2012 TESLA MODEL S Complaints

View complaints related to 2012 TESLA MODEL S. The complaints found here are submitted by actual consumers with first hand experience. There are more than 60 complaints submitted for the 2012 TESLA MODEL S. You can submit your own complaint to the NHTSA or call the Hotline, Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm at (888) 327-4236, TTY: (800) 424-9153.

  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - FREMONT, CA

    CAR WON'T START, COMPUTER PROBLEMS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, AFTER MULTIPLE CALLS TESLA HAD NO RECORD OF PRIOR COMPLAINTS AND NO REMEDY. LEFT STRANDED MULTIPLE TIMES. *TR

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - PRIOR LAKE, MN

    MULTIPLE TIMES MY MASTER CONTROL UNIT IN MY CAR IS FREEZING AND LOCKING UP. IT REQUIRES A HARD REBOOT WHICH TAKES SEVERAL MINUTES TO COME BACK TO LIFE. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 5 TIMES IN THE LAST WEEK WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION ON PUBLIC ROADWAYS. I HAVE NO CONTROL OF ANY FUNCTION THAT THE MCU IS IN CHARGE OF WHILE THIS HAPPENS. IT IS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING TO HAVE HAPPEN WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING. IT IS NOT ALWAYS IN SAFE PLACE I.E. THE FREEWAY WHERE I CAN PULL OFF AND RESTART IT. ONE TIME IT HAPPENED WHILE PARKED STARTING MY CAR AND A MESSAGE POPPED UP TO PUSH BOTH SCROLL WHEELS ON THE STEERING WHEEL BECAUSE THE MCU WAS UNRESPONSIVE. IT WOULD NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO DRIVE. *TR

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - NORMANDY PARK, WA

    LOSS OF REAR VIEW CAMERA. THE MIDDLE TOUCH SCREEN OR MCU QUIT WORKING. THIS IS MY 3RD MCU. THE CAR HAS 41K MILES. THE LAST ONE LASTED JUST OVER 1 YEAR, JUST OUT OF A 1 YEAR WARRANTY. THE MCU CONTROLS ALMOST ALL FEATURES OF THE CAR, INCLUDING THE REAR CAMERA FOR BACKING UP. *TR

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - ORINDA, CA

    ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO MY MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) AND TOUCHSCREEN FAILED, REQUIRING A REPLACEMENT. I JUST READ AN ARTICLE THAT YOU ARE INVESTIGATING THESE FAILURES AND WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOME MORE EXAMPLES IF DESIRED. AS YOU PROBABLY WELL KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE A COMMON PROBLEM. BEFORE REPLACEMENT, NOT ALL VEHICLE FUNCTIONALITY AND SETTINGS WERE AVAILABLE, AND THE MCU COULD NO LONGER GET SOFTWARE UPDATES, WHICH TESLA PERSONNEL STATED WOULD EVENTUALLY BE A SAFETY CONCERN. *TR

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - BELLEVUE, WA

    THE TOUCHSCREEN ON MY 2012 TESLA MODEL S BECOMES UNRESPONSIVE EACH TIME I START THE CAR. THIS DRAMATICALLY LIMITS THE CAR'S FUNCTIONALITY AND REQUIRES A SEVERAL MINUTE LONG RESET PROCESS. THE CAR IS STATIONARY AS IT HAPPENS WHEN I FIRST TRY TO START IT. *TR

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - ARGYLE, TX

    TOUCHSCREEN LOCKS UP AND PERIODICALLY NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. GETTING WORSE, ALSO NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED EACH MORNING WHEN STARTING. SEVERAL TIMES THE TOUCHSCREEN NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED MULTIPLE TIMES IN A ROW. DID ASK A TESLA SERVICE PERSON ABOUT IT TODAY, THEY SEEM WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT WILL NOT FIX SINCE THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY. I CONSIDER IT A SAFETY ISSUE, DO NOT FEEL SAFE REBOOTING WHILE DRIVING. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AT SALVAGE WITH SOME BODY DAMAGE, FIX MYSELF ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO. IN NO WAY IS THIS ISSUE RELATED. HAVE BEEN DRIVING THE CAR 2 YEARS AND 53,000 MILES SINCE I FIXED IT. TESLA CANCELS WARRANTIES AND OTHER ON ANY CAR INVOLVED IN ANY TYPE OF INCIDENT SO I MOSTLY FIX MYSELF. *TR

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - ATLANTA, GA

    EACH TIME THE TESLA S IS STARTED THE LARGE TOUCH DISPLAY SCREEN IS INOPERATIVE. NO FUNCTION ON THE SCREEN WORKS. THE REARVIEW CAMERA, CELL PHONE OR ANY FUNCTION-HAVE,SUNROOF,GARAGE DOOR CLOSE, ETC. THE SCREEN HAS TO BE RESET TAKING 5 MINUTES. THE CAR CAN BE DRIVEN BY ALL SCREEN FUNCTIONS INCLUDING CHARGING ARE IMPACTED. *TR

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - BELLE HARBOR, NY

    CAUSE UNKNOWN. THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED JUST BEFORE ENTERING INTO A HEAD IN PARKING SPACE WHEN WITH THE BRAKE DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED SUDDENLY AND UNCONTROLLABLY CAUSING IT TO JUMP THE CURB AND TAKE DOWN A RETAINING WALL. IT CONTINUED THROUGH THE WALL UNTIL IT WAS STOPPED BY A TREE. VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS. VEHICLE SETTINGS AT THE TIME OF INCIDENT WERE AS FOLLOWS: THERE IS NO AUTOPILOT ON THIS MODEL S AND CRUISE CONTROL WAS OFF. ADDITIONALLY, THE CAR WAS SET WITH CREEP MODE OFF. HVAC WAS ON.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - EUREKA, CA

    SLOWLY BACKING UP AND REAR SUB FRAME MOTOR MOUNT BROKE. ON A CITY STREET UNDER 5MPH

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2012 TESLA MODEL S
    - HARRISON, NJ

    THIS COMPLAINT MAY REFER TO THE REFERENCE NUMBER PROVIDED BELOW: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT: BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN, BACK TO MAY 2019, TESLA PUSHED A SOFTWARE UPDATE, FIRMWARE NUMBER 2019.16.2, TO MY CAR VIA OVER-THE-AIR(OTA) METHOD. RIGHT AFTER INSTALLING IT IN MY CAR, I NOTICED THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN THE CAR'S RANGE. SOFTWARE VERSION 2019.16.2 WAS RELEASED AFTER SEVERAL NON-CRUSH FIRES HAPPENED WORLDWIDE ON THE BATTERY PACK WITH THE SAME SIZE AND SPEC AS MINE (85 KWH). NEW SOFTWARE CAPPED THE MAX VOLTAGE FOR BOTH CHARGING AND DISCHARGING THE BATTERY, TO MINIMIZE THE CHANCE FOR THE BATTERY GETTING OVERHEATED BUT IN THE MEANTIME REDUCED THE CAR'S PERFORMANCE AND RANGE THAT I ORIGINALLY PAID FOR. IN THE MEANTIME, THE HAZARDOUS FOR THE BATTERY CATCHING FIRE HAS NOT BEEN FULLY RESOLVED. TESLA SERVICE TEAM DECLINED MY SERVICE REQUEST AND KEEPS TELLING ME THAT MY BATTERY IS "OPERATING NORMALLY" AND REFUSE TO PROVIDE ANY MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THIS ISSUE WHILE I HAVE TO SUFFER THE INCONVENIENCE CAUSED BY THE REDUCED RANGE AND CHARGING SPEED. PLUS I HAVE TO KEEP THE CAR WITH THE BATTERY MAY CATCHING FIRE ANYTIME IDLING ON MY DRIVEWAY OUTSIDE MY HOUSE WHERE I AND MY FAMILY LIVES IN. THE BATTERY LOSING ALMOST 20% OF CAPACITY IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AS "OPERATING NORMALLY" AND SHOULD BE CATEGORIZED AS "FAILURE PARTS" WHICH NEED IMMEDIATE REPLACE UNDER WARRANTY (8 YEARS, UNLIMITED MILEAGE, MINE IS EXPIRING 12/2020). IF THE RANGE LOSS IS A PRECAUTION METHOD FOR THE FIRE SITUATION, TESLA SHOULD NOTIFY THE AFFECTED OWNERS AND COME UP WITH A PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR THIS ISSUE. WITH TESLA'S ATTITUDE OF REFUSING TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE AFFECTED OWNERS OR PROVIDING ANY INFORMATION ON THIS MATTER, I URGE NHTSA TO START AN INVESTIGATION AND PROVIDE US A DEFINITE ANSWER. SINCERELY *TR

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE