2015 Tesla Model S Engine Problems

Following a coolant rapid mate replacement performed by an authorized Tesla service center, the vehicle experienced a complete shutdown on a public road the same evening it was returned. The high-voltage cooling system was not properly purged of air following the service. This caused low coolant flow to the rear drive unit during a 63-mile drive in record heat. The fault cascade included a HIGH VOLTAGE ISOLATION FAULT (BMS_f123), drive inverter warning (DI_w126), and multiple battery management warnings. The instrument cluster displayed a red emergency warning: "Vehicle shutting down — PULL OVER SAFELY." The vehicle required towing. The failure was confirmed by the service center's own follow-up invoice, which documented "trapped air pockets in the coolant system following the most recent service" as the cause. The corrective repair was performed at $0 as a Goodwill service — the service center's internal acknowledgment of liability. The service advisor made a written text admission of causation the following day, then retracted it in a recorded phone call. Both are preserved. No post-repair Isolation Resistance test results were provided. The HV isolation fault may indicate latent thermal damage to HV insulation that could cause a safety failure at higher mileage outside any remaining warranty. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA ID

11741500

Incident

Apr 14, 2026

was driving Tesla when warning light appeared “ charging declined “ . drove car home battery no longer charging . Tesla stopped working after only 68,000 miles . Tesla wanted $15000 to replace the battery more than the car is worth.

NHTSA ID

11686650

Incident

Aug 23, 2025

Steering: While driving today (7/5/2025), all of a sudden and without warning, "driver assist" (power steering) became disabled. Steering wheel immediately became heavy in the sense that it was extremely difficult to turn. Motor: Also, on 02/22/2024, while driving on the freeway at freeway speed, all of a sudden and without warning, the rear LDU (large drive unit) failed and the car became inoperable. At that time, the car had approximately 45k miles on it.

NHTSA ID

11671371

Incident

Jul 5, 2025

In 6 years the drive unit has failed and been replaced. Multiple other tesla owners report similar issue. I have a Tesla S 2015. The car will not drive or will abruptly stop driving when the drive unit fails. First incident I was driving on 55mph road and abruptly stopped. Second incident I cannot recall. Third incident tesla provided no support and the car was experiencing multiple driving failures which would turn back on to allow the car to only drive 2-7mph. Tesla reports they know it is a problem with the coolant leaking through the seals which kills the motor. If this is a KNOWN issue, why are these models still allowed on the road? This has me TERRIFIED knowing that a tesla can go from 55mph to abruptly stop when the drive unit dies. It happened to me! Now that I know it happens with others AND tesla is aware, it makes me question why there is no recall to fix it.

NHTSA ID

11588135

Incident

May 7, 2024

On September 7, 2021 I was driving in heavy rain conditions. The rain was so heavy I could only drive at speed of 25 mph. My car displayed a message "Car may not restart - service required" I pulled under a canopy of a gas station and put the car in PARK. The car did not restart after that and was towed to Tesla Service Center. The next day I was told that a RAPID MATE vehicle side connector failed due to water ingress and that HV battery needs to be replaced due to same damage. I was presented with a $23622.54 invoice even, though, the battery is covered under existing powertrain warranty. The car was never driven into standing water or a puddle. Water has NOT entered the interior of the car. The battery and other electrical components of the car are poorly insulated / isolated presenting the risk of water damage and or electric shock under ordinary driving conditions.

NHTSA ID

11433218

Incident

Sep 7, 2021

TESLA HAS REDUCED THE CHARGING CAPACITY AND CHARGE RATE PER: RE: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT : BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES PRIOR TO THIS SOFTWARE UPDATE, THE CHARGE RATE WAS DOUBLE THE SHOWN RATE.

NHTSA ID

11395064

Incident

Dec 1, 2019

Mileage

14,000 mi

THE MCU WENT OUT. TURN SIGNALS, BRAKE LIGHTS, BACKUP CAMERA, HVAC CONTROLS, ALL WENT WITH IT. CAR WOULD DRIVE, BUT WOULD NOT

NHTSA ID

11375004

Incident

Jun 26, 2020

Mileage

100,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A LOUD SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PLUGGED UP AND CHARGING. THE CONTACT DISCONNECTED THE CHARGER IN FEAR THAT THE BATTERY OR THE ENGINE MAY EXPLODE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO BE FULLY CHARGED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,874.

NHTSA ID

11343651

Incident

Nov 1, 2019

Mileage

65,874 mi

THE MCU FAILED WHILE WE WERE TRAVELING, WHICH BASICALLY LOCKED THE CLIMATE CONTROL, ACCESS TO SUSPENSION, SPEED CONTROL, AUTOPILOT, NAVIGATION, RADIO, TURN SIGNALS, AND BACK UP CAMERA.

NHTSA ID

11343085

Incident

Jul 2, 2020

Mileage

114,000 mi

MY 2011 CHEVY EQUINOX RAN OUT OF OIL IN BETWEEN REGULAR OIL CHANGES DUE TO THE OIL CONSUMPTION ISSUE WITH THE INCORRECT SIZED PISTON RINGS. THIS ESCALATED QUICKLY AND DESTROYED MY TIMING CHAIN WHICH DESTROYED MY ENGINE.

NHTSA ID

11340000

Incident

Jul 13, 2020

Mileage

98,870 mi

THE TOUCHSCREEN IN MY 2015 MODEL S HAS COMPLETELY FAILED. I'VE ATTEMPTED ALL OF THE RESETS THAT TESLA RECOMMENDS TO RESTART THE SYSTEM TO NO AVAIL. THE CAR IS NEARLY USELESS, NONE OF THE ELECTRICAL FEATURES OF THE VEHICLE WORK, INCLUDING HEATING/AIR CONDITIONING, CHARGING FEATURES, AUDIO OR TURN SIGNALS. THE CAR WORKED FINE YESTERDAY, TODAY THE SCREEN WAS JUST GONE.

NHTSA ID

11338680

Incident

Jul 10, 2020

Mileage

85,290 mi

WITH THE RECENT NEWS ON NHTSA INVESTIGATING TESLA MODEL S TOUCHSCREEN UNIT PROBLEMS, I LIKE TO ADD MY EXPERIENCE FOR THE RECORD: ON 01/31/20, MY COMPUTER SCREEN DIED WHICH LIMITED THE CAR'S FUNCTIONALITY (E.G. NO HVAC, RADIO, BLUETOOTH, ETC). ON 02/06/20, TESLA CAME OUT TO INSPECT MY CAR, AND VERIFIED I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER. THE TECHNICIAN ADMITTED HOW BAD THE PROBLEM WAS FOR PRODUCTIONS WITH MCU V1 COMPUTERS. BUT BEFORE THE TECHNICIAN LEFT, HE PERFORMED A BATTERY DISCONNECT WHICH MADE IT WORSE. NOW THE CAR WAS NOT ABLE TO CHARGE WHICH FORCED ME TO TAKE THE CAR IMMEDIATELY TO TESLA TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER. ON 02/19/20, THE REPLACEMENT COMPUTER WAS INSTALLED AT THE COST OF $2,122.50. TO ADD, TESLA WOULD NOT LET ME KEEP THE ORIGINAL COMPUTER WITHOUT AN ADDITIONAL CORE CHARGE OF $500. 12 DAYS LATER ON 03/02/20, TESLA ANNOUNCED AN INFOTAINMENT UPGRADE ON THE BACKS OF THESE ONGOING ISSUES: HTTPS://ELECTREK.CO/2020/03/02/TESLA-MCU-INFOTAINMENT-UPGRADE/ HTTPS://WWW.TESLA.COM/SUPPORT/INFOTAINMENT

NHTSA ID

11337651

Incident

Jan 31, 2020

Mileage

117,826 mi

THE MCU V1 IS KNOWN TO FAIL. IT'S BECOME SLUGGISH AND BLACK SCREENS. NOT ACTING AS IT SHOULD.

NHTSA ID

11331536

Incident

Jun 1, 2020

Mileage

69,500 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT TOUCH SCREEN WAS INOPERABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RECHARGE THE BATTERY, THE SYSTEM FLICKERED AND FAILED TO CHARGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BACK-UP CAMERA WAS ALSO INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS UNDRIVABLE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WENT TO THE RESIDENCE TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 89,586.

NHTSA ID

11331503

Incident

Jun 26, 2020

Mileage

89,586 mi

RE: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT : BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES STARTING WITH A SOFTWARE UPDATE IN MAY 2019, TESLA CAPPED THE MAX VOLTAGE THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY WOULD CHARGE TO. THEY CLAIM THEY DID THIS "OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION" AFTER SEVERAL NON-CRASH FIRES HAPPENED TO THESE MODELS. TESLA TOOK ACTION TO DOWNGRADE HORSEPOWER AND RANGE ALONG WITH ALL OTHER ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE THROUGH A TOTAL VOLTAGE CAP AFTER CLAIMING TO BE RELEASING A FIRE-SAFETY UPDATE, BUT OFFICIALLY NO SAFETY UPDATE WAS RELEASED. THIS CHANGE HAPPENED WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE AND STATIONARY. IS THIS CAR AT RISK OF NON-CRASH FIRE? IS IT SAFE TO PARK IN MY GARAGE? SINCE TESLA HAS REFUSED TO ANSWER ANY OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS AND ONLY MADE VAGUE STATEMENTS IMPLYING A SAFETY RISK - TO THE PRESS, NOT TO ME - I SEEK DEFINITIVE ANSWERS FROM AN NHTSA INVESTIGATION.

NHTSA ID

11267601

Incident

May 20, 2019

Mileage

105,000 mi

STARTING WITH A SOFTWARE UPDATE IN MAY 2019, TESLA CAPPED THE MAX VOLTAGE THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY WOULD CHARGE TO. THEY CLAIM THEY DID THIS "OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION" AFTER SEVERAL NON-CRASH FIRES HAPPENED TO THESE MODELS. TESLA TOOK ACTION TO DOWNGRADE HORSEPOWER AND RANGE ALONG WITH ALL OTHER ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE THROUGH A TOTAL VOLTAGE CAP AFTER CLAIMING TO BE RELEASING A FIRE-SAFETY UPDATE, BUT OFFICIALLY NO SAFETY UPDATE WAS RELEASED. THIS CHANGE HAPPENED WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE AND STATIONARY. HTTPS://WWW.THEVERGE.COM/2019/5/16/18627746/TESLA-FIRE-BATTERY-SOFTWARE-UPDATE-MODEL-S-X HTTPS://JALOPNIK.COM/TESLA-IS-UPDATING-BATTERY-SOFTWARE-AFTER-A-MODEL-S-CATC-1834794877

NHTSA ID

11266126

Incident

May 20, 2019

Mileage

105,000 mi

DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY AT MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT (65) NEEDED TO REMOVE WALLET FROM BACK POCKET. UNBUCKLED SEAT BELT WHY STILL MOVING AT MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT. UPON UNBUCKLING SEAT BELT ENGINE IMMEDIATE SHUT OFF AND VEHICLE CAME TO INVOLUNTARY STOP WITHIN APPROXIMATELY 5 SECONDS. FORTUNATELY, THE VEHICLE FOLLOWING WAS ALERT AND STOPPED IN TIME TO AVOID SERIOUS REAR END ACCIDENT. VERY CONCERNING IF THIS OCCURS AND OWNERS ARE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE DANGER WE EXPERIENCED.

NHTSA ID

10914794

Incident

Oct 1, 2016

Mileage

5,000 mi