365 NHTSA owner complaints · 9 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 30.42
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
Dashboard is leaking glue out the bottom center causing the computer screen and dash control panels to move. I'm not feeling safe driving as I'm not sure if they will drop down or stop functioning at any point. Tesla wants $1500 to fix, and I don't have that money being retired. How can Tesla glue their cars together, and it only last for about 10 yrs?? I feel like this is a safety issue that they should be fixing.
This issue appears to be related to a known MCU failure affecting early Tesla Model S vehicles. The touchscreen exhibits screen melting/discoloration and eventually goes blank or becomes inoperative. When this occurs, critical functions including occupant detection indicators, seatbelt warnings, and windshield defrost controls may become unavailable. The loss of these functions creates potential safety risks involvin…
Motor suddenly failed after a required update while driving, nearly causing a crash with multiple commercial vehicles and pedestrians, leaving brake lights dangerously always on and alarm sounding, killed 12v as well.
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 19V002000 | Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling all 2014-2016 Model S vehicles equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger f… |
| 23V838000 | Electrical System:Adas:Autonomous/Self D | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with all v… |
| 17V260000 | Parking Brake | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016 Model S and Model X vehicles. The electric parking brake calipers have an internal gear that … |
| 21V00B000 | Latches/Locks/Linkages:Hood:Latch | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2014-2021 Model S vehicles. The front trunk latch assembly may be misaligned, preventing the secon… |
| 15V780000 | Seat Belts:Front | Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Model S vehicles manufactured May 31, 2012, to November 12, 2015. The … |
| 24V376000 | Seat Belts:Front:Warning Light/Devices | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2024 Model S, 2015-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. In the ev… |
| 21V035000 | Back Over Prevention:Software | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Tesla Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles with a center display equipped with a NVIDIA… |
| 18V204000 | Steering:Electric Power Assist System | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with Bosch steering racks. The aluminum bolts that attac… |
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Electrical System (132 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is AVOID with a reliability score of 16/100, computed from 365 NHTSA complaints and 9 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 9 recall campaign(s) for the 2014 Tesla Model S, 7 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 07/01/2019. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorComplaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-08-20.