2016 Tesla Model X Engine Problems

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light and activating the air conditioning, the computer system was stuck or frozen for a moment. The contact stated that the vehicle restarted independently, and the computer was buffering when the light turned green, and the vehicle hesitated before responding and driving as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11628663

Incident

Jun 12, 2023

Mileage

100,000 mi

The car started giving error messages of systems failing one after another on the highway. It slowed down instantly as if someone pressed the brakes and I could not accelerate. Obviously I did not press the brakes. There were a lot of vehicles behind me and this could have easily caused an accident putting a lot of people at risk. I had to get off the highway asap and get the car towed. The error messages included charge port disabled, automatic emergency braking is disabled, power reduced, traction control disabled, stability control disabled, cruise control disabled, power reduced. Tesla diagnosed and confirmed this being an issue with the onboard charger being faulty and replaced that with charge port itself for a total of $3727.60. They refused to cover any part of this which I think should have been taken care of by the company.

NHTSA ID

11467551

Incident

Mar 2, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently began to stall. The warning message " Front Motor Disabled" appeared on the instrument panel. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the failure recurred several times while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and arrived at the contact's residence to diagnose the vehicle. The dealer diagnosed that the motor had failed and advised the contact to take the vehicle to their location for repair. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who informed the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair. The contact also stated that the steering wheel was making abnormal sounds while driving. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V062000 (Steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.

NHTSA ID

11437836

Incident

Oct 1, 2021

Mileage

95,000 mi

I had my Tesla Model X MCU replaced per the recall. Prior to having the MCU replaced I had numerous (more than 20) episodes of the car just shutting down and losing all power and would not restart for anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes. Many times after the vehicle would restart the main control screen would remain black, there would be no access to any of the controls usually accessible there. Other times there would be no navigation, radio or HVAC available. When reporting these issues I was told to keep trying to reboot that it was a known software issue. When the recall was finally announced I checked frequently for appointments for a replacement chip which were not abundantly available. When I was finally able to get an appointment for the recall, the service center assured me that the replacement MCU would make things better but I also had the option to upgrade to a better chip for $2K but lose many options like FM and XM radio, which I use. Since the MCU replacement I have continued to have these same issues AND my phone will no longer pair with the vehicle to provide the hands free use I had previously. I have worked with Tesla to try to resolve these issues and I am told by their technicians that this is a known software issue that is happening to "older" Model S and Model X vehicles and there is no current projection as to when this will get resolved as it is on the back burner. My car is a 2016 with 40K miles! How is this OK? How is this not a safety issue? TODAY THE CAR WENT COMPLETELY DARK/DEAD WHILE I WAS DRIVING!!! Luckily I was driving in a parking deck and there was no resulting accident. I have called Tesla customer service and messaged the local service center to report these issues multiple times. Even the corporate customer service rep has difficulty reaching them directly. It is so sad to have such a nice vehicle with issues like this. We have talked about trading it in but ethically cannot fathom passing these known issues on to someone else.

NHTSA ID

11428811

Incident

Aug 12, 2021

IN JUNE OF 2020, THE ENTIRE POWER/ELECTRONIC SYSTEM IN MY 2016 MODEL X FAILED (AT 73K MILES), LEAVING THE CAR UNDRIVABLE (AND EVEN UNABLE TO BE PUT INTO NEUTRAL FOR TOWING). I HAD IT DRAGGED ONTO A TRUCK AND TAKEN TO A TESLA SERVICE CENTER, WHERE THEY DIAGNOSED A FAILED MCU. THE FAILURE, I WAS TOLD, IN RARE CASES CAUSED A FAILURE ACROSS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM. THEY REPLACED THE MCU AND CHARGED ME $1400. TESLA HAS SUPPOSEDLY OFFERED A REFUND ON THE REPAIR TO CUSTOMERS WHO HAD THE PART FAIL (WHILE REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SAFETY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH FAILURE), BUT HAS NOT INCLUDED MY VIN IN THEIR DATABASE OF IMPACTED VEHICLES. THE COMPANY IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGING MY CAR WAS ONE OF THE VEHICLES IN THE RECALL, BUT THE FAILURE CLEARLY HAPPENED. HOW CAN I HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT? IS THERE ANY WAY THE NHTSA CAN HELP?

NHTSA ID

11413420

Incident

Jul 22, 2020

Mileage

73,445 mi

THE MCU IS DEAD. CAR CANNOT BE OPERATED SAFELY. NO SIDE BLINKERS, NO HORN, NO AC. AT THIS POINT MY CAR CANNOT EVEN TURN ON AND CANNOT BE DRIVEN. CONTACTED TESLA, BUT IT IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE AND THEY SENT ME HOME AS PARTS WERE OUT OF STOCK. IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE AS BLINKERS DON'T WORK.

NHTSA ID

11343935

Incident

Jul 1, 2020

TOTAL MAIN COMPUTER FAILURE (MCU) - MANY SAFETY FEATURES WERE UNACCESSIBLE AND NOT AVAILABLE INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TURN SIGNALS AND HAZARD LIGHTS STOP WORKING, THE SETTINGS FOR AUTOPILOT AND DRIVING ARE GONE, THE SUSPENSION SETTINGS, THE ABILITY TO TURN ON HEADLIGHTS MANUALLY, ABILITY TO MANUALLY LOCK AND UNLOCK THE VEHICLE, NAVIGATION, A/C, SUNROOF CONTROLS, ETC.

NHTSA ID

11343258

Incident

Jul 22, 2020

Mileage

36,000 mi

DURING CHARGING, THE CAR MCU SCREEN WENT BLANK, AND THE CAR WAS NOT ACCESSIBLE OR CONTROLLABLE. VEHICLE WAS UNRESPONSIVE UNTIL TOW TRUCK DRIVER BYPASSED UNIT BY JUMP STARTING THE 12 VOLT BATTERY. LIMITED CONTROL WAS REGAINED. CAR WAS DRIVABLE, BUT THE REAR DOORS WERE INOPERATIVE. I AM NOT SURE WHAT OTHER SYSTEMS WERE INOPERATIVE. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THIS HAPPENING DURING DRIVING OR GETTING STRANDED IN A REMOTE PLACE.

NHTSA ID

11339512

Incident

Jul 6, 2020

Mileage

57,798 mi

ON JANUARY 28, 2019 I BACKED OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY IN MY 2016 TESLA X, BRAKED, STOPPED, PUT IT IN DRIVE AND BARELY, SLOWLY STARTED DOWN MY LANE WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AT FULL SPEED DOWN THE LANE. I TRIED THE BRAKE TWICE BUT IT DID NOTHING TO SLOW THE ACCELERATION.APPROXIMATELY 75 YARDS DOWN THE LANE THE TESLA ENTERED THE CROSS STREET BELOW AND CLIPPED ANOTHER CAR, DEMOLISHED A LARGE BANK OF MAILBOXES ACROSS THE STREET, TOOK BRIEFLY TO THE AIR SEVERAL FEET DUE TO THE HILLSIDE THERE, HIT A LARGE CEDAR TREE, GLANCED OFF AND FINALLY STOPPED NOSE DOWN, HIGH SIDED ON A LARGE LANDSCAPE BOULDER. BUT FOR THE BOULDER, I WOULD HAVE CONTINUED DOWN INTO THE DEEP RAVINE BEHIND THE NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE. THE AIRBAGS HAD DEPLOYED DURING THESE EVENTS. I WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL BY AMBULANCE AND DIAGNOSED WITH A T-12 SPINAL COMPRESSION FRACTURE, WHICH IS STILL PAINFUL A YEAR LATER. THE CAR WAS TOTALED. POLICE REPORT AND MEDICAL RECORDS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

NHTSA ID

11300366

Incident

Jan 28, 2019

Mileage

25,000 mi

ATTEMPTED TO MERGE ONTO A FREEWAY FROM A STOP SIGNED PARALLEL ENTRANCE. AFTER A VEHICLE IN THE FREEWAY LANE HAD JUST PASSED AND THERE WAS ADEQUATE SPACE BEFORE THE NEXT VEHICLE, I ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE RAPIDLY FROM THE FULL STOP. THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED FOR ONLY A VERY BRIEF PERIOD, ENOUGH TO GET IT INTO THE LANE AT MAYBE 10MPH BEFORE THE ACCELERATION CUT OUT COMPLETELY AND A VEHICLE COLLISION WARNING AND AUDIBLE ALERT APPEARED ON THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF THE DRIVER. THERE WAS NOT ACTUAL COLLISION THREAT PRESENT AND I TRIED PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL REPEATEDLY TO AVOID BEING HIT IN THE REAR BY THE NEXT VEHICLE COMING FROM BEHIND AT FULL FREEWAY SPEED. THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME CHANGED LANES AND WENT AROUND ME TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT. AFTER A FEW SECONDS THE WARNING WENT AWAY AND I WAS ABLE TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY TO FREEWAY SPEED. THIS SAFETY FEATURE SEEMS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FOR SEVERAL REASONS: * IT INCORRECTLY SENSES THAT A COLLISION WILL OCCUR WITH ACCELERATION IN SOME INSTANCES * IT DISABLES USER CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE (ACCELERATION) * IT DISABLES THAT CONTROL FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME EVEN AFTER THE FALSE THREAT IS NO LONGER DETECTED * IT ALLOWS SOME MOVEMENT BEFORE DISABLEMENT CREATING A SITUATION WHERE THE VEHICLE IS PUT IN HARM'S WAY WITHOUT ANY ABILITY TO SAFELY ACCELERATE AWAY FROM AN IMPENDING ACCIDENT. HAD THE VEHICLE NOT MOVED AT ALL, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN INCONVENIENCE BUT NO RISK * THERE IS NO ABILITY IN THE CURRENT SOFTWARE TO DISABLE WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE UNSAFE FUNCTIONALITY INTENDED FOR SAFETY * THERE IS NO DOCUMENTATION TO INDICATE THAT THE CAR HAS THIS UNUSUAL FUNCTIONALITY I HAVE DISCUSSED THE ABOVE ISSUES WITH TESLA MOTORS SUPPORT AND THEY HAVE REVIEWED THE DATA LOGS FOR THE VEHICLE AND BELIEVE IT IS FUNCTIONING NORMALLY AND THAT THIS BEHAVIOR IS AS INTENDED BY DESIGN. MY INITIAL VEHICLE POSITION IS IN YELLOW IN THE IMAGE.

NHTSA ID

10882841

Incident

Jul 1, 2016

Mileage

280 mi