2016 Tesla Model S Interior & seats Problems

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the hood inadvertently opened and blocked the windshield. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road while the windshield was blocked. The hood was securely closed after several attempts. Upon inspection, the contact became aware that the hood was bent, and the hood arms were bent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 131,700.

NHTSA ID

11755932

Incident

Aug 8, 2026

Mileage

131,700 mi

The Trunk/Hatchback failed to open. When I attempted to use the EMERGENCY release ( which you would expect to work in a real emergency) IT DID NOT WORK!! The truck would not open. How can you have an emergency release cord that does not work?!! And they are now charging to repair this!

NHTSA ID

11635982

Incident

Jan 2, 2025

The latches for the rear passenger doors of a Model S are electric and do not function in the event the vehicle loses electrical power from the 12v system. A mechanical release is provided in the rear of interior passenger compartment. However the release pulls are located under the carpeting and no labelling is provided and no instructions are posted. The emergency door release pulls consistent of plastic tab about 1-inch long by 0.5-inch wide and connected to a release cable. The plastic tab color is black, under the carpeting, and within an area coated in black coloring. The location of the release is below the rear seating above the floor boards, behind the rear passengers' footwell. The location is not intuitive or obvious and likely could not be located without reading the owner's manual, which passengers are unlikely to do. The location is not labeled inside the vehicle. The tab is small and black, under the carpeting that has to be moved to locate the tab, and provided with a black background. Passengers of limited mobility would not be able to locate and access the pull tabs to release the doors. Small children would not able able to locate and access the pull tabs without climbing off the seat and into the footwell. The pull force must be directed to the center of the vehicle. No mechanic exterior door releases are provided. In an emergency where the vehicle is without 12v electrical power, opening a rear passenger door would require an open rear window, or breaking the window to open access, climbing partially into the vehicle to the other side of the passenger's legs, locating the release below the carpeting, and pulling the release while simultaneously pulling the door outward to open. No labelling for this process is provide, nor is this maneuver detailing in the owner's manual. This level of detail is also missing from the, First Responders Reference: "INFORMATION FOR FIRST AND SECOND RESPONDERS EMERGENCY RESPONSE GUIDE TESLA MODEL S ELECTRIC".

NHTSA ID

11627580

Incident

Nov 3, 2024

The passenger door handle and locking mechanism was not functioning properly. The front passenger door handle was not presenting. Also, every time I parked the car or unlocked the car, the door would pop open. Also, while in drive and when the car was in motion the passenger door would pop open unexpectedly. Safety is put at risk as the door would pop open while the car was in drive and in motion. The problem was reproduced several times and the Tesla service center acknowledged the problem and fixed it. They charged me $477. There were no warning signs.

NHTSA ID

11570623

Incident

Nov 16, 2023

Every time the car was put into park, or when the car turned off the passenger front door would pop open. Please see concern 7 on Tesla repair invoice.

NHTSA ID

11554446

Incident

Sep 9, 2023

The driver’s seat back will only rise partly from the reclined position. All other driver seat functions seem to be normal. I estimate the maximum upright angle to be 30 degrees from vertical, making driving difficult and sometimes painful. The manual states to not drive the car with more recline than 30 degrees as seat belts may not function as intended (driver may slip under belt during impact).

NHTSA ID

11496944

Incident

Sep 15, 2022

Bubbles first appeared in the dashboard / instrument control panel display on the driver side on 3/25. The bubbles have been moving around over time and at some points while I've been driving (unable to take a photo), have travelled to the speedometer blocking my visibility of current speed.

NHTSA ID

11461643

Incident

Mar 25, 2022

The doors on my Tesla are electronic from the inside and outside. Sometimes the car will not let me out or in, especially in the rear drivers side door where the kids are. It will not open the door and presents a huge safety issue. My sons was trapped in the door previously and we couldn't get the door to open - it took about 5 cycles of locking and unlocking the car for the doors electronic door handle to finally allow the door to be opened Recently there was a lawsuit for a similar issue in which a man became trapped inside a Tesla and died of smoke inhalation because the doors would not open and first responders couldn't get in the car either. I contacted Tesla, who was able to diagnose my car and create a repair estimate for the malfunctioning door handles without even looking at the car because the problem is so widespread and well known. They want $700 to repair my door handles that are locking me and the kids inside the car but i don't have money to repair right now.

NHTSA ID

11436809

Incident

Aug 1, 2021

The drivers seat has a rocking issue. When braking and accelerating the seat rocks forward and backward which Tesla states they do not have a fix for and which their engineers claim is not a safety concern. I had to make a hard stop recently to avoid a collision and almost flew with my whole body into the steering wheel because the seat flung forward so far. I want to bring this to your attention before someone actually gets seriously injured because of this manufacturer turning a blind eye to something they believe is safe. I have never driven a vehicle that has had a seat fling forward when breaking and don’t believe this is safe. Tesla has refused to do any further work after 3 attempts to fix the seat and will not lemon or buyback the vehicle or replace the vehicle or seat. My final course of action would be to bring this to your attention as I believe your agency has the tools, resources, and ability to take on a car manufacturer who chooses blind negligence overt safety of their consumers. If necessary I can provide invoices / repair orders for the seat. They supposedly changed the seat to a new one (which I don’t believe happened), added an extra bolt to the frame, and finally did a test drive check and confirmed it’s a known issue and basically said too bad but another car.

NHTSA ID

11428669

Incident

Aug 10, 2021

THE CENTER TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY IS FAILING. THIS DISPLAY CONTROLS MOST FUNCTIONS OF THE VEHICLE FROM CLIMATE CONTROL TO ENTERTAINMENT. CURRENTLY, I AM UNABLE TO ACTIVE THE REAR DEFROSTER OR ADJUST THE CLIMATE CONTROLS. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND THE PROBLEMS WILL GET WORSE OVER TIME.

NHTSA ID

11354901

Incident

Sep 14, 2020

Mileage

38,000 mi