2018 Tesla Model X Reliability Report

Phantom braking is the most common complaint. The car brakes hard on the highway with nothing ahead, often on plain cruise control, and in one report drops from 75 to 55 mph. One owner counts more than 30 events in a 6-mile stretch. Other reports describe the opposite failure, where the car does not slow for stopped traffic or a car directly ahead. Four of the 14 complaints involve crashes, and one involved an injury. One phantom braking report gives about 41,200 miles.

Unintended acceleration at parking-lot speed is the main pattern. The car surges during a slow turn or while pulling into a space, then hits poles, parked cars, or walls, sometimes hard enough to deploy the airbags. Eight of the 13 complaints involve crashes, with 7 people injured. A few owners report surges on Autopilot, including one from a full stop at a red light. Others report hard braking on cruise control with no traffic around, or the computer freezing at highway speed while the display stays stuck on one speed.

Falcon wing doors fail to open and often report an obstruction that is not there. Some owners say heat and sun make it worse. Children have been trapped inside, and a failed door pop actuator can leave a door unusable from inside and outside. Other reports cover the front trunk opening while driving, leaking falcon door windows with crumbling trim, fender garnish coming loose near the wheels, a rear window shattering on its own, and a front wheel separating at 7,800 miles.

A reduced steering assist warning appears on some cars, together with disabled stability control, emergency braking, or cruise control, in one case right after a software update. Notchy steering led to a lower steering column replacement. Loud creaking or squeaking while turning is traced to seized upper control arms and cracked bushings. The one fire report describes a horn stuck on, a locked steering wheel, and smoke from under the front trunk. Fast wear on the inner edges of the tires, blamed on camber, also appears.

Second-row seats stop locking and slide back and forth. In one injury report, a child was thrown into the front seat. Service described a locking mechanism that was wearing away. Other reports describe a loose, rocking driver seat, a fractured driver seat back near 56,000 miles, a power driver seat that moved forward from its easy-entry position and pinned the driver, and captain's seats that do not hold a child seat tether securely.

Second-row belts jam. Some stay pulled out and will not retract, and others retract fully and cannot be pulled out. One belt was found twisted inside at about 27,000 miles, and another needed a new belt assembly. A restraint system fault alert that comes and goes was traced in one case to a wiring disconnect. Parents report that middle-row seats do not hold a forward-facing child seat tether. One injury report describes a third-row shoulder belt locking around a child's neck.

The car brakes hard on its own at highway speed with adaptive cruise control on, slowing from about 70 to 25 mph with no traffic ahead. Owners report repeat events. One injury report describes the emergency brake engaging on a ramp, followed by neck and back pain. Another describes a wheel sensor cable rubbing on the tire until its wires are exposed, which shuts off ABS, traction and stability control, and regenerative braking while driving.