Vehicle Data Hub

2013 Tesla Model S suspension problems

92 complaints about suspension have been filed for the 2013 Tesla Model S, which is 14% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
92 14% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
45,000 miles 80 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
11 and 6
Injuries and deaths
8 and 1

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When suspension problems show up

Suspension complaints by mileage, 2013 Tesla Model S Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 45,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 10 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 25 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 21 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 11 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 7 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 3 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 2 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 1 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 45,000 miles
Based on 80 complaints that include mileage. 70% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles10
20k to 40k miles25
40k to 60k miles21
60k to 80k miles11
80k to 100k miles7
100k to 120k miles3
120k to 140k miles2
140k to 160k miles1
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 80 suspension complaints that report mileage, the median is about 45,000 miles, and 70% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 11 crashes, 6 fires, 8 injuries, 1 death.

What owners wrote

This is the car which swerved over a cliff and killed the driver. [link removed] [link removed] I have attached photographs that show not only that the steering knuckle has snapped but the tread is worn off the tire. This can only have happened while the car was driving on the road. This was almost certainly the cause of the crash. This same effect of snapped suspension with worn tire can be seen in many other tesla crashes..

Reported at 5,000 miles, December 2014 CrashDeath

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.

Reported at 129,000 miles, May 2020

Other problems reported for the 2013 Tesla Model S

Suspension problems in other years

Suspension problems across all Tesla models