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

My car slams on the brakes consistently at green lights when FSD is activated. This is version 12.5.4.2 of FSD. Tesla is not responding to my inquiries.

NHTSA ODI 11630835

The accelerating pedal is the one that was affect it is available upon request for inspection. It put me in danger because while I was driving, it snapped off. Has not been inspected by others. There was no warning lamps and it just happened out of nowhere as well. I was driving.

NHTSA ODI 11627727

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while turning into a parking spot, there was an unintended acceleration of the vehicle; it surged forward, jumped the parking barrier, and crashed into a wall. There were no warning lights illuminated. A police report was filed. There was no reported fire, injuries, or air bag deployment. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

NHTSA ODI 11622945

On September 7th, 2024 around 7:35 PM, my tesla model S 2016 Suddenly accelerated, smashed in the siding of my house breaking the the siding of the wall and was totaled. All of this happened while my mom was trying to park the car in the garage the car suddenly took off without her pressing the accelerator. I have tesla to send an engeneer to collect the data of the car in which they said they did but have not yet gotten back to me on the issue. They informed me that they have collected the data on 09/20/2024

NHTSA ODI 11620457

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

Sudden unintended acceleration appeared to cause the Tesla while parking the car on the street in front of home accelerate go out of control and crash into the home totaling the car and damaging the house. Two days prior the vehicle was brought into a Tesla service location where Tesla replaced the 12 volt battery that they believed was causing the car not to power on properly at that time. After the crash and googling to see if others suffered similar issues it appears the NHTSA recently reopened a review of sudden unintended acceleration and this incident seems to align with concerns of the petitioner [XXX] . The police filed a report and it’s at the towing place where the insurer Allstate is going to evaluate the car for a total loss. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11558021

The car was on enhanced auto pilot and was moving at about 50 mph, the traffic in front of me slowed down. The car failed to give an alert, it failed to slow down and stop. I applied the breaks, but by then the car crashed into the pick-up truck in front of me. The car came to a complete stop after the crash and the computer system in the car completely shut down. The car had to be towed to the garage. My safety and the safety of the driver in front of me were at risk due to malfunction of the enhanced auto pilot system We immediately filed a service ticket with Tesla and upon repeated requests we were told that car could not be inspected and the breaks or auto pilot system could not be tested as the car was not drivable. Police and car insurance company were notified. Tesla was able to provide us with a EDR There were no warning signs or messages prior to the malfunction.

NHTSA ODI 11530361

While driving reduced power light came on. On Highway speed reduced to a crawl.

NHTSA ODI 11521914

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

CPU compatibility to existing OS and memory system causing multiple failures during driving with: 1. instrument cluster reset or reboot (temporarily disables all controls related to buttons/knobs on steering wheel and possibly other safety functions), 2. main nav/computer screen reset or reboot (temporarily disables all controls), 3. auto braking activation (cannot be disabled by user) enabled at dangerous and unpredictable times of city traffic, 4. backup camera picture not updating/frozen during backing uo vehicle, creating illusion of: a. not moving when in reverse while driving, b. not showing objects that may be directly behind vehicle when in reverse Manufacturer (Tesla) service ticket opened and closed as “resolved with memory reset” without follow-up if problems still occur

NHTSA ODI 11472049

- when using TACC / "autopilot", especially when cruising at speed limit on the rightmost lane of the highway, i have experienced quite some occurrences of "phantom braking". this happens especially more frequent when approaching freeway on ramps (even with no incoming vehicle) and when there is vehicle parked on the right shoulder. - the automatically actuated brake really shocked me. if i hadn't reacted quickly enough to step on the accelerator pedal, i would had been rear ended really badly. - i thought that was a one off situation, but since it happened more than once and now that this issue has become headlines, i think it needs to be seriously investigated and fixed. - i have reported this issue to TESLA. the service manager of the local service center promptly responded that unfortunately this is a software issue which is still in "beta". - vehicle did have problem with the left repeater camera which TESLA replaced as goodwill. but i believe that was not the cause of the "phantom braking" episodes. the vehicle was purchased with the (now $12k) "Full Self-Driving" package. now, almost 6 years later, the development of the software is still not done. TESLA promised to upgrade the cameras suite, but several requests of service were cancelled due to, i believe, lack of parts, and/or they need to upgrade the MCU to be able to deploy the latest FSD package. i appreciate TESLA efforts to push the boundary of ADAS to reach full autonomy. i just wish they communicate better to the early adopters and provide us all with clearer timelines (with best/worst case scenarios). (i also appreciate my local TESLA service manager for responding quickly to my initial report of concerns. i acknowledge that completely fixing the issue is beyond his control at this time.) (date provided in this report is approximate, i think TESLA can review the logs of such emergency braking occurrences)

NHTSA ODI 11453040

Instrument cluster screen was suddenly black despite the center touchscreen being on. I can't read speed meter, winker, transmission, and tire pressure.But the car moves. I have never hard that Most of Vehicles (Toyota,GM,Ford etc')have instrument screen is Black . I'm not doing any harm, no accidents. Tesla gave the invoice is $3235.96

NHTSA ODI 11434891

I was stopped at a red light, left signal on, when the car suddenly accelerated forward through the intersection in an aggressive 0-60 kind of start. I braked safely and was about to execute a U-turn a minute or two later when the car bolted forward again. There was no traffic other than the car behind me at the light, thankfully. There were no warnings or other signals and the car was not operating in AutoPilot. I reported the incident immediately to Tesla and the car is now out of state in their custody while an escalated investigation is conducted. They have, however, told us that the car is safe to drive and that it is not possible for this to have occurred. They also assert that all sudden acceleration cases to date have been related to AutoPilot and all have been driver error.

NHTSA ODI 11431049

Sudden unintended acceleration: When pressing the brake on uneven paved roads the vehicle will suddenly accelerate while my foot is on the brakes. This has been an ongoing issue since I received the car and I was told this has to do with regenerative braking but it is definitely a safety issue. There are two commonly visited places on the freeway where this happens to me so I can definitely demonstrate the problem if needed.

NHTSA ODI 11422835

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that after releasing the brake pedal while parking, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and lurched forward crashing into the rear of a second vehicle. During the incident, no injuries were reported and no police report was taken. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The contact indicated that prior to the incident a chip was installed due to a navigation problem. Also, the control panel display screen had a malfunction and audible warnings such as turn signals were not available. The failure mileage was 25,000

NHTSA ODI 11421831

I WAS STOPPED, PREPARING TO PULL INTO MY GARAGE, WHEN THE CAR ACCELERATED RAPIDLY AND SMASHED THROUGH MY WALL, BREAKING FREEZER & SHEVING UNIT IN MY GARAGE. IT ALSO DAMAGED MANY ITEMS IN THE BATHROOM AND LAUNDRY ROOM, DOORS, AND WALLS ON OTHER SIDE OF GARAGE WALL. THIS IS THE 2ND INCIDENT, IN 2019 THE SAME THING HAPPENED ON A STREET. I WAS STOPPED IN TRAFFIC AND WHEN I STARTED TO MOVE THE CAR ACCELERATED AND HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT I DID NOT FILE A CLAIM. TESLA WAS CERTAIN THAT I HAD ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR INSTEAD OF BRAKE, AND ACCEPTED THAT. IN BOTH INCIDENTS THE CAR FELT AS THOUGH IT WAS FLYING, THE CAR WAS MOVING SO FAST.

NHTSA ODI 11415675

WHEN STATIONARY OR IN MOTION, BOTH ON CITY STREETS AND HIGHWAYS, AND EVEN TURNING THE FOLLOWING IS TRUE. THE CENTER INFOTAINMENT STACK BECOMES COMPLETELY FROZEN AND UNUSABLE. FOLLOWING THIS, IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY RESTART, HOWEVER DURING THIS ENTIRE TIME, VITAL SAFETY FEATURES CONTROLLED THROUGH THE CENTER INFOTAINMENT STACK ARE UNAVAILABLE, INCLUDING BACK UP CAMERA FUNCTIONALITY. I HAVE APPLIED FOR THE WARRANTY PROGRAM TESLA HAS FOR REPLACING THE MCU1, HOWEVER, EACH TIME THEY INFORM ME MY CAR DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENT WITHOUT ELABORATING ANY FURTHER. HOWEVER, THIS IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE THAT THEY ARE IGNORING.

NHTSA ODI 11390231

MY VEHICLE HAD THE MCU FAILURE THAT IS WELL KNOWN. NO BLINKERS, NO AUTOPILOT, NO AC/HEATING, NO DEFOGGER ETC ETC. JUST BLANK SCREEN. SOUNDED LIKE THE RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGE ISSUE WITH THE EMMC BUT TESLA REQUIRED ME TO PAY FOR AN UPGRADED MCU SAYING MY ISSUE WS NOT COVERED BY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY.

NHTSA ODI 11375147

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

THE EMMC FLASH MEMORY IS FAILING, LEADING TO THE MAIN SCREEN BLACKING OUT FOR SEVERAL MINUTES BOTH WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN AT STOP AND WHEN THE CAR IS BOOTING UP. THIS PREVENTS ADJUSTMENT OF SEVERAL COMPONENTS INCLUDING CLIMATE (FANS, DEFOG, AC), MANUAL LIGHTING, CRUISE CONTROL/AUTOPILOT, ETC. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR OVER A MONTH, PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE. TESLA IS TELLING US WE HAVE TO REPLACE THE FLASH MEMORY (~$500, BUT THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THE PROBLEM WON'T REOCCUR), OR REPLACE OR UPGRADE THE MCU (~$1500-2500). THE CAR WAS RECENTLY UPGRADED TO FULL SELF DRIVE HARDWARE (PAID FOR IN 2016) AND OTHERS HAVE REPORTED THAT THIS CONTRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY DYING, SO WE CONTEND THIS DESIGN FLAW SHOULD BE REPAIRED BY TESLA FOR FREE.

NHTSA ODI 11352816

THE MAIN COMPUTER TURNS RIGHT OFF A COUPLE TIMES A DAY. WHEN THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING, MOST SAFETY FEATURES ARE DISABLED AND THE CARS ELECTRONIC STOP WORKING. THE CPU IS KNOWN TO HAVE ISSUES BECAUSE A CHIP INSIDE GETS OVERLOADED AND DOES NOT CLEAR ITSELF PROPERLY. A RECALL SHOULD BE HAD TO REPLACE THIS CHIP THAT DOES NOT REMOVE THE CASHE PROPERLY.

NHTSA ODI 11341047

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT A YEAR AGO, WHILE TRYING TO EXIT THE PARKING LOT, THE GEAR WAS PUT IN DRIVE, HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED BACKWARDS AND CRASHED INTO THE VEHICLE BEHIND. THERE WAS NO INJURY. THERE WAS NOT POLICE REPORT. THE VEHICLE WAS DAMAGED BUT WAS NOT TOWED. THE FAILURE THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE RECURRED RECENTLY AS THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO PARK BETWEEN TWO VEHICLES THE VEHICLE WENT IN REVERSE AND CRASHED INTO THE VEHICLE ON THE LEFT. THE CONTACT WAS NOT SURE OF ANY WARNING. THE DEALER WAS NOT CALLED IN EITHER CASES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF ANY OF FAILURES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 33,000.

NHTSA ODI 11337638

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO HIT A PEDESTRIAN AND CRASHED INTO A BRICK WALL WHILE HITTING ANOTHER PEDESTRIAN. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A HEAD AND FOOT INJURIES SUSTAIN BY THE PEDESTRIANS THAT NEEDED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO ANSWER. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,000.

NHTSA ODI 11315591

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE ENTERING A GARAGE THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT CAUSE WHILE STOPPED. THE VEHICLE COLLIDED INTO A PARKED VEHICLE CAUSING IT TO COLLIDE WITH A WALL, TOTALING IT. THE CONTACT STATED HER NECK WAS SORE HOWEVER, MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT REQUIRED. A POLICE WAS NOT FILED. NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED NOR DID THE CONTACT HEAR ANY ABNORMAL NOSIE BEFORE THE CRASH. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO ACCURATE AUTO BODY (9042 WILLOWS RD, REDMOND, WA 98052 (425-970-9699), HOWEVER THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALERSHIP WAS NOT CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 29,886.

NHTSA ODI 11310075

I WAS TRAVELING ON A TWO-LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY WHEN I ACCELERATED TO PASS A VEHICLE TO MY RIGHT. AS I PASSED THE VEHICLE AND RELEASED MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, MY CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. UNSURE OF THE REASON FOR THIS CONTINUED ACCELERATION, I PUT THE TRANSMISSION INTO NEUTRAL AND COASTED TO MATCH THE SPEED OF THE SURROUNDING TRAFFIC. ARRIVING AT THE NEXT TRAFFIC LIGHT, I PUT THE TRANSMISSION BACK INTO DRIVE AND THE RAPID ACCELERATION STOPPED. I WAS ABLE TO GO BACK TO MY HOME AND INSPECT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. UPON INSPECTING THESE, I OBSERVED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE FLOOR MAT DIRECTLY BELOW THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS RAISED UP FROM ITS NORMALLY FLAT POSITION ON THE CAR FLOOR ENOUGH TO CATCH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND KEEP IT DEPRESSED. WHEN I TURNED OVER THE FLOOR MAT, I SAW THAT A CIRCULAR PIECE OF VELCRO ATTACHED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE FLOOR MAT, HAD LOST ITS ADHESIVENESS CAUSING IT TO DETACH FROM THE FLOOR MAT AND BUNCH UP UNDER THE FLOOR MAT BELOW THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THIS BUNCHING UP WAS ENOUGH TO RAISE THE FLOOR MAT TO A SUFFICIENT HEIGHT TO CATCH THE PEDAL. HAD I NOT KEPT COOL AND PUT THE TRANSMISSION INTO NEUTRAL, I SHUDDER TO THINK OF THE WRECKAGE AND CARNAGE WHICH MAY HAVE ENSUED. THIS CAR ADVERTISES ACCELERATION AT A VERY HIGH RATE OF SPEED; 0-60 MPH IN A MERE 5.5 SECONDS. THAT IS HARDLY ENOUGH TIME TO REACT TO SUCH A FRIGHTENING SITUATION! CURIOUS ABOUT HOW OTHER CAR BRANDS DEAL WITH DRIVER'S SIDE FLOOR MATS, I NOTICED THAT MOST CARS DRIVER'S SIDE FLOOR MATS ARE SAFELY CLEAR OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDALS. NOT SO WITH MY 2016 TESLA MODEL S. I BELIEVE IT TO BE A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW WHICH SHOULD BE REVIEWED EXPEDITIOUSLY AND CORRECTED BY TESLA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BEFORE A TRAGIC OUTCOME ENSUES. I HAVE REMOVED MY DRIVER'S SIDE FLOOR MAT TO PREVENT SUCH A TERRIFYING SCENARIO FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. THANK YOU

NHTSA ODI 11308379