2016 TESLA MODEL S Complaints

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that approximately six days after purchasing the vehicle, while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle drove over a bump in the road, and a grinding sound was heard coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that after driving over a bump in the road, the vehicle felt different while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who reportedly observed significant corrosion and rust affecting the suspension system and advised the contact that all suspension components needed to be replaced. The independent mechanic advised the contact not to drive the vehicle due to safety concerns and indicated there might be structural damage to the vehicle. The contact stated that after the suggestion, the contact continued operating the vehicle. The following day, the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was purchased, and the contact was advised that the failure was associated with worn brake pads. The dealer replaced the brake pads. The contact believed that additional repairs may have been performed but was not advised of any other work completed. The vehicle had not been modified and had not been inspected by Tesla. The contact believed that the vehicle may have an inaccurate odometer reading; however, no evidence was available to support the concern. The contact remained concerned that the corrosion and possible structural damage might exist within the suspension system even though the brake pad was replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.

Driver side rear control arm broke in half propagating along what appears to be a weld seam line for this hollow aluminum suspension part. It is incredible that a critical safety component holding a 5,000 pound curb weight vehicle was allowed on the car. The potential situation of a complete lower control arm break while driving at highway speeds is beyond imagining. Not only would such a situation endanger occupants but all other vehicles in the vicinity. This vehicle has never been in an automobile accident. It has 120,000 miles. It has never been used off road or for commercial usage. My wife and I are the original owners and only drivers.

On a side street approximately 1/4 mile before we were going to enter a highway the car suddenly resisted motion substantially and I had to immediately pull to the side. I tried reverse and the resistance was higher, I put it back in forward and it released. However, I immediately but slowly headed for my service station 2 miles away. A warning message appeared just as I brought the car to a stop at the station, but I did not notice what it said as I was being directed to move the car to a parking spot. Before I could fully back the car into the spot the rear wheel collapsed. The rear control arm failed and has been replaced. I have retained the failed control arm. Photos attached of the part as well as the rear wheel when it collapsed. If the initial resistance had occurred one minute later, I would have been on the highway and could have lost control of the vehicle. A serious accident would have been likely risking our safety and any others our car would have collided with. Note: This is the second suspension part failure on this car. The first was also reported to NHTSA.

I own a 2016 Model S P100D equipped with the Large Drive Unit (LDU). The component that fails is the rotor coolant seal in the rear drive unit motor. Coolant leaks internally into the motor and inverter, causing bearing wear, corrosion, isolation faults, and eventual complete drive unit failure. The affected drive units are still installed and available for inspection upon request. This defect puts my safety and the safety of others at risk because it can cause sudden loss of propulsion (especially at highway speeds), power reduction, or total drivetrain shutdown, potentially leading to a crash. Coolant in high-voltage areas also raises electrical fault/fire risks. The problem is widely reproduced and confirmed: Tesla service centers are familiar with it and replace failed units with updated “-U” revisions that include a coolant bypass. Independent EV shops confirm the exact root cause (rotor seal failure) via encoder inspections showing coolant intrusion and through disassembly. This is a documented pattern failure in all 2012–2020 LDU vehicles. No police or insurance inspections have occurred yet, as no crash or total failure has happened. Tesla is aware of the recurring issue through service records on similar vehicles. Early symptoms before full failure typically include rear motor whining/grinding (especially under load), reduced power warnings, “Rear Drive Unit Fault” messages, and visible coolant on the speed sensor. These can appear gradually. My vehicles have not yet experienced total failure, but the defect is known to be inevitable. I am proactively monitoring encoder sensors. Because this is a systemic design defect affecting thousands of vehicles with clear safety implications, I request NHTSA open an investigation and require Tesla to issue a recall for free repairs/replacements on all affected 2012–2020 LDU vehicles.

I own three 2016 Tesla vehicles with the same known safety defect: two Model S P100D and one Model X P100D, all equipped with the Large Drive Unit (LDU). The component that fails is the rotor coolant seal in the rear drive unit motor. Coolant leaks internally into the motor and inverter, causing bearing wear, corrosion, isolation faults, and eventual complete drive unit failure. The affected drive units are still installed and available for inspection upon request. This defect puts my safety and the safety of others at risk because it can cause sudden loss of propulsion (especially at highway speeds), power reduction, or total drivetrain shutdown, potentially leading to a crash. Coolant in high-voltage areas also raises electrical fault/FIRE risks. The problem is widely reproduced and confirmed: Tesla service centers are familiar with it and replace failed units with updated “-U” revisions that include a coolant bypass. Independent EV shops confirm the exact root cause (rotor seal failure) via encoder inspections showing coolant intrusion and through disassembly. This is a documented pattern failure in all 2012–2020 LDU vehicles. No police or insurance inspections have occurred yet, as no crash or total failure has happened. Tesla is aware of the recurring issue through service records on similar vehicles. Early symptoms before full failure typically include rear motor whining/grinding (especially under load), reduced power warnings, “Rear Drive Unit Fault” messages, and visible coolant on the speed sensor. These can appear gradually. My vehicles have not yet experienced total failure, but the defect is known to be inevitable. I am proactively monitoring encoder sensors. Because this is a systemic design defect affecting thousands of vehicles with clear safety implications, I request NHTSA open an investigation and require Tesla to issue a recall for free repairs/replacements on all affected 2012–2020 LDU vehicles.

The rear Large Drive Unit (LDU) has coolant intrusion due to a known design defect in the internal rotor seal. Coolant from the stator cooling system is leaking past the seal into the motor, degrading the winding insulation. An independent inspection by The Electrified Garage (Orlando, FL) on 04/08/2026 confirmed moisture at the rotor sensor (yellow condition) and degraded insulation resistance measured at 3.0 megohms (should be hundreds of megohms on a healthy unit). The vehicle requires a complete drive unit replacement at an estimated cost of $7,000. This is a well-documented design defect affecting 2012-2016 Model S vehicles. Tesla has acknowledged the issue by redesigning the seals in later production units and performing "coolant deletes" on remanufactured replacement units, but has not issued a recall or extended warranty coverage. The vehicle currently has 53,542 miles and no prior drivetrain warnings, yet the drive unit is failing due to a manufacturing/design defect, not owner abuse or normal wear.

Emmc memory recall, took into tesla today April 2 2026 for them to address the issue and they have refused to accept their issue on memory failure and replacement of the emmc 8gb module for a 64gb micron emmc module. Instead they insisted a $1,500 upgrade package instead of the free recall that is required for change. The current car screen in does not work due to this module failing.

I was driving about 20mph, my airbag deployed for no reason. No recalls, no warnings, nothing. I had my [XXX] daughter in the car and it was all filled with white smoke. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

multitude of electrical problems: Fuel/Propulsion System, Lighting, and body controls along with all ADAS: Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assistance systems are impacted by random intermittent glitching as computer screen bubbling progressed with goo leaking out of the bottom of the main computer. Most recent symptom was disabling of ALL ADAS systems along with automatic high beam headlight switching. Long ago as screen began to bubble and express fluid the low windshield washer alert came on and remains even when the tank is full. Then the charge port responsiveness degraded and stopped automatically functioning requiring user to bypass by clicking the "open charge port", then waiting 3 seconds, then tapping "unlock charge port". User must perform this as remote manual operation from a NACS charging handle button push will FAIL. Long ago the computer controlled 'home link' module would have excessive time delays on the order of hours or days from when the user would program and or operate the function. I even had a "phanthom" car appear by the computer calculations with E-Braking before the ADAS system failed fully, a 1.0 Tesla system should not have that... Windows have randomly rolled down and the driver side rear door will unlock and open on its own as the door handles present themselves. The safety risk class is unknown unknown; if the root problem is the screen filling leaking on electronics any number of unknown, unplanned, unstudied risk failure modes exist that can not be predicted. Schematically the HOMELINK is on connector X429 sharing CANBUS connections impacting safety: Driver "Instrument Cluster", DAS systems connected to "Power Steering ECU", "iBooster ECU", "ABS / Stability ECU", "Passive Restraints Controller"... see CAN Network - Chassis drawing page 11 , "Energy System - Charger Logic Connections" "Instrument Cluster / LIN" pg35

While driving in traffic, the vehicle displayed warnings stating “Unable to drive — Pull over safely.” The vehicle progressively lost power and became unable to propel itself, requiring me to stop in traffic. Additional warnings indicated reduced acceleration and performance. The vehicle remained powered (screens and electronics active) but could no longer drive. Tesla later diagnosed a high-voltage battery failure and provided an estimate for full battery replacement. The sudden loss of propulsion in traffic created a safety hazard because the vehicle could not accelerate or continue moving with traffic.