2020 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

    18 unsafe

    18
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=5)

    • "The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately [REDACTED ADDRESS] on the highway, a vehicle approached on the right side of the roadway and the Forward Collision Avoidance: Emergency Automatic Braking feature activated an…"~14,500 mi, complaint #1830714
  2. #2

    driveshaft axle cv

    7 unsafe

    7
    incidents

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

    • "The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started to vibrate in the shutter shaft unit. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with front CV a…"~32,807 mi, complaint #2079723
  3. #3

    unintended acceleration

    6 unsafe

    6
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=7)

    • "I WAS ATTEMPTING TO PARK MY TESLA MODEL S IN A CHARGING SLOT IN THE TESLA KETTLEMAN CITY SUPERCHARGE STATION. AFTER LOCATING A VACANT SLOT TO MY RIGHT, I MADE A RIGHT TURN INTO THE SLOT. THE CAR COASTED INTO THE SLOT IN A PERFECT HEAD-IN FASHION WITH NO PROBLE…"~661 mi, complaint #1687419
    • "ON SUNDAY OCT 11 AT 4:15 PM, AFTER A 1 HOUR RIDE, I HAD A 3RD UNINTENDED ACCELERATION INCIDENT PARKING MY TESLA IN MY GARAGE. I DROVE MY TESLA 4 TIMES SINCE HAVING OUR LAST 2 UNINTENDED ACCELERATION INCIDENTS ON AUGUST 18. I HAD LEFT MY SEATBELT CONNECTED FOR…"~1,250 mi, complaint #1702061
    • "TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THEY WERE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE AT ABOUT APPROXIMATELY 6 MPH, WHEN THEY TAPPED ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL LIGHTLY TO MOVE FORWARD SLIGHTLY, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED FORWARD AT HIGH SP…"~6,500 mi, complaint #1697895
    • "TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE HIS WIFE DRIVING IN A PARKING LOT AT 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED ON IT'S OWN AND CRASHED INTO A WALL AT 70 MPH. THE DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO DEPRESSED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT THE VEHICLE DID…"~15,000 mi, complaint #1746712
  4. #4

    adas autonomous driving system

    5 unsafe

    5
    incidents

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

    • "WHY ISN'T THE NHTSA INVESTIGATING AND STOPPING TESLA FROM BETA TESTING THEIR "SELF DRIVING" ABILITY ON CONSUMERS THAT NEVER CONSENTED? IT'S FRIGHTENING THAT THIS ORGANIZATION WOULD ALLOW A TECHNOLOGY TO BE USED THAT HAS KILLED PEDESTRIANS, DRIVERS AND PASSENG…"complaint #1702229
    • "The tesla full self driving was on and it turned my car into the guardrail in the middle of the highway all by itself for no reason at 70mph. It looked like a truck was turning into my lane and instead of stopping the car swerved into the grass and I hit the g…"complaint #1835325
    • "In all assisted driving modes except Full Self Driving (FSD), the car properly displays the speed Limit it has determined either by Map data or visual confirmation. In FSD, apparently only on pre-2021+ Model S cars, the determined speed limit is not displayed…"complaint #2030664
    • "Vehicle was tested for concern about self driving after test drive with tech told ok 3 days later Summoned car and immediately turned into adjacent vehicle all captured on video in 1-2 seconds. No issues with summons for over 4 years $2200 damage to adjacent v…"complaint #2064103
    • "On 09/18 , I was using the Smart Summon feature of my Tesla Model S in the parking lot of Costco, Greenwood (Indianapolis, IN). The intent was to have the vehicle autonomously navigate from its parked spot toward my location, as designed and advertised by Tesl…"complaint #2133057
  5. #5

    other

    3 unsafe, 2 annoyance

    5
    incidents

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

    • "WHEN DRIVING AND ACCELERATING ONTO ENTRY RAMP OF HIGHWAY, THE FRONT HOOD FLEW OPEN BLOCKING VISION. I WAS PROBABLY DOPING ABOUT 60 MPH WHEN IT CAME OPEN. THE TESLA DIAGNOSTIC CLAIMED A MESSAGE WAS ON MY SCREEN TELLING ME HOOD MAY NOT BE CLOSED CORRECTLY. THE…"~6,500 mi, complaint #1724988
  6. #6

    steering electric assist

    5 unsafe

    5
    incidents

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

    • "TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE REVERSING FROM HIS GARAGE, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE CONTACT STATED STEERING ASSIST REDUCE, AUTOPILOT SAFETY CONVENIENCE FEATURE UNAVAILABLE AND PARK ASSIST UNAVAILABLE WARNING LIGHTS WER…"~3,000 mi, complaint #1710548
    • "The contact owned a 2020 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH and attempting to make a left turn, the vehicle lost stability and started to slide sideways and left the roadway. The contact stated that the vehicle left the roadwa…"~29,996 mi, complaint #1960591
  7. #7

    suspension arms and bushings

    5 unsafe

    5
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=4)

    • "I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE MY OWN EYES! HERE IS A 2020 MODEL S IN THE JUNKYARD AAAAAND...THE BACK WHEEL HAS FALLEN OFF. HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/36693460?ROWNUMBER=11 NOT IN A COLLISION. THE BACK SUSPENSION HAS SIMPLY FALLEN TO BITS. OH WELL, AT LEAST TH…"~500 mi, complaint #1674773
    • "HERE IS A 2020 TERDSLA IN THE JUNKYARD. HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/39122553?TENANT=US&ROWNUMBER=5 IT IS LISTED AS HAVING BEEN STOLEN. I'M GUESSING THE THIEF DROVE IT LIKE HE STOLE IT. BAD MISTAKE TO DO THAT IN A TERDSLA. THE FRONT WHEEL FELL OFF.…"~2,000 mi, complaint #1728746
    • "HERE IS A 2020 TESLA MODEL S IN THE JUNKYARD. HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/37713473?ROWNUMBER=25 THE SUSPENSION HAS FALLEN TO BITS ON BOTH FRONT WHEELS. THE STEERING KNUCKLE AND ALL OF THE SUSPENSION GIBLETS ON THE RH FRONT SIDE HAVE SNAPPED OFF COMP…"~5,000 mi, complaint #1699679
  8. #8

    door latch and hinge

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

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

    • "The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while his son was driving approximately 50 MPH, the front trunk hood opened without being activated. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. After the front trunk hood had opened, the…"~20,000 mi, complaint #1809400
  9. #9

    suspension struts shocks

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

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

    • "HERE IS A 2020 MODEL S TESLA IN THE JUNKYARD HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/37268222?ROWNUMBER=4 IT HAS DONE JUST 1000 MILES SINCE BEING FACTORY GATED. IT HAS NOT BEEN IN A CRASH ( BUT THAT IS ONLY BECAUSE THE OWNER GOT LUCKY). THE FRONT SUSPENSION HA…"~1,000 mi, complaint #1688366
  10. #10

    trunk or liftgate

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

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

    • "Rear hatchback was showing open but was in a “close” position. Was unable to open back hatch. Pulled down the seats and with the Tesla manual tried to manually open the hatch from the inside emergency release handle but it would not move and the tab on the c…"complaint #1794940
    • "The rear trunk would not open and stayed locked. Pressing the rear trunk button, using the app and even trying to open the trunk using the dashboard screen would not open the trunk. Lastly, even when I tried to pull/push on the emergency latch from within th…"complaint #1829781
    • "Rear emergency release cable does not open the trunk. The latch mechanism failed with a trunk full of groceries, I pushed down the rear setts to access the trunk compartment and crawled back and popped open the emergency release cable and it did not function.…"complaint #2152706
  11. #11

    wheel or rim

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

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

    • "Car is equipped with Tesla’s “Sonic Carbon Twin Turbine” rim option. This is not a very common option, so there may not be too many affected vehicles. Car is only 6-months old, and I was advised by Tesla service center that ***all 4 rims*** on the vehicle were…"complaint #1748523
    • "I have only about 40,000 miles on the car. But I've had to change the tires twice because the tires wear out quickly, lose air, or go flat. With my second set of tires, I am now told that the tires are so worn that I may need another set of tires. I was told b…"complaint #2056501
    • "Wheels: From the original purchase of the vehicle, I had a small air leak from the right rear tire. I addressed this with Tesla and they said nothing was wrong. I lived with it adding pressure from time to time. When it was time to replace the tires because th…"complaint #2145054
  12. #12

    instrument cluster

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

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

    • "AS I WAS DRIVING, SUDDENLY MY SPEEDOMETER DECIDED TO STOP WORKING AND SHOWED 0MPH. IT HAPPENED TO ME TWICE ON SEPARATE OCCASIONS. REBOOTING THE SYSTEM FIXED THE ISSUE. I SPOKE TO TESLA SERVICE CENTER AND THEY TOLD THEY FOUND A FIRMWARE PROBLEM (THE SERVICE MAN…"~1,500 mi, complaint #1678672
  13. #13

    software or update

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

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

    • "After a software update, my vehicle is now considerably less safe. I now have to click two to three times as many times on the screen to operate the same items such as heated seats, defrost, and other commonly items used in colder climates. I am asking the NHT…"complaint #1785014
    • "I have experienced 5 occasions where the Tesla Model S software and instrument panel has shut down and rebooted while driving. This also happened while waiting at an intersection. The vehicle would not operate properly. Traffic was blocked. All human sense…"complaint #1804168
  14. #14

    airbag system

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "My car (Tesla 2020 Model S) was broadsided ("t-boned") at about 35 to 40 MPH. The other car hit mine in middle, between front and rear doors, passenger side (after it ran a red light on a city street). Five airbags deployed in my Tesla ... two on driver's s…"complaint #1879038
  15. #15

    alignment and pull

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "I am writing to emphasize and provide details regarding the critical safety issue affecting both Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X. My personal experience highlights the severity of this problem which included a tire blow out at highway speeds on a tire that had…"complaint #1958421
  16. #16

    backup camera

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "When backing up, multiple systems failed at the same time including backup camera, backup sensor distance visuals, backup sensor audio alerts, writing data to flash drive, GPS sensors. Tesla was unable to diagnose the sysfiles to identify the hardware issue b…"complaint #1774452
  17. #17

    control module

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "WHILE DRIVING THE CAR ALL SCREENS FROZE AND THE CAR BECAME TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE, THE BRAKES WORKED BUT IT WAS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. AFTER APPROXIMATELY 5 MIN THE CAR REBOOTED AND SYSTEMS CAME BACK ON LINE. TESLA SAYS THE USB MIGHT BE CORRUPTED AND CA…"~2,000 mi, complaint #1673285
  18. #18

    cruise control conventional

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ACTIVATED, THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY STOPPED INDEPENDENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION SOON AFTER EACH FAILURE. THE…"~2,500 mi, complaint #1712295
  19. #19

    seat mechanism

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "The contact owned a 2020 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with a safety feature that allowed the front driver's seat to move back when the vehicle was in park (P). The contact stated while at a complete stop and picking up her so…"complaint #1857944
  20. #20

    seatbelt and pretensioner

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "Component and explanation - The right front passenger seat belt locks the passenger into place as if the seatbelt had been activated in a crash. That is, it no longer moves freely as it is supposed to under normal operation, rather, it locks and clicks to tig…"complaint #1779274
  21. #21

    stability and traction control

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "Stability control disabled, steering assist disabled, airbags disabled, brake system altered for weeks before service request. In addition, steering wheel moved uncontrollably while parked, with car off, and no one in it for over eight hours. Finally, entire s…"complaint #1747855
  22. #22

    steering rack mechanical

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "HERE IS A 2020 TESLA MODEL S IN THE JUNKYARD. HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/39339176?TENANT=US&ROWNUMBER=11 EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION COMPONENTS HAVE BEEN REMOVED IT IS STILL POSSIBLE TO SEE THAT THE STEERING KNUCKLE ON THE FRONT RH SIDE…"~5,000 mi, complaint #1733019
  23. #23

    throttle and pedal

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

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

    • "ON AUGUST 18 AT 4:30 PM, I HAD POSITIONED MY RIGHT FRONT TIRE AGAINST THE PARKING MAT RISER IN MY GARAGE. I REMOVED PRESSURE ON THE ACCELERATOR AND 'HOLD' TO ENGAGED. I PRESSED THE PARK BUTTON AND THE CAR ACCELERATED 3' FORWARD OVER THE PARKING MAT RISER INTO…"~990 mi, complaint #1693405

NHTSA investigations

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