What 365 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Tesla Model S Bev

My car developed a handling problem. I took it to Tesla service and they told me it was a bent tie rod. The part was ordered and I took the car back in to have it installed around a month later. However, they then decided it wasn't a bent tie rod and instead was an alignment issue. They did an alignment and told me the car was fixed. The car was not fixed. I have taken the vehicle in several more times and test driven with multiple mechanics/technicians. They all agreed that there is a handling issue but it doesn't seem that bad and they've seen much worse from other Teslas (implying it is an issue with other cars as well). At this point I am told there is nothing they can do to the car despite it being somewhat dangerous. The car pulls extremely hard to the left under acceleration and pulls to the right under deceleration. However, I have had an alignment done multiple times, I've put new factory spec tires and rims on the car and replaced all of the front suspension including bushings and control arms. At freeway speeds, if you accelerate to pass, the car will veer aggressively to the left towards possible oncoming traffic. Imperfections in the road cause the car to jump around in an unpredictable manner. Not only is my car dangerous but the technicians telling me they have seen this behavior in other cars is a huge cause for concern.

NHTSA ODI 11540506

My original eMMC failed and Tesla at first wanted to charge me to replace it. Then, online, I found out my car had the 8gb eMMC that Tesla was supposed to “voluntarily” replace. I told Tesla this and they agreed to replace it at no charge. The next day, my MCU failed. The car wouldn’t unlock, wake up, or connect to the Tesla App. The next day it woke up and drove fine. The following day, it wouldn’t wake up again. I had the car jumped and taken to Tesla. They now say the original MCU needs an “upgrade” and I have to pay about $3400 for it. From my understanding, the eMMC is part of the MCU. It seems the replaced eMMC won’t work with the original MCU. So-they voluntarily replaced a part that caused another part to fail. This seems like a scam rather than a fix.

NHTSA ODI 11540139

I ran out of wiper fluid. This is the 9th time I’ve had to pour a whole gallon of wiper fluid into this car in 289,309 miles. I’m starting to get really frustrated. Also, my friend keeps telling me I have to get the blinker fluid checked.

NHTSA ODI 11539597

The rear motor (drive unit) has gone out on this car twice in the last four years. I purchased it after it was last repaired. It most recently went out on 08/04/2023. When it went out two days ago it had less than 30,000 miles on it. This car has a motor on both the front and rear axles, so while the vehichle was still moving forward, if it slowed down at all that would engage the regenerative braking. Once regenerative breaking was engaged, the rear drive unit would normal perform that function, but since it was out, it simply knocked the vehicle out of drive and made the transmission flash red. During this part, steering was affected in that the power steering was out, and the ability to move forward was diminished because the vehicle came out of gear. I was able to put my foot briefly on the brake and then tap the car back into drive, but anytime the car slowed down and engaged regenerative braking, this process would repeat. Looking at the forums, this is a known problem. As already stated, this is the second time in less than four years that this motor has needed replacement. Additionally, Tesla is saying that this motor is did not have a warranty on it, despite the fact that it was replaced only a few years ago. In my opinion, this is a clear safety issue. Reviewing the forums, it seems as though this issue is an endemic problem associated with the Tesla Model S from a range of years between 2012-2015. It is more probable than not that the company is aware of this deficit and has chosen to do nothing about it.

NHTSA ODI 11536745

This is for 2017 model s, with vin: 5YJSA7E1XHF190080, but your form didn't allow it. Front lower right forward control arm, hairline crack in the portion that holds the ball joint to the hub. Can only be visible when taken off car. When discovered early you only hear a small clicking sound in the car when steering in certain angle over a pothole or similar. When allowed to be continued used, crack is expanding in the aluminum control arm and the ball joint is coming loose, further driving fatigues the aluminum arm and breaks it.

NHTSA ODI 11528476

Air conditioning was stopped working 2x.

NHTSA ODI 11526738

The wheel came off the car while driving with no warning. It was just at service at the Tesla in Devon PA on May 12, 2023. This is a safety issue! Tesla refused to cover the repair and charged a diagnostic fee on top of that!

NHTSA ODI 11526456

As a concerned vehicle owner, I would like to draw your attention to the recent recall related to the front trunk hood of my vehicle. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, if the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly, obstructing the driver's view and increasing the risk of a crash. This recall specifically impacts my vehicle, and I am deeply concerned about the safety risks it poses to me and other drivers on the road. While I understand that recalls are a common occurrence in the automotive industry, I believe that the responsible party should take full responsibility for addressing this issue and ensuring that all affected vehicles are repaired in a timely and effective manner. The safety of drivers and passengers should always be the top priority, and I strongly believe that the responsible party should bear the cost of repairing this potentially dangerous defect. I urge you to take immediate action to address this recall and ensure that my vehicle is repaired as soon as possible. I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a prompt resolution that prioritizes the safety and well-being of all drivers on the road." My hood latch unexpectedly has opened during a drive on the freeway and street. I almost crashed and had to pull over multiple times to get it fixed. There is an active recall for this vehicle 2014 tesla model s front hood latch, but apparently my vehicle does not qualify. Its a known issue and would like to speak to tesla to add this year and model to the recall and reimburse me for the charges.

NHTSA ODI 11518749

Left rear control arm (Tesla referred to it as Upper Rear suspension link and integral link) broke from the joint causing the wheel to fall off and damage the halfshaft, air spring and bushings. Fortunately I was barely moving at the time of the accident. Had this happened on the freeway I could have been killed. Looking online and at other comments on here this does not appear to be an isolated incident.

NHTSA ODI 11518048

I was driving on I93 North in Massachusetts when the front trunk (frunk) suddenly released. The secondary latch stopped it from coming all the way open. Since then it has happened 6 other times! I have a service scheduled with Tesla and thought I should report it as this could have been really bad.

NHTSA ODI 11514311

So this is actually a complaint about how an existing recall was processed - I’m not sure if this is the right place to submit, if not please let me know. My car is subject to EMMC recall and I had the recall service done at the dealer a week ago. When I picked up the car the touchscreen had bubbles and was leaking; they were not there when I brought it in. They claim that the touchscreen problem is age and temperature related and just a coincidence that it happened while in their service center. The cost to repair the touchscreen (which was fine before recall service) is $800+. It feels to me as though they are trying to surreptitiously charge $800+ for a recall that is supposed to be free, by damaging something else and denying responsibility.

NHTSA ODI 11514032

In 2014, I ordered this Model S P85D, received it on 12/20/2014, I also purchased a 4-year extended service plan. Starting from March 2017, it started to encounter random yet serious problems. The car would randomly produce critical errors, displaying several types of error messages, while losing most of its driving power; the driver would have to perform emergency pullovers onto the road shoulder, if available, before the power rapidly reduce to zero. Then the driver need to restart the main computer (sometimes several times), to reset the error messages. Only after that, the car became drive-able again. I wrote an email to ServiceHelpNA@tesla.com on 03/23/2017 describing the problem, since then, this became a chronic issue; Service centers in Virginia, Maryland, and San Juan PR have performed numerous attempts on this problem, none of them was able to fix it. According to my records, for this issue, the car has been in the shop for more than 10 times, and more than a dozen components have been replaced. The total time it has been out of service is more than 380 days. I now consider it "unfixable" by Tesla. This kind of problem have created many dangerous situations when it occurred on the road, especially when the driver doesn't know how to handle it, doesn't pull over on the shoulder quickly, or there's no safe place to pull over.

NHTSA ODI 11512964

Car won’t shift gears just stuck on park. Battery reduced.

NHTSA ODI 11507930

Car was parked in a lot for 15 minutes and suddenly accelerated, jumping the curb and hitting a structure. The car seemed possessed.

NHTSA ODI 11504176

Traveling on the interstate, car shut down unexpectedly at 70 mph in the fast lane was barely able to clear right most (slow) lane before car cut off, not even safely clearing the shoulder. Warning that brake and gas were both activated at same time which was not done by me. Insufficient time from warning until total failure less than 5 minutes, almost hit by diesel traveling northbound on I-5 Power reduced so no ability to use caution to warn surrounding drivers. Currently 5 months pregnant and this failure could have caused bodily injury to myself, unborn baby and others on the road. Tesla performed diagnosis and said that the internal rear drive unit failed and there were no symptoms, alert or prior indication besides unexpected power failure. There are quite a few complaints of drive unit failures with Tesla

NHTSA ODI 11502897

The rear sub-frame mounting point for the rear toe arm failed. Likes like shire metal fatigue. It broke while going 70 MPH on the high way and the car fishtailed almost causing me to crash into the cars next to me. I was able to slow down and pull over. But an in experienced driver would have lost control and crashed. Basically rear drive tire just fell off. Tesla service center has inspected it and found the broke metal mount point. Noting a new sub-frame is needed. No warning lights, and I could probably drive it around all day with no lights or warning, as this was a suspension issue and nothing related to a computer. Even AutoPilot1 continued to work just fine.

NHTSA ODI 11502215

Rear lower control arm broke, causing extreme twitch and near loss of vehicle control about 1/4 mile before getting on highway. There was a loud ping in a parking garage the day before while turning, but nothing seemed to be wrong with the car at that time and I assumed there must have been a water bottle cap or something that went under the tire (can't see ground well in a tight parking garage, which had some litter here and there). Drove about 30 miles home without incident. I suspect that the control arm was only fractured at that point, but retained enough metal to hold the wheel in place (terrifying to think we were driving at highway speeds like that). The following morning, reversed out of garage and was approaching highway at neighborhood speeds when car veered very suddenly. Immediately returned to garage and changed to my other car. Found the control arm completely separated when inspecting it that evening. Part was revised and cars built just prior to mine (same part number) were covered by a TSB. Tesla refused to offer any TSB coverage and are the sole supplier of replacement parts ($350/each). This kind of part does wear out but should not catastrophically fail-- appears to be poor quality part, cast, or metallurgy. It was nearly a huge accident twice, and both times would have been at highway speeds. As unnerving as the sudden skew was, it was the best warning/outcome I could have since Tesla did not recall this widely reported failure. I don't understand how production dates take precedence over part numbers when TSB/recalls are issued -- it makes no sense.

NHTSA ODI 11498194

Instrument display is frozen at 0mph at 7:57am even while driving. Uploaded photo was taken at 9:19am as indicated on time stamp and on larger display at center of vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11497732

After updating vehicle to software version 11.0 (2022.8.10.6 d2b84545e244) my center screen which controls the majority of my functionality and safety features including my backup camera AND my instrument cluster will intermittently go blank. This prevents me from being able to use my backup camera, see warnings about the car, as well as be able to tell how fast my car is going. In addition, my turn signals no longer have a consistent audible tone when engaged.

NHTSA ODI 11497364

Tesla has, by design, altered a safety feature in existing cars (via a software update) that decreases safety when defogging is needed. When I purchased my 2014 Tesla Model S, the defog could be turned on or off with the press of a button that was always visible on the touchscreen. Recently, Tesla made a major change to the user interface (version 11), that cannot be reverted, which removed the defog button. It now takes about 4-7 steps to activate and then turn off the defog. The new system also requires viewing pop-up window(s) while driving. Now, when you notice visibility is decreasing due to a fogged up windshield, you have to press the temperature (e.g. "70") twice, which brings up the full climate control window (if you press slightly high/low, a "Climate Popup" instead appears, with button located in different locations). You then have to scan for the defog button and press it. To turn it off, if it has been less than 10 seconds since you turned it on (often all you need), the window will still be there, and you can press the "climate off" button to turn it off. After 10 seconds, you have to repeat the same 2-3 steps used to turn it on. However, if the Climate Popup appears rather than the full window, you need to start over again to turn the climate control off (otherwise, a bug causes the climate control to stay on when you turn the defog off). A new version (not available for my car) reportedly has a workaround, but the defog button needs to have a permanent location on the screen like before, by default. My concern is that this software update will get people into (or has gotten people into) "distracted driving" accidents as they have to look at the screen about 4-7 times while driving, rather than the minimal 2 times that the old user interface allowed.

NHTSA ODI 11496015

Both the main lcd computer screen and the speed display have leaked the liquid crystal fluid out from the displays due to high cabin heat even with the cabin heat protection feature enabled. This has been brought to teslas attention and they are requesting I pay $1750 to upgrade the entertainment system which replaces both screens but I have not asked for an upgraded entertainment system. I am asking that the flat lcd panels do not leak from heat in the first place !

NHTSA ODI 11496060

My car has severe phantom breaking due to adaptive cruise control. When I use my Tesla's cruise control on the freeway, on a complete flat straight away that has no vehicle in front of me, no sign/bridge in front of me, and no items/object in front of me, my vehicle while randomly/violently slam on the break violently hurling me and all passengers in my vehicle forward. This is even more dangerous when there are vehicles being me in close proximity who could easily could have rear ended me all those times. I am forced to not use my cruise control due to these dangerous conditions.

NHTSA ODI 11492996

On Hwy 156, a farm country road near Hollister, California, a motorist travelling immediately behind a white Tesla reported that the Tesla suddenly and inexplicably accelerated from 55 mph to 65 mph and crossed the double yellow lines. It made no apparent attempt to cross back into the original lane. In less than 3 seconds -- 170 feet by CHP ground measurement -- the Tesla collided head-on with a semi traveling in the opposite direction. All four occupants in the Tesla were killed instantly. The truck driver was injured, but not seriously. The four deceased occupants were my daughter (53), my twin granddaughters (14), and my grandson (12). According to the CHP report, all wore seat-belts. The airbag for the driver did not deploy, but the other three did. My grandson was ejected and dismembered but the other three were not. His seatbelt status is therefore questionable. Her grief-stricken and angry ex-husband, father of the three children, accused the driver of deliberately committing suicide and took the lives of the three children with her. Yet from the CHP investigation, the four had just enjoyed a pleasant outing in their favorite restaurant and shops for several hours with no sign of anyone distraught. The restaurant receipt shows no alcohol was consumed. They had texted people and showed nothing out of the ordinary. Forty minutes later, they all perished. Her mother and step-father, her boyfriend, her best friend, and other close acquaintances, were all surprised by her sudden death. No suicide note was found anywhere, not in her journal and not in her media posts. No despondent communication of any kind was conveyed to anyone. Her extreme devotion to the children would make her willfully taking their lives very uncharacteristic. If not suicide, what made the Tesla behave so strangely and deliberately? NHTSA has been investigating Tesla crashes involving sudden left turns into oncoming traffic. Please use your expertise and resources to investigate this.

NHTSA ODI 11491988

The vehicle went into "REDUCED POWER" (Turtle Mode) error. Which reduced the power and the ability to accelerate out of an intersection and away from incoming traffic. I followed the recommendations of powering the vehicle off. It would correct itself then randomly does the same thing. This is SAFETY ISSUE and needs to be resolved before someone gets into a major accident which will result in great bodily injury or death.

NHTSA ODI 11489859

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that both infotainment screens located inside the vehicle would display blank images which rendered several electrical safety features inoperable. The contact had taken the vehicle to a service center on three occasions where they informed him that they are aware of the failure but could not repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and he was given the same information as the service center. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

NHTSA ODI 11489182