2017 Tesla Model S problems
NHTSA has received 685 complaints about the 2017 Tesla Model S, and 17% of them involve electrical system. After that come suspension (16%) and forward collision avoidance (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 685 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 96 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 42 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 26,000 miles 330 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 | 125 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 101 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 53 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 31 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 12 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 330 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 26,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 35,000 miles (72 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 96 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 42 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2017 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Tesla Model S with enough data (523 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 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.
At our driveway on sun. 1/14/18, coming back from shopping a few minutes before four pm, suddenly the car took off by itself. It accelerated tremendously with the speed which was felt around 65-80 m/hr, hitting our heavy garage door, which was closed at the time, went through the garage, hit my parked porsche and pushed it to the left to the water heater.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 tesla model s. While driving 35 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and failed to respond. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact applied the emergency brake, but it also failed to respond. As a result, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The air bags deployed. The contact sustained minor neck and back injuries that did not required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and then to an auto body shop.
While in motion, the large screen goes black and all audio is lost, even the sound the blinker makes. I can not restart it, it just takes time and usually restarts itself. But whenever it restarts itself, audio still does not work. Sometimes it never comes back on during the drive. It appears to be the mcu and emmcu chip. Apparently tesla knows about this, I have had my car in for service and have asked that the chip be replaced. They have so far refused and keep diagnosing the issue with no resolve.