2014 Tesla Model S Problems

Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration I am submitting a complaint regarding repeated denial of access to charging infrastructure for my electric vehicle due to fraudulent billing activity within Tesla’s Supercharger network. I own a 2014 Tesla Model S located in Alabama. My Tesla account has repeatedly recorded Supercharging sessions in California that were not performed by my vehicle. Tesla customer support representatives have acknowledged that this issue appears to involve VIN cloning or a flaw in their charging identification system. Because I blocked my credit card to prevent fraudulent charges, Tesla’s system repeatedly flags my account as having unpaid balances and automatically disables my vehicle’s access to the Supercharger network until those balances are resolved. This creates a situation where my vehicle can be denied access to charging infrastructure even though the charges are fraudulent and unrelated to my vehicle’s actual activity. The issue has occurred multiple times over several months and requires repeated calls to Tesla customer support to restore charging functionality. Loss of access to charging infrastructure can significantly impact the usability and operational reliability of an electric vehicle. I am requesting that this issue be investigated as a potential defect in the Supercharger billing or authentication system that could affect multiple vehicle owners.

The rear door handle has failed and now the door pops open when parked.

Vehicle Information: 2014 Tesla Model S VIN: [XXX] Incident Date: [XXX] Component Affected: Suspension / Air Suspension / Ride Height Control Problem Description: On [XXX], while driving, my 2014 Tesla Model S suddenly raised itself to and/or beyond maximum ride height without any driver input. Immediately afterward, the front driver-side suspension collapsed completely, leaving the vehicle unsafe to operate. This appears to be an uncommanded overinflation event caused by Tesla’s suspension control system. It is not normal wear but a manufacturer-induced malfunction. If this failure had occurred at highway speeds, it could have caused catastrophic loss of control. The collapse of a suspension system without warning is a serious safety defect. Tesla’s service center in Moraine, OH, has refused to review the vehicle logs (which would confirm this sequence of failure) and has instead classified the incident as a standard part failure. As a result, Tesla is attempting to push full financial liability onto the owner instead of addressing what is clearly a safety-critical defect. Safety Concern: A sudden, uncommanded suspension height change followed by collapse could lead to total loss of vehicle control and a crash. This poses an ongoing risk to both Tesla drivers and the public. Requested Action: I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this failure mode as a safety defect in Tesla Model S vehicles and require Tesla to address these failures appropriately. Service Center Involved: Tesla Service Center 1927 W Dorothy Ln Moraine, OH 45439 Owner Information: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I have put my car in the shop 11 times since I purchased it 3 years ago. Now my suspension is having issues. I don't qualify for the lemon law due to the age of my car. I paid over 30,000 for a car that is not going to last till its paid off.

I have been driving my Model S Tesla for 13 years. On 30 April as I was pulling into a parking space at my local grocery store, I applied the brakes to ease into the space and my car surged forward with unintended acceleration. I smashed into the concrete base of a light pole, the airbags deployed and my car ricocheted back about 8 feet. There were no warning messages. I was taken to the emergency room and had whiplash and a burn on my leg from the airbag. No one else was hurt. I know it was the car that malfunctioned because my foot was still on the brake after the collision and the airbags bruised the right side of my right leg. It could not have bruised it in that way if my foot had been on the accelerator. The insurance company inspected and declared a total loss. I obtained the black box data from Tesla and am uploading the documents below. The car is currently at the Tesla collision center. They do not seem interested in evaluating the problem.

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the digital screen intermittently blacked out and several safety features were inoperable. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the resort block remained at 90%, and the same EMMC ID that should have been covered under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Motor suddenly failed after a required update while driving, nearly causing a crash with multiple commercial vehicles and pedestrians, leaving brake lights dangerously always on and alarm sounding, killed 12v as well.

I am the current owner of a 2014 Tesla Model S equipped with MCU1. While driving, including at freeway speeds, the center touchscreen has rebooted unexpectedly, showing only the Tesla logo before recovering. During these reboots, critical vehicle functions are unavailable, including the rearview camera, HVAC/defrost controls, and other essential features. This failure matches the exact safety defect described in NHTSA Recall 21V-035 related to the MCU/eMMC failure. I reported this safety issue to Tesla Service and provided photo evidence of the screen rebooting while driving. Tesla has refused to address this as a recall or safety repair. Tesla claims the recall was previously completed under a prior owner but refuses to provide any documentation proving that the recall repair was actually performed, citing prior owner privacy. Tesla has further stated that diagnosis of this active safety defect would be customer-paid due to the basic warranty being expired and has indicated that the only path forward is a paid infotainment upgrade. Tesla is effectively requiring payment to diagnose and resolve a known safety defect. As the safety defect is actively occurring while driving and Tesla has marked the recall as complete without providing proof or correcting the issue, I am requesting NHTSA review whether Tesla is improperly closing out recalls without ensuring the defect has been remedied and whether charging customers to diagnose known safety defects is appropriate. After entering my VIN into NHTSA’s recall lookup, NHTSA shows Recall 21V-035 (MCU/eMMC failure) as Recall Incomplete for my vehicle. This directly contradicts Tesla’s claim that the recall was previously completed. Tesla has refused to provide documentation and is requiring paid diagnosis and a paid infotainment upgrade despite the recall being listed by NHTSA as unresolved.

The contact owned a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed on the highway, the vehicle exited into a tunnel. The contact stated that his hands were on the steering wheel and that the steering wheel did not move; however, the vehicle inadvertently made a sharp left turn, and the passenger-side headlight struck the tunnel wall. The vehicle spun rapidly, and the contact's head snapped to the right. The air bags did not deploy. The contact received medical attention for whiplash. Police were made aware of the crash but did not arrive on the scene. There was no police report filed. The contact pulled over on the shoulder of the road and then restarted the vehicle. The vehicle had driven for a mile when the tire pressure dropped to zero. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then to a tow yard, where it was deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.

The steering assist failed while driving. Causing near collision and very difficult to drive.

Motor suddenly failed after a required update while driving, nearly causing a crash with multiple commercial vehicles and pedestrians, leaving brake lights dangerously always on and alarm sounding, killed 12v as well.

**Incident / Defect Description for NHTSA Safety Complaint** **Vehicle Information** - Make: Tesla - Model: Model S - Year: 2014 - VIN: [XXX] - Approximate Mileage: 148,129 miles - Date of Discovery / Failure: 04/23/2026 **Description of the Defect** This vehicle is equipped with Tesla’s Large Drive Unit (LDU / rear drive unit), which was used in the majority of 2012–early 2020 Model S vehicles (RWD and Performance models). The LDU design routes coolant through the hollow rotor shaft. Over time, the rotor seal fails and allows ethylene glycol coolant to leak internally into the motor and inverter. Evidence of this failure is easily visible by removing the rear speed sensor, where blue coolant, corrosion, and debris are present. This is a well-documented design flaw affecting thousands of vehicles. **Consequences of the Defect** Coolant intrusion causes: • Corrosion and rust in the stator windings • Washing out of bearing grease • High-voltage isolation faults • Inverter damage • Complete drive unit failure **Safety Risks** This defect presents an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety because: • Drive unit failure can occur suddenly and without warning while driving, resulting in total loss of propulsion. This is especially dangerous on highways, in traffic, or at high speeds. • Coolant inside high-voltage electrical components increases the risk of electrical shorts, arcing, or fire. • Reduced power or complete shutdown can lead to loss of vehicle control and potential crashes. I have experienced complete drive unit failure. Many other owners report identical issues, often between 50,000–120,000 miles. Tesla has not issued a recall despite this being a widespread, predictable design defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Rear Door handles are inoperable again after repairs made by dealer. The fault is due to design fault with the wiring harness on the door handles. Manufacturer refuses to make repairs under warranty

The rear door handle has failed and now the door pops open when parked.

After a high-voltage junction box repair performed by Tesla, the vehicle shut down 15 miles after leaving the service center. Tesla replaced the high-voltage harness at no cost but provided no explanation. After the HV harness replacement, new proximity/sensor alerts began triggering that were not present before their HV work. Multiple reasonable diagnostic procedures were refused, including bench-testing the sensors. Tesla is pressuring me to take possession of the vehicle without providing written confirmation that it is safe to operate following the HV system failure and subsequent replacement of HV components. I am concerned the vehicle may have unresolved high-voltage or wiring issues that could pose a safety hazard.

The drive unit was leaking coolant into the electrical inverter space. The issue was verified by a mechanic who then repaired the drive unit to prevent additional coolant intrusion.

I am the current owner of a 2014 Tesla Model S equipped with MCU1. While driving, including at freeway speeds, the center touchscreen has rebooted unexpectedly, showing only the Tesla logo before recovering. During these reboots, critical vehicle functions are unavailable, including the rearview camera, HVAC/defrost controls, and other essential features. This failure matches the exact safety defect described in NHTSA Recall 21V-035 related to the MCU/eMMC failure. I reported this safety issue to Tesla Service and provided photo evidence of the screen rebooting while driving. Tesla has refused to address this as a recall or safety repair. Tesla claims the recall was previously completed under a prior owner but refuses to provide any documentation proving that the recall repair was actually performed, citing prior owner privacy. Tesla has further stated that diagnosis of this active safety defect would be customer-paid due to the basic warranty being expired and has indicated that the only path forward is a paid infotainment upgrade. Tesla is effectively requiring payment to diagnose and resolve a known safety defect. As the safety defect is actively occurring while driving and Tesla has marked the recall as complete without providing proof or correcting the issue, I am requesting NHTSA review whether Tesla is improperly closing out recalls without ensuring the defect has been remedied and whether charging customers to diagnose known safety defects is appropriate. After entering my VIN into NHTSA’s recall lookup, NHTSA shows Recall 21V-035 (MCU/eMMC failure) as Recall Incomplete for my vehicle. This directly contradicts Tesla’s claim that the recall was previously completed. Tesla has refused to provide documentation and is requiring paid diagnosis and a paid infotainment upgrade despite the recall being listed by NHTSA as unresolved.

The main touchscreen (MCU1) and instrument cluster on my 2014 Tesla Model S frequently freeze, reboot, or go blank while driving. When this happens, I lose access to defrost, turn signals, backup camera, and speed display. I contacted Tesla Service, but they refused to repair or replace the unit under recall EA20-003 or the extended warranty, even though the symptoms match the known eMMC 8GB memory failure. The black screen and frozen instrument cluster create a clear safety risk. Tesla should cover this issue under the recall or provide an equivalent MCU2 replacement if MCU1 parts are unavailable.

This issue appears to be related to a known MCU failure affecting early Tesla Model S vehicles. The touchscreen exhibits screen melting/discoloration and eventually goes blank or becomes inoperative. When this occurs, critical functions including occupant detection indicators, seatbelt warnings, and windshield defrost controls may become unavailable. The loss of these functions creates potential safety risks involving visibility, occupant protection, and driver awareness while operating the vehicle."

Three separate reports from car to Tesla: Traction Control Disabled Stability Control Disabled Automatic Emergency Braking Disabled Two hours later my car caught on fire while parked at my home. It was declared a total loss.

Motor suddenly failed after a required update while driving, nearly causing a crash with multiple commercial vehicles and pedestrians, leaving brake lights dangerously always on and alarm sounding, killed 12v as well.

This is regarding a 2014 Model S fully electric vehicle. Any reference to an 'engine' simply implies the motor. Accelerator pedal became unresponsive and abruptly lost drive power while going ~55mph on the highway. The PRND display on the display panel went red. Car was towed to the service center Immediately after this malfunction, I somehow cruised along towards the shoulder with just with brakes and hazard lights. Total loss of motor power caused vehicle to slow down and vehicles behind me had to slow down (and honk). After coming to complete stop and shifting to Park the PRND display turned white again indicating function was restored. Shifting to D seem to re-engage the motor and I could pull away to the nearest exit and then into a parking lot. At this location it no longer responded to R or D positions and had to finally towed. Frequent drive unit failure is apparently a prevalent issue on certain models. Not sure if anyone else was in a similar situation. Service centers admit this as well as there is evidence on online forums Warning sign (PRND turning red) appeared at the exact moment of failure. On stopping and going back to Park it would go away. No persistent errors remained on the screen. After the motor had completely failed, various other warnings started appearing (ref photos)

I have been driving my Model S Tesla for 13 years. On 30 April as I was pulling into a parking space at my local grocery store, I applied the brakes to ease into the space and my car surged forward with unintended acceleration. I smashed into the concrete base of a light pole, the airbags deployed and my car ricocheted back about 8 feet. There were no warning messages. I was taken to the emergency room and had whiplash and a burn on my leg from the airbag. No one else was hurt. I know it was the car that malfunctioned because my foot was still on the brake after the collision and the airbags bruised the right side of my right leg. It could not have bruised it in that way if my foot had been on the accelerator. The insurance company inspected and declared a total loss. I obtained the black box data from Tesla and am uploading the documents below. The car is currently at the Tesla collision center. They do not seem interested in evaluating the problem.

My car has severe phantom breaking due to adaptive cruise control. When I use my Tesla's cruise control on the freeway, on a complete flat straight away that has no vehicle in front of me, no sign/bridge in front of me, and no items/object in front of me, my vehicle while randomly/violently slam on the break violently hurling me and all passengers in my vehicle forward. This is even more dangerous when there are vehicles being me in close proximity who could easily could have rear ended me all those times. I am forced to not use my cruise control due to these dangerous conditions.

While driving, my back wheel fell off. I had the car in for suspension work twice in Q4 2023, and then on March 7, 2024 my back wheel fell off. When speaking with Tesla, they said that this sometimes happens and they have seen this issue before. The also told me that they think it only happens at low speeds, but I have found articles where people were on the highway and their wheel fell off. China has made Tesla do a recall for suspension and wheel issues, why haven't we? I now have had my vehicles suspension worked on at least 4 times, this is dangerous and scary.

The TPMS system has failed and has been a known issue with Telsa since 2014. The system will not reset and Telsa has said it has to be upgraded for 1000. The warning light comes on randomly and goes away after the car drives for a while or gets parked.

The contact owns a 2014 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park(P), a person approached the driver’s side rear door, and the door unintendedly opened slightly. The contact stated that prior to entering the vehicle, the driver’s side rear door opened slightly, and while reversing, the door opened completely. The contact closed the door; however, the failure recurred. There were no alerts during the failure; however, afterwards the contact's door was opened, and the App showed a message that the door was opened. The contact stated that all the doors were not opening from inside or outside the vehicle unless the vehicle was in park. The contact stated that the driver's side door was not opening whether in park or drive. The contact added Velcro to the door handle that was used to pull the door handle open. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

My drivers door will randomly open while driving and or while making turns, yes it is available for inspection if need be. This is put my safety at risk because its very dangerous for a door to open while driving at any speed, and if it happens to a back door items in my back seat could fall out causing a very serious accident. When the problem first started I paid to have a new door handle put in but it did not fix the problem, even after the repair the door would sometimes not close stay closed properly and the tech said he wasn't sure because he never seen a door not close every time, after looking online many people have had the same issues, I again reported this to Tesla and they set up an appointment with me to fix the door handle. I have been dealing with this issue for 6 months now. I would say the vehicle was inspected by my mobile tech, but he advised he never seen anything the issue with the door not closing or staying closed every time, said he would ask around and get back to me, I was told by another rep I had to pay for a new latch, but they couldn't confirm if this is the issue. There are only warning messages when the door opens while driving, also the door will open even if it shows its locked.

This issue appears to be related to a known MCU failure affecting early Tesla Model S vehicles. The touchscreen exhibits screen melting/discoloration and eventually goes blank or becomes inoperative. When this occurs, critical functions including occupant detection indicators, seatbelt warnings, and windshield defrost controls may become unavailable. The loss of these functions creates potential safety risks involving visibility, occupant protection, and driver awareness while operating the vehicle."

On Hwy 156, a farm country road near Hollister, California, a motorist travelling immediately behind a white Tesla reported that the Tesla suddenly and inexplicably accelerated from 55 mph to 65 mph and crossed the double yellow lines. It made no apparent attempt to cross back into the original lane. In less than 3 seconds -- 170 feet by CHP ground measurement -- the Tesla collided head-on with a semi traveling in the opposite direction. All four occupants in the Tesla were killed instantly. The truck driver was injured, but not seriously. The four deceased occupants were my daughter (53), my twin granddaughters (14), and my grandson (12). According to the CHP report, all wore seat-belts. The airbag for the driver did not deploy, but the other three did. My grandson was ejected and dismembered but the other three were not. His seatbelt status is therefore questionable. Her grief-stricken and angry ex-husband, father of the three children, accused the driver of deliberately committing suicide and took the lives of the three children with her. Yet from the CHP investigation, the four had just enjoyed a pleasant outing in their favorite restaurant and shops for several hours with no sign of anyone distraught. The restaurant receipt shows no alcohol was consumed. They had texted people and showed nothing out of the ordinary. Forty minutes later, they all perished. Her mother and step-father, her boyfriend, her best friend, and other close acquaintances, were all surprised by her sudden death. No suicide note was found anywhere, not in her journal and not in her media posts. No despondent communication of any kind was conveyed to anyone. Her extreme devotion to the children would make her willfully taking their lives very uncharacteristic. If not suicide, what made the Tesla behave so strangely and deliberately? NHTSA has been investigating Tesla crashes involving sudden left turns into oncoming traffic. Please use your expertise and resources to investigate this.