2013 Tesla Model S problems
NHTSA has received 679 complaints about the 2013 Tesla Model S, and 29% of them involve electrical system. After that come suspension (14%) and drivetrain & axles (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 679 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 61 and 27
- Injuries and deaths
- 45 and 10
- Typical mileage
- 75,000 miles 428 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 | 39 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 64 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 63 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 65 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 73 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 48 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 50 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 17 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Among the 428 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 75,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 90,000 miles (120 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 61 complaints mention a crash; 27 complaints mention a fire; 45 injuries reported; 10 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Tesla Model S with enough data (172 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 11 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.
A stolen tesla crashed in west hollywood, killing the driver. Photos seem to suggest that the driver side air bag may not have deployed. Allegedly light poles split the car in half. The light poles seem to be the breakaway type. Suggesting there may be a structural weakness that allowed the tesla to break in half, fracturing the battery, catching pieces of battery on fire, and exploding battery cells, sending flaming shrapnel through the neighborhood.
Fob did not open and toddler is locked inside a hot car for 20 minutes. After several attempts to open the car, we broke the window open to open the door. The fob worked again shortly after. Called tesla and they will inspect what happened. However, they will not replace the window.
The media control unit (mcu) has failed on my vehicle over a month ago. I am still waiting for the tesla service center to notify they have a replacement for me. Till then, the representative said the vehicle is still safe to drive. Failure of the mcu means I am unable to control most of the vehicles functions. Most notably, I cannot raise the vehicles suspension, turn on the air conditioning, or view the rear view camera.