2023 TESLA MODEL S Complaints

The turn signals are confusing and will lead accidents or not using them entirely. The signals were moved from a stalk in earlier models to two stacked buttons on the left side of steering wheel. This leads to accidentally signaling in the wrong direction and looking down at the wheel before each turn which is also unsafe. The buttons are not raised so it’s also too easy to intend to signal but accidentally miss the button while turning. Tesla should replace the old turn stalk or move the right turn signal to the right side of the wheel and raise the buttons so you can feel them.

The activation of the horn using a small capacitive button on the right side of the steering wheel is a serious safety problem. I have had numerous near miss incidents that were closer than they should have been because I was unable to quickly locate and activate the tiny horn button. I've tried using the "whole palm" method described by the manufacturer, but my palm is so large, that it doesn't easily fit in the space between the air-bag cover and the wheel, and I just end up activating the windshield wipers (which makes things even worse!!) The CEO comment in 2021 that every vehicle manufactured after November 2021 had the necessary hardware to activate the horn by pressing on the air-bag cover (like most normal cars) and that only a firmware update was needed to make it available. However, it's now more than two years later, and the problem still has not been corrected.

nhtsa recall 23V-838; TC2023-657 has made my car less safe to drive. The constant nagging and nannying requires me to take attention off the road. Please stop.

There are several safety related issues with the 2023 Tesla Model S 1) The horn is a tiny raised marking on the steering wheel (right side), and not like in "normal" car where pushing/hitting the center of the steering wheel will activate the horn. This is unsafe, since in emergency the driver automatically hits the center, and does not have time to look for the time horn "button" 2) The turn signals are also "buttons" on the steering wheel. It's OK when the car drives straight, but if you turn the wheel to either side, the driver must LOOK at the wheel, find the turn signal and then press it. 3) The parking warning system works intermittently. I already have three big scratches on my car which I bought in June 2023, when the system was silence when I was getting out of a parking space, and I hit the car next to me. 4) The Auto wipers don't always work. I was driving at 60MPH in heavy rain. The wipers were working fine when all of a sudden they stopped and my field of vision was totally obstructed.

First of all, I have been driving tesla for 9 years and love them. But this new model S has a tiny button for a horn instead of a center horn. This was a meer annoyance up until today when I was nearly plowed into a by a car going the wrong direction at 60mph and no horn when I'm slamming the middle of the steering wheel. This is a serious and dangerous design flaw that needs to be remedied and recalled. The panic of needing a horn is reflexively to slam your hands in the middle of the steering wheel, not look for a tiny button on the right hand side of the yoke.

Both of my rear tires have the inner tread (closest to the center line of the vehicle) separating from the sidewall. Tesla blames the issue on Michelin because the alignment is within specification, and Michelin blames Tesla claiming that the problem is the rear alignment. Every single Tesla Model S Plaid owner I know that has the factory 21” wheel option is having this issue somewhere between 6,000 miles and 16,000 miles (estimated). My vehicle has 12,151 miles on it now, and I first noticed the issue at approximately 11,100 miles. The vehicle is close to being unsafe to drive due to potentially catastrophic issues associated with one or both tires failing at speed. There is absolutely no indication of impending failure, and because it is the inside edge of the tires which are separating, and there is plenty of tread left on the tire, owners are unlikely to notice the issue, especially since the tires are failing well before anyone would expect a tire to fail. Thanks for your consideration. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The problem is with the regenerative braking. On an icy road, when the driver takes their foot off the accelerator, regenerative braking starts immediately and is quite strong as this is an electric vehicle. If the braking power is more than the icy road can afford, the wheels will lock up. This can and has caused drivers, including myself, to lose control and spin out. There’s nothing that the driver can do to avoid this, as there is no setting to attenuate or disable this feature (although there used to be a way up until 2021). In fact, the user’s manual actually warns of this: “In snowy or icy conditions, Model S may experience loss of traction during regenerative braking.” That’s it—just a warning as there’s nothing the driver can do about besides to driving in these conditions.

I purchased my new 2023 Tesla Model S in 02/2023 (delivered in Fife, WA). The vehicle has staggered wheel sets - rear wheels/tires wider than the front.   After being hit by a vehicle in 07/2023, the two back wheels were damaged. I took the vehicle to Exotic Collision center in Bellevue, WA, a Tesla-approved body-shop. While replacing the wheels in 09/2023, the body-shop found that the front wheels were installed in the rear, and vice versa. As a result, the tires didn’t fit properly which internally damaged the two wheels where wider tires were fit on narrower wheels, and all four tires. This was unrelated to the accident, hence not covered by insurance.  I reached out to Tesla in 10/2023, with photos from the body-shop, and contact info of their technician. However, Tesla had denied accountability and demanded I pay in full for replacement tires/wheels. The two reasons they provided are - 1) I should have heard a noise, and brought back the vehicle to them immediately, instead of waiting for a body shop to find it, and 2) I couldn’t provide evidence that I didn’t change the wheels out myself.  To me, neither reasoning makes sense. For #1, Tesla couldn’t show me what kind of noise I should have expected. Also, my vehicle is the proof that there would not be noticeable noise from the issue in every case. On #2, it is a case of proving a negative, which does not seem logical in this case.  I know this to be an issue at the time I took delivery, given nothing else was done to the wheel-tire assembly until the body-shop tried to replace them in September. Also, this seems to be a safety issue.  The body-shop recommended we do not drive as-is, and I had to pay $2718.00 at a local Les Schwab tire store (on 10/23/2023) to purchase a set of tires and wheels so that I can drive the vehicle safely.  I strongly believe this should be Tesla’s accountability to resolve. Along with sharing this safety issue with you, I urge your help to resolve the matter.

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.

Dear NHTSA Officials, I recently became the proud owner of a 2023 Model S. As pleased as I am with most aspects of the vehicle, there's a pressing safety concern I believe warrants your immediate attention. Nature of the Issue: Over the past two weeks, I encountered two separate incidents where nearby vehicles swerved into my lane. On both occasions, my instinct was to press the center of the steering wheel, expecting the horn to sound. However, it did not. Design Flaw: The actual horn mechanism in these vehicles is situated as a small capacitive touch button on the right side of the steering wheel. For seasoned drivers, such a drastic deviation from convention is not only counter-intuitive but can prove dangerous. Potential Resolution: There is already a discourse around a potential fix for this issue. An over-the-air software update by Tesla was proposed around 18 months ago, which, if implemented, could address the concern. Here is the pertinent tweet from Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, dated March 1, 2022: Link to Post: [XXX] Request for NHTSA Intervention: I urge the NHTSA to investigate this matter and compel Tesla to either release the promised firmware update or retrofit the steering wheels on the affected Model S and Model X vehicles produced since the design refresh. The implications of this design oversight go beyond just the driver's safety and extend to anyone in proximity to these vehicles. I trust that you will treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves and look forward to your timely action. Thank you, [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)