What 604 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Tesla Model S 60

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed and failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact depressed the brake and the vehicle kept rolling forward. The contact opened the door for the vehicle to come to a stop. On another occasion, the contact stated that the ADAS feature engaged and while driving at various speeds, and the vehicle failed to recognize stop signs, traffic lights, or pedestrians. The contact stated that the function was a paid feature; however, the system failed to operate as designed. On another occasion, the contact stated that the steering will shift to one side while driving at various speeds, and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was made aware, and the contact had a pending appointment scheduled. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

NHTSA ODI 11653299

Incident Tesla Model S was up to date on recalls as far as we can tell, including the recent autopilot update via Tesla internet vehicle update releases. While driving in autopilot mode on the freeway in the lane next to the HOV lane, the autopilot got confused as to which lane it should keep and failed to maintain its lane. Incident vehicle drifted across the double lines into the HOV lane, where another Tesla Model S was driving. Both cars were damaged in the ensuing side bump impact, then the incident vehicle made a slight impact to another car rear bumper in front of the incident vehicle. No injuries were reported. A subsequent Traffic Crash Report was filed as required with CA Highway Patrol. We are awaiting this report in the mail. Our safety and others was put at risk due to the failure of the autopilot to maintain its lane. Insurance was contacted. The insurance company, USAA, has deemed the incident vehicle (our vehicle) damage too expensive to fix due to the very high cost of replacement/repair parts and has deemed our vehicle a "total loss." We have not been able to access the software of the vehicle. Since USAA has deemed the vehicle a total loss, they are selling the car for salvage and thus we have no further access to the vehicle for legal purposes. As far as I know, USAA has not pulled the vehicle software records nor has requested such records and has completely ignored the autopilot issue. That is part of the reason for our complaint here as well. Since there were no injuries, legal representation in this case has not been forthcoming. We ask the NHTSA to investigate since we can get no help from Tesla, USAA or any other legal advocate.

NHTSA ODI 11587408

Power steering failed suddenly and without any alert on the dashboard. I called Tesla support & they said this is a known problem for which the immediate but only short term fix is to fully power off the car, wait at least 2 minutes & then restart the car. They advised me to do this and then drive the car to a Tesla service center for analysis and repair.

NHTSA ODI 11571572

On July 14 between 8:05 AM to 8:08 AM I was going on CA 87 as I went up the ramp suddenly the steering wheel malfunctioned. I’ve lost control of the car steering wheel which started swerving right to left aggressively. I tried to control the steering wheel, but it still kept swerving uncontrollably going from left to right from one lane to another. Luckily, there were no cars in front of me, or behind me, or on the side, but due to the uncontrollable swerving, I almost crashed into the highway wall all of a sudden it just stopped and I was left paralyzed with fear and traumatized with this near death experience, I was shaking uncontrollably and crying And almost had a heart attack. I do have high blood pressure I just don’t understand what exactly happened all of a sudden and I need answers. We contacted the Tesla service center and they gave us a date for July 19th to look into this incident. How is it not a high priority safety concern that needs to be looked into ASAP by the tesla customer service I sent them the timestamp and the date of the incident and all the reply that I got was thank you. this is a big safety concern. I am still traumatized by this incident, and I would like to lodge an official complaint against Tesla motors, cause if I could not have controlled the car in time, I would’ve lost my life and I could’ve endangered the lives of others on that road.

NHTSA ODI 11532468

Tesla did not include all of the vehicles on the power steering recall from last week. Mine developed the problem right after the software download. They won’t push me the fix. The recall starts with MY17 but I have a late MY16 which is the same refreshed model s as the MY17.

NHTSA ODI 11493491

While driving the vehicle car shutdown and went into park for unknown reasons. The steering wheel became almost impossible to turn. I also experienced the regenerative emergency braking and brakes malfunction. Car rolled off into the street nearly hitting another vehicled parked in front of it. The malfunction was initially reported to Tesla on January 5, 2022. Appointment was made for January 26, 2022, but was later rescheduled for a later date due to the service centers backlogged. This pushed my coverage outside the warranty periord rendering my warranty claim useless. Tesla refused to make repairs for free citing, "vehicle is out of warranty period"

NHTSA ODI 11481467

To whom it may concern, On July 26, 2021, my Tesla was hijacked remotely and controls were overridden while I was on the highway (I almost crashed). This happened sometime between 11:30am and 4pm. I reported the issue to the NY State AG consumer affairs office. In December 2021, the car suddenly turned off and locked me out. It was then towed to another State and I’ve been unable to get it back in my possession. Regards, Gaetano

NHTSA ODI 11472555

I was traveling on HWY 98 in Florida, headed home to Austin, TX from vacationing. I was with my wife and three young children. I stopped at a stop light, and when I went to reaccelerate, the car lurched. I pulled over and discovered I could barely turn and the suspension was making a terrible sound. I was able to maneuver into a parking lot and determined that my front driver's side fore link had cracked and was no longer holding. There is an existing Service Bulletin (SB-17-31-006) that should have covered this. My car is in warranty, and I have had it serviced before the accident, but after the publishing of the SB and Tesla never notified me that the links should be replaced. This was a tremendous hassle, and posed a very serious safety issue, because the broken link can protrude through the wheel well can cause the wheel to lock up.

NHTSA ODI 11471406

Car was being pulled out of parking spot and front suspension failed. TESLA rode side service took car to TESLA dealer. TESLA said car was too heavy for parts and now the knuckles and the fore links for the front suspension need to be replaced. The car had a full alignment in February and everything was good. They said they were aware of a problem others are concerned about bit they can't do anything at this point as there is no open recall in the United States.

NHTSA ODI 11445429

Over the course of 3 years, I reported that steering was "too loose". Often times any of the driver assisted functions would stop working, and the steering felt so loose that it was almost like the wheels felt like they would fall off. Often times it felt as though the car was out of alignment. I commented with the Tesla Service Center team members many occasions over the last 3 years that the steering did not feel right and starting happening after 2 years of ownership. I did purchase an extended warranty beyond the basic warranty. I asked on several occasions in writing if they thought the safety of driving with the steering so loose would be in question, and they would never respond in writing. They would only tell me verbally that safety was not an issue. After pushing them to determine what the root cause of the loose driving was about and the loss of assisted driving functionality, they said that my steering column needed to be replaced. I was only informed of this after my warranty had lapsed. The cost to fix it was $3500, and I have no other options on places to get it fixed other than the Tesla Service Center(s). Needless to say, I was not very happy about this considering that I paid over $80K for the auto in July of 2017. I also purchased AutoPilot software in 2020, but it did not work very well considering the steering problems. My hunch is that Tesla is trying to avoid this problem and wait for folks to go beyond their basic warranty and have them pay for new steering columns. I would appreciate your investigation into this and help me with my concerns. Also the safety of the car seems to be in question, and not sure if they are trained to tell customers not to worry about this issue that I have discovered. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11444687

Steering became progressively stiffer over the course of a few days as the steering wheel turned to about 15 degrees. Turning the wheels became erratic, almost causing me to lose control on the highway when changing lanes and entering or exiting the freeway. It felt like there was no power steering. I felt it was unsafe to drive and putting me and others at risk of an accident. I had the car towed to the Tesla dealership and the STEERING I-SHAFT LINK LOWER (1060802-00-B) was replaced. It was completely rusted and stiff. There was no evidence of any lubricant on it. The dealership told me that this was a known issue and said they had replaced it with an improved part that would not fail again. A search for "STEERING I-SHAFT LINK" on the Tesla Motors Club forum (Teslamotorsclub.com) reveals that numerous other Model S cars have had the same problem.

NHTSA ODI 11427344

Failure of L front fore link resulting in unstable wheel, contact of wheel with wheel well, difficult steering and inability to drive vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11425523

Update to complaint # 11418220 May 22nd 2021: I stopped the vehicle to make a turn. The steering wheel locked up and was not able to drive the car. I contacted Tesla, I was instructed to reset the computer. However this did not resolve the steering issue. I was then instructed to completely do a power shut down using the LCD control panel. This resolved the issue. It took several minutes to regain control of the steering and I was able to drive to a safe location. I am very concerned about the loss of steering and the vehicle requiring computer reset and power shut down before being able to safely drive the vehicle. I am also concerned that this issue may arise while the vehicle is in motion. May 25, 2021 Tesla service department informed me that they were not able to find any issues with steering. I insisted that they look at the vehicle logs to identify the root cause. After further investiagation they informed me that they have located a "loose wire". I am concerned that "loose wire" may be indicative of a larger safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11418549

I stopped the vehicle to make a turn. The steering wheel locked up and was not able to drive the car. I contacted Tesla, I was instructed to reset the computer. However this did not resolve the steering issue. I was then instructed to completely do a power shut down using the LCD control panel. This resolved the issue. It took several minutes to regain control of the steering and I was able to drive to a safe location. I am very concerned about the loss of steering and the vehicle requiring computer reset and power shut down before being able to safely drive the vehicle. I am also concerned that this issue may arise while the vehicle is in motion.

NHTSA ODI 11418220

CAR SUSPENSION FELT LOOSE AND WEIRD. UNDER NORMAL DRIVING (CITY STREETS AND HIGHWAYS), CHANGING LANES OR GOING OVER ROADS WITH SLIGHT CROWN OR RUTS CAUSED THE CAR TO SUDDENLY PULL AND SHIFT ERRATICALLY (ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT EXPERIENCED IN OTHER CARS). IT FELT AS IF THERE'S SOMETHING NOT RIGHT WITH THE FRONT SUSPENSION. WHEN THIS HAPPENED ON HIGHWAYS WHILE USING AUTOPILOT (EXPERIENCED AT LEAST THREE TIMES), THE CAR SWERVED LEFT AND RIGHT ERRATICALLY (AFTER CHANGING LANES) IN AN EFFORT TO RE-CENTER ON THE LANE WITHOUT SUCCESS, AND I HAD TO TAKE OVER MANUALLY IN OVER TO AVOID FROM FLIPPING OVER OR AN ACCIDENT. TESLA SERVICE CENTER INSPECTED THE CAR IN LATE 2019 AND SAID EVERYTHING IS NORMAL. THEY PERFORMED A 4-WHEEL ALIGNMENT BUT DID NOT IMPROVE THE BEHAVIOR. THIS BEHAVIOR HAS GOTTEN WORSE OVER THE PAST YEAR AND IS VERY CONCERNING. I ONLY HAVE A LITTLE OVER 30K MILES ON THIS CAR, AND THEREFORE DO NOT EXPECT SUSPENSION FAILURE AT THIS LOW MILES.

NHTSA ODI 11395204

I WAS BACKING UP SLOWLY, 1-3 MPH, AND THE FRONT DRIVER TIRE GOT BURIED IN THE BACK OF THE WHEEL WELL. I WAS ONLY TURNING SLIGHTLY, AND THE GROUND WAS RELATIVELY FLAT. THERE WAS NO SOUND OR ANYTHING, THE CAR JUST STOPPED BECAUSE THE WHEEL WAS JAMMED IN THE WHEEL WELL. I CAME TO FIND OUT THE LOWER CONTROL ARM/FORELINK HAD FAILED. IT CRACKED AND SEPARATED AT THE STEERING KNUCKLE. TESLA WAS OK ABOUT FIXING IT, THANK GOODNESS THE CAR IS UNDER WARRANTY OR IT WOULD HAVE COST THOUSANDS TO REPLACE BOTH SIDES FOR SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NEVER FAIL. I COULDN’T LEAVE THE OTHER SIDE IN PLACE KNOWING THIS IS COMMON DEFECT AND THAT MY FAMILY’S SAFETY WAS IN JEOPARDY. THANKFULLY THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN WHILE DOING 65 MPH ON THE FREEWAY. TESLA BEGRUDGINGLY REPLACED BOTH SIDES UNDER THE WARRANTY. BUT, THEY DIDN’T REPAIR IT CORRECTLY. I’VE REPEATEDLY TOLD THEM THE TIRE RUBS AGAINST THE FRONT WHEEL WELL, AND IT DIDN’T BEFORE, BUT THEY SAID IT DOESN’T RUB. EVEN THOUGH, I HAVE PICTURES SHOWING THE TIRE AGAINST THE WHEEL WELL, WITH NO SPACE IN BETWEEN. I ALSO HAD TO ASK THEM TO PUT ALL THE RETAINING CLIPS IN PLACE REPEATEDLY, BUT THEY STILL LEFT AT LEAST 4 OUT. ALL THIS HAPPENED AT THE SERVICE CENTER IN BUENA PARK, CA. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TERRIBLE AND THERE IS NO WAY TO ESCALATE PROBLEMS BEYOND THE SERVICE ADVISOR YOU DEAL WITH. SO, BASICALLY I’M STUCK NOT REALLY KNOWING IF IT CONTINUES TO BE A SAFETY HAZARD BECAUSE TESLA REFUSES TO COOPERATE AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE TO COMPLAIN TO. I HAVE ANOTHER SERVICE APPOINTMENT SOON, I’M HOPING IT WILL FINALLY GET RESOLVED. I USED TO BE A HUGE FAN, BUT THIS COMPANY IS A BLACK BOX WHEN IT COMES TO CUSTOMER SERVICE. THEY NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR DEALING WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS REGARDING VERY LEGITIMATE SYSTEM FAILURES.

NHTSA ODI 11391126

WHILE PULLING MY CAR OUT OF THE GARAGE DRIVEWAY ON 1/8/2021, HEARD A METAL CRANKING NOISE AND I WASN'T ABLE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT. AFTER INSPECTING THE WHEEL, NOTICED THE FRONT WHEEL ON THE DRIVER SIDE WAS TOUCHING/STUCK THE WHEEL LINER. SCHEDULED A SERVICE APPOINTMENT WITH TESLA AND TOOK THE CAR TO THE TESLA SERVICE CENTER TODAY, THEY IDENTIFIED BOTH FRONT FORELINKS NEED TO BE REPLACED. SHARED THIS ARTICLE HTTPS://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/NEWS/2020/TESLA-FRONT-SUSPENSION-FAILURES-INVESTIGATED.SHTML WITH THEM BUT THEIR RESPONSE IS ACCORDING TO TESLA SERVICE BULLETIN, THIS ONLY AFFECTS MODEL S AND MODEL X VEHICLES WERE BUILT BETWEEN JANUARY 19, 2016, AND MAY 25, 2016, BUT MINE WAS BUILT IN APRIL 6 BUT I EXPERIENCED THE EXACT SAME ISSUE REPORTED BY OTHER TESLA OWNER

NHTSA ODI 11387906

THE TESLA MODEL S PURCHASED, HAS BEEN RECEIVED WITH MULTIPLE SAFETY CONCERNS. 1) SUPENSION FORE LINKS & ALT LINKS NEED REPLACEMENT DUE TO CORROSION 2)POWER STEER FAULT - RIGHT TOE LINK HAS EXCESSIVW CORROSION & WEAR REPLACEMENT NEEDED. 3) RIGHT AXCEL BOOT LEAKING, CLEVIS MOUNT, RIGHT & LEFT AXEL REPLACEMENT REQUIRED. TOTAL LABOUR EXCEEDS OVER $9,000. THIS VEHICLE ORIGINATED AND MANUFACTURED IN USA WAS IMPORTED TO CANADA. THERE ARE SAFETY CONCERNS BEYOND THIS, THE VEHICLE IS UNSAFE AND FEATURES MANY CONCERNS. DRIVING ON RESIDENTIAL ROADS THE SUSPENSION DROPS UNEXPECTEDLY, DURING HIGH SPEEDS THE VEHICLE PULLS TO THE SIDE. PARKING ASSIST & PARKING BREAK INACTIVE. VARIOUS SUSPENSION CONCERNS LEAVE THIS "LUXURY" VEHICLE PARKED IMMOBILIZED.

NHTSA ODI 11376969

ON 11/25/2020, AT APPROXIMATELY 12:00PM, WHILE IN LINE FOR THE DRIVE THROUGH CAR WASH OF A MOBIL GAS STATION (LOS SERRANOS COUNTRY CLUB DR), MY VEHICLE, A WHITE 2016 TESLA MODEL S, PARTIALLY TURNED OFF. I COULD NO LONGER STEER THE CAR NOR COULD I RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE SCREENS WERE COMPLETELY BLACK. I EXITED THE VEHICLE AND HAD TO WAIT SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO GET MY VEHICLE RESTARTED. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENED (THOUGH I CANNOT REMEMBER THE EXACT DATES OF THE PREVIOUS INCIDENTS), WHERE THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AFTER STOPPING AND I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STEER THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11376357

THE EMMC FLASH MEMORY IS FAILING, LEADING TO THE MAIN SCREEN BLACKING OUT FOR SEVERAL MINUTES HAPPENS RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN AT STOP AND WHEN THE CAR IS BOOTING UP. THIS PREVENTS ADJUSTMENT OF SEVERAL COMPONENTS INCLUDING CLIMATE CONTROL, MANUAL LIGHTING, CRUISE CONTROL/AUTOPILOT, MUSIC IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR OVER A MONTH, PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE. SERVICE CAME OUT TO JUST RESET THE 12V AND UPDATE THE SOFTWARE AND SAID EVERYTHING IS GOOD BUT IT DEFINITELY IS NOT BECAUSE ITS GETTING WORSE DAY BY DAY

NHTSA ODI 11361923

MCU BLACKED OUT WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AND WHEN PARKED (SOMETIMES WHILE IN REVERSE). 'AUTOPILOT FEATURES UNAVAILABLE' AND 'CENTER DISPLAY UNAVAILABLE' ERROR MESSAGES. REAR VIEW CAMERA WAS NOT AVAILABLE. CAR STARTUP AND REBOOTS TOOK EXCESSIVELY LONG TIME. NAVIGATION AND VOICE COMMANDS WERE INOPERATIVE OR UNUSABLE DUE TO DELAY / INACCURACY. WEB BROWSER AND SCREEN RENDERING WERE INCREASINGLY DELAYED. ALL HAPPENED THE DAY AFTER FULL SELF DRIVE UPGRADE WAS INSTALLED ON 6/26/2020 WITH 30K MILES. TESLA REPLACED REAR CAMERA, WIRING FROM REAR CAMERA TO MCU (8/10/2020 WITH 31.4K MILES) AND, ULTIMATELY, THE REPLACED THE MCU WITH THE SAME OLD MCU (TEGRA CHIPSET, 8GB EMMC ON 8/26/2020 WITH 31.5K MILES). LOGS WITH DATES, TIMES AND SYMPTOMS AVAILABLE, ALONG WITH TESLA SERVICE REPAIR INVOICES WITH DATES, MILEAGE AND PARTS REPLACED.

NHTSA ODI 11354519

THIS IS A COMPLAINT ABOUT TESLA AUTOPILOT THAT APPLIES TO ALL MODELS OF TESLA. I HAVE USED THE VIN OF A JUNKYARD TESLA IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS FORM. HERE IS A DISCUSSION THREAD IN WHICH AN OWNER COMPLAINS THAT FOLLOWING A RECENT OVER THE AIR UPDATE THE CAR TRIES TO SWERVE INTO ONCOMING CARS OR OFF THE ROAD EVEN WHEN AUTOPILOT IS NOT ENGAGED. HTTPS://TESLAMOTORSCLUB.COM/TMC/THREADS/WARNING-FOR-TESLA-DRIVERS-ON-STEEP-MOUNTAIN-ROADS.180781/ SNIP**IN OUR CASE THIS RESULTS IN THE CAR SWERVING TOWARDS THE SIDE OF THE ROAD OR INTO THE ONCOMING LANE AND ONLY VERY QUICK REACTIONS AND OVERPOWERING THE WHEEL (AND SO FAR, LUCK) KEEPS THE CAR ON THE ROAD.** PLEASE READ THAT THREAD. TO COMPOUND THE DANGER MANY TESLA OWNERS DRIVE THE CAR WITH ONE HAND OR FINGER ON THE WHEEL OR HOLD THE WHEEL IN A MANNER THAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO GRAB THE WHEEL FIRMLY IN AN EMERGENCY. DEFENSIVE DRIVING SCHOOLS TEACH THAT BOTH HANDS SHOULD BE HOLDING THE WHEEL WHENEVER POSSIBLE. IN THE EVENT OF A SUDDEN GLITCH OF THE POWER STEERING IT NEEDS CONSIDERABLE FORCE TO PREVENT A DISASTER. HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE HOLDING THE WHEEL IN THE WRONG WAY. HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=S_Q-JWUQQZG CONSENSUS AMONG TESLA OWNERS IS THAT THIS IS OK. TESLA AUTOPILOT CONSIDERS THIS MEETS THE DEFINITION OF "HANDS ON WHEEL" IT IS TIME TO REIN IN THIS RECKLESS EXPERIMENT. PLEASE TAKE ACTION. THANK YOU KEEF WIVANEFF

NHTSA ODI 11297269

AUTOPILOT FEATURE IS EITHER NOT DETECTING ROAD CONSTRUCTION CONES OR DETECTS BUT THE SOFTWARE IGNORES THEM AND FOLLOW THE WHITE LINES. THE DASHCAM VIDEO IS AVAILABLE AT [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TT

NHTSA ODI 11266694

STIFF STEERING WHEEL. SPORADICALLY THE STEERING WHEEL GETS EXTREMELY STIFF AND MAKING TURNS ESPECIALLY MINOR COURSE ADJUSTMENT VERY DIFFICULT ON BOTH DIRECTIONS. IT MAYBE RELATED TO HIGH SPEED BUT DOES HAPPEN WHEN I DRIVE ABOUT 30 - 40 MILES AN HOUR OR EVEN SLOWER. IT FEELS VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE I JUST CANNOT MAKE A SMOOTH TURN.

NHTSA ODI 11208507

THE VEHICLE WAS IN SERVICE FOR WARRANTY ISSUE. TESLA BURBANK SERVICE CENTER DENIED TO DONE THE RECALL. REGARDING TO THEM, THE RECALL IS UNNECESSARY AND DID NOT NEED TO BE DONE UNTIL RAINING. HOWEVER, THIS RECALL IS IN NEEDED FOR THE POWER STEERING GEAR ASSIST MOTOR MAY MOVE, CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION BELT TO SLIP, AND RESULT IN REDUCED OR LOST POWER STEERING ASSIST.

NHTSA ODI 11154571