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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Tesla Model S — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 59 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

6 / 1

Injuries / Deaths

across all reports

Years to Avoid

Tesla Model S — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Tesla Model S

0 complaints

2011 Tesla Model S

0 complaints

2012 Tesla Model S

59 complaints

2013 Tesla Model S

460 complaints

2014 Tesla Model S

366 complaints

2015 Tesla Model S

0 complaints

2016 Tesla Model S

0 complaints

2017 Tesla Model S

0 complaints

2018 Tesla Model S

0 complaints

2019 Tesla Model S

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Electrical System 36 reports

Unknown Or Other 11 reports

Suspension 9 reports

Exterior Lighting 5 reports

Visibility/wiper 5 reports

Power Train 4 reports

Equipment 3 reports

Fuel/propulsion System 2 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 11385791 12/31/2020

THE HEATER AND DEFROSTER STOPPED WORKING IN THIS COLD WEATHER AS WE WERE DRIVING HOME WITH MY SONS. THEY WERE FREEZING AND COLD. I WAS NOT ABLE TO SEE CLEARLY RATHER VERY FOGGY WINDSHIELD DUE TO NON-WORKING CABIN HEATER AND DEFROSTER. THIS ISSUE HAD HAPPENED TO MANY MANY TESLA OWNERS, INFACT MODEL S LIKE MINE AND EVEN THE BRAND NEW TESLA MODEL 3 AND MODEL Y WITH JUST LESS THA…

Electrical System ODI 11291614 12/27/2019

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 DRO…

Suspension ODI 11384728 12/23/2020

YOU ARE INVESTIGATING TESLA FRONT SUSPENSION FAILURES. YOU SHOULD ALSO INVESTIGATE TESLA REAR SUSPENSION FAILURES. HERE IS JUST ONE RECENT EXAMPLE.HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/38453571?ROWNUMBER=39 THE SUSPENSION LINK HAS SNAPPED LIKE A PRETZEL CAUSING THE SUSPENSION TO FLOP DOWN LIKE A BAD CASE OF BREWER'S DROOP. PHOTO IS ATTACHED WITH THIS SUBMISSION. DESPITE TES…

Electrical System ODI 11444023 12/16/2021

I appears that Tesla had capped my battery. I have lost significant range for no reason and they have no explanation.

Suspension ODI 11383785 12/16/2020

HERE IS A TERDSLA IN THE JUNKYARD HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/38424109?ROWNUMBER=4 FRONT SUSPENSION HAS COLLOLOPSED. TIRE HAS RUBBED AGAINST THE INSIDE OF THE FENDER AND WORN A HOLE THROUGH IT. LUCKILY FOR THE OWNER HE WAS NOT DRIVING NEAR A CLIFF AT THE TIME OR HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BRANDED A SUICIDE LIKE THE OTHER CASES WERE. PLEASE GET THESE CONTRAPTIONS RECALLE…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Tesla Model S, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2012 Tesla Model S reliable?

Owners have filed 59 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Tesla Model S, most often about electrical system. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.

Which Tesla Model S years should I avoid?

The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.

Where do these complaints come from?

Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.

Do complaints mean a recall is coming?

Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.