Owners have filed 1,132 complaints on the Tesla Model S, covering 2012–2022. The system named most often is Electrical System (332 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 2014, 2021; cleanest: 2012, 2022, 2021. 98 reports describe a crash, 17 a fire, 13 a death. On average the car was 5.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Tesla Model S
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,132 Model S complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 332 Read
This was a Autodrive malfunction event on a brand new Tesla Model S. I was in standstill traffic when my car, which had been engaged in Autodrive, lurched forward and suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed into the car in front of us, without any driver prompts. The problem was immediately reported to Tesla who…
Three separate reports from car to Tesla: Traction Control Disabled Stability Control Disabled Automatic Emergency Braking Disabled Two hours later my car caught on fire while parked at my home. It was declared a total loss
The contact owns a 2014 tesla model s. The contact stated the while operating the vehicle the center touch screen display was inoperable and would not illuminate. Due to the display failure the rear view camera, turn signal lights and high beam lights would not activate. Also while charging, the battery would over…
Suspension 180 Read
Here is another tesla in the junkyard: https://www.copart.com/lot/38280127 it has been completely destroyed by fire. Despite the extreme fire damage it is clear from the attached photograph that the suspension links on the rh back wheel are cleanly snapped off. This is not because they have melted in the fire because…
Here is another model s for sale as a salvage wreck http://www.copart.com/us/en/lot/24419056?searchid=213897253 the front lh top ball joint has separated from the steering knuckle and there is no collision damage forward of the wheel that would have caused this failure. The car has then caught fire and burned out.…
This is a complaint about a burned out model s in the junkyard. The VIN is unavailable because the car is roasted so I have substituted the VIN of a different wreck in order to promptly file this urgent complaint. Here is the car I am complaining about. Https://www.iaai.com/vehicledetails/36655532?rownumber=4 I have…
Steering 100 Read
My vehicle was hit in the parking lot with my car being stationary/parked as I could not click the horn button as it is not in the center of the steering wheel. Per CEO comments: [XXX] Replying to @[XXX] All cars made since November also have push center for horn – just waiting on firmware update. If you mash right…
Beta Autopilot was engaged, driver had hand on steering wheel, vehicle was traveling less than 35MPH (speed limit) and coming around a corner when it misjudged the road curve. The road curved to the left and as the car took the turn it took too wide of a turn and veered slightly off the road. Unfort the front right…
Tesla Sudden Acceleration Accident: I ordered a Tesla Model S on June 21, 2021 and received a Tesla Model S on November 10, 2021. On Monday, February 7th, 2022, at approximately 5pm EST, my Tesla Model S failed to stop in a parking lot. I was pulling into a parking lot at Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida.…
Power Train 59 Read
The gear shifter is unreliable without visually checking the gears on screen. It may or may not register the shift during selection. When merging from residential traffic to a main road turning right, the driver has to pull forward to check the incoming traffic. In ideal situation, if the other vehicles are…
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…
Front axle half shafts have failed two times requiring replacement (on 3rd set now). During acceleration the steering wheel vibrates violently. Tesla service center diagnosed both times that front half shafts needed to be replaced. There seems to be some design or manufacturing problem - these items keep failing. The…
Vehicle Speed Control 48 Read
The contact owned a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 100 MPH, as he took his foot off of the accelerator, with the vehicle brake control set to "aggressive slowdown," as the vehicle slowed the contact looked into the rearview mirror and observed white smoke issuing from the rear of…
I have been driving my Model S Tesla for 13 years. On 30 April as I was pulling into a parking space at my local grocery store, I applied the brakes to ease into the space and my car surged forward with unintended acceleration. I smashed into the concrete base of a light pole, the airbags deployed and my car…
The contact owns a 2014 tesla model s. While pulling into a parking space, the vehicle surged forward, jumped the curb, and crashed into a building. A police report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage…
Structure 41 Read
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…
I was parking my car I heard and felt the car begin to accelerate. I put the car in park and step firmly on the brake peddle.then of it own volition it mounted the adjoining embankment and collided with the tree. This caused extensive front end damage
Slowly pulling into a parking spot at a strip mall, I released my foot off of the gas, lightly tapped brake and the car "unintentionally accelerated" into a palm tree in front of a brick pillar at a strip mall. I backed out to assess the damage. Husband was witness in driver's seat. This is the 2nd time this happened…
Forward Collision Avoidance 39 Read
On Nov 14 at 09:01 AM while driving on the freeway with clear weather and autopilot is on for at least 15 min and and i am fully attentive and no traffic the tesla auto pilot decided to turn left and hit the cement barrier of the freeway damaging my left rear wheel then it tried to correct it fault by turning right to…
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.…
I engaged Tesla's Autopark to park my car in my usual spot. The car kept going after reaching the back of the parking space, crashing into a pole located around one foot behind the parking spot. The time between when it should have braked and the post was of such short duration that I had no time to apply the brakes…
Service Brakes 27 Read
It is still unknown, but I believe the brakes failed. My wife was driving and making a left turn into a residential neighborhood when she applied the brake and it didn't respond, even when pushing the pedal to the floor. All that resulted was a clicking noise. The brakes failing to respond, and the emergency braking…
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
In August 2022 I was driving my Tesla S. I was traveling 25 miles an hour or less. I unfortunately lost consciousness for a very short time. My tesla then crashed into a parked car. There was snow emergency braking nor any emergency alarms. In theory describes shouldn’t of happened with an emergency braking system
Model S years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Back Over Prevention | 3 | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 13 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 45 | 6 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 33 | 8 | |
| 2012 | Back Over Prevention,equipment | 4 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 205 |
| Average complaints per series | 5.5 |
| Worst single series | 37 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.2 years |
A model average of 5.5 hides a worst series at 37. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Model S?
By complaint volume, 2013, 2014, 2021 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Model S years are the cleanest?
2012, 2022, 2021 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Tesla Model S have?
1,132 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2012–2022. Of those, 98 describe a crash and 17 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.