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

The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, he heard an abnormally loud sound come from the driver’s side wheel. The contact pulled over and inspected the wheel but did not see an issue. The contact stated that he continued driving and while driving approximately 35 MPH, the driver’s side wheel detached and went into the wheel well. The vehicle then began to steer slowly to the left independently and the contact was able to get the vehicle into a parking lot. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to his place of employment. The local Tesla dealer was contacted however, the cause of the failure not yet determined. The dealer informed the contact that the driver’s side control arm needed to be replaced but the part was not available. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was not related to the control arm, but that the wheel well and the front fascia lower valence needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,466.

NHTSA ODI 11484479

I purchased a used 2016 Tesla Model S in September 2021, with 58,961 miles. Within a month, a strange scraping sound can be heard as I was backing out of my driveway, it was the metal piece that was connected to the wheel. Somehow it had broken off and was bent in a position where it was grinding my brake pads down to unsafe levels. Telsa said it was caused by making a 'sharp turn' and is not covered under warranty. The work to fix costed $1450.03 to replace brake pads and wheel that was cracked. But didn't disclose in the invoice what was causing the scraping sound. They claimed that when they drove the vehicle they could not hear any scraping sound. Based on Tesla's TSB report, this is a known defect and Tesla should have repaired it without charging me. But they would rather have me believe that I was a terrible driver.

NHTSA ODI 11483850

My car has only 50,000 miles but suspension is making noise. Tesla dealer is saying they need to replace the Links - Front Suspension - Lower - Aft -LH/RH. Tesla is charging me $1,828.87 to replace these links. I see in the internet that lot of 2016/2017 made cars has this defect. I strongly believe this is manufacturing defect and Tesla is responsible for fixing this issue for all effected customers. I appreciate if you can investigate into this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11482467

Main Display is de-laminating. Glue is leaking inside of car. Fear it will short out electrically and fail or become a fire hazard.

NHTSA ODI 11482477

Lh suspension fore link broke causing tire to rub inner wheel well while driving at around 30mph resulting in damage to tire and wheel well liner .... car was not able to be driven ..... Tesla service center was not willing to repair under warranty or good will even though they issued a tsb regarding certain 2016 model s cars having suspension parts that were not up to Tesla quality standards and could result in failure

NHTSA ODI 11482143

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

Tesla notified me that my vehicle had been recalled due to a faulty eMMC in the media control unit. My vehicle is affected. I am having problems with the media control unit. I went to schedule service to get the replacement under the recall, and Tesla sent me a notice that my vehicle is not eligible for parts replacement unless the media control unit screen is completely blank. When this happens, it is an immediate safety issue. I do not believe Tesla is complying with the spirit of the recall. Parts should be replaced BEFORE a safety issue occurs. Tesla invited me to file a complaint if I feel that they are not complying with the NTHSA. So that is what I am doing.

NHTSA ODI 11480337

I could hear a noise in the front suspension while driving. Upon returning home the front driver side suspension collapsed while I was parking the car. The front suspension link broke and the wheel was rubbing against the arch liner. I was lucky that the failure occurred at very low speed but the damage could have been significant if it had happened just a few minutes earlier, while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11479351

"My safety concern is with the 17 inch screen. Originally in the information about the car before it was purchased, the manufacturer said that the screen would tilt left or right to give the drive better a better view and access to the touch screen. I have talked to service about this issue and they have said they do not plan to retrofit our cars with the motors to make the screen move. This is now working on the same car that is one year newer. We were promised this and I believe this issue with the screen not moving is a serious concern. You cannot see the screen as well or touch it as well because it does not tilt towards the driver. Please investigate this problem, it is dangerous."

NHTSA ODI 11479194

Drivers side fore links broke under warranty. Per Tesla Service bulletin SB-17-31-001 filed February 17, 2017 for automobiles manufactured between January 19 and May 25, 2016, if one of the fore links break both should be replaced. Per the attached invoice and scree shots, Teslas service center in Raleigh is refusing to follow the bulletin citing that the vehicles ein is not eligible but showing no proof. Attached is an email from that shows the car finished manufacturing on May 8,2016. I'm requesting Tesla to follow their service bulletin and include replacing the passenger side fore link as part of their warranty service.

NHTSA ODI 11479219

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that the display screen was leaking fluid into the vehicle. The contact stated he sustained respiratory issues and medical attention was provided. The local dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

NHTSA ODI 11478649

The car was in autopilot mode 3 days ago on Highway 41 in CA at a speed of about 65 mph when the brakes were suddenly activated, dramatically slowing the speed. There was no obstruction in the road to warrant braking. I pressed the accelerator to resume my speed and to avoid stopping in the middle of the highway. The same thing happened to me few months ago while in autopilot mode.

NHTSA ODI 11477039

The center console is once again failing. It will randomly go black and then reboot. This is the same component that was subject to a previous safety recall. I had it repaired under that recall, but it is now failing again. When I reported the problem to Tesla Service, their response was to tell me "it's acting as expected". Huh? They told me I would have to spend over two thousand dollars to get it fixed this time.

NHTSA ODI 11476586

The safety latch on the front hood has failed 3 times. The first two times were not reported to Tesla, because I assumed that it must have been my fault and there was little actual damage to my car. Fortunately, both occurances were at low speeds in a parking lot. The result was that my hood didn’t align properly. There was no other damage to the hood. I read about a Tesla recall for this very issue, so when I had my last service with Tesla (May 1) to replace the drive train (under warranty), I asked them to fix the safety issue on my hood. They refused to cover it saying that 1.) I was out of warranty. 2.) they could find no record in their system of the occurrences because the timing of the incidents was further back than what their system can recover and 3.) they couldn’t fix the latch without fixing the hood hinge mechanism I have since had a 3rd incident with my hood flying up. It happened on July 6. This time, there was damage to the hood of the car. I am uploading photos of the damage. I feel that Tesla should cover the entire cost of this repair. Clearly my 3 incidents were the result of a defective latch mechanism. I am fortunate that all of them happened at low speeds because it could have resulted in very serious injury if it would have happened on the road or highway. I am guessing that the latch in my Tesla is the same design and part number as the one in the recalled models. I,hope you can help me with this. Thank you for considering it.

NHTSA ODI 11475925

Suspension Component: RH Front Aft Control Link - I will provide the damaged/exploded part via FEDEX to your office. Event happened while backing out of garage, was under 5miles speed and hence nobody was injured or put at risk. Could have gone worst if this would have happened at higher speed/highway. There was no prior warning, corrosion and/or indication alerting of wear & tear on the part that was broken. This car has very low mileage (44k miles over 6 yrs) for some major component to fail like this without notice.

NHTSA ODI 11475423

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

The main display in the vehicle is leaking very sticky hazardous fluid. Sometimes display goes out, sticky fingers make screen issues worse when so many controls are handled electronically. Tesla refuses to correct issue without spending $2000+ with dealer. This started 3 years ago. Leaking fluid on LCD is both main display and driver heads up dashboard. Huge safety issue with sun reflects on the bubble portions. Hard to read.

NHTSA ODI 11472606

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

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

Suspension control arm failure on front left and right. It happened twice on two separate occasions while driving. Before failure it was making a creaking sound. It failed while driving on both occasions. The first failure happened pulling out of the driveway. The second failure happened driving down the street and it certainly put myself and others on the road at risk. Speed was fairly slow when it failed ~20 mph. Nevertheless, it was a busy street with cars going fast around us. The upper control arm broke on both occasions. The car is driven as one would expect. Around town and regular highway driving. No other accidents, off-roading, no notable potholes, etc. Unfortunately, even after recent repairs it is again making the same sounds that it made right before the previous failures. Tesla is refusing to fix the defects. This is likely the same issue as the recall in China.

NHTSA ODI 11468405

The Driverside Front suspension fore links completely failed and broke off, and separated and it made the Tire shift towards the the wheel arch liner and rub against it which damaged the tire and the wheel arch liner. And it caused the Front suspension LINK bushing to become damaged as well when the FRONT SUSPENSION FORE LINK broke ( the metal completely broke in half & became separated from each other ) because the two links are connected together to the front suspension arm wishbone on top when I was driving down a residential street going 20 mph, there was a small dip in the road so I slowed down to about 5 mph and after the dip I noticed this loud sound coming from my front tire & wheel. I think it was already cracked and the dip made it come off. Because that small dip could not of had the torque & power to do that to the metal on the front suspension Fore link. I own 2016 TESLA MODEL S 75. I researched and Many teslas are having the same problem!! Tesla even put out a service bulletin SB-17-31-001 stating “Some Model S and Model X vehicles may have been manufactured with front suspension fore links that may not meet Tesla strength specifications. In the event of link failure, the driver can still maintain control of the vehicle but the tire may contact the wheel arch liner.“-years affected 2016 OMG Which exactly happened to my 2016 TESLA MODEL S 75!! Now I found there’s a class action lawsuit vs Tesla and NHTSA INVESTIGATION about the same exact matter! My car is not driveable, I called Tesla roadside to get it towed to Tesla service center, they told me I would have to pay for the tow!! I made a service appt but it’s not until another 7 days! I’m waiting to find out if Tesla will cover the cost to fix it??

NHTSA ODI 11467085

Tesla 17 inch touchscreen blacks out repeatedly and then cycles and turns back on. This is more common in hot environments after charging. Sometimes it happens more than 10 times in a short drive. Per a similar recall in newer 2021 vehicles this means the cars can lose rearview camera displays, settings that control windshield defrosters and indicators. I have had the eMMC replaced per the prior recall, but this issue continues to happen after multiple Tesla Service Center visits.

NHTSA ODI 11466856

The instrument cluster goes out randomly when driving. This means there is no speed displayed. I reported to Tesla and they did nothing to correct this problem.

NHTSA ODI 11465488

Driver Door opens by itself

NHTSA ODI 11464280

On April 9th, 2022, the vehicle in traffic went from the drive gear to the park. vehicles were coming behind me at 55mph and I could not maneuver to safety. It took up to 4mins before I got moving. The incident occurred again on April 25th, while my kids and I were on the way to basketball practice. Finally, I got an appointment with Tesla service, and after two weeks of troubleshooting I was informed that the issue is an anomaly.

NHTSA ODI 11463945