2021 TESLA MODEL S Complaints

Oncoming vehicle suddenly turned in front of 2021 Tesla Model S resulting in collision at 34mph. Automatic braking did not engage, collision warning system failed to sound alert. Air bags deployed however seat belt completely spooled out causing the driver to strike the windshield and break the glass by contact with the top of the head. The vehicle was a total loss and the dealer never inspected the car.

When using adaptive cruise control vehicle randomly applies brakes while driving at highway speeds, for no reason. Sometimes braking is severe, sometimes moderate, sometimes light. In the instances of severe or moderate braking, a real danger exists that following vehicle will be unable to stop and will collide. This happens relatively frequently, particularly on some highways. Sometimes multiple incidents occur on one drive.

The tiny selection on the yoke to sound the cars horn requires me to take my eyes off the road to find it. This is unsafe. Several times I needed to sound the horn and was unable to in time. The worst instance was when I was making a U-turn in a 4-way intersection and needed to sound the horn to warn off a driver about to turn in front of me from the other direction. The yoke was inverted about 270 degrees and it was impossible to find the tiny horn symbol. There needs to be a conventional horn in the center of the yoke that can be pushed quickly without diverting eyes from the road. This has occured multiple dates that I do not specifically recall.

On March 19, 2023, I put my Tesla in drive and it went into reverse . When I tried to brake the speed accelerated. We were unable to stop the vehicle, while driving in reverse the car hit two mailboxes and two ceramic flower pots. It has been over 6 weeks and Tesla will not return my calls or messages. My insurance company looked at the body of the vehicle for a repair estimate. Nothing indicated that there was a problem prior to the incident.

To honk the horn, you have to find and push a very small button on the steering wheel. I have been in multiple situations where I have been unable to honk the horn in time to avert a potential accident because I could not find the horn button. Tesla appears to have recognized the problem and added a horn to the airbag on new vehicles, but they have refused to offer any retrofit.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Vehicle is typically operated in FSD Beta mode. I have had approximately a thousand driver initiated disengagements due to unsafe or potentially unsafe operation in Beta mode. At times there have been indirect indications of unintended vehicle operation potentially due to anomalies with system hardware and communications between modules and control systems. The refreshed S and Y models feature a vehicle display behind the yoke steering wheel. When at stop signs, stop lights, or when turning, the yoke (in an upright or near upright position) blocks safety related displays indicating intended vehicle path, bollards and critical safety-related driver annotations. Visibility of these safety critical displays is further degraded when stopped making unprotected turns with the yoke erratically moving. The ability of the driver to safely takeover control of the vehicle is further degraded by the chaos associated with the yoke whipping back and forth on unprotected turns, and drivers and passengers being unable to see critical displays. When the vehicle, driver and passengers all have a reduced capability to ensure safe operation the chaos further degrades safe vehicle operation. At a minimum an over the air recall is required to add safety critical displays/annotations to the large rectangular display between the driver and front passenger similar to Y and 3 models. As noted above I also have hardware related concerns on my vehicle which at times appear to be masked/accommodated by the firmware but are more evident on secondary systems independent of safe vehicle operations.

All of a sudden my 2 driver side windows wouldn't fully close yesterday. I reported it to Tesla via the app and they thought it was their existing safety recall due to software issue, but service rep said it wasn't. Instead the window trim off the vehicle is very fragile and typically they noticed it needs to be fixed within 12 months of ownership. This is an obvious defect that can cause many issues with flooding, theft, and more if left as is. Getting a service appointment typically takes a week currently but I stressed the issue and that I don't have covered parking so they moved up my appointment. Regardless this needs to be addressed ASAP and customers shouldn't have to lose a work day or pay for resolving the defect... which I did reluctantly.

The steering wheel needs a center push horn. This is not available in 2021 model s. On occasions when someone seerved into my lane or to alert anyone on the road in an emergency, driver can’t be scrambling to find a touch sensitive button on the steering. When palm is placed on right side, it just triggers the wiper instead of horn sometimes adding to the chaos of the situation. This is a major issue. Please get it fixed. Don’t recall the exact date. So selecting random.

I had surgery on my right hand and had very limited use. I was completely unable to engage the horn as it is a very small button on the yoke rather than the standard pressing of the center. Allegedly this was supposed to be addressed with a software update last year and this has yet to happen