release on the front passenger side of my car was released automatically without anyone in the seat. I was the only one in the car. I was making a turn off of an exit and went over the seam between the bridge and the street. After I went over the seam, the front passenger door manual release was triggered and opened the door. I was able to pull over the close the door immediately after. This is a route I take daily for work and haven't had this problem before. This is a safety issue should someone been sitting in that seat or if there was a car to the right of me and the door fully opened outward. This could result in someone potentially falling out of the car or an accident if someone hit the door if it had swung out. I have tried to reproduce the problem and it has not done it since 3/13/2025 at 4:27pm when the original incident occurred. I did receive an error on the screen stating the manual release button was triggered when I went over the bump. I have tried to book an appointment with Tesla to investigate, but the earliest appointment they had available was April 1, 2025.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11638946January 27, 2025
VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:EXTERIOR
The driver side rear view mirror vibrates at most speeds in a way that renders it useless. This is a well described issue. Tesla is aware of it but refuses to fix it. It renders the mirror useless at some speeds.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11638686January 27, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My AC heater stopped functioning when I was driving through sub zero temperatures in salt lake city, Utah. At that time Tesla said they will need to replace the entire system and estimated 3000 dollars. However the system started working on its own and when they inspected the vehicle, they said everything looks good with HVAC. Now after 3 weeks, AC heater has stopped working again and they are again quoting 3000 dollars to replace entire system. There are many Tesla owners who are complaining about the same issues across their models. My issues started happening again a day after a software update and I suspect that these are issues caused by their negligence that they are using to charge their customers who's warranty has expired. I have owned other cars but never had AC replacement needed after 3yrs 75K miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11625697November 16, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
My Tesla Model S 2022 unexpectedly shut down while parked in a covered garage on [XXX], after I had driven for an hour. This occurred after I returned from a family trip to Lima, Peru, where I did not use the car. Tesla service center diagnosed it as water damage requiring a $20,578.50 battery pack replacement, which was covered by my insurance. There were no warning signs prior to failure. Within 20 minutes of the tow truck dropping off my car at Tesla, a representative informed me it was water damage, citing a system error and claiming over 20 vehicles had the same issue. This suggests a widespread problem and Tesla's awareness of it. This incident raises serious safety concerns about a potential design flaw and the lack of a water intrusion warning system. If this occurred while driving, it could lead to a sudden loss of power and an accident. I urge the NHTSA to: - Investigate if a design flaw exists in the Model S 2022. - Investigate Tesla's awareness of this issue and their failure to implement a warning system. - Require Tesla, and all EV manufacturers, to submit water mitigation plans. - Mandate water intrusion detection and warning systems in all EVs. This incident highlights a critical safety risk for Tesla - and perhaps all EV - drivers, and I urge the NHTSA to take immediate action. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11624486November 11, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This vehicle has a well documented issue with tearing the inner side walls of the tires. I've gone through 4 sets in 30K miles, with no end in sight. What's worse it's 3 times the tire failed while I was driving at 60mph. Very dangerous
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11610870August 26, 2024
STEERING
The yoke steering is not intuitive and makes it really hard to instinctively press the horn or use the directionals, without taking your eyes off the road. This presents a serious safety hazard especially in the case of an emergency, where milliseconds count to avert an accident. At a minimum the horn button should be placed on the center of the steering or be replaced with a traditional wheel. In fact, if the car were to spin out of control, the rectangular shape of the yoke would likely prevent me from regaining control of the car. When I purchased the car in 2022 a regular steering wheel was not option. Tesla is now allowing retro fits but at a significant cost to the owner. There have been several instances in the two years where i pressed the center of the yoke with no effect, which could have led to an accident. I am surprised this kind of serious hazard is still permitted to exist and I kindly ask for your immediate attention.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11599199July 5, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY
I was driving on the highway utilizing the full self-driving mode. There was traffic and I was behind an 18-wheeler. The 18-wheeler turned into the right lane, but because of the traffic, it couldn't completely clear the lane so the rear was slightly sticking. The Tesla stopped because it couldn't clear the lane while the 18-wheeler was sticking out. I didn't intervene because it had stopped. Then all of a sudden, it surged forward causing the Tesla's right side mirror to be hit by the 18-wheeler's back. The right side mirror's paint job was completely taken off. I didn't have time to intervene because of the sudden surge.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11597014June 26, 2024
SUSPENSION
Air Suspension system throws an error. Car attempts to lift but it feels like a limit switch or some upper bound is not working properly, as the car lifts in the rear, then suddenly kicks back down before trying to lift again. This process repeats 5-6 times before stopping. Initially, I could hear a motor or compressor running for about 30 seconds while initially driving the car. Since then, I've not heard any sounds from the suspension and it consistently says that the suspension is either not available or not functional in the driver heads up screen. Tesla is forcing me to pay for this repair, it is uncertain or unclear whether this should be covered under a recall, especially considering the issues on Suspension faced in China. Tesla has ridiculous wait times at their service centers - it will take me at least until late July to get this fixed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11590908May 27, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
being total disabled and driving over 46 years tesla moved horn from it’s original place they want 1,800.00 put back in middle of steering wheel this is hardship and safety issue
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11585652April 28, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving suddenly in the middle of the road the car stopped with the warning Pull over immediately. Rear motor disabled. The biggest safety issue was the vehicle would not respond to any shift in gear drive , reverse or neutral. It wouldn’t move at all. I had to call 911 and cops also tried but the vehicle would not respond to any movement
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11584865April 24, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, STEERING
The horn is in a difficult place to access compared to ALL other vehicles in the USA making it a safety concern and hazard will driving should an emergency arise and you can’t get to the horn quickly. This has happened to me driving the 2022 Tesla Model S and I could not get to the horn swerving violently to avoid a collision.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11583611April 17, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This vehicle does not have a fully functional horn. To activate the horn, you must press a tiny area located in the upper right part of the yoke. The area to activate the horn is less than 1-inch wide. The horn is virtually worthless when you need it such as when someone is running a light or changing into your lane, etc. Because you can't find the horn activation area in an emergency, you are unable to warn others about dangers as you are required to do by Texas law. This has been corrected in later made Model S and they now have the horn sound by pressing anywhere in the large area in the center of the yoke. I've brought this to Tesla's attention but they refuse to repair or replace the yoke. They will do so at a cost of $2,300. Ironically, they will replace the yoke under warranty if the yoke's cover is peeling or cracking - a known defect. Cosmetic - they fix. Safety - they refuse to fix. Please consider issuing a notice to Tesla that they fix the horns on their 2022 Model S.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582920April 14, 2024
STEERING, SUSPENSION, SERVICE BRAKES
RECALL ISSUE FOR MY VEHICLE. HAVE BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH THE AUTO STEER/AUTO PILOT THAT COMES IN THE CAR. THE AUTO STEER AUTOMATICALLY GOES OFF AND WHENEVER YOU MAKE A TURN, THERE'S A WEIRD SOUND.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11579491March 26, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Lack of blinker stalk: After driving this vehicle since September 2022, buttons in place of a blinker stalk are dangerous. In real driving conditions, there are many times I have to take my eyes off the road to look at the wheel and make sure I'm pressing the correct blinker button. Often times when I think my fingers are in the right position, I'd like to shift right but wind up pressing the left blinker button and vice versa. I always thought it was me not being aware until I saw other Tesla drivers do the same. Lack of center horn: For the Model S, the center horn is not active. Instead you need to press a tiny button to activate the horn. This is also very dangerous since you have a split second to alert other drivers but you have to take your eyes off the road to activate the horn. Tesla's solution to "mash" the right controls on the wheel will activate the horn is terrible. I usually wind up activating the wipers or voice recognition when I follow that suggestion. Rear passenger door emergency release: The location of the rear door emergency release is located behind a small cutout of the rug behind your legs. In case of emergency, time is wasted having to explain to find the cut out, open the cut out, look for a wire and pull. No trunk emergency release: That's right... There is no interior trunk release. If you get stuck in the trunk, you cannot release/open it from the inside. You will have to somehow fold down the rear seats and crawl into the back seats to exit. I'd be glad to speak with someone in more details or provide specific pictures upon request.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11572535February 17, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
The update that you required for Auto Steer has made the car undrivable. I get a written and audible warning IMMEDIATELY when I engage Auto Steer. Literally within 2 seconds. I always keep my hands on the wheel, lightly, while I drive on the highway. Anything short of a death grip on the wheel causes the warning to go off. However, the nag feature (after the changes you required) goes off constantly. Honestly, it's very distracting. If I look at the radio to change the channel, the warning goes off. You need to undo the changes you required. It makes Auto Steer less safe, not more.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11571328February 11, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Horn is not located in the center where it can be found in the event of an emergency. Instead it is in tiny non-tactile button on the right side. Have had incidents in which I almost got into an accident and needed the horn to alert the other vehicle of an impending collision. In each instance I was not able to locate the horn in a timely manner.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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