2018 TESLA MODEL S Complaints

I pulled my Tesla Model S in a parking lot, and as I turned the car into a parking spot, the car suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb next to the parking lot and hit a tree. The car speed when I pulled into the parking lot and then into a parking spot was very low. so I was very surprised and startled to see the car suddenly on its own accelerating and jumping the curb.

Tesla designs a single piece headlight with no serviceable parts. This includes headlights, high beams, and namely daytime running lights. All of these components are on an LED strip that overheats and un-solders due to this high heat, which causes premature failure. Some owners have reported as little as 3 months of life before failing. The daytime running lights are essential for safety driving in low light situations. These daytime running lights are seemingly built to fail. The lights dim then eventually no longer work. Tesla's solution is to have the customer purchase a brand new headlight at $2,500. My vehicle is 2018 Tesla s with 43,400 miles and always kept in carnage. Tesla should either goodwill swap out these headlights for a non-built to fail component, or offer a repair for a quality LED strip with proper heat distribution. Without daytime running lights safety is a major concern on foggy, rainy, and low light situations. I have attached an image showing how the failure begins on top then slowly goes all the way down to the side of the headlight which fails later,.

Car was in summon mode and crashed into a fence . Caused damage to frond end of the car

I was entering my drive way waiting for the garage to open suddenly my car just accelerated and hit the wall.

On February 11, 2026, at approximately 11:00 a.m., I picked up my Tesla vehicle from the Tesla Service Center located at 16955 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield, Missouri following battery repair. After paying for the service and being told the vehicle was ready, I discovered in the parking lot that the hood was not latched and was misaligned. The hood had been opened during service. Prior to drop-off, the hood latched properly and securely. Releasing the vehicle in this condition created a significant highway safety hazard. At highway speeds, an unlatched hood can deploy and completely obstruct forward visibility, potentially resulting in a catastrophic collision. When I immediately reported the issue to service management, responsibility was dismissed and attributed to a prior front collision history, despite the hood functioning normally before service. The service center did not promptly correct the unsafe condition. I was forced to leave the premises, purchase mechanical tools across the street, and physically resecure/realign hinge hardware myself in order to safely operate the vehicle. I have preserved video documentation of the hood condition at the time of release, along with service records and receipts. This represents unsafe post-repair vehicle release and failure of final safety verification. I have video evidence of my vehicle after I paid $1170 service fee and inspected the hood not latching. It was too big to attach but I am more than willing to put on a flash drive and send. please call me and instruct where to send it. Thank you. [XXX] , concerned Missouri resident [XXX] cell INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Steering the vehicle is extremely difficult leading to major safety concerns. When making turns, right or left, where the steering wheel travels greater than 90 degrees, the steering wheel becomes hard to push past that 90 degree mark (I am 6' 200lb man). Once past 90 degrees, the wheel will stay at that turning angles without correcting to straight. A few times I have had to "muscle" the steering wheel quickly back the opposite direction to keep from running into parked cars on the right side on a right turn. I appears the lower steering column U-joint has rusted and is binding every 90 degrees making steering unpredictable, dangerous and difficult altogether.

Recently right side blind spot monitor camera stopped working. As result, majority of safety features in vehicle has been disabled to include forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, and many other safety features of the vehicle.

My 2018 Tesla Model S has a recurring safety-critical defect involving the steering system and the Chassis CAN communication network. On October 20, 2025, the vehicle had to be towed to a Tesla Service Center because it would not power on and displayed multiple safety alerts (traction control disabled, stability control disabled, ABS disabled, and reduced steering assist). Tesla documented that the steering rack was “bringing down the Chassis CAN” and stated the issue might require a new steering rack and coolant pump if it returned. The warnings have now returned, and the vehicle is again showing active alerts for disabled traction control, disabled stability control, and previously reduced steering assist. This is a repeat of the same unsafe condition that Tesla attempted to repair. The car is unsafe to drive and could cause loss of steering control. This is a recurring steering/Chassis CAN failure with major safety system disablement. I am reporting this because the defect affects vehicle control and increases the risk of a crash.

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that whenever the rear door was opened, the window on the door rolls down approximately a half inch, and whenever the door was closed, the window automatically rolled back up. The contact stated that after the rear door was opened to place some leftover dinner in the rear seat, the contact closed the door and his finger was caught in between the window and the door frame. The contact was concerned and stated that there should be a sensor to prevent such a failure and any injury while closing the door. The contact stated that his finger was bruised and cut and was bleeding profusely. The contact removed his finger as quickly as possible, preventing even more injuries to his fingers and hand. Medical attention was not needed; however, the contact did clean and bandage the finger after arriving to the residence. The dealer was not informed of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

On 9/27/2025 while driving my Tesla Model S, I received the error EPAS_w001 – “Steering assist reduced”. Immediately afterward, the steering became extremely heavy and nearly impossible to control, even at low speeds.