2021 TESLA MODEL S Complaints

My 2021 Tesla S has on multiple occasions hard braked when in cruise control when there were no vehicles in view. All occurrences were on four lane interstate highways with no surrounding vehicles.

Beta Autopilot was engaged, driver had hand on steering wheel, vehicle was traveling less than 35MPH (speed limit) and coming around a corner when it misjudged the road curve. The road curved to the left and as the car took the turn it took too wide of a turn and veered slightly off the road. Unfort the front right side of car went up and over the begining of a rock incline. The front right tire blew out and ONLY the side AIrBags deployed (both sides). The car traveled about 500 yards along the road and then turned itself off. I could not get the horn to work, nor put it in neutral. There were no warning signs before incident. In fact the I belong to a beta driving scoring rating and for that day Tesla rated me a 91/100. I called Tesla roadside assistance and they said they would not provide any help as it was viewed as an accident and not a self-driving issue. It was reported to Tesla and I have called several times to try and understand why the car didn't stay in the lane and why only the side airbags deployed. I reported this to Tesla Customer support and was now told they would not provide any information based upon their analysis, although initially I was told that it would take 5 weeks for engineering to review and get back to me. Vehicle is at repair facility and was told damage to car will be almost $28-30K. Car previously had issues with Forward Collision Warning system going off, although I was not aware there was a recall regarding this exact problem, back in October 2021

I had a tire that kept loosing pressure so I took it in to see way. With only a little over 12,000 miles have I have a tire that is splitting between the tread and side wall. Its one the inside of the back drivers side tire.

Drivers seat creaks during even moderate acceleration suggesting that it is not properly bolted to the frame and/or that the bolts are not properly torqued.

The start up chime that dings when the car starts plays CONTINUOUSLY while the car is driven. This is not only distracting, but it prevents the driver from hearing the other dings that are associated with the safety systems (collision warning, lane departure, etc.). I have videos available but am unable to upload a video via this online complaint system.

HVAC system malfunction. On January 15, 2022 this brand new car, on its first day of ownership with 750 miles, suffered a malfunction with the heating and cooling system such that it no longer works and displayed the following warning: "VCFRONT_a447 - Cabin climate control system requires service - Cabin heating / cooling limited or unavailable." As a result, the car becomes unbearably hot during the day in the South Florida heat and unbearably cold on nights when the temperatures dip. This is a safety issue that should be investigated by the NHTSA.

Safety restraint system malfunction. On January 18, 2022 this brand new car, only 3 days old with 1,000 miles, suffered a malfunction with the safety restraint system and displayed the following warning: "Safety restraint system fault - Service is required." This is a safety issue that should be investigated by the NHTSA.

Power steering malfunction. On January 26, 2022 this brand new car, only 11 days old with 1,656 miles, suffered a malfunction with the steering mechanism and displayed the following warning: "GTW_w074 - Steering assist reduced - Steering may require increased effort." This is a safety issue that should be investigated by the NHTSA.

On several occasions when I have needed to use the horn to alert another vehicle to prevent a collision, I instinctively hit the center of the steering wheel. Unfortunately for my Tesla, this does nothing. To activate the horn, you must look down and find the tiny horn button on the right side of the steering wheel. Supposedly covering all the tiny buttons with your hand also activates the horn. On the few occasions that I have had time to remember to not hit the center of the steering wheel, rather cover my hand over the buttons….the horn never activated. Interestingly the wipers activate as the car in front of me almost hits me because I can’t alert him that I am there. The windshield wiper button is next to the tiny horn button. Tesla needs to recall this car and install a horn button in the center of the steering wheel. This is a huge safety issue and has almost caused a few accidents, as I have no way to honk the horn in an emergency situation. You always hit the center of the steering wheel instinctively.

The rear passenger side Adaptive Suspension wiring harness was either installed improperly or routed improperly and rubbed against the inside of the tire. After many miles, this harness was worn down to the point of breaking electrical contact, which puts the vehicle into a fallback state. When the dampers are disabled, the car becomes floaty and disconnected and is dangerous to drive. There were warnings in the system immediately when this broke. It is available for inspection, as Tesla has stated they cannot fix it for 6 weeks. The problem has been confirmed by their service dept via remote diagnostics. There has been no inspection by anyone other than myself, however I have extensive photographic evidence. The issue is very obvious when you know to look.