Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2013 Tesla Model S submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 15 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Vehicle lights turned off while driving home with my family. Pulling over and turning off and on the car reset the problem. When lights turned off I received a warning light identifying a faulty right headlight and faulty left headlight. No accident and vehicle is currently outside manufacture warranty.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). The contact stated that the recall repair was performed twice however, the vehicle experienced an unknown computer failure. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the seats moved independently. The contact was unaware of a warning light being illuminated. The contact stated that the driver’s side seat would revert to the seat settings of the second driver independently while the vehicle was in motion. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the eMMC controller needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure occurred again and the eMMC controller was replaced a second time. The failure persisted. The failure mileage was 123,864.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. 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 local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) unit became inoperable causing the vehicle to stall. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the VCM unit needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact then stated 18 months later, he received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V035000 (Back over prevention, Visibility, Exterior lighting). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
BACKING UP MCU FAIL BACKUP CAMERA FAILED ALMOST BACK ON A KID RAN BEHIND MY CAR WHILE I WAS LOOKING DOWN AT A DISABLED SCREEN. DRIVING TO TESLA SERVICE DEPARTMENT MAIN SCREEN FAILED DUE TO COMPUTER CAR CRIPPLED TO MINIMAL SAFETY CONTROL. CAR NOW IN SERVICE TESLA REQUIRE ME TO PAY $1500 FOR NEW MCU2 INSTEAD OF RECALLING AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE MCU.
THE MAIN/CENTER SCREEN BLACKS OUT ON MY TESLA, WHICH IS WHERE ALL THE CAR CONTROLS AND BACK-UP CAMERA IS VIEWED. EVEN WHEN IT DOESN'T COMPLETELY BLACK OUT, THE BACK UP CAMERA DOESN'T FUNCTION AS IT JUST STAYS FROZEN A LOT OF THE TIME. OUTSIDE OF THE BACKUP CAMERA ISSUES, ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS, LIKE TURNING ON OR OFF HEADLIGHTS IS ALSO IMPACTED. AT OTHER TIMES IT SEEMS LIKE IT IMPACTS CHARGING THE CAR, WHICH CAN LEAVE ME DEAD IF I CANNOT CHARGE. OTHER FUNCTIONS HAVE ALSO BEEN IMPACTED LIKE TURNING AIR CONDITIONING AND NAVIGATION, HOWEVER NOT NECESSARILY SAFETY ISSUES. THESE ISSUES HAVE HAPPENED WHILE SITTING IN MY GARAGE TRYING TO LEAVE, CHARGING MY CAR AT A TESLA CHARGING STATION, DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY OR STREETS. I ESTIMATE THEY HAVE BEEN HAPPENING SINCE ABOUT 60K MILES AND HAVE PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE.
THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) IN MY 2013 TESLA MODEL S STOPPED WORKING WHEN I REBOOTED THE CAR WHILE STATIONARY (COMMONLY NEEDED TO RESTORE LOST FUNCTIONALITY), APPARENTLY DUE TO A FAILURE OF THE EMBEDDED MULTI-MEDIA CARD (EMMC) MEMORY. AS PART OF THIS FAILURE, THE TURN SIGNALS DID NOT WORK WHEN I LATER WENT TO DRIVE THE CAR, THE PASSENGER AIRBAG DEFAULTED TO 'OFF' (PIC ATTACHED), AND THE HVAC SYSTEM (INCLUDING THE WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER) DEFAULTED TO AN UNKNOWN SETTING AND COULD NOT BE CONTROLLED (NEITHER BY THE DEAD MCU NOR THE SMARTPHONE APPLICATION), THOUGH THE CAR WAS OTHERWISE STILL DRIVEABLE. APPARENTLY, THE OEM EMMC HAD LIMITED RE-WRITE CAPABILITY AND A RELATIVELY HIGH RE-WRITE FREQUENCY; WHEN IT FAILED, IT NOT ONLY CREATED DRIVING SAFETY HAZARDS, BUT ALSO COST MORE THAN $1,000 TO REPAIR WHAT WAS PROBABLY AN INEXPENSIVE PART (UNDER $10) FOR THE OEM.
WAS SUPERCHARGING ABOUT 7 HOURS AWAY FROM HOME, MY SCREEN TURNED OFF AND WOULD NOT REBOOT.. THE DREADED MCU FAILURE EVERY TESLA OWNER FEARS, AND EVERY SERVICE CENTER PRETENDS DOES NOT EXIST. MY CAR WOULD NOT POWER OFF, AS WE WERE AT THE BEACH MY A/C WAS ON FULL BLAST. MY CAR WAS NOW DRIVEABLE WITH NO KEY, AND THE DOORS WOULD NOT LOCK WHATSOEVER. ANYONE WITH OR WITHOUT A KEY COULD JUST WALK UP TOUCH THE HANDLE AND GET INTO MY CAR. I HAD TO STAY CLOSE TO SUPERCHARGERS AS MY A/C DRAINED THE BATTERY HEAVILY. TESLA ESSENTIALLY TOLD ME THEY WOULD HAVE TO HAVE ME TAKE IT TO A SERVICE CENTER WHICH WERE CLOSED FOR THE NEXT 2 DAYS BECAUSE A MOBILE TECH WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REPLACE IT ON SPOT. SO NOW I GET TO DRIVE 7 HOURS HOME IN THE MOST STRESSFUL SITUATION OF MY LIFE. AS WE GOT AWAY FROM THE COAST AND THE TEMPERATURE RAPIDLY DROPPED I HAD WATER POURING OFF MY WINDSHIELD AND DOWN THE SIDES OF MY CAR AND OUT OF MY AIR VENTS! IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE AND INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. MY FIANCEE HAD TO KEEP A TOWEL IN HER LAP TO WIPE THE WINDSHIELD EVERY FEW SECONDS. PUTTING THE LACK OF VISIBILITY ASIDE AND SAFETY OF A VEHICLE THATS UNABLE TO LOCK. I HAD TO MANUALLY FIND ALL TESLA SUPERCHARGERS ALONG THE ROUTE I ALSO HAD TO GUESSTIMATE HOW MUCH CHARGE I WOULD NEED TO MAKE IT TO THE NEXT STATION WHICH WAS QUITE THE TASK DUE TO THE HIGH A/C DRAIN. AFTER OUR LAST CHARGING STOP WE HAD MAYBE 120 MILES TO GO AND I CHARGED TO 170ISH.. AT LEAST 50 MORE THAN NECESSARY. THERE WAS ONE POINT ON OUR TRIP WHERE WE HAD 16 MILES REMAINING AND 17 TO GO. SOMEHOW THROUGH A LITTLE HELP FROM THE MAN ABOVE WE MADE IT HOME WITH A COUPLE MILES TO SPARE. IT COMPLETELY ASTOUNDS ME THAT TESLA COULD JUST BRUSH OFF SUCH A HORRENDOUS FAILURE OF A VERY WELL KNOWN AND DOCUMENTED ISSUE. IT'S NOT A CHANCE OF IF IT FAILS AS TO A MATTER OF WHEN. STOCK PRICES MATTER MORE THAN A CUSTOMERS SAFETY.
MCU MAIN COMPUTER FAILED, PREVENTED ME FROM USING DEFROST COULDN'T SEE WHILE DRIVING ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT AS MY ENTIRE FRONT WINDOW VIEW GOT BLOCK. THE MCU ALLOWS YOU TO USE THE SCREEN WHICH LETS YOU TURN ON DEFROST. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THIS ALSO CONTROLS YOUR HEADLIGHTS.
VEHICLE COMPLETELY STATIONARY. CENTER CONSOLE (MCU) UNIT FAILURE DUE TO THE EMMC STORAGE FILLING DUE TO EXCESSIVE LOG DATA. WELL-KNOWN AND DOCUMENTED ISSUE WITH THESE CARS. CAUSES A/C CONTROL, MEDIA, MEDIA CONTROLS, NAVIGATION, LIGHTING CONTROL, AND AUDIBLE TURN SIGNAL FUNCTIONS TO NO LONGER WORK.
MCU (CENTER SCREEN) FAILED IN MY 2013 MODEL S. I RETURNED TO THE CAR AFTER IT WAS PARKED ALL DAY IN AN OUTDOOR PARKING LOT AT WORK AND IT WOULD NOT TURN ON. REBOOTING, OTHER TROUBLESHOOTING DID NOT REMEDY. AS A RESULT OF MCU FAILURE, TURN SIGNALS DID NOT WORK (EXTERIOR TURN SIGNALS AND AUDIBLE INDICATION OF TURN SIGNALS), AIR SUSPENSION COULD NOT BE ADJUSTED, CLIMATE CONTROL COULD NOT BE ADJUSTED, HEADLIGHTS COULD NOT BE MANUALLY CONTROLLED, STEERING SETTINGS COULD NOT BE ADJUSTED, CHARGE LEVEL COULD NOT BE ADJUSTED, MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT COULD NOT BE USED, BACKUP CAMERA COULD NOT BE VIEWED IN ADDITION TO OTHER FUNCTIONALITY FOR THE CAR. LEADING UP TO THE COMPLETE FAILURE OF THE UNIT, THE MCU WOULD OCCASIONALLY REBOOT ITSELF DURING DRIVING CAUSING LOSS OF TURN SIGNALS AND CHANGE IN STEERING DYNAMICS.
THE CENTER MEDIA TOUCHSCREEN (MCU) IN MY VEHICLE STOPPED FUNCTIONING AND SEVERAL FUNCTIONS CEASED WORKING. INITIALLY I RECEIVED A "TOUCHSCREEN UNRESPONSIVE" MESSAGE WHILE DRIVING SO WHEN I STOPPED AT A STOPLIGHT I ATTEMPTED TO REBOOT THE MCU USING THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS. THE SCREEN STARTED THE REBOOT PROCESS BUT EVERYTHING THAT WAS ON INCLUDING HVAC AND RADIO TURNED OFF FOR THE REMAINDER OF MY DRIVE AND WERE INOPERABLE UNTIL AFTER THE SCREEN WAS REPLACED. THE TOUCHSCREEN NEVER TURNED BACK ON. MANY FUNCTIONS DID NOT WORK WHEN THE MCU DIED WITH THE ODDEST ONE OF ALL BEING THAT I HAD NO TURN SIGNAL SOUNDS WHICH I THINK ARE CREATED BY THE CARS AUDIO SYSTEM AND THE MCU. WITH THE LOSS OF THE MCU, I LOST THE USE OF MY BACKUP CAMERA AND MY HVAC WHICH WAS STUCK IN AN OFF STATE SO I HAD TO ROLL DOWN MY WINDOWS IN ORDER TO HAVE ANY AIRFLOW IN THE CABIN. THANKFULLY I DID NOT NEED THE FORWARD OR REAR DEFROSTER BETWEEN WHEN MY SCREEN STOPPED WORKING AND IT WAS REPLACED AS BOTH ARE CONTROLLED VIA THE MCU AND WERE UNAVAILABLE. CHARGING AT HOME WAS EXTREMELY LIMITED AND MAXED OUT AT VERY LOW AMPERAGE AND I WAS UNABLE TO CHANGE THE CHARGING AMPERAGE DUE TO THE INACCESSIBLE TOUCHSCREEN. I DID NOT TRY A DC FAST CHARGER. MOBILE APP CONTROL WAS UNAVAILABLE SO I WAS NOT ABLE TO USE IT TO ADJUST MY HVAC OR CHARGING SETTINGS. THE CONTROLS FOR ADJUSTING THE ACTIVE AIR SUSPENSION WERE ALSO NOT AVAILABLE HOWEVER THE CAR APPEARED TO SET ITSELF TO A NORMAL RIDE HEIGHT. NO STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS (HVAC, RADIO, SUNROOF, VOICE COMMANDS) WORKED AND MY HEADLIGHTS WERE STUCK IN AUTO MODE THAT WAS THE SECOND MCU IN MY CAR, PREVIOUSLY BEING REPLACED ABOUT 14 MONTHS EARLIER DUE TO THE SCREEN ADHESIVE FAILING WHICH CAUSED AIR BUBBLES TO FORM WITHIN THE TOUCHSCREEN. I THINK THE CAUSE OF THE MCU FAILURE WAS EMMC FLASH REACHING ITS MAXIMUM WRITE LIFETIME DESPITE THE PRIOR REPLACEMENT. *TR
THE MAIN TOUCHSCREEN ON MY 2012 TESLA S HAS STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY- TOTALLY BLANK, RESULTING IN NO REARWARD FACING CAMERA, LOWER CHARGING RATES, NO CONTROL OVER SUSPENSION HEIGHT OR STEERING STIFFNESS; NO A/C, NO HEAT, NO SUNROOF CONTROLS, NO WIFI, NO BLUETOOTH AND NO CELLULAR; NO MAP, NO GPS. NO RADIO. *TR
TESLA MAIN COMPUTER IS DESIGNED TO FAIL AND DISABLE THE ABILITY TO TURN ON THE HEADLIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS, REAR VIEW CAMERA, AND SO ON. THE MAIN COMPUTER LOGS EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN THE CAR EXCESSIVELY (THEY DO THIS SO PRESS REVIEWS CAN BE REFUTED, IT HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES) BUT THAT LOGGING CAUSES THE CHIP TO FAIL. THE SOLUTION IS TO TURN OFF LOGGING BUT THEY REFUSE, SO THESE COMPUTERS FAIL PREDICTABLY ON SCHEDULE. ALL TESLAS ARE AFFECTED. *TR
TESLA MODEL S. HAS PROBLEMS THAT WITH LITTLE OR NO NOTICE THE CAR CAN QUIT, LEAVING THE CAR AND OCCUPANTS STRANDED DANGEROUSLY IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, SOMETIMES WITH NO LIGHTS. ALLEGEDLY THE TRACTION BATTERY, DRIVE UNIT, CONTACTOR, INVERTER, CONVERTER AND/OR 12 V ACCESSORY BATTERY CAN SUDDENLY FAIL CAUSING THE TESLA TO QUIT WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING, THEN COASTING TO A STOP. ALLEGEDLY IN SOME CASES AFTER THE VEHICLE COMES TO A STOP THE 12 V BATTERY AND SYSTEMS WILL QUICKLY FAIL, PREVENTING PARKING LIGHTS AND HAZARD LIGHTS FROM BEING USED AND PREVENTING THE PARKING BRAKE FROM BEING RELEASED AND PREVENTING THE ENGAGEMENT OF TOW MODE THUS PREVENTING THE VEHICLE FROM BEING PUSHED OR COASTED OUT OF DANGEROUS TRAFFIC TO A SAFER LOCATION. NOT BEING ABLE TO ENGAGE TOW MODE, IT MAKES TOWING THE VEHICLE MORE DIFFICULT, TIME-CONSUMING AND RISKY. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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