What 417 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Tesla Model X P90d

Hello! The front fore links have failed in my vehicle which are a known issue in Tesla Model X's manufactured in 2016. I want to report this to add to the number of complaints

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This vehicle was subject to a recall NHTSA campaign number: 20V710. Tesla’s own number for this recall is SB-20-12-005. It appears the inspection carried out in 2021 apparently passed at the time and no corrections were made, however, the part in question recently last week. The center spine panel came apart. Tesla are not willing to accept any liability or responsibility even though they now that this recall exists. This is a safety matter and it appears that even though vehicles were inspected at the time and deemed to have passed they are still susceptible to having the part fail later on.

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On August 30, 2022 between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. the driver of a 2016 Tesla X, was traveling at highway speeds in the number one lane. The fore link failed when the driver applied the vehicle’s brakes in response to a vehicle in front of her abruptly braking for a hazard ahead. A grinding noise came from the drivetrain and the vehicle rapidly slowed involuntarily. The driver was able to navigate across several lanes of traffic to the right shoulder. The vehicle remained inoperable at the side of the freeway until it was later towed to Tesla, Inc. for repair. The nature of the incident was reported to Tesla Inc. Tesla, Inc. diagnosed the issue and found front left fore link to be broken at the ball joint. The technician found additional damage to : (1) the coaxial cable that leads to the left rocker panel; (2) the front aero shield; (3) front left fender liner (missing); and (4) main harness. Later, damage was discovered to the A/C compressor. Notably, Tesla Inc. inspected the vehicle braking system twice in the two months preceding the incident. On June 28, 2022, Tesla Inc. replaced the front brake pads. On August 4, 2022, Tesla Inc. inspected the tire pressure and condition and did not recommend rotation. No warnings were displayed. Co-owner spoke with a service manager at Tesla Inc. regarding Service Bulletin 17-31-001, indicating that Model X vehicles built in 2016 may have been manufactured with front suspension fore links that may not meet Tesla strength specifications. Nevertheless, Tesla, Inc. refused to cover the repairs under the Drivetrain Warranty or goodwill. The co-owner later learned that the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE20-020) regarding this issue. Co-owner also requested that Tesla, Inc. replace the right fore link without charge. After Tesla Inc. refused to do so, co-owner paid for the replacement out of pocket.

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Power steering went out, and it was very difficult to turn the car, I called Tesla, and asked for a repair, I also stated the 20V062000 NHTSA recall and was told my car was not on warranty, my car fits exactly the recall number listed by NHTSA, I requested a refund and was denied. I had to drive the car 88 miles to Raleigh, I was put at a very high risk of safety to get the car fixed the steering was hard to pull and control, especially on stops and turns. NO warning messages, I discovered it when I was backing my car in the garage and did not drive it until I had to drive to Raleigh to get it fixed. The car was not inspected, I had to drive it to Raleigh for the repair. The consumer stated she requested to be reimbursed by Tesla but the request was denied.

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The suspension (the front half shaft) has repeatedly failed and has been replaced multiple times by Tesla. First it was replaced under warranty and now we are paying for it as it is no longer covered under the warranty. The part failure is a safety concern as it has lead to unstable handling, nearly resulting in a crash several times. The parts have always been discarded by Tesla but a full explanation of the problem is here: https://n2itive.me/ No warning lamps or messages appear as it happens every time you accelerate, and sometimes the vibrations are so severe that it affects the handling of the vehicle severely.

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The control arm joints of the Model X started to squeak under warranty. Under warranty, they "Reseal Area Around Both Front Upper Control Arm Ball Joints With Urethane (Model X)" which they knew didn't fix the problem from looking Tesla forum. It just masks the problem for another 1-2 years and when the car is out of warranty, they now offer a fix which is to replace the entire control arm joint which is around $1k per side. There is a known issue with Model X suspension. It looks like other models have had a recall for similar issues.

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The front control arms broke. I had it in for recall work and asked them to check the rear control arms. We had just gotten new tires on it and the tire shop recommended we bring it in to have Tesla look at the rear control arms. Tesla said they looked good and then last minute they said the front control arms were broken. Not sure how that happened, but it seems to be a common problem with the 2016 model xs. Paid 637.94 for the repair. Since then, our power steering has been almost non existent.

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The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving with the Autonomous Self Driving feature activated and making a left or a right turn, the steering wheel seized, and the Autonomous Self Driving feature inadvertently disabled. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown Service Center to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the lower steering shaft needed to be replaced. The contact then stated that the mechanic sprayed oil on the steering shaft to loosen the steering wheel; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

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I was turning left to northbound from westbound and as I was trying to accelerate to turn, my Tesla wouldn’t go past 11 mph. I stepped on the accelerator with all my might, but it wouldn’t go past 11 mph. On my dash, the alert said: “obstruction detected- speed will be reduced.” This is very concerning because the car was slowing down and obstructing the southbound lanes. This is very dangerous and could’ve caused a car crash. I could’ve easily gotten T-boned. After I made my slow turn, the car got back to normal and accelerated normally.

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I was rear ended while my Tesla was on auto pilot and the system never warned me or prevented the accident

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My 2016 model X has been experiencing front passenger and rear passenger safety restraint system faults off and on since we purchased the vehicle in 2019. This notification requires service and the Tesla service center has done a mixture of hardware checks, replacement of parts and keeps blaming the issues on a firmware update that will eventually happen in the future. Tesla says that when the system is tripped the airbags may not deploy and to schedule service when it happens. Because the vehicle is under a used warranty they refuse to address this as a recall or possibly defect.

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In Sept of 2022 I took my car to a Tesla Svc Ctr due to the ceiling panel had dislodged. Although there was a recall for this of which I was not notified of but found on my own, I had to argue with the young woman who checked me in. She denied that a recall existed. I had to show her the notice from Teslas own website before she conceded. I later received a note letting me know I needed front tires which wasn’t unexpected but the next day, I received a new invoice with a note stating I also needed fed & aft links adding $1k to the bill. I didn't find a recall but DID find an applicable Service Bulletin but got no response when I asked about it. Flash fwd: 2-3 weeks ago I started got a, “air compression suspension disabled”. I saw no other alerts & checked for service notes of which there were none. The car drove fine, so I thought the note would clear it itself but it didn’t. I found some info on a blog & followed a tip on doing a reset which initially worked, but the alert popped up again. The car started bobbing violently. The car is at the service center now. When I checked in the gentleman helping me reviewed the cars notes & got an odd, concerning look on his face but only said he hoped the car would be done later today. When I got home I did a google search on 2016 Tesla Model X suspension issues, & found articles indicating Tesla had issued a recall in China but refused to do so in the US, & that the NHTSA was investigating the issue at the time the article was written, which has prompted me to file this complaint.

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The second tow captain rear seats are not bolted securely. The seats both rock forward and back. I brought it up to Tedla service and the representative came back with, The car is 6 years old. So does that mean Tesla Model X captain seats begin to fail after 6 years? The other issue is a steering issue. When I steer left or right I hear a clunking noise. It's not related to the control arm as it is a known issue. The odd thing is when it rains the noise goes away which I believe it may be related to a lubrication issue. When the vehicle dries up after a day or two the noise starts again.

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I had a failure of the front right suspension fore link assembly on Feb 22, 2023. This occurred while driving at highway speeds. There was no pothole or traumatic impact to the vehicle that could have caused this failure. This resulted in misalignment of the front passenger tire, as it was off-center and made impact against the wheel arch liner. It was difficult to maintain control of the vehicle, which is a significant safety hazard. I was stranded on the roadside for several hours since the vehicle was not drivable. A tow truck had to bring my vehicle to the nearest Tesla Service Center, which confirmed the failure of the front suspension fore link assembly. This is already a well known problem that NHTSA is aware of, with over 40 complaints of the same issue filed with increasing frequency over the past year. There is an active investigation by NHTSA (opened on Nov 22, 2020) and a Tesla service repair bulletin (Feb 10, 2017) that was issued regarding this problem. Please make this a safety recall as it poses a significant safety hazard that can easily cause car accidents, harming people. Lives are at risk if this problem is allowed to continue without a safety recall.

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We have received a recall of eMMC flash memory unit since Feb, 2021. Tesla has not provided recall. When we tried to schedule an appointment for recall via Tesla APP, pop up message continues to be "do not schedule appointment.

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Bubbles have formed on both screens: the navigation. Screen and also the speedometer screen. Distracting and makes it harder to see necessary information.

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I am reporting the cars main high voltage battery. The charging speed has slowed significantly similarly to my other Tesla which is a model S and that car's battery was replaced after the warranty expired due to unsafe circumstances where the car would not start. I'm starting to see similar signs and since this is an early model of the Model X, the battery management system in utilizing the same older hardware. The car already reported a similar error regarding the high voltage battery and I'm hoping to get ahead of the problem by making this report.

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Side wall bubble

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The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model-X. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the center display intermittently turned blank while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that upon engaging the turn signals, there was no indication that the turn signals were engaged. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

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Possibly loss of power to the steering wheel, caused the car hitting the freeway middle cement separator Tesla refuses to look at my drive report to identify the exact fault of the car This happened on November 4th and I see there was an issue with Tesla cars due to a faulty software download during that time I’ve reached out to Tesla numerous numerous times, they refuse to review the report and identify the malfunction

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I am making this complaint in the public interest The car I am complaining about is mangled and burned and the VIN is unavailable so I have used a dummy VIN to file this complaint. This car has just shown up in the wreckers yard. https://www.copart.com/lot/68650122/2016-tesla-model-x-ca-van-nuys It is almost certain that the occupants have been severely injured or killed. 2016 model Teslas are notorious for suspension breakages. The front RH tire has a deep gouge over the entire circumference. This is proof that the suspension failed and gouged the tire BEFORE the crash and therefore actually caused the crash. Image of the gouged tire is attached. You have hundreds of valid complaints filed for these Teslas. How many more have to die before you take action? Please note that details of the crash such as date and number of injuries are not precisely known but it will be easy for you to find out.

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While pulling forward to straighten out car into parking/charging spot at less than 1mph at EVGo charger in front of Meijer store the front passenger wheel made loud clunk and would not move. Another motorist charging said he heard it and offered to help. I called Tesla roadside from car’s service screen and waited over half hour before being disconnected. The Tesla App provides NO applicable options for this scenario to report. I then called my extended warranty (X-care) roadside and after almost 4 hours obtained a tow to Tesla Service in Clarkston. Tesla now diagnosed that the FORE LINK ASSY, 1.00 RH(1041575-00-B) WASHER, NORDLOCK, 1.00 15.2X30.7X3.4(1033093- 00-A) NUT HF M14X1.50 [10] 1.00 ZNNI NL INSERT(1004358-00-C) need to be replaced. $400 parts and labor. Invoice attached. This luckily occurred with only me in the car, on 40 degree day and at the charger…I was nearly out of charge. I would have been stranded. And begged a lot of what if’s… The car had just been serviced by Tesla on 11/14/22-11/18/22. Invoice attached. Tesla replaced bolts in steering rack housing when I brought it in for a windshield replacement? Bottom line though this is too critical a failure during such a basic, low speed operation to be safe. I cannot trust that the fore link assembly won’t fail in future in same or different wheel. It felt like the car broke its own leg by merely taking a slow step forward. This should not be permissible. Thank you for your work.

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Severe ongoing issues with the MCU - takes excessive time to power up systems - can be minutes before functions such as navigation, rear back up camera, HVAC, screen and dashboard are fully functional. This has been an issue for years, that was supposed to be fixed with a chip recall - but has become even worse.

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Significant creaking/squeaking of front suspension when driven st lower speeds, turning, and going over speed bumps. There are hundreds of other drivers complaining of the same for 2016-2018 model years on the Tesla forums. I have no idea if my suspension will fail, and am waiting on an appointment with Tesla. My vehicle is available for inspection should you deem it necessary. There were no warning signs at all, it just started happening on December 8, 2022 and has stayed consistent since then.

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Hi, the car isn't allowing me to drive because I get a notification saying "Parking brake not applied, Vehicle may free roll". It's been getting worse each day. I see that Tesla recalled this issue for models from October and older. My Model X is a November baby however I believe the calipers are the same from the October and older models. Please help [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

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