What 191 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Tesla Model X (all Variants 5-seat)

While driving on interstate, a semi trailer began merging into my lane. I attempted to hit the horn and no response was produced by the car. The stoke steering wheel does not have a push horn, and requires a button. The hand mash is supposed to work per Elon Musk on X. I was unable to perform potentially impactful sound response to other vehicles. The horn should not be allowed to be a button as emergency situations do not allow a refocus.

NHTSA ODI 11588313

I have driven this model x a few months now and there are many time I wasn’t able to put on turn signal and honk the horn due to design . The turn signal is activated by turn buttons in a very small area right next to each other. When needed , the button would cause a lot of confusion , for instance , if I want to put on left blinker I would accidentally put on right, it is especially true when trying to put on signal when the steering wheel is already turned, the only way to avoid false input is to physically looking at the turn signal buttons before put on the blinker , but it is very dangerous for you driving because you are taking your view from the road. Also the horn activation is also very dangerous , I have encountered some situation when the horn is required to gain attention from other drivers or even pedestrians, but when needed , I am either missed the horn button completely or would activated the windshield wipers instead due to its design. Just like turn signal I would have to take my eyes off the road to make sure the correct button was pushed . I think it is very dangerous. I hope there’s some recall available to retrofit traditional horn button in the center of the steering and a physical turn stalk . Thank you for reading this and I hope it’s a valid complaint and would result in some positive outcomes to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians.

NHTSA ODI 11585993

The Model X steering wheel has a haptic horn button instead of the standard mechanical horn that every other car uses. This presents a huge safety issue because of the size and location of the haptic horn button and the fact that it's not a physical or mechanical button. On several occasions the horn has gone off unintentionally causing a road hazard and when an emergency situation arises, you must take your eyes off the road to look for the horn light. This puts my family and others drivers at extreme risk. Tesla appears to have acknowledged the problem because they have since switched back to a mechanical horn, however they refuse to replace our group of drivers horns under warranty. I am submitting this safety because I believe it is a danger to all drivers that the emergency horn is unable to be accessed when needed. Thank you

NHTSA ODI 11585656

The horn's position on the steering wheel is not fixed, leading to instances where it fails to alert other vehicles or passengers in potentially dangerous situations. For example, there was one occasion where a vehicle approached from the opposite direction, necessitating the use of the horn, but I struggled to locate it as the steering wheel was turned at a 90-degree angle. Additionally, the horn button itself is quite small. The turn signal indicators have caused issues in multiple scenarios due to difficulty in locating the switch. This often occurs when needing to signal a quick left-right or right-left maneuver, especially when the steering wheel is already turned in the opposite direction

NHTSA ODI 11585112

The horn on the Model X is a tiny button on the steering wheel. This is a safety issue and not instinctual in the event of an emergency.

NHTSA ODI 11585100

Hello, Thank you for taking the time to address this issue. As you may already be aware, the honk button is not centrally located on the steering wheels of Model X or S vehicles. This has led to several instances where cars backing up in parking lots have nearly collided with my vehicle because I instinctively honk to alert them. Tesla has recently redesigned the honk button, moving it to the center instead of the touch thumb button on the right side. I strongly urge Tesla to consider replacing the steering wheel to place the honk button at the center for improved safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Your consideration is greatly appreciated.

NHTSA ODI 11583454

Issue is with Tesla Full Self Driving subscription for $199/month and is available for inspection. No warnings or symptoms were indicated. The vehicle recommended I re-enable the service every time the vehicle restarted after it was shut off. Tesla's phone support stated the following is normal expected behavior, so an inspection isn't needed: 1. Automatically changed lanes on interstate into the space occupied by another vehicle multiple times. Thankfully, crashes were avoided by attentive drivers of involved vehicles. 2. Confused "40 MPH Minimum Speed" signs for speed limit, resulting in over 30 instances were speed was drastically and suddenly reduced, without warning, every time the sign appeared. 3. Automatically changed lanes on interstate from rightmost lane to center lane despite no traffic present. This seems to be a default behavior that cannot be adjusted. 4. Disabled cruise control and lane keeping assist when driver overrode automated systems (accelerated, braked, manually adjusted steering) to avoid a crash. Kept these systems disabled as a punishment until driver parked car and restarted.

NHTSA ODI 11583075

The yoke steering wheel had multiple issues ranging from cosmetic to skipping sometimes while turning. To the best of my knowledge, based on talking to Tesla Service professionals, Tesla is aware of this problem and has internally created a document to change these yokes, but it is not doing as regularly as it should. The service staff refuses to clarify the conditions of warranty repair for this faulty part, and I suspect a major incident can happen with these Yokes failing.

NHTSA ODI 11581732

My steering wheel doesn't have a usable horn functionality. There is a subtle button on the side of the wheel, which isn't even a physical button, and it's very small in size. My wife and I had a few situation already where we couldn't do a horn signal quickly enough and we barely escaped an accident in those cases. The existing horn button is very hard to use, it's placed non-intuitively, it's impossible to find without looking at the steering wheel, and it's very hard to use when the steering wheel isn't positioned straight. All other cars I driven over my lifetime had a horn right in the center of the steering wheel, which is the most obvious and usable placement, given the urgency of the situation when drivers are supposed to use it.

NHTSA ODI 11579943

Steering wheel does not have a center horn button which is a defacto standard on every car. Sounding horn is by a small button on the side of the steering wheel. It would be difficult or slower to sound the horn in an emergency without a central button.

NHTSA ODI 11575437

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while accelerating up an incline, an abnormal grinding sound was coming from the steering wheel while making right turns. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a Tesla Service Center where the mechanic informed the contact there was no issue with the vehicle and the noise was normal. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 300.

NHTSA ODI 11573092

The touch sensitive horn button on the right side of the steering wheel is dangerous. It cannot be located and used in time to avoid a collision, and may cause an accident by requiring the driver to take eyes off road in order to look down and locate the small half inch area to press in order to engage horn. This is a DANGEROUS design defect I cannot safely operate vehicle without a Center push horn on the wheel. I have asked Tesla for a replacement to a safer steering wheel and they refuse.

NHTSA ODI 11571323

I find the horn button on the side of the steering to be dangerous. When in an emergency I find it very difficult to locate the horn button when the steering is not at it's regular position. I think the horn should be at the center. The manufacturer should replace the steering with another that has a horn in the center of the steering.

NHTSA ODI 11566143

The steering wheel in the 2023 Tesla Model X is perhaps the most unsafe design in any modern car. There are absolutely no physical buttons or stalks, with everything relying on the capacitive touch buttons located by the left and right scroll wheels. On countless occasions, the left turn signal capacitive button has failed to register a press, leaving me in the hazardous condition of being unable to safely indicate a lane change. In addition, the horn being located on a capacitive button instead of the center airbag like every other car on the market has lead to multiple near misses. On many separate occasions, I have been in a situation necessitating the use of my horn to warn another motorist of a hazardous condition or imminent collision, but have been unable to do so due to the boneheaded and unsafe placement of the horn on this touch button.

NHTSA ODI 11565267

I have been in situations where braking and steering isn’t really an option but honking is to let the other driver know where i am at. A button horn on steering wheel, is unintuitive and difficult to use and difficult to find in situations of emergency when every second matters. Happened to me when i was entering a parking lot while the other driver was backing up from his parking without looking behind. i was unable to alert the driver via honking as I didn’t want to waste precious time finding horn button, so the only option for me was to speed up to get out of his way. That i felt was a dangerous manoeuver given the small space. Having a standard car horn in the middle of the steering wheel is safe and easy to use. I hope my complaint is taken into consideration.

NHTSA ODI 11565271

The electronic horn fitted to my steering wheel is dangerous and needs to be recalled. I was driving and a car was heading towards me from the side and was not slowing down. I went to use the horn to tell the driver I was there, but because it's not a mechanical horn (it's a slippery plastic, not even a button), I could not find it in time. The car nearly hit me and I had to swerve. A horn should be able to be reached instinctively to warn another driver in a critical safety situation. The driver should not have to look down to the steering wheel, find a shiny piece of plastic, and 'rub' it to hope it works. Those milliseconds are crucial. Tesla are now sending newer versions of my car WITH a mechanical horn, so they clearly have realized the mistake. This steering wheel needs a recall and free replacement.

NHTSA ODI 11565339

The horn is now activated by a small button, missed it a few times during emergency situations, it needs to be by the center hub! The turn signals are also by the buttons, easy to make mistakes during emergency maneuvers when there is no time to look down. At least place the buttons on each side of the right thumb wheel, so to easily build muscle memory without looking at them. For safety, please demand Tesla to make such retrofits. Thank you!

NHTSA ODI 11561599

Horn should be relocated to center of steering wheel from small button on steering wheel. Very dangerous in times of emergency, as hand goes directly to center of steering wheel.

NHTSA ODI 11550533

I'm not sure why NHTSA let Tesla remove the horn from the center of the steering wheel. Its now a button on the steering wheel. This is literally something Tesla is trying to fix that i'snt broken. The horn is a critical safety feature. Now that its a button its next to impossible to honk the horn while turning. There are certain tactile features that we drivers have all grown accustomed to and now they are being taken away and making the driving experience more dangerous for the driver, passengers and other vehicles/ pedestrians/ bikers. Please mandate that Tesla keep the horn in the center of the wheel so that we can hit it when its really needed instead of miss critical (mili)seconds looking for the button. I would also encourage you to consider mandating that the buttons on the wheel for signaling also be mandated to stay on a stalk. Most of the time the buttons are sufficient, except again when you're making two quick turns...you shouldn't have to look at the wheel in order to figure out which button signals left and right.

NHTSA ODI 11539077

The power steering appeared to fail, and the wheel is locked in a semi straight position. It requires tremendous force to turn the wheel. This is a major safety issue to have this happen while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11536513

Full Self Driving suddenly speeds up while waiting at red lights

NHTSA ODI 11529862