2018 Tesla Model S Reliability Report

Unintended acceleration at low speed dominates this category. It happens almost always while pulling into a parking space, making a tight turn, or entering a garage. Drivers describe the car lunging to high speed without warning, sometimes while they say they were braking, and hitting walls, poles, trees, or parked cars. Of 32 complaints, 17 are crash-related, with 12 injuries. Airbags deployed in several crashes. When the car's data was reviewed, Tesla sometimes reported that the accelerator pedal had been pressed.

Phantom braking leads the complaints. On traffic-aware cruise control or Autopilot, the car brakes hard at highway speed with nothing ahead, sometimes losing 20 mph or more in a moment. Some owners find it repeats at the same spots, such as bridges. Other filings report the opposite failure: no warning and no braking before a collision while Autopilot or Full Self-Driving was on. Seven complaints are crash-related, with three injuries. Service visits rarely produce a fix, and some owners say the slow processor caused maps and Autopilot to fail.

Power assist cuts out, often with a "steering assist reduced" warning and a wheel that becomes very hard to turn. Emergency braking and stability control can drop out at the same time. The cable harness inside the steering wheel can fail, which disables the horn, buttons, and scroll wheels and possibly the airbag. Other reports describe a horn that will not stop with smoke from under the front trunk, a shutdown at highway speed, notchy steering, and Autopilot leaving the road. Three complaints are crash-related, two fire-related, and three involve injuries.

Exterior door handles stop opening the door even when the car is unlocked. Some fail again after repair. Model X reports add falcon-wing doors that will not open because they sense an obstruction that is not there, which traps rear passengers, along with leaking door window seals. Other filings describe the front trunk opening while driving, flood water getting past a trunk seal, fender trim coming loose, and rear glass shattering on its own. Two complaints are crash-related, and both involve the car moving unexpectedly while parking.

Nearly every complaint here is about phantom braking. On adaptive cruise control, Autopilot, or FSD, the car brakes hard on an open highway with no obstacle, often from about 70 mph, then speeds back up. Some owners get it several times an hour on long drives. Others find it repeats near overpasses or at fixed spots. Two complaints involve injuries. Other filings describe ABS that does not engage in a panic stop, and a wheel sensor cable that rubs against the tire and knocks out ABS, traction control, and stability control.

A "Power reduced" warning with a turtle icon can leave the car crawling at 1 to 2 mph, sometimes along with a high-voltage battery service message. Owners say repairs can take weeks and that Tesla has trouble pinning down the cause. Front axles and CV joints wear early and clunk, and some cars are on their third or fourth replacement. The air-conditioning compressor also cools the battery, so when it fails, charging and driving speed are cut. One complaint is crash-related, involving unintended acceleration while parking.

Seat latches and power seats fail, mostly in Model X reports. Second-row seats stop locking in place and slide freely, which puts a child in a car seat at risk. Power driver seats can move on their own and pin the driver against the steering wheel. One front seat back fractured at about 56,000 miles. Other complaints describe a driver seat that rocks loose and captain's chairs that will not hold a child-seat tether securely. Two complaints involve injuries.