Home · 2016 Tesla Model S 75d · Complaints

What 604 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Tesla Model S 75d

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (604)Crash / fire / injury (97)Suspension (204)Electrical system (137)Steering (81)Speed control (74)Brakes (52)Lights (49)Visibility & wipers (37)Body & structure (28)Driver assistance (28)Backup camera & sensors (20)

28 of 604 complaints match · Driver assistance · clear filters · page 2 of 2

Nov 5, 2020Electrical systemDriver assistance

THE MCU (MASTER CONTROL UNIT) IS THE 17" TOUCH SCREEN DISPLAY THAT CONTROLS MOST OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE VEHICLE. VEHICLE HAS BEEN PLAGUED OVER IT'S LIVE WITH FREEZE UP'S AND REBOOTS. APRIL 2019, SCREEN LOCKED UP AND WOULD NOT RESTART, WHICH CAUSED VEHICLE TO LOOSE PROPULTION, POWER ASSISTED BRAKES, POWER STEERING, WINDOW CONTROLS (HAD TO USE EMERGENCY MANUAL RELEASE TO EXIT VEHICLE, THEN GO BACK IN AND SQUEEZE BETWEEN THE SEATS TO GET MY DISABLED SON OUT OF THE BACK AS THE BACK DOOR HANDLES DID NOT OPERATE EITHER AND HAD TO TRY AND FIND THE WELL HIDDEN MANUAL RELEASE HIDDEN UNDER THE CARPET WITH NO MARKINGS TO GET THE REAR DOOR OPEN AND HIM OUT OF HIS CAR SEAT). VEHICLE ALSO WOULD NOT GO IN TO PARK, I HAD TO USE MY SHOES (WITH STEEL TOE) UNDER THE WHEELS TO KEEP THE VEHICLE FROM ROLLING DOWN AN INCLINE. THIS ALSO PREVENTED THE HOOD FROM BEING OPENED TO POTENTIALLY PULL THE POWER TO THE VEHICLE TO FORCE A RESET AS THE RESET BUTTONS DID NOT WORK. ALSO TRUNK WOULD NOT OPEN AND HAD TO CLIMB THROUGH THE INSIDE TO GET TO THE MANUAL RELEASE FOR THE TRUNK TO GET DIAPERS FOR MY DISABLED SON WHILE WE WAITED 4 HOURS FOR A TOW. ONCE DOORS WERE SHUT, NO WAY TO GET BACK IN. HEAD LIGHTS ALSO WOULD NOT TURN OFF. HAD IT TOWED TO TESLA SERVICE OF HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS FROM MILWAUKEE COUNTY, WISCONSIN. THEY SAID THE HEADLIGHTS STAYED ON ALL NIGHT, AND THAT THE CAR "FIXED" ITSELF THE OVERNIGHT SOME HOW. NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WOULD BE PROVIDED. THAT WAS THE WORST FAILURE, HOWEVER, IT STILL LOCKS UP AND REBOOTS AT RANDOM TIMES AS IT'S IN USE. EITHER WHILE DRIVING (WHEN THAT HAPPENS I LOOSE TURN SIGNALS AND OTHER SAFETY FEATURES AS WELL AS ABILITY TO CONTROL VEHICLE SETTINGS) OR WHILE PARKED PREVENTING IT FROM BEING DRIVEN.

NHTSA ODI 11373121

Mar 27, 2018SteeringWheelsDriver assistanceCrash

AT APPROXIMATELY 9AM ON THE MORNING OF 1/4/18, I WAS DRIVING IN AUTOPILOT ON THE 405 HEADING NORTH TO MY OFFICE IN SANTA MONICA IN MY TESLA MODEL S AND THE CAR SIMPLY RAN INTO THE BARRIER WALL ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CAR POOL LANE AT 75MPH. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY CRAZY! I HAVE CONTACTED TESLA ABOUT THE ACCIDENT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THEY ARE SIMPLY NOT INTERESTED. I JUST READ ABOUT AN ACCIDENT THAT THE U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD IS INVESTIGATING WHERE THE SAME THING HAPPENED AND THE DRIVER DIED. I BELIEVE MY ACCIDENT COULD HAVE ENDED THE SAME WAY AND I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY.

NHTSA ODI 11081565

Oct 30, 2016Electrical systemDriver assistanceCrash1 injury

I PURCHASED THE TESLA MODEL S ON 10/17 WITH 'AUTOPILOT' HARDWARE AND FEATURES I'VE CONSISTENTLY USED AUTOPILOT ON THE HIGHWAY DURING THE FIRST MONTH I'VE HAD THE VEHICLE. THE AUTOPILOT FEATURE USES CAMERAS AND SENSORS TO MAINTAIN SPEED AND LANE AND AVOID COLLISIONS. THIS CAR ALSO FEATURES ANTI-COLLISION FEATURES THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO ENGAGE EVEN WHEN AUTOPILOT IS NOT ENGAGED, TO DETECT BOTH AN OBJECT IN FRONT OF THE CAR AND BRAKE, AS WELL AS DETECT OBJECTS ON EITHER SIDE THAT THE CAR MAY BE HEADED TO COLLIDE WITH AND SWERVE AWAY. THIS FEATURES WERE ALL ENABLED AT TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. AT THE TIME OF ACCIDENT, I HAD AUTOPILOT ENGAGED FOR APPROX 10 MINUTES PRIOR TO ACCIDENT. I WAS STILL WATCHING THE ROAD BUT PERIODICALLY LOOKING AT MY PHONE AS WELL. BEFORE THE ACCIDENT I HAD LOOKED DOWN AT MY PHONE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME I'M NOT SURE ABOUT. I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS LONGER THAN A FEW SECONDS, BUT I CAN'T BE CERTAIN. WHEN I LOOKED UP THE SEMI WAS MERGING IN FRONT OF ME. I WOULD GUESS THAT THE SEMI'S TRAILER WAS PERHAPS 3-4 FEET IN MY LINE, AND I WAS MAYBE 50-100 FEET AWAY. SO IT WAS LESS THAN 1 SECOND PRIOR TO IMPACT. IT WAS SO QUICK THERE WAS NO TIME FOR ME TO EVEN HIT THE BRAKE AND THE CAR WAS NOT BRAKING OR SWERVING TO AVOID COLLISION EITHER. ESSENTIALLY, THE AUTO PILOT DROVE ME RIGHT INTO THE LEFT REAR OF A SEMI TRACTOR TRAILER AT 70 MPH AND THE SENSORS/CAMERAS FOR SOME REASON DID NOT DETECT THIS COLLISION. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10920103

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Working with the data? Download all 604 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 24, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Tesla Model S 75d verdict →