2012 Tesla Model S problems
NHTSA has received 89 complaints about the 2012 Tesla Model S, and 42% of them involve electrical system. After that come suspension (10%) and wipers, windshield & visibility (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 89 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 42% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 57 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 10 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 13 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 14 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 57 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 65,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 78,000 miles (22 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 6 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Tesla Model S with enough data (9 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 8 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
This is the stolen car which crashed in hollywood. Photographs at the scene show 3/4 of a wheel and the tire lying on the ground. Here is the listing at the salvage auction site. [link removed] the crash site images how the front wheel broken loose. The salvage yard photographs show the other 1/4 of the wheel still bolted to the broken kingpin. The wheel has been sliced in two while still rolling on the road. It would be impossible for that slicing to have occurred post impact.
Here is another tesla in the junkyard. [link removed] the photographs show that the front steering knuckle has snapped in half and the wheel is hanging sideways out of the wheel well. The car has not been in a crash. The air-bags have not deployed and there is no significant damage to the bodywork. These steering knuckles are a made from low pressure die cast aluminium which is clearly not strong enough for the purpose.
Cause unknown. The vehicle was stopped just before entering into a head in parking space when with the brake depressed, the vehicle accelerated suddenly and uncontrollably causing it to jump the curb and take down a retaining wall. It continued through the wall until it was stopped by a tree. Vehicle was a total loss. Vehicle settings at the time of incident were as follows: there is no autopilot on this model s and cruise control was off. Additionally, the car was set with creep mode off. HVAC was on.
Loss of rear view camera. The middle touch screen or mcu quit working. This is my 3rd mcu. The car has 41k miles. The last one lasted just over 1 year, just out of a 1 year warranty. The mcu controls almost all features of the car, including the rear camera for backing up.
The mcu - media control unit is slow to respond to inputs and slow to startup when entering the vehicle. The screen has locked up several times while driving which leaves the turn indicators unusable and the defroster deactivated until the mcu resets. The hazard indicators are inactive when the mcu turns off. The front suspension links wear out prematurely due to a poor design and the weight of the vehicle.