2016 Tesla Model X Driver assistance Problems

I was driving the vehical when something went wrong. The vehicle showed a warning stating "ABS disabled". I was worried by this, when I saw further warnings appear including "Safety restraint system issue" "Power braking assist reduced" and something about steering. The dashboard also showed "Park Brake fault" and a red icon with a seatbelt and another with an airbag. Alarmed, I pulled to the side of the road. I then discovered that I could not use the parking brake or turn on the flashers. There is no manual parking brake, and the car thought it was still driving. I was facing downhill and the only way to keep the car from rolling was to keep my foot on the brake. I had to call 911 and could only safely exit the vehicle, after they had ensured it would not roll. Again, I could not exit the vehicle, or even put on flashers to warn traffic. Tesla attempted to have me reboot the operating system but this also failed -- apparently there is no manual reboot or brake avalible.

NHTSA ID

11751426

Incident

Jul 16, 2026

I own a 2016 Tesla Model X P100D equipped with the Large Drive Unit (LDU). The component that fails is the rotor coolant seal in the rear drive unit motor. Coolant leaks internally into the motor and inverter, causing bearing wear, corrosion, isolation faults, and eventual complete drive unit failure. The affected drive units are still installed and available for inspection upon request. This defect puts my safety and the safety of others at risk because it can cause sudden loss of propulsion (especially at highway speeds), power reduction, or total drivetrain shutdown, potentially leading to a crash. Coolant in high-voltage areas also raises electrical fault/fire risks. The problem is widely reproduced and confirmed: Tesla service centers are familiar with it and replace failed units with updated “-U” revisions that include a coolant bypass. Independent EV shops confirm the exact root cause (rotor seal failure) via encoder inspections showing coolant intrusion and through disassembly. This is a documented pattern failure in all 2012–2020 LDU vehicles. No police or insurance inspections have occurred yet, as no crash or total failure has happened. Tesla is aware of the recurring issue through service records on similar vehicles. Early symptoms before full failure typically include rear motor whining/grinding (especially under load), reduced power warnings, “Rear Drive Unit Fault” messages, and visible coolant on the speed sensor. These can appear gradually. My vehicles have not yet experienced total failure, but the defect is known to be inevitable. I am proactively monitoring encoder sensors. Because this is a systemic design defect affecting thousands of vehicles with clear safety implications, I request NHTSA open an investigation and require Tesla to issue a recall for free repairs/replacements on all affected 2012–2020 LDU vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11735432

Incident

May 1, 2026

2016 Tesla Model X experienced Electronic Parking Brake failure with alerts stating ‘parking brake did not release.’ Tesla is charging for replacement despite known EPB defect and recall affecting 2016 Model X vehicles. This is a safety-related braking issue.

NHTSA ID

11712871

Incident

Jan 19, 2026

Description of Problem: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER COMPLETE FAILURE My 2016 Tesla Model X instrument cluster has completely failed and permanently displays "CAR OFF" regardless of the actual vehicle status, including while actively driving at highway speeds. Critical Information I CANNOT See While Driving: Gear position (P, D, R, N) - I have no visual confirmation of what gear the vehicle is in Vehicle speed/speedometer Warning lights (brake, ABS, tire pressure, etc.) Battery status Any critical safety alerts This is an extremely dangerous condition that prevents me from knowing essential driving information required to operate the vehicle safely. Federal Safety Violations: This defect clearly violates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) No. 101 and No. 102. Gear position indicators must be "permanently displayed in view of the driver" Critical safety information must be accessible to a properly seated and belted driver Instrument panels must provide essential vehicle status information Tesla's Pattern of Similar Recalls: Tesla has previously recalled vehicles for similar instrument cluster issues: 2023 Recall (NHTSA Campaign 23V-404): Tesla recalled 2012-2023 Model S and 2016-2024 Model X vehicles for incorrect instrument panel warning light font size, specifically stating that warning lights with smaller fonts "can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash." 2022 Recall (Multiple campaigns): Tesla recalled Model S and Model X vehicles for touchscreen failures affecting backup camera, window defroster/defogger, and instrument cluster displays.

NHTSA ID

11703781

Incident

Nov 12, 2025

The following is copied from: NHTSA ID Number: 11487520 Incident Date [XXX] Consumer Location SAN JOSE, CA On nine separate documented occasions, the passenger front wheel molding trim piece, in which one of the proximity sensors is mounted, completely detached, causing the proximity sensor to alarm continuously. On two of these nine occasions, the trim piece detached while the vehicle was traveling on the road, and on one of these two occasions, the vehicle was traveling on the highway at highway speeds. On this occasion, after detaching completely, the trim piece was observed through the rear view and side mirrors, shattering on the road and scattering debris across the highway, potentially causing a traffic hazard for the cars following. On this last occasion, the vehicle was also traveling with the assistance of the Adaptive Cruse Control and Forward Collision Warning features, which both caused the vehicle's emergency avoidance systems to activate when the proximity sensor was falsely triggered. If there were other vehicles nearby, this could have caused a high speed accident as my vehicle executed both an emergency braking and collision avoidance maneuver for no real reason. Please note that I have documented reports of the possible safety issues due to the wheel well trim detaching to the Tesla service department for several of the times I've had the vehicle in for repair. In all nine instances, I've been told that my vehicle is the only one that exhibits this problem. A statement I find difficult to believe as I have observed other vehicles of the same make and model driving around without the trim pieces, and just recently captured a photograph of a Model X driving on the highway with the trim piece detaching as the wind was catching it. See the red arrow in the photograph attached below. This report adds two additional photographs of the same issue that have been taken since the original report was filed.

NHTSA ID

11663536

Incident

Mar 6, 2021

Hi, several alerts have popped up, Regenerative braking unavailable, Park Assist unavailable, Automatic Emergency Braking is unavailable, Traction control disabled, Stability control disabled, ABS (anti-lock braking system) disabled. The odd thing is that the alerts come and go as they please. I can't figure out what it is. Could be software related. Possibly a software update has messed it up?

NHTSA ID

11663286

Incident

May 24, 2025

Was stopped at a red light behind the car in front of me. I was stopped at a appropriate distance from the car in front of me. I had my right foot on the brake pedal, when the car accelerated on its own. It launched its self into the car ahead of me. I looked down and my foot was still on the brake pedal. None of the air bags inside the car deployed.

NHTSA ID

11658937

Incident

May 4, 2025

Hi, My steering wheel turning very hard even though NHTSA issued the the recall last month but your website says your vehicle is not on recall. Also my rear camara is working still Tesla said needs to be replace again even though Tesla replace in 2023 which is I paid. My autonomy is not working even though I paid $8000 plus $500 tax when I purchase my model X in 2016 for full self driving/ Tesla doesn't want to honor this to us. Hopefully NHTSA put my vehicle in recall list. Thanks for you help. Best regards

NHTSA ID

11648176

Incident

Mar 1, 2025

Rear camera lags to appear when the car is put in Reverse. At times when switching to Drive the rear camera image stays on the screen. Sometimes it works as inteneded and sometimes it doesn't. The computer has its moments.

NHTSA ID

11647280

Incident

Mar 10, 2025

Just got [XXX] yesterday morning. I have ~350 miles on this version now in ~24 hrs. FIRST TIME I've ever completely turned off FSD and went back to Autopilot Only. This release is Absolutely 100% DANGEROUS and needs to be pulled and rolled back ASAP Observations: 1: Does not Honor Turn Only lanes and drives straight through them. 2: CONSTANT lane switching no matter what setting it's on. 3: Lane changes without using turn signal. Example, in right lane, it FULLY changes lane to left lane using turn signal, then decides to just go right back to the right lane again without using turn signal cutting off other vehicles. 4: Speed issues, It can't decide on speeds. 45mph road. I do like 5mph over. With no other cars around, it will speed up to 55-60 (Above max setting) then drop down to 40-43mph. It's all over the [XXX] place! Even worse on Freeway. So it actively exceeds speed limits, as much as enough to get my license automatically revoked under Wisconsin Law! 5: Redesigned where set speed limit is displayed. No longer shows unless you actively change it. Then it disappears again. Need to constantly fiddle with set speed just to see how crazy it will decide to break the law, or how slow it will go and [XXX] other drivers. 6: Rolling stops, had a number of rolling stops today and one where it blew straight through a stop sign. 7: Route choices are absolutely alinidine. Seems to prioritize taking the least efficient routes. 8: Drives like a bucking bronco with accel and decell. 9: Ping pongs within the lane. 10: False emergency braking events. 11: Last release the double stop at stop signs had gotten better. This release they are full back again. It is once again stopping at both sides of the intersection. 12: Vehicle departing lane warnings when driving manually, even when my TURN SIGNAL IS ON so I can pull into a parking lot or my own driveway! With the above, there have been no other changes other than firmware update. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C.

NHTSA ID

11644163

Incident

Feb 21, 2025

When shifting into Reverse the rear camera is delayed to be displayed. This to me is a safety concern.

NHTSA ID

11640970

Incident

Feb 5, 2025

While parking, the accelerator pedal increased in speed without being pressed and the car had a sudden unexpected acceleration and crashed into a column in a parking lot.

NHTSA ID

11609053

Incident

Aug 16, 2024

Tesla error 'Park Assist not avialable' - error code, and Tesla service wants service fee to check error

NHTSA ID

11580688

Incident

Jan 17, 2024

Car tends to brake in autopilot without having any car in front causing jolt feeling and dangerous scenario for vehicles behind. Suspension work like upper control, half shafts, ball joints, toe and struts been replaced 5 times. One time entire wheel came off.

NHTSA ID

11579425

Incident

Nov 28, 2022

I've reached out to Tesla Service Department on multiple occasions regarding the Auto Pilot Software update and they have failed to provide an update as of today February 19th, 2024.

NHTSA ID

11572732

Incident

Feb 19, 2024

Car sensors don’t seem to work hits other cars and doors close hard on a human before stopping very unsafe for a child

NHTSA ID

11562224

Incident

Dec 25, 2023

Display MCU1 is unsafe or at end of life and unsafe locks up goes dark and unresponsive for long periods of time, unable to drive sometimes my my car is under warranty either they should fix it or upgrade it, I was told I need to upgrade it but my car is still under new car bumper to bumper warranty either fix it or replace it, if MCU1 doesn’t work then replace it with MCU2 and honor the new car bumper to bumper warranty

NHTSA ID

11562222

Incident

Dec 25, 2023

Tesla issues encountered with model X 2016: 1). Bought a demo car with a new car warranty, the car is supposed to be checked and verified that it meets safety guidelines, and certain standards, a).the car had a yellowish tinge had to get it buffed and detailed to look true pearl white cost $400 b). my tires were so bad the tire shop told me they are unsafe to drive so had to get them replaced the morning after I bought the car from tesla-ohio branch and got back to chicago I informed Tesla about all nothing was done cost approximately $2000 c).After I purchased the car before I could drive to ohio to pick it up tesla employee backed up the car into a pole I was told it will be fixed it was not cost $4k d). Wheels were all scratched up had to get them refinished cost approximately $900 2). Warrant is not honored always. Over the years camera and sensor very unsafe and every time Tesla says can’t reproduce Even after providing proof of videos, one point finally got tired paid out of pocket to replace front 2 sensors they never bothered to take it apart and verify it’s working safely and properly, after paying out of pocket at least the lane change worked 98% of time cost around $500-600 3).Auto pilot is misleadingly unsafe, cameras and sensors have either reached end of life or simply not working but definitely unsafe because sometimes the car drives like a drunk person on streets, confused if lanes merging I had incidents where it would have caused an accident had I not taken over and there was no warning 4). Advertised Range is deceptive and misleading, claim is my car to get 255 miles in reality I get around 120-130 which is more like half the range makes it hard to go out of town, an 8 hr trip becomes a 13-15 hr trip.

NHTSA ID

11562218

Incident

Dec 25, 2023

I had an interaction with this vehicle on snow/ice packed I70 in Colorado, almost to the Kansas border. This car passed me, then immediately cut in front of my truck in the right lane and quickly slowed to about 10 mph with no warning. The car then pulled over onto the snow packed shoulder.

NHTSA ID

11560515

Incident

Dec 14, 2023

the autopilot was engaged and the system failed, it james the breaks hard and it started scraping the body above the tire

NHTSA ID

11537068

Incident

Aug 2, 2023

Two issues that are concerning and I have told Tesla: 1. The car will be on cruise control and I will be relaxed and all of a sudden it will just brake for no reason. Praise God I am aware of it now and prepared so I have to compensate, but it is very dangerous and made the cruise control useless. While it was under warrantee I request it be fixed, but they said there was no way to do that. 2. The car's back up screen is compromised and has a distortion on the bottom that was caused by a download. I requested four separate times a service requests to fix it while it was under warrantee, but they were unable to repair it. The first time they said I needed to wait for a download, then the second time they said it was a hacker, third time they replaced a chip, and the four time they told me to repair it I need to upgrade my entertainment package for $1500 so I cancelled the appointment. All while I was under warranty. Four appointments later and I still have a distortion on my screen when I back up which is slowly getting larger and will be a safety issue I'm sure down the road. Two very obvious safety issues that while under warranty they would not fix. I wrote Tesla and asked them to review my service requests and to get some resolution. I was unsuccessful.

NHTSA ID

11524586

Incident

May 31, 2023

I was turning left to northbound from westbound and as I was trying to accelerate to turn, my Tesla wouldn’t go past 11 mph. I stepped on the accelerator with all my might, but it wouldn’t go past 11 mph. On my dash, the alert said: “obstruction detected- speed will be reduced.” This is very concerning because the car was slowing down and obstructing the southbound lanes. This is very dangerous and could’ve caused a car crash. I could’ve easily gotten T-boned. After I made my slow turn, the car got back to normal and accelerated normally.

NHTSA ID

11513687

Incident

Mar 24, 2023

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model-X. 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 contact stated that the center display intermittently turned blank while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that upon engaging the turn signals, there was no indication that the turn signals were engaged. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11504666

Incident

Dec 15, 2020

Mileage

30,000 mi

Possibly loss of power to the steering wheel, caused the car hitting the freeway middle cement separator Tesla refuses to look at my drive report to identify the exact fault of the car This happened on November 4th and I see there was an issue with Tesla cars due to a faulty software download during that time I’ve reached out to Tesla numerous numerous times, they refuse to review the report and identify the malfunction

NHTSA ID

11503178

Incident

Nov 4, 2022

While driving in the carpool lane with my mother in law to work with my wife, the car abruptly activated the brakes while in auto steer mode and necessitated my immediate slamming on the gas to increase my speed to avoid a rear collision.

NHTSA ID

11501097

Incident

Dec 29, 2022