2019 TESLA MODEL S

What owners reported to NHTSA, ranked by how often and how seriously.

This is complaint data, not a random sample.

It only includes owners who chose to file a federal complaint, so it over-represents dramatic and safety-related problems and under-represents minor issues an owner just had fixed without reporting. Read this as what NHTSA complainants report most, not as this vehicle's true failure rate. Full methodology.

Component ranking

  1. #1

    adas collision warning

    11 unsafe

    11
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=6)

    • "I WAS DRIVING MY 2019 MODEL S TESLA ON AUTOPILOT DOWN THE FREEWAY AT FREEWAY SPEED WHEN SUDDENLY IT STARTED BRAKING AND THE ALARMS WENT OFF AS IF REACTING TO AN IMPENDING COLLISION. ONLY, THERE WAS NOTHING IN FRONT OF ME TO REACT TO. THE GUY BEHIND ME REAR END…"~9,000 mi, complaint #1676760
    • "The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at 70 MPH on autopilot, the vehicle independently activated the brakes. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal in order for the vehicle to de…"~59,000 mi, complaint #1831017
  2. #2

    suspension struts shocks

    5 unsafe, 1 annoyance

    6
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=6)

    • "AT LOW SPEEDS (10-30 MPH) THERE IS A RATTLE THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT IS COMING FROM UNDER THE FRONT LEFT SIDE OF THE CAR. IT IS TRIGGERED BY EVEN THE SLIGHTEST OF BUMPS IN THE ROAD. IN 2018, TESLA ADMITTED TO THE PROBLEM AND WAS REPLACING STRUTS (OR EVEN BUYING BA…"~500 mi, complaint #1678401
    • "ON HARD ACCELERATION (IN MOTION), THE CAR VIBRATES AND RATTLES FROM THE FRONT END. TESLA SAID THEY DO NOT HAVE A FIX. LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT IT. I FRERL SOMETHING MAJOR IS WRONG WITH THE CAR AND TESLA IS DOING NOTHING TO FIX THE PROBLEM."~5,000 mi, complaint #1644513
    • "THIS ABOUT THE 400TH TIME THAT I HAVE HAD TO FILE A COMPLAINT ABOUT DEFECTIVE TESLA SUSPENSIONS. I DON'T GIVE UP EASILY. HERE IS A TESLA IN THE JUNKYARD. HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/35537692/22 IT HAS NOT BEEN IN A CRASH. NO AIR-BAGS DEPLOYED. NO D…"~5,000 mi, complaint #1650641
    • "The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to complete a turn, the contact heard an abnormal sound emanating from the front end of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The veh…"~58,000 mi, complaint #1971127
  3. #3

    wheel or rim

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "CRACKED RIM. UNACCEPTABLE I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE ABOUT 6 TIRES ON MY CAR THAT HAS 17,600 MILES. I DID NOT NOTICE ANYTHING OTHER THAN MY TIRES KEEP GOING FLAT. TESLA KEEPS TELLING ME TO REPLACE MY TIRES TO MAKE MONEY OFF ME BUT ITS THE RIMS THAT ARE THE PROBLEM."~17,599 mi, complaint #1742414
    • "2019 TESLA MODEL S IN JUNKYARD HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/36985305?ROWNUMBER=5 AND GUESS WHAT..... THE BACK WHEEL FELL OFF! THAT'S IT...BACK WHEEL FELL OFF. PHOTOS SHOW THAT ALL THE GIBLETS ARE STRETCHED AND SNAPPED. DO YOU REALLY THINK IT IS A…"~27,000 mi, complaint #1681813
  4. #4

    adas lane keeping

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, WHEN DRIVING IN ENHANCED AUTO-PILOT AND ENGAGED AUTO LANE CHANGE, THE CAR STARTED CHANGING LANES, THEN ABRUPTLY SWERVED BACK INTO MY ORIGINAL LANE. I LOOKED BEHIND ME AND COAST WAS CLEAR. IT'S NOT AT ALL APPARENT WHY THE CAR ABORTS…"complaint #1549392
    • "My Tesla supervised FSD is a safety hazard. Promised programming updates have not improved the erratic, UNSAFE “assistance. I try it after each update, but I’m afraid to rely on it other than 5-10mph bumper to bumper road conditions. I don’t have one specific…"complaint #2084531
  5. #5

    steering electric assist

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "AT ~5,000 TOTAL VEHICLE MILES, OUR 2019 MODEL S PERFORMANCE HAD SUDDEN AND COMPLETE POWER STEERING ASSIST FAILURE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, POSSIBLY CONCURRENT WITH AUTOPILOT (AUTOSTEER) FAILURE. EITHER I, OR THE AUTOPILOT SYSTEM, TURNED OFF THE AUTOPILOT FEATURE AT…"~5,200 mi, complaint #1740257
  6. #6

    adas adaptive cruise

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Tesla’s software updates have rendered systems useless the vehicle wants to hug and sometimes cross the left double yellow lines. It cannot hold a constant speed and since their implementation of “supervised” full self driving, have made my vehicle unsafe "complaint #2131870
  7. #7

    adas autonomous driving system

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I have a Tesla with Full Self Driving software. On Oct 15, around 1:15 PM Central, in Austin, we had finished lunch. Testa was parked around 100 ft away and I pressed Summon to have the car come to where we were. Completely line of sights. The car while pul…"complaint #1773796
  8. #8

    airbag system

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "TL* THE CONSUMER OWNS A 2019 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT WHILETHEY WERE PULLING INTO THE DRIVEWAY UNKNOWN, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO THE GARAGE DOOR AND WALL. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND THE STEERING WHEEL AND BRAKES SEIZED. THE…"complaint #1613858
  9. #9

    backup camera

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "After a recent Tesla firmware update, the backup camera (FMVSS 111 rear visibility function) stopped working. When shifting into reverse, the display shows a black/blank screen instead of the required rearview image. However, the rear camera preview feed still…"complaint #2152334
  10. #10

    control module

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the display screen malfunctioned and would not operate. During the failure, the vehicle speed would not display, the turn signals, brake lights and hazard lights were also i…"~500 mi, complaint #1756875
  11. #11

    door latch and hinge

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00B000 (Latches, Locks, Linkages) however, the failure of the latch had occurred a year prior to receiving the recall notification. The contact stated while d…"~30,958 mi, complaint #1860807
  12. #12

    driveshaft axle cv

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Front drive shafts (half shafts) have been replaced 2x within 6 months and 2-3k miles. They won’t explain why this keeps happening. I believe this is a wide spread issue after some research. "complaint #1862619
  13. #13

    engine mounts

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Sept 9th, 2023 while driving on the interstate the vehicle lost all propulsion power, red lights shown in "gear, P N D" indicator area. I was in left lane and had to get to the side of the road, 4 lanes over, where putting the car in park and back in drive all…"complaint #1934859
  14. #14

    ev drive unit or inverter

    1 stranded

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "While I have not experienced this issue personally yet, it is highly possible that it affects all 2012–2020 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with the large induction motor. The issue appears to involve a manufacturing/design defect that allows coolant to leak…"complaint #2235987
  15. #15

    glass and windshield

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "driving down the road on a 25 degree day. i turned on the front defroster and the entire windshield cracked across the entire windshield. i've heard of other tesla owners having the same problem. cheap untested glass. all teslas need new glass. two weeks late…"complaint #1786588
  16. #16

    horn

    1 annoyance

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that after he received an over-the-air (OTA) software update for his vehicle; the horn stopped working without warning. The contact had spoken to the service center where he was informed that they were…"~23,000 mi, complaint #1800762
  17. #17

    infotainment head unit

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "NHTS COMPLAINT ENTRY 2020-08-07 NARRATIVE SECTION: ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS WHILE DRIVING MID-MORNING OR MID-DAY IN A STRAIGHT TRAJECTORY ON SMOOTH AND LEVEL ROAD SURFACE AND NOT BRAKING BOTH THE DRIVER'S AND THE CENTER CONSOLE'S DISPLAY AND TOUCH PANEL, RES…"~3,000 mi, complaint #1682921
  18. #18

    lighting exterior

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • " Tesla designs a single piece headlight with no serviceable parts. This includes headlights, high beams, and namely daytime running lights. All of these components are on an LED strip that overheats and un-solders due to this high heat, which causes premature…"complaint #1850814
  19. #19

    other

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "On [XXX] at approximately 1230 pm my husband loaded my [XXX] child into the car. He shut the door then tried to open the driver site door. At that time the inside the car was 93 degrees. The car shut off. Telsa customer support was contacted multiple time…"complaint #1997281
  20. #20

    seatbelt and pretensioner

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Received error message on screen that a left front seat belt error occurred with an error code of rcm2_a564. Indications are that this error then disables the airbag deployment and the seat belt reaction to an accident. Since this is a safety issue, it shou…"complaint #2221335
  21. #21

    software or update

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=3)

    • "ELECTRICAL PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH SOFTWARE UPDATE 2019.28.2 320FBAO. DOWNLOADED UPDATE AND FOLLOWING UPDATE ONE COULD HEAR SOLENOIDS OPENING & CLOSING FOLLOWED BY LEFT DAY TIME RUNNING LIGHT ILLUMINATING FOLLOWED BY RIGHT. DID A SOFT AND HARD RESET AND FACT…"~2,730 mi, complaint #1591736
  22. #22

    trunk or liftgate

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Rear trunk power lift gate would not open. There is an emergency release on rear lift gate if someone is stuck in the car. Emergency release doesn't work, pulled on it multiple times and it is jammed doesn't move. So in an emergency you are stuck. Appeared tod…"complaint #2031899
  23. #23

    unintended acceleration

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "On[XXX], at approximately 6:30 PM while I was driving my 2019 Tesla Model S in Fort Lee, NJ. While navigating through congested traffic and executing a right turn from [XXX] on a green light, the auto-pilot system was not using, my vehicle unexpectedly experie…"complaint #1956588
  24. #24

    wiper and washer

    1 annoyance

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "The intermittent wipers do not work at all. I created a service ticket with Tesla and they informed me that this is a known bug affecting Model S & X vehicles and that there is currently no known date for a fix to be released. "complaint #1951836

NHTSA investigations

Search NHTSA's own recall and complaint database for TESLA MODEL S directly.