2023 Tesla Model S problems
NHTSA has received 168 complaints about the 2023 Tesla Model S, and 15% of them involve forward collision avoidance. After that come steering (12%) and electrical system (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 168 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Forward collision avoidance 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 13 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
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%.
What the data shows
Safety-related details: 13 complaints mention a crash. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 81% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2023 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 13 model years of the Tesla Model S with enough data (168 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 13 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.
The car does not have a horn button in the center of the steering wheel. There have already been multiple emergency situations where I needed to use the horn but could. It locate the button during the time sensitive emergency. This was a contributor to an an accident on 10/1.
A car was coming towards me and I couldn’t honk because I couldn’t find the tiny horn button without taking my eyes off the road.
This vehicle has a flawed design for the horn. It has been relocated away from the center of the steering wheel to a small section (1") of a plastic panel on the "spoke" of the steering wheel. It is extremely difficult to locate this spot, particularly in an emergency (what horns are for in the first place...). A vehicle backed into me while I was stopped at a traffic signal and I was unable to alert that vehicle of my presence. They struck my vehicle and caused damage.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while exiting a supercharging station with the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature engaged, the message "Take Over Immediately" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle abruptly accelerated into an intersection and crashed head-on with another vehicle. The air bags deployed as needed. The contact stated that a Police report was filed; however, the report number was not provided. There were no injuries sustained.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse the vehicle, the Collision Avoidance Assist system failed to operate as designed while reversing from the garage. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that a representative would be sent to the residence to inspect the vehicle. The failure mileage was 16,000.