Tesla Model S Complaints

470 consumer complaints on file.

#11481572August 27, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My safety concern is with the 17 inch screen. Originally in the information about the car before it was purchased, the manufacturer said that the screen would tilt left or right to give the drive better a better view and access to the touch screen. I have talked to service about this issue and they have said they do not plan to retrofit our cars with the motors to make the screen move. This is now working on the same car that is one year newer. We were promised this and I believe this issue with the screen not moving is a serious concern. You cannot see the screen as well or touch it as well because it does not tilt towards the driver. Please investigate this problem, it is dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11481303August 25, 2022
SUSPENSION
My vehicle had a total rear tire failure where the inside corner of tread separated from the sidewall. There appears to be abnormal wear on the very edge of the inside line of tread. The vehicle was just aligned and nothing was out of spec. Something about the tire design, weight of the vehicle, recommended tire pressure or suspension geometry is causing this failure. My tires were always kept at the recommended pressures. There was no indication of a problem until the tire went completely flat suddenly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11481264August 25, 2022
SUSPENSION, WHEELS
The inner edge of rear tires wear out very quickly leading to loss air pressure. Many other owner of Tesla 2021+ on 21 inch wheels and Michelin stock tires have exact same issue. Very dangerous if the tire bursts on highway, can lead to serious accidents.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11480463August 21, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I was driving to the airport at 4:00 am in the morning. I was on C470 going past SantaFa exist and had the cruise control set to 70mph. As I was just passing the exit the cruise control setting dropped to 45mph and the car broke hard for no reason. The cruise control setting was NOT set to the actual speed. This has happened on 4 other occasions while driving on the highway. This is very scary and very dangerous to any car that might be following me. I told the Tesla service person and they said, that it is called phantom breaking and they are aware of it, and if it happens again to just control the speed with the pedal. Doesn't seem like a good solution.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11480461August 21, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I parked the car, My wife stayed inside. She opened the passenger door got out and opened the trunk to get her phone. She got back into the car and placed a call. after about 5 minutes of her being on the call, the doors locked and the horn started blaring so loud that she was in visible pain and crying. I came back to the car and was able to shut it off by unlocking it. My wife has ear pain and is having a hard time hearing as well as ringing in her ears. I have no idea why the car would lock and not allow her to get out to escape the ear-splitting noise. I really hope her hearing comes back.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11479846August 17, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Tesla provides a back-up input form to its touch screen -- namely voice commands. Voice commands operate, among other things, map positioning, HVAC, lighting. Unfortunately, as quiet as the car is, the voice commands are a roulette wheel of results. 80% accuracy in detecting the specific command is the best Tesla manages. This would be a problem, by itself. However, even when the voice commands are accurately 'read back', and even when the voice command is one that Tesla explicitly has among the commands that Tesla reports (in its manual, etc.) to be an active function that produces an active result to the car's operation -- even then -- the commands/car still are unable to perform the documented function. 1) I commanded the car to 'turn on dome light'; 2) the car recognized 'turn on dome light'; 3) the car acknowledged 'dome lights on'; 4) but the car did not turn on the dome lights. The entire user interface operates in a random way at random times in random traffic. This is a recipe for distraction. Tesla needs to encourage eyes-up, on the road. Instead the multiple stages of failure, result in many unnecessary risks. The car was/is made available to Tesla's service center, and they are aware of the contents of this report. I expect zero result from their 'diagnosis'. SW release is 2022.20.8.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478950August 12, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My safety concern is with the 17 inch screen. Originally in the information about the car before it was purchased, said that the screen would tilt left or right to give the drive better a better view and access to the touch screen. I have talked to service about this and they have said they do not plan to retrofit our cars with the motors to make the screen move. This is now working on the same car that is one year newer. We were promised this and I believe this issue with the screen not moving is a serious concern. You cannot see the screen as well or touch it as well because it does not tilt towards the driver. Please investigate this problem, it is dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478879August 11, 2022
STEERING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The position of the horn button on the steering yoke is problematic. The horn button on the 2021 Tesla model S is operated by the right thumb. This position causes activation problems in various situations. One example is where quick horn use is required, the natural muscle memory is to push the center of the yoke , (where the horn button is located on all manufactured vehicles). The initial reaction to push the center of the wheel, causes an UNSAFE delay in horn activation, as the user then struggles to find the small horn button with the right thumb. Most of the time, the horn button is missed and the windshield wipers are activated, which causes more confusion in a stressful situation. Another problem with the position of the horn button is that when making a tight turn and the wheel is spun 180 degrees, the horn button is impossible to find or activate in a timely manner. It is surprising to me that the horn button placement was allowed to be installed on a production vehicle. While driving the vehicle there have been numerous events where quick horn activation was needed. One of the events happened recently while exiting a public garage. While the yoke was turned 180 degrees to make a right turn, another vehicle almost hit our vehicle and when my wife tried to hit the horn, it was impossible to find the button since the wheel was upside down, ( spun 180 degrees). Only luck prevented an accident. Another event happened two days ago. While driving on a 4 lane highway, a vehicle aggressively changed lanes toward our car. The action of the other vehicle caused a startle response, when my wife tried to hit the horn, muscle memory caused her to push the center of the wheel, instead of the small button that is activated by the thumb. By the time she found the button, it was too late to prevent the other vehicle from swerving into our lane. Also, the windshield wipers were activated instead of the horn. The horn position needs to be changed to the center of the wheel.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478343August 9, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
On 4 Aug 2022, at 10:24am (CST), while traveling northbound on Hwy 287 just south of Henrietta, Texas with the Tesla Autopilot speed set at 80mph with a posted speed limit of 75mph, the car was in the left lane of a two-lane, high-speed highway, when the car suddenly and unexpectedly slammed on the brakes, gave a "TAKE CONTROL IMMEDIATELY" warning and rapidly shifted its lane position, almost causing a wreck with the car behind me. There were no vehicles beside me and nothing to the front or sides to cause concern or indicate that there was any reason for the sudden and abrupt braking maneuver.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11477687August 4, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Tesla center console screen fails to reliably respond to user-touches for simple inputs concerning the HVAC system. This system failure is highly repeatable in my car, and was first noticed driving on a normal Houston street at posted limits. A typical failure pattern, is the car is being driven on normal roads with their occasional imperfections. This can lead to finger-tips touching the display screen accurately, but only very briefly, to trigger an intended input. https://youtu.be/IcQ-mAuQ4cY The screen provides active areas for input in the form of buttons, and slider user-interface elements. In the video, I tap the slider that controls fan speed. Some 7 of 12 touches to the screen simply do not produce a corresponding effect: a) changing the slider positions; nor b) changing the rate of the HVAC fan. This is a safety risk, since a second attempt to touch the screen is required, demanding additional driver focus on the display, and away from watching for traffic and correct driving. This Tesla failure is a pattern observed across several user interfaces, including the voice command system, which is highly unreliable, even in quiet settings with normal N. American speech patterns, for which the car was presumably designed. Faulty car responsiveness across multiple systems is not a coincidence. It is a sign of cultural failure at the highest levels of Tesla to make their cars safe. No warnings, in the displays, or in the Tesla manuals, suggest that this would be a problem under any condition. No inspection has been made by Tesla of this car. Apple does not have this problem, even with their earliest phones. It is unknown what positive purpose there can be to have the display software reject taps, even brief ones. Or for that matter, why Tesla would fail to indicate that user-contact is insufficient and treated as error.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11477216August 2, 2022
VISIBILITY
The contact's wife owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that after his wife entered the vehicle and closed the driver's side front door, the driver's side front window exploded. There was no impact on the window that could have caused it to explode. The contact's wife did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a claim with the insurance company. The failure mileage was approximately 10,700.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11476672July 30, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, STEERING
This is regarding the turn signal controls on the 2022 Tesla Model S requiring users to take their focus off the road at best and being difficult/impossible to use in many situations at worst. In order to turn on a blinker, instead of physically actuating a stalk like on virtually all other cars, the user has to find and press at a certain place on the steering wheel. There is no physical button to feel for, so one has to look down at the steering wheel to find the button. If one tries to feel around for it, they risk the chance of initiating the wrong signal, since they're flat, capacitance buttons. I've had several incidents where I was unable to turn on my blinkers because the wheel had been rotated and the arrows were not only way out of their normal location, but they were also confusingly reversed in direction. Instead of focusing on looking for pedestrians, watching other traffic, and properly starting the turn and/or exiting the roundabout, I have to focus on finding the turn buttons and figure out which one I need to use (since they're both facing the opposite direction in that wheel orientation). Other incidents include turning on the wrong indicator when the wheel is rotation half way around, and not being able to find the indicators quickly enough to activate them in emergency situations (like when an ambulance appears and I need to quickly turn them on to pull to the side of the road). Finally, unlike physical stalks, they give no physical indication of when they turn off, so they are often left on when the computer isn't smart enough to turn them off automatically, or when I don't think they're turning off properly, I press the button again to toggle it off only to have it turn off an instant earlier, causing me to turn on the signal again and possibly confusing other drivers. I've never had any of these issues with regular turn signal stalks in other cars, and this new design does not offer any visible benefits.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11475433July 23, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
We experienced between 10 and 15 Phantom braking events on Highway 395 between Carson City and Apple Valley California. We also experienced Phantom breaking a few times during the trip back along Highway 101 in California. The events occurred only when the car was in adaptive cruise control and in basic self driving. Braking was alarmingly strong in two or three cases, and could have resulted in an accident if someone had been following behind us . Other Phantom breaking was moderate to barely noticeable. These events occurred when there were no other vehicles in the immediate vicinity of the car. Some occurred with no vehicles anywhere in sight. Conditions were 100%, in daylight, no fog or dust obstruction, a brand new clean car, and no other known impacts. The car was simply being driven on a Highway with two lanes going in each Direction. In most cases the opposing lanes were separated by large medians between 50 and hundreds of feet apart. When self- driving and adaptive speed control were off there were no incidents of this phantom braking. As I mentioned before this is a brand new Tesla S. This car was received on June 30th. It was on its first road trip when these events occurred.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474849July 20, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
While on A/P cruising on the free way the car slow down and start braking on its own !!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474642July 19, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This message appeared this morning on my brand 18 day old new 2022 Tesla S I was driving from my home in Santa Monica to LAX, drove about 3 blocks when this message appeared. "VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN - pull over safely" I turned around and did not quite make it home in my residential area. I did find a parking space and took an UBER to the airport. The car turned itself off. I feel fortunate this did not happen on a freeway for the obvious safety reasons.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474114July 15, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I just completed a round trip from Minneapolis to Oregon. During cruise control, the vehicle frequently suddenly braked at highway speeds for no apparent reason. This was extremely dangerous a few times. I have put in a service request with Tesla.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#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
#11472761July 7, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle approached another vehicle that had slowed for a traffic light and did not automatically start braking. The contact manually applied the brakes, but the vehicle crashed into the rear end of the vehicle in front. The contact stated he noticed no warning lights illuminated nor warning chimes sounded advising of a vehicle ahead. The contact said both air bags deployed. The vehicle had crashed and damaged the entire front end which crumpled to the front tires. The police were on the scene and filed a report. The contact and the occupant of the other vehicle were not injured. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11471255June 27, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
Brakes are not strong enough to brake tires loose or cause anti lock. My Chevrolet Colorado out stops my Tesla. Hit an animal that my truck would not have. Helpless feeling.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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