59 owner complaints filed with the United States safety regulator · top issue: Electrical System · verdict CAUTION 59/100
“Motor is starting to make sounds and according to teslamotorsclub.com the motor will fail eventually. Many have to had to have the motor switched out multiple times. It is quite evident that there was a design flaw which Tesla corrected in later years.”NHTSA complaint, 2012 Tesla Model S owner
“The drive unit has water damage from normal driving. The car never went through deep water or was flooded, but the tech at the service center is saying the units are sealed but still can get water in them and corrode. How can a vital sealed part of the vehicle be damaged by normal driving and claim water damage? The car operated just fine the day before. Please advise.”NHTSA complaint, 2012 Tesla Model S owner
“I tried to start the car and got the “Center Display unavailable” message. Reset the computer doesn’t help. I have to wait for more than 5 minutes for the system to be on.”NHTSA complaint, 2012 Tesla Model S owner
| Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 19/04/2017 | Parking Brake SAFETY | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016 Model S and Model X vehicles. The electric parking brake calipers have an internal gear that may be improperly manufactured, possibly resulting in the gear fracturing during |
| 10/01/2017 | Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module SAFETY | Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling all 2012 Model S vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or repl |
| 29/03/2018 | Steering:Electric Power Assist System SAFETY | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with Bosch steering racks. The aluminum bolts that attach the power steering gear assist motor to the gear housing may corrode and fract |
| 23/11/2015 | Seat Belts:Front SAFETY | Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Model S vehicles manufactured May 31, 2012, to November 12, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with driver or front passenger seat belts that ma |
| 29/01/2021 | 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 Tegra 3 processor and an 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device. When the 8GB eMMC |
| 12/12/2023 | Electrical System:Adas:Autonomous/Self Driving:Software SAFETY | 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 versions of Autosteer leading up to the version(s) that contains the recall remed |
| 30/01/2024 | Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel SAFETY | Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, 2019-2024 Model Y, and 2024 Cybertruck vehicles. An incorrect font size is displayed on the instrument panel for the Brak |
| 28/05/2024 | Seat Belts:Front:Warning Light/Devices SAFETY | 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 event of an unbelted driver, the seat belt warning light and audible chime may not |
On the federal record it scores 59/100: 59 owner complaints (4.21 per year on the road) and 8 recall campaigns, 7 touching safety-critical systems.
The most-reported component in NHTSA complaints is Electrical System, with 36 of 70 categorised reports.
The 2012 Tesla Model S scored 59/100 on the federal record.