2022 Tesla Model S Electrical Problems

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11747689

Incident

May 5, 2026

2022 Tesla Model S Plaid purchased CPO from Tesla Florida Inc. Jacksonville on 8/29/2025 for $75,533.19. Multiple unresolved safety defects. (1) Trunk closure obstacle-detection failure 10/15/2025: key fob fell in gap between liftgate and roof; powered liftgate continued upward opening cycle and compressed fob against fixed roof glass until rear glass shattered. $4,100 repair. Same cycle on a child hand or finger would cause crush injury or amputation. Tesla Model X tailgate and falcon doors have obstacle detection; Plaid liftgate lacks it. (2) Passenger-side rear door handle requires extreme pressure to operate, raised 10/25/2025; iced over 1/19/2026 compounding egress hazard. (3) Center console haptic backup gear selector non-functional plus observed main touchscreen reset/blackout events: no manual gear control during foreseeable touchscreen failure event. (4) HV battery umbrella valves and flood port plunger required replacement 10/25/2025. (5) Rear spoiler bilaterally detached as of 5/13/2026 on 200mph-capable vehicle. (6) Front trunk latch unreliable; requires 2-3 commands to open; risk of hood opening at speed. (7) USB charging circuit melted a portable battery bank 11/2/2025; fire-risk overcurrent indicator. (8) Tire sidewall damage Tesla circled "OK" at CPO delivery; refused replacement 5 times; Tesla SMS 1/13/2026: "sidewall damage would need to be replaced." (9) Multiple unauthorized digital-access events: Track Mode created post-service; Charge Current set to 5A; Dog Mode disabled; pre-delivery key card 8/28/2025; phone key 3/14/2026; both front door reflectors found loosened 11/8/2025. Warranty defect notice sent certified 4/20/2026; Tesla declined 5/7/2026 without addressing any item. Full documentation, SMS thread, photographs attached.

NHTSA ID

11737697

Incident

Aug 29, 2025

The vehicle developed a leak in the AC condensate drain. The leak is directly above the safety restraint control module. The module got wet deactivating the vehicle and causing havoc with the airbag system. Many electrical systems turned off such as the power to the steering wheel buttons( the left blinker, the right blinker, and the horn). Luckily this happened while my vehicle was parked but if this happened while someone was accelerating or driving on the highway they would lose control of the vehicle. I spoke to a Tesla Service Tech about the concern and he informed me that this AC leak happens very often in the 2021 and newer Tesla Model S vehicles and that Tesla is aware that the AC drain leaks onto the Restraint Contol Module but has not created a technical service bulletin or a recall for the safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11726866

Incident

Mar 21, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and occupied, the message “Electrical System Power Reduce - Vehicle will Shut down” was displayed. The contact stated the vehicle had stopped charging and turned off once removed from the charger. The contact stated that the message “Climate Keeper Unavailable Due to System Fault” was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 47,000.

NHTSA ID

11654763

Incident

Apr 9, 2025

Mileage

47,000 mi

My Tesla Model S 2022 unexpectedly shut down while parked in a covered garage on [XXX], after I had driven for an hour. This occurred after I returned from a family trip to Lima, Peru, where I did not use the car. Tesla service center diagnosed it as water damage requiring a $20,578.50 battery pack replacement, which was covered by my insurance. There were no warning signs prior to failure. Within 20 minutes of the tow truck dropping off my car at Tesla, a representative informed me it was water damage, citing a system error and claiming over 20 vehicles had the same issue. This suggests a widespread problem and Tesla's awareness of it. This incident raises serious safety concerns about a potential design flaw and the lack of a water intrusion warning system. If this occurred while driving, it could lead to a sudden loss of power and an accident. I urge the NHTSA to: - Investigate if a design flaw exists in the Model S 2022. - Investigate Tesla's awareness of this issue and their failure to implement a warning system. - Require Tesla, and all EV manufacturers, to submit water mitigation plans. - Mandate water intrusion detection and warning systems in all EVs. This incident highlights a critical safety risk for Tesla - and perhaps all EV - drivers, and I urge the NHTSA to take immediate action. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11625697

Incident

Sep 2, 2024

being total disabled and driving over 46 years tesla moved horn from it’s original place they want 1,800.00 put back in middle of steering wheel this is hardship and safety issue

NHTSA ID

11590908

Incident

Jun 24, 2022

Today I parked my car front of my house after couple ours I heard the voice and when I come close to my car I see the airbag is deployed I want you know the car doesn’t have any impact any accident when the airbag is deployed the car was off

NHTSA ID

11552774

Incident

Oct 30, 2023

Car has a small capacitive touch button for horn instead of center-press. During emergency incidents, it is not possible to react quickly and hit the horn, which has led to several near-misses due to a delay in alerting other drivers with the horn while searching for the horn button, which moves as the wheel (yoke) turns.

NHTSA ID

11534339

Incident

Jul 1, 2023

The vehicles horn is too difficult to locate during an emergency and requires you to look down at the wheel to find it. The "Yoke" steering wheel does not have the horn in the center as traditional across all other brand vehicles. It's a touch-capacitive area to the right and only about the size of a thumb tack. It's not raised or textured in anyway.

NHTSA ID

11507724

Incident

Feb 1, 2023

The navigation system keeps giving wrong directions due to an error in the GPS signal, I had to use my phone for route frequently. This is distracting and dangerous, and can lead to fatal accidents.

NHTSA ID

11496006

Incident

Dec 4, 2022

On November 1, I terminated my 3 year lease on a 2019 Tesla S for a new lease on a 2022 Tesla Model S. I was very happy with my original lease. During this week of driving I learned of the many changes that were made for this new model. So far most of them are only a matter of adjusting to these new/modified features. But some of them are definitely a safety hazard. This is the deletion of the left stalk on the steering wheel to indicate a planned change of direction and blink the appropriate turn signals. It is replaced by two “touch” buttons on the left side of the steering wheel, one for a left turn indicated by a left arrow and one below it for a right turn. Possibly one may memorize their location but until they are memorized the driver will have to take his/her eyes off the road for the few seconds to it takes to find the button. Neither of these buttons feel different by touch compared to the nearby surface. They can only be selected by looking at them. Of course if the steering wheel is not in its default position such as when the driver is making a turn, he/she has to take the eyes off the road for a few seconds. At 60 mph the car travels about 440 feet in 5 seconds. I looked up the Massachusetts Drivers Manual, on the web, about the use of the directional signals. I copied those sections below. After each section, if appropriate, I made a comment on how this affects the driving of the new Tesla https://www.mass.gov/doc/drivers-manual Commonwealth of Massachusetts Sharing the Road A User’s Manual for Public Ways p. 30 Signal properly before changing lanes p.98 Rotary Traffic Rules Traffic travels counter-clockwise in a rotary. Always yield the right-of-way to vehicles already in the rotary (unless told differently by signs or police officers) and to pedestrians. Use your turn signals in the same way as any other intersection. Travel through the rotary and, when you are ready to exit, use your right turn signal. (Comment) A few times a week I dri

NHTSA ID

11493532

Incident

Nov 1, 2022

My new Tesla Model S, delivered 10/1/22 has frequent emergency breaking events every trip to town, approximately 25 miles on a 2 lane State highway. These breaking events involve severe emergency breaking and happen in cruse control or auto steering, (this car does not have auto driving feature). My concern is that these breaking events could cause an accident if a vehicle following me should rear-end my car because my vehicle breaks hard for no reason, without warning. I requested a service appointment from Tesla but my scheduled appointment was soon canceled by Tesla and instead, I was referred to a long written company explanation on why the breaking might be happening but nothing about when the issue might be corrected. I have a copy available if requested, and the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Basically, the Tesla shop won’t look at the vehicle. To my knowledge, there is no authority, insurance representative, or independent service in New Mexico that would be interested in inspecting the vehicle, but I would make the vehicle available for such inspection within 100 miles of my residence. The emergency breaking event happened the first time I put the car in auto steering and again in cruse control, every time I drive the vehicle. There are no warnings lights or messages before, during, or after these events. A trip of 25 miles will have about 10 or more of these events. If cruse control or automatic steering is off and the driver has control, these events do not happen.

NHTSA ID

11487924

Incident

Oct 1, 2022

Tesla provides a back-up input form to its touch screen -- namely voice commands. Voice commands operate, among other things, map positioning, HVAC, lighting. Unfortunately, as quiet as the car is, the voice commands are a roulette wheel of results. 80% accuracy in detecting the specific command is the best Tesla manages. This would be a problem, by itself. However, even when the voice commands are accurately 'read back', and even when the voice command is one that Tesla explicitly has among the commands that Tesla reports (in its manual, etc.) to be an active function that produces an active result to the car's operation -- even then -- the commands/car still are unable to perform the documented function. 1) I commanded the car to 'turn on dome light'; 2) the car recognized 'turn on dome light'; 3) the car acknowledged 'dome lights on'; 4) but the car did not turn on the dome lights. The entire user interface operates in a random way at random times in random traffic. This is a recipe for distraction. Tesla needs to encourage eyes-up, on the road. Instead the multiple stages of failure, result in many unnecessary risks. The car was/is made available to Tesla's service center, and they are aware of the contents of this report. I expect zero result from their 'diagnosis'. SW release is 2022.20.8.

NHTSA ID

11479846

Incident

Aug 17, 2022

The Tesla center console screen fails to reliably respond to user-touches for simple inputs concerning the HVAC system. This system failure is highly repeatable in my car, and was first noticed driving on a normal Houston street at posted limits. A typical failure pattern, is the car is being driven on normal roads with their occasional imperfections. This can lead to finger-tips touching the display screen accurately, but only very briefly, to trigger an intended input. https://youtu.be/IcQ-mAuQ4cY The screen provides active areas for input in the form of buttons, and slider user-interface elements. In the video, I tap the slider that controls fan speed. Some 7 of 12 touches to the screen simply do not produce a corresponding effect: a) changing the slider positions; nor b) changing the rate of the HVAC fan. This is a safety risk, since a second attempt to touch the screen is required, demanding additional driver focus on the display, and away from watching for traffic and correct driving. This Tesla failure is a pattern observed across several user interfaces, including the voice command system, which is highly unreliable, even in quiet settings with normal N. American speech patterns, for which the car was presumably designed. Faulty car responsiveness across multiple systems is not a coincidence. It is a sign of cultural failure at the highest levels of Tesla to make their cars safe. No warnings, in the displays, or in the Tesla manuals, suggest that this would be a problem under any condition. No inspection has been made by Tesla of this car. Apple does not have this problem, even with their earliest phones. It is unknown what positive purpose there can be to have the display software reject taps, even brief ones. Or for that matter, why Tesla would fail to indicate that user-contact is insufficient and treated as error.

NHTSA ID

11477687

Incident

Aug 3, 2022

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while pulling out of the garage without the seat belt securely fastened, the audible seat belt reminder failed to engage. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a Tesla service center twice, where it was diagnosed that the software needed to be updated; however, the service center advised the contact that they were unable to update the software on his vehicle for unknown reasons. Additionally, a Tesla mobile technician came to the contact's residence to repair the failure but was unable to update the software. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated upon contacting the Tesla service center he had previously taken the vehicle to, to inquire whether a recall was associated to the failure, he was referred to the NHTSA.gov website. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V045000 (Electrical System, Seat Belts) and 22V063000 (Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance). The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 400. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11456312

Incident

Jan 21, 2022

Mileage

400 mi

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that the shift bar became inoperable. The hazard warning activation switch was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the control bar needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 1,500.

NHTSA ID

11455846

Incident

Dec 1, 2021

Mileage

1,500 mi