2016 Tesla Model S complaints

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while turning into a parking spot, there was an unintended acceleration of the vehicle; it surged forward, jumped the parking barrier, and crashed into a wall. There were no warning lights illuminated. A police report was filed. There was no reported fire, injuries, or air bag deployment. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

Touch screen has bubbles and could become unusable

The infotainment unit in the car that controls functionality, I.e. navigation used to monitor battery availability is malfunctioning because of glue seeping from the unit and causing the screen to go black intermittently while driving creating a safety hazard for the driver and others due to a distraction. When this happens the driver loses visibility to navigation and other controls central to the vehicle functionality. Tesla is aware of this manufacturing defect that is a safety concern because it requires the driver to not focus on the road.

On September 7th, 2024 around 7:35 PM, my tesla model S 2016 Suddenly accelerated, smashed in the siding of my house breaking the the siding of the wall and was totaled. All of this happened while my mom was trying to park the car in the garage the car suddenly took off without her pressing the accelerator. I have tesla to send an engeneer to collect the data of the car in which they said they did but have not yet gotten back to me on the issue. They informed me that they have collected the data on 09/20/2024

The LCD screen is blinking, sometimes going blank. And its getting worse as the days are passing by. I heard there was a recall for models older than 2018.

Turned right into garage slowly. Car suddenly accelerated very fast by itself. I swerved and avoided 1 parked vehicle. Was not able to avoid another one. I braked. The car stopped. Airbags had gone off.

I was slowly backing up to charge my car and heard a thump then my wheel was rubbing against the wheel well. When I looked under the wheel to see what was happening, I discover the metal suspension had snapped off. This was the front passenger side.

2016 Model S started making clunking sounds when turning and braking. Tesla service center inspected the vehicle and observed visible defects on the front left and right fore and aft links. Tesla recommended replacement of and quoted almost $2000 for parts and labor, including inspection fee. Vehicle only has 89000 miles and never had high impact incidents over obstacles.

While parking the vehicle, a loud shot gun like noise eminated from the front of the car. The car was being driven at less than 5 mph. After this there was loud noises from the front of the cars suspension. The car seemed unsafe to drive farther. I took it to the tesla service center the next day driving at a very low speed. they replaced the right and left front contol arms and charged me $1204.98 on October 26, 2023. The vehicle had 77,626 miles at that point. I queried them as to why this would ocurr at such low mileage and vehicle age? I got not response other than these things happen and the car is out of the normal warranty and the extended warranty. I paid the invoice since i agreed to the repair estimate earlier.

The lower control arm on my left rear tire broke. Specifically, the aluminum of the knuckle joint snapped. This occured in my driveway while backing up. This caused extensive damage to the rest of the rear left suspension.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the instrument cluster became inoperable on several occasions. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the contact was informed that the failure would reoccur unless the vehicle was updated with a new infotainment center and a faster processor. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle had been taken to the dealer several times due to the failure. The contact stated that recently the instrument cluster and the ECM were replaced. In addition, the vehicle recently received a software update. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V838000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. 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 contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Received and OTA notice on the dashboard that states "Battery Fuse replacement" is required. The fuse is due to a Li-ion battery that wears out for a safety system. Life expectancy of the battery is 10 years. It has not lasted 8 full years. This is stated as a safety issue and Tesla has since redesigned this item to not required the batteries. I have alerted Tesla about this issue, have not had a reply, as yet. The vehicle can be operated without this safety device, which seems inappropriate. I feel this should be replaced under warranty and/or recall - but it appears Tesla will want to charge an excessive amount of money.

Incident Tesla Model S was up to date on recalls as far as we can tell, including the recent autopilot update via Tesla internet vehicle update releases. While driving in autopilot mode on the freeway in the lane next to the HOV lane, the autopilot got confused as to which lane it should keep and failed to maintain its lane. Incident vehicle drifted across the double lines into the HOV lane, where another Tesla Model S was driving. Both cars were damaged in the ensuing side bump impact, then the incident vehicle made a slight impact to another car rear bumper in front of the incident vehicle. No injuries were reported. A subsequent Traffic Crash Report was filed as required with CA Highway Patrol. We are awaiting this report in the mail. Our safety and others was put at risk due to the failure of the autopilot to maintain its lane. Insurance was contacted. The insurance company, USAA, has deemed the incident vehicle (our vehicle) damage too expensive to fix due to the very high cost of replacement/repair parts and has deemed our vehicle a "total loss." We have not been able to access the software of the vehicle. Since USAA has deemed the vehicle a total loss, they are selling the car for salvage and thus we have no further access to the vehicle for legal purposes. As far as I know, USAA has not pulled the vehicle software records nor has requested such records and has completely ignored the autopilot issue. That is part of the reason for our complaint here as well. Since ther

1.) Passenger Side Door is a potential hazard. Door latch and door mechanism does not open from the outside. 2.) Lane keep assist on Autopilot veers off to the right when it is first engaged and does not want to stay centered until it's been on for awhile.

While backing out of a parking spot, I turned my wheels and went over a small depression in the drive for drainage. As my front tires went through the dip I heard a loud clank like something had broken. Then every bump I went over there was a knocking near the driver's side front tire. I took it in to Tesla and the service agent knew exactly right away what had happened because he said he has seen the same exact thing several times before. They explained that it was unsafe to drive and needed to be fix it immediately. When given the estimate they said only the driver's side Fore Link assembly broke but would need to replace both sides. I got a bill for $2150.61.

When I was driving in the parking lot and turned to park at a parking spot I heard a sound from the passenger side front wheel. After I heard the sound the wheel felt stuck and was not moving freely. There were two other passengers in the car along with the driver. This is the second time that this happened. It happened first on Oct 2021 when the car's mileage was 51k and the second time when the mileage was 77k. The Model S was purchased in 2016. Tesla service center fixed it the first time and the repair listed the following 1>Fore Link Assembly LH(1041570-00-B) 2>Washer Nordlock(1033093-00-A) 3>Nut HF M14x1.50 ZnNi NL Insert(1004358-00-C) Tesla charged me $495 for it. The second time this happened the damage was a lot more extensive and Tesla recommended I take the car to a Tesla-approved body shop. I took the car to Brooks Automotive in Fremont and they charged me $10,000 for the repairs. My insurance refused to pay for the damages after I filed a claim with the insurance. Tesla refused to pay for it claiming it was not a manufacturing defect and the car was not under warranty. This car is driven by me and my wife and neither of us are rash drivers. We did not hit any debris on the road or remember an incident that could have led to this happening not once but twice. The car has been driven normally and used for normal family activities on public paved roads.

Vehicle Error: Parking brake not applied/Vehicle may free roll. This issue appeared to be covered by the attached recall, but the service center indicated that it did not apply to my vehicle. Therefore, they charged me for the repair. I do not understand this as the recalled vehicle criteria seems to match my vehicle information. Are you able to evaluate whether this recall should apply to my vehicle? Thank you. Repair Notes: Installed Vehicle Set of Wheels. Replaced RH Park Brake Rear Brake Caliper. Replaced LH Park Brake Rear Brake Caliper.

Tesla has refused to fix safety recall items. They asked me to replace the cluster own my own so i can receive updates.

Left front lower link suspension component broke at low speed. Wheel moved aft and contacted sharp metal in the wheel well causing tire damage.

1. The component that failed was the parking brake. This failure occurred immediately after leaving the Ballard Way Tesla Supercharger. Tesla in Lynnwood, WA, replaced one of the parts on [XXX]. I am unsure if the replaced part is available for inspection, as I did not retain it. The other brake caliper, which has not been replaced, has not shown issues but is available for inspection. 2. The safety risk was significant as the parking brake malfunction rendered my vehicle immovable, causing a traffic obstruction immediately after use and again on the road, potentially endangering myself, other motorists, and pedestrians due to the unexpected immobilization of my vehicle in traffic. 3. Yes, the problem was acknowledged by the Tesla service center in Lynnwood, WA, which replaced one of the malfunctioning parking brake components on [XXX], thereby confirming the malfunction. There was also confirmation of recall 17V-260 and that my vehicle was experiencing the same symptoms. 4. The vehicle was inspected and serviced by the manufacturer's service center (Tesla in Lynnwood, WA). There were no inspections conducted by police, insurance representatives, or other parties as far as I am aware. 5. Yes, there were intermittent issues with the parking brake being unresponsive when attempting to park the car a few days prior to the incident at Ballard Way. Although the physical brake had not locked up until the incident occurred, the parking brake fault warning did appear intermittently,

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH and coming up on a fork in the road, the autopilot system was not activated, the vehicle suddenly veered to the right independently, requiring the contact to quickly redirect the vehicle towards the intended route. Later, during a separate incident while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost all motive and electrical power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart. The contact also stated that she had previously become aware that there was condensation building inside the instrument panel as well as the center display and that the dealer had been notified but failed to address her concern. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure, insisting that the autopilot system was likely activated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Power steering failed suddenly and without any alert on the dashboard. I called Tesla support & they said this is a known problem for which the immediate but only short term fix is to fully power off the car, wait at least 2 minutes & then restart the car. They advised me to do this and then drive the car to a Tesla service center for analysis and repair.

Similar issue to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V260000. Vehicle was in park. Shifted the vehicle into drive and the passenger side parking break seized and would not release.

When vehicle is placed in park the wipers engage continuously on the intermittent setting. This occurs every time the car is put in park regardless of the weather. These uncontrolled wipes on a dry windshield are causing damage to my windshield and the wipers.

The passenger door handle and locking mechanism was not functioning properly. The front passenger door handle was not presenting. Also, every time I parked the car or unlocked the car, the door would pop open. Also, while in drive and when the car was in motion the passenger door would pop open unexpectedly. Safety is put at risk as the door would pop open while the car was in drive and in motion. The problem was reproduced several times and the Tesla service center acknowledged the problem and fixed it. They charged me $477. There were no warning signs.

You guys have ruined auto-pilot and made it 10x more dangerous and will cause more accidents in this format. It needs to be reversed back to what it was. Now when looking at the screen to change the temperature or change a song, or looking at the mirror, it asks you to touch the wheel immediately and causes unnecessary stress and potential mistakes, I've already oversteered the wheel several times swerving after it warns me to touch the wheel because I'm trying to look at a mirror quickly to not have the alert come on. In addition, it has 3 marks against me, and will be suspended from using it soon. never before have I even had a mark against me on the system. I believe your approach to fixing the situation is fundamentally flawed. People get into accidents with Autopilot because of their negligence, not because of autopilot. That is on the end user who has insurance and a driving record. Do not punish all of those who are good drivers, you are making us worse drivers now with the new autopilot to save a few accidents from bad drivers, but it will now cause many more in this format. This is a terrible decision on the regulatory part, and a sign of OVER regulation.

The fore link assembly on the drivers side of the car failed while pulling backwards out of a parking space at low speed. There was a loud snap and then the front suspension collapsed and the tire contacted the inside of the wheel well. I will attach a picture of the aluminum piece that I found on the ground and I also have the piece in the case you would like it. Tesla did not cover the cost of repair although they replaced both the right and the left fore link (sound like this is a very well documented failure Tesla TSB-17-31-001)

Daytime running lights de soldered themselves from the headlight assembly, Tesla suggested a $4600.00 replacement of headlights at customer cost, no warranty.

Driving 75mph on cruise control. Car sensed a vehicle in front of me (which there were no vehicles in sight) my Tesla started flashing the red car light and making the alert noise. My vehicle automatically slammed on the brakes dropping me to about 40mph instantly. My greatest fear continuing to drive this vehicle is if I use cruise control, and it senses a vehicle in front of me without their actually being a vehicle and slams on the brakes again myself or someone is going to get hurt. This has the potential to cause death or cause severe injury.

The car drove itself away without being summoned. It was parked in a parking lot, it reversed itself and started driving and stopped at next stop sign. Someone alerted me thankfully and I went to retrieve the car from stop sign.

Was merging onto the the highway when all of a sudden, my passenger rear suspension gave out nearly causing me to crash into highway traffic. The wheel almost came off completely causing $14K of damage that I was responsible for paying for.

Halfshaft and Control arm broke while backing up from a Walmart store. Tesla dealer diagnosed it but the repair was not covered. I had to pay out of pocket but this could have been prevented it the car was recalled.

Right front lower suspension arm bushing pulled out leaving wheel loose. Recognized right away but could have caused loss of control. No provoking reason. Taken to dealer who replaced part.

In April, 2023 we received a recall notice directly from Tesla about a safety recall involving the front trunk hood opening while driving. The letter stated we would be contacted later about the fix. But we have never heard anything since from Tesla yet the recall does not show up on your website for our car. Can you explain what happened to the supposedly required repair?

Front air suspension failed while driving on the highway at 70 MPH while traveling from El P Paso, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico in July on 2023. front end of the car hit the ground and could not steer without tire grinding into the wheel well. Upon getting the car inspected for the problem, it was found that the front left air suspension had malfunctioned and because of the way the air suspension works, neither right or left side of the suspension would hold air and keep front of the car off the road. Cost of repairs was $1258.95 which Tesla refused to admit there was a design flaw that would render the car undrivable.

So essentially I stopped for a charge about 30 minutes before, I charged it, then hopped back on the turnpike as I was heading to Outer Banks NC, while I was on the turn pike where I believe at the time I started to go around a curve not a sharp one but a curve right after coming off this bridge. Every 1 minute and 30 seconds you have to put your hands on the wheel and give it a jerk to keep it enable so it had to have popped up within the 1 minute and 30 seconds. As I was changing the album of the artists I was listening too I heard the BEEP BEEP BEEP which means you are approaching something and are about to hit it, As I looked up all I saw was blinking lights and really smacked the rear end of this traffic control truck, anywhere from 65-75 miles per hour with no time to react. If I remember correctly I had my car on 7 lengths away (maximum amount you can have away). As I hit the control I hit my head pretty hard on the steering wheel so the whole memory is blurry following when it happened and my adrenaline was very high but I didn’t wanna go to the Emergency room even though they suggested highly because I have no health insurance and that would have had to come out of my own pocket and I was stuck in Pennsylvania by myself and didn’t wanna get stuck in the hospital too. Thank you so much for taking your time to look at this it means a lot.

Sudden unintended acceleration appeared to cause the Tesla while parking the car on the street in front of home accelerate go out of control and crash into the home totaling the car and damaging the house. Two days prior the vehicle was brought into a Tesla service location where Tesla replaced the 12 volt battery that they believed was causing the car not to power on properly at that time. After the crash and googling to see if others suffered similar issues it appears the NHTSA recently reopened a review of sudden unintended acceleration and this incident seems to align with concerns of the petitioner [XXX] . The police filed a report and it’s at the towing place where the insurer Allstate is going to evaluate the car for a total loss. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Dear NHTSA, I am writing to file a complaint regarding a SUA incident that occurred on October 20, 2023, involving my 2016 Tesla Model S. On the day of the incident, I pulled into my garage and began to park my car. When I pressed the brake pedal, the car suddenly accelerated forward, crashing into the garage wall and totaling the vehicle. The garage wall was severely damaged and will need to be rebuilt. This is not the first time that my Tesla has experienced SUA. In 2017, I filed a complaint with NHTSA regarding a similar incident. In my previous complaint (issue # 11000097 dated June 19, 2017), I described a similar incident that occurred in December 2016. At the time, Tesla denied that the incident was caused by SUA and no further action was taken. I am convinced that the SUA incident on October 25, 2023, was caused by a defect in my Tesla Model S. I am also concerned that other Tesla owners may be at risk of similar incidents. I urge NHTSA to investigate this matter and take appropriate action to protect consumers. I believe that Tesla should be held liable for the damages to my vehicle and my garage wall, and that the company should be required to recall all Tesla Model S vehicles that are at risk of SUA. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely,

Every time the car was put into park, or when the car turned off the passenger front door would pop open. Please see concern 7 on Tesla repair invoice.

Front trunk latch would not engage to latch frunk, and when frunk opened, would not engage to lock frunk. Error message kept repeating that frunk was opened, but it would not latch. When asked about the existing recall, was told that it does not apply to my vehicle, despite the problem being exactly as described in the recall.

The main screen has been going black approximately every 2 minutes while I am driving. It flashes off and then back on. I lose my backup camera, and all access to other features such as defrost, which can be scary, not to mention distracting. This issue started in May 2023, and I brought the car in. An upgrade to the 64gb eMMc (originally was an 8gb chip) was performed in May. I believe Tesla was asked to, but would not, recall cars with this issue; they would only upgrade the chip. In August, 2023 we had issues again. They "reflashed" the unit and it was ok, but only for a couple of weeks. In addition to the recall, I have a warranty, but they will not replace the the computer unit without charging repairs to me. They tell me the hardware is outdated and the only true fix is to upgrade (at my cost - $2,000) to the "Infotainment" system. Since the upgrade to the 64mb chip has not worked, I believe they are required to do more, but they are telling me they will not, unless I pay. For some owners, I believe the upgrade was sufficient, but it has not been my experience. I have tried to reach someone above the service center manager, but it is impossible to get to a person. I have filled out contact forms on their website, with no response. I believe Tesla is putting my safety at risk because they will not perform what they know is the only true remedy.

I was backing into a spot and felt the fromt.left tire pull.I then took it too tesla and they told me that the front left fore link was broken. This is a manufacturer issue why are they not responsible.

The screen frequently locks up, during which time the defrost controls and backup camera are inoperable. Tesla Seaside initially agreed to perform the EMMC recall, but now with my car in the shop and me stranded an hour from home, they will not agree to perform the recall unless I agree to pay $2200 for a new screen as well, as the adhesive holding the screen is failing.

This is the third lower control arm to fail in this vehicle. Left front, left rear and now front right. All failures are the same, cracked castings at the ball joint or bushing. This vehicle has had to be towed in all three times as the wheel is no longer property connected to the frame and is undrivable without vehicle damage. Seriously, NHTSA needs to stop worrying about FSD and go investigate these suspension failures. At 50K miles, this is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. Luckily my failures have happened at slow speeds. If these failures happen at high speed, total loss if steering is possible. Please go after Tesla for these defects. These parts must be redesigned and replaced on Model S vehicles on the road today.

The trunk on our Tesla has become locked shut and the emergency release will not work. This seems To have been caused by the software getting buggy from reversing as the trunk was closing. After this the trunk seems to be in an error state and wouldn’t register as closed. After opening it it the. Wouldn’t shut at all following multiple attempts via the key fob. Button. And touch screen. After closing manually it still did not register as shut and is now completely inoperable. Seemingly disabling multiple systems in autopilot and as mentioned can not even be opened via the manual emergency release

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that over time, the adhesive for both the forward display and center console had degraded to the point that both components were able to move freely. The contact stated that the center console eventually lost electrical power, and as a result, the contact lost control and visibility of important vehicle safety features and information. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to provide a specific diagnosis, but the vehicle was repaired after replacing the forward display and center console. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000. The VIN was invalid.

At low speeds, the rear control arm on the driver side disconnected from the wheel causing instability and a near accident. When looking into this issue, it appears it may be more common than what is published. This could have caused a serious accident if I were going highway speed.

On July 14 between 8:05 AM to 8:08 AM I was going on CA 87 as I went up the ramp suddenly the steering wheel malfunctioned. I’ve lost control of the car steering wheel which started swerving right to left aggressively. I tried to control the steering wheel, but it still kept swerving uncontrollably going from left to right from one lane to another. Luckily, there were no cars in front of me, or behind me, or on the side, but due to the uncontrollable swerving, I almost crashed into the highway wall all of a sudden it just stopped and I was left paralyzed with fear and traumatized with this near death experience, I was shaking uncontrollably and crying And almost had a heart attack. I do have high blood pressure I just don’t understand what exactly happened all of a sudden and I need answers. We contacted the Tesla service center and they gave us a date for July 19th to look into this incident. How is it not a high priority safety concern that needs to be looked into ASAP by the tesla customer service I sent them the timestamp and the date of the incident and all the reply that I got was thank you. this is a big safety concern. I am still traumatized by this incident, and I would like to lodge an official complaint against Tesla motors, cause if I could not have controlled the car in time, I would’ve lost my life and I could’ve endangered the lives of others on that road.

The car was on enhanced auto pilot and was moving at about 50 mph, the traffic in front of me slowed down. The car failed to give an alert, it failed to slow down and stop. I applied the breaks, but by then the car crashed into the pick-up truck in front of me. The car came to a complete stop after the crash and the computer system in the car completely shut down. The car had to be towed to the garage. My safety and the safety of the driver in front of me were at risk due to malfunction of the enhanced auto pilot system We immediately filed a service ticket with Tesla and upon repeated requests we were told that car could not be inspected and the breaks or auto pilot system could not be tested as the car was not drivable. Police and car insurance company were notified. Tesla was able to provide us with a EDR There were no warning signs or messages prior to the malfunction.