2013 TESLA MODEL S Power Train Problems

Premature HV Battery BMS Failure After Tesla Replacement – Safety Risk of Fire and Sudden Power Loss

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the message "Take to Service" was displayed. The local dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer by Tesla Insurance to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the drive unit was rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure via email and a letter. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

Mileage: 150,000

I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding two critical component failures in my 2013 Tesla Model S within the past 12 months, both of which occurred shortly after the manufacturer's warranty had expired. These issues have not only been financially burdensome but also raise questions about the reliability and longevity of Tesla vehicles. Motor Replacement: In Sept 2022, I was compelled to replace the motor in my Tesla Model S at a cost of $6,304.89. This occurred despite my vehicle maintaining a clean record and having only around 70k miles on it at the time. The timing of this failure, immediately after the expiration of the manufacturer's warranty, is concerning and suggests a potential design or manufacturing flaw. Battery Replacement: Most recently, I have been informed that the battery in my Tesla Model S requires replacement at an estimated cost of $15,545.97. Like the motor failure, this comes as a substantial financial burden, and again, it has happened just after the warranty period has ended. I find these consecutive, high-cost component failures within a short timeframe to be unacceptable and have led me to question the overall reliability of Tesla vehicles. As a responsible and safety-conscious consumer, I believe it is vital to report these issues to the NHTSA to ensure the safety and protection of all Tesla owners and the general public. I respectfully request that the NHTSA investigates these repeated component failures in Tesla vehicles, particularly the motor and battery, and assesses whether there may be any systemic issues that warrant further action or recalls. It is crucial for the NHTSA to uphold and enforce safety standards in the automotive industry to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future. I have attached relevant documents and receipts as evidence of the mentioned repairs for your reference. - [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

At random the Steering assist reduce, traction control disabled, stability, control, disable, regenerative breaking reduced. Wipers are affected during these error messages. The car is trying to get me killed!! On different days, all those errors are gone and the car drives normal. Suspect this is a software defect and can be very dangerous. Seems like something got reset after the car is turned off. All software are up to date on the car and on the phone app. Once no more errors from the car, it would drive normal until it randomly disable traction control, stability control and wipers becomes very slow, get stuck at times.

My 2013 Tesla Model S 60 KW didn’t drive on July 2022 and I got a warning on the screen that all electrical systems are shutting down . The car had to be towed to Tesla Service . Tesla service told me the battery pack has to be replaced for 13k. I went down to Tesla Service and told them I want to see the battery pack but I was told that I couldn’t see it and was shown a piece of the corroded fuse box cover. I was told I couldn’t take a picture of it even though this was my car and own the battery pack . I was told only then that there was corrosion on the fuse box cover to the battery pack and the battery pack has to be replaced for 13k. I paid 13k and Tesla replaced the battery pack 6 weeks later. I have learned since then that many Teslas Model S year 2012-15 have this problem. The problem is that the air conditioner hose leaks on to the fuse box cover and corrodes it. Tesla knows about this problem and refuses to do anything and just says that the entire battery pack has to be replaced. This is a defect in the battery pack that fuse box is located under the air conditioner hose. I asked Tesla before paying for the replacement battery pack if this would occur with the replacement battery and was told that the replacement battery has the fuse box at the other side of the battery pack .not like the old battery. Apparently Tesla knows about this problem and redesigned the battery pack. This a defective battery pack and the car could stop driving suddenly and crash into other cars. This very dangerous and Tesla knew about this for years and didn’t do anything. I was under warranty from 2013 till 2021 for the battery pack and Tesla should have repaired the battery pack or replaced it. I want to reimbursed for my 13k that I spent on the replaced battery pack. Tesla knowingly knows this problem and deceived me and said just the fuse box got corroded. This happened in July 2022 in the heat when I had the air conditioner on and water leaked on to the battery pack.

I have loved my 2013 Model S since I got it. However, recently I have not been thrilled that I have needed a new powertrain according to my car. I was notified of this, set up service appointments, and it got delayed weeks later due to parts not arriving. I spoke with Kevin from Santa Ana Tesla, and he assured me the car was safe to drive. 3 days later, which was yesterday, my car died suddenly without warning when I was on Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles. I was there until 3 AM, and didn't get home in Irvine until 4 AM. It was really unsafe in the area late at night, and I was really frustrated the car wasn't safe to drive at all. My family and friends were with me and it could have been a total disaster. Now, I wake up and see the estimate to fix my car is almost $10,000.

The car suddenly has a powertrain issue, but it is a widely known problem with some estimates of 66% of all early Teslas having a powertrain issue by 60k miles. Mine happened at 56k. There is clearly a defect with early Tesla powertrains, as they increased the warranty to 8 years or 50k miles. My car is now at 9 years, and because of the low mileage due to covid, they will not cover the powertrain issue of the car. The following are links proving significant issues of my car. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1093907_tesla-model-s-drivetrain-warranty-rises-to-8-years-same-as-battery-pack https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles/tesla-problems-3-major-issues-you-need-to-know-about https://www.autoevolution.com/news/early-tesla-model-s-powertrain-reliability-issues-come-into-question-in-low-volume-study-102773.html I not only have the powertrain issue, but my center screen is also screwed up. This is a massive issue in Teslas because I cannot access my HVAC controls, or any safety controls with this not working. I have contacted Tesla numerous times, I will be happy to provide email exchanges and they have not done anything to help me except want to charge me a lot of money, 9k to fix all of this!

I was just getting off the freeway, into a business area, and all of a sudden car stopped without any warning, with a quick "power reduced flash on the screen, unable to move at all. I was in the middle of busy area, blocking the street and cars parked on each side. The rear wheel drive locked, even in neutral position, and also tow mode. 4 people tried to push the car into a safe area without success. Had to wait for a tow truck to take the car to tesla facility. Was told there was an internal failure of the inverter and the unit its self, which would coast over 6k. Very scary and a stressful situation I suffered and it needs to be addressed of the danger.

Drive Unit failed while driving. Car was not able to accellerate while coming off freeway. Driver heard thump then buzzing sound then couldn't accelerate. Driver drifted car to side of the road and it would not drive further.

2012/2013 MODEL S. HAD WINDING NOISE PRIOR TO WARRANTY EXPIRATION. TESLA VAN NUYS SERVICE CENTER STATED ALL NORMAL. AFTER WARRANTY EXPIRATION REAR DRIVE UNIT FAILS ON FREEWAY, SHUTTING VEHICLE DOWN, NEARLY CAUSING CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT. TESLA REFUSED TO REPLACE UNTIL WE PAID OVER $7000 TO FIX. REAR DRIVE UNIT FAILED PREVIOUSLY UNDER WARRANTY. THIS IS TYPICAL PROBLEM WITH TESLAS. NOW 8 YEAR WARRANTY EXPIRES FROM ORIGINAL PURCHASERS AND NHTSA SHOULD START TO SEE (ALREADY SEEING) NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS IN THIS REGARD. OBVIOUSLY NHTSA TESLA HAS A DEFECTIVE DESIGN WITH REAR DRIVE UNIT. TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ACT PROTECTS CONSUMER FROM MANUFACTURER DESIGN DEFECTS. TESLA RELYING ON WARRANTY EXPIRATION AND CONSUMER IGNORANCE TO NOW CHARGE FOR THIS NEVER ENDING FIX. NHTSA MUST START INVESTIGATION OF TESLA REAR DRIVE UNIT FAILURES. NO THOUSANDS OF REPORTS UNTIL NOW BECAUSE COVERED BY WARRANTY BUT TESLAS NOW OVER 8 YEARS OLD AND WARRANTY'S ARE EXPIRING. PLEASE INVESTIGATE.

RE: NHTSA Action Number: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION Subject : Battery Management Software Updates Dear sirs, my 2013 Tesla Model S p85 is a victim of this battery management software update that has reduced my driving range and time to takes to recharge the battery. this is a safety concern because I cannot drive as far (the range) as the manufacturer promised and I cannot recharge as fast as the manfuacuterer promised. I was forced to program this software update in my car, it was claimed as a must have safety update and the affect was reduced range and usability of this car. For example, if I had a medical emercengy while driving the car and needed to get to the hospital, and the car had this range reduction software, I might have a dead battery before I can get to the hospital. this is crazy! and when I try to recharge it take twice as long to recharge as the manufacturer claims, this is crazy too. Please help.

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, there was a loud knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle started losing motive power. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road. The contact called the roadside assistance and the vehicle was towed to a local dealer. The local dealer inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the failure as a rear drive unit malfunction. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost of the repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,523.

Mileage: 78,523

A loud whining noise from the rear drive unit of my Tesla. The car is a 2013 and has 98,000 miles. The rear drive unit was previously replaced in 2015 at 45,000 miles, and has now been replaced again in 2021. The latest replacement was at cost to me of over $5000. I believe this price may prevent many owners from having this component replaced until it fails completely, leading to unsafe conditions. The car is no longer under warranty. The Tesla dealer accompanied me on a test drive to observe the whining noise, and recommended replacing the drive unit without delay to avoid the possibility of it letting me down and leaving me at the side of the road. I would hate to be in a car on the highway when a drive unit fails. It would be a danger to me, and other road users. These drive units should last more than 50,000 miles, and I believe the units now being installed have better longevity, but the units still installed in cars should be recalled and replaced with the ungraded units.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO LOS ANGELES-CENTINELA (5840 W. CENTINELA AVE LOS ANGELES, CA 90045 310) 649-5463) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE DRIVE SHAFT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 24,000.

Mileage: 24,000

REPEATED EMMC FAILURE, REOCCURRING FAILURES AND REBOOTS OF THE MCU , SEE INVESTIGATION:EA 20-003. SINCE THERE ARE OVER 100K MILES, TESLA SUGGESTS $2700 MCU REPLACEMENT, NOT FREE EMMC REPLACEMENT AS THEY ARE DOING FOR MODELS WITH UNDER 100K MILES

Mileage: 121,000

THE CAR CAN'T RECEIVE SAFETY FIRMWARE UPDATES BECAUSE OF A FAILURE OF THE MCU. TESLA WANTS CUSTOMER TO PAY TO REPLACE.

Mileage: 77,000

MY 2013 TESLA MODEL S HAD THE TOUCHSCREEN FAIL. THIS RESULTED IN ME HAVING TO PAY FOR A BRAND NEW SCREEN. I UNDERSTAND THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE TOUCHSCREEN FAILURES AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS AND RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENT

Mileage: 120,000

WELL I LOVE MY FIST TESLA BUT AFTER THE FIRST TIME IT HAD TO GO IN TO THE AUSTIN SERVICE CENTER FOR A PROBLEM WITH A CLICKING /THUMPING NOISE AS WHEN I BACK UP I HEARD & FEEL. SO AFTER HAVING MY CAR A COUPLE DAYS FOUND IT WOULD NEED TO HAVE THE LARGE DRIVE UNIT REPLACE THAT WILL BE STILL COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, BUT SAY THE REAR SUBFRAME NEEDS TO BE REPLACE & I HAVE TO PAY TO GET REPLACED DUE TO ' WEAR & TEAR ' AS SERVICE CENTER SAY, ON MY SUBFRAME IT'S NEVER BEEN IN ANY ACCIDENT ETC.THEY SAY IT'S NOT COVERED THE 100% WARRANTY!!

Mileage: 82,000

MCU HAS BEEN MALFUNCTIONING. WITHOUT IT I CANNOT CONTROL CLIMATE, BACKUP CAMERA, RADIO, TURN SIGNALS, CHARGING, NAVIGATION, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER IMPORTANT FEATURES. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN ONGOING AND INTERMITTENT, BUT RECENTLY HAS BECOME MORE COMMON.

Mileage: 195,000

MAIN SCREEN MALFUNCTION. TURNED COMPLETELY BLACK. TURN SIGNALS NO LONGER WORK AND CAR WILL NOT CHARGE. BACKUP CAMERA NOT USABLE. CAR IS UNDRIVABLE DUE TO SAFETY ISSUES. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR A REPLACEMENT UNIT OVER A MONTH ALREADY.

Mileage: 150,000

MCU-1 DIED, AS IN TOUCH SCREEN DID NOT WORK, THEREFORE MOST OF THE CAR DOES NOT WORK. IT DIED OVERNIGHT, GOT IN THE CAR THE NEXT MORNING AND THE CAR WAS OFF, COULD NOT TURN IT ON

Mileage: 115,000

WHEN TRYING TO START MY TESLA, I NOTICED THE LARGE TOUCH SCREEN WAS UNRESPONSIVE, AND I COULDN'T ENTER MY PIN CODE TO UNBLOCK CHANGING MY CAR GEARS, MY CAR GOT STUCK ON THE PARKING GEAR ON MY DRIVEWAY. WHEN SPEAKING WITH TESLA ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, I WAS INSTRUCTED TO PERFORM A RESET PROCEDURE, AFTER WHICH THE LARGE SCREEN WENT DARK. AS REQUESTED BY TESLA ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, I TOWED MY CAR TO THE NEAREST TESLA SERVICE CENTER, WHERE AFTER DIAGNOSIS I WAS TOLD MY CAR MCU HAD REACHED END OF LIFE, AND I WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE MCU AT MY EXPENSE ($1419.07), BUT NO CLEAR EXPLANATION ON WHAT CAUSED THE MCU TO SUDDENLY STOP WORKING. AFTER INSISTING ON GETTING AN EXPLANATION AND RESEARCHING/SHOWING AN ARTICLE ABOUT AN ONGOING NHTSA PROBE ON SOME MEMORY ISSUES(HTTPS://WWW.REUTERS.COM/ARTICLE/US-TESLA-SAFETY/U-S-PROBES-TOUCHSCREEN-FAILURES-IN-TESLA-MODEL-S-CARS-IDUSKBN23V1VG), TESLA CONFIRMED THAT THE NEW UNIT WOULD HAVE A NEWER REVISION, BUT THAT I'D STILL HAVE TO PAIR FOR THE SERVICE AND PARTS.

Mileage: 110,400

WHILE DRIVING ON A SIX LANE HIGHWAY, I RECEIVED MULTIPLE ALERTS FROM THE CAR SAYING THAT POWER WAS REDUCED, THE VEHICLE WAS SHUTTING DOWN, SERVICE IS REQUIRED, PULL OVER SAFELY AND VEHICLE MAY NOT RESTART. I PULLED OVER INTO A PARKING LOT TO MONITOR THE CAR, THE ALERTS CONTINUED TO COME AND GO BUT THE CAR REMAINED ON. I DECIDED TO DRIVE THE REST OF THE WAY HOME. I NOTIFIED TESLA SERVICE AND RECEIVED NO RESPONSE. THE NEXT DAY WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE CAR AGAIN, IT WOULD NOT START AND THERE WAS A COMPLETE BATTERY FAILURE REQUIRING BATTERY REPLACEMENT. THERE WAS NO INDICATION TO ME AS THE OWNER PRIOR TO THIS EVENT THAT THE BATTERY WAS GOING TO FAIL, HOWEVER, ACCESS TO MY VEHICLE LOGS (WHICH I CANNOT OBTAIN FROM TESLA) MAY HAVE GIVEN ME SOME INDICATION. I WAS TOLD BATTERY FAILURE WAS DUE TO FAULTY SEALS ON THE RAPID MATE WHICH ALLOWED WATER INTRUSION AND OVERCURRENT WITHIN THE BATTERY.

Mileage: 128,600

MCU1 WITH EMMC IS DEAD, WHICH CAUSES LOSS OF CENTER SCREEN CONTROLS, THUS YOU HAVE NO CONTROLS OVER INTERIOR DEFROSTING OR FOGGING TO KEEP FROM HAVING LOSS OF VISIBILITY. IN ADDITION THERE IS NO BACKUP CAMERA. ALSO THE CAR WILL NO LONGER CHARGE PAST ABOUT 20% LEAVING YOU STRANDED. CAR WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD WHEN SCREEN WENT OUT AND WOULD NOT COME BACK. LAST AUGUST I HAD TO GET THE SCREEN REPLACED FOR 1100.00 NOW THIS REPAIR WILL COST 1600.00 AND IT COMES WITH ANOTHER SCREEN. THEY WILL NOT JUST FIX THE EMMC, P/N THAT IS ORDERED FOR THE REPAIR INCLUDES A NEW SCREEN THAT I DON'T NEED. I DECLINED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR AT THIS TIME TO WAIT UNTIL MCU2 IS AVAILABLE, THEN A FEW DAYS LATER MY CAR WILL NO LONGER EVEN CHARGE. WELL IT CHARGES EXTREMELY SLOW TO A MAXIMUM OF 46 MILES. THEY SAY THE BATTERY AND DRIVE UNIT IS FINE SO GUESS WHAT, NO WARRANTY FOR ANYTHING ELSE FOR ALL THIS.

Mileage: 102,000

NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT : BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES. VIA SOFTWARE UPDATES, TESLA, SUDDENLY, INEXPLICABLY, REDUCED MAXIMUM VOLTAGE OF THE MAIN BATTERY. THE ACTION RESULTED IN INSTANT LOSS OF DISTANCE MILEAGE OF THE CAR OF 12 PERCENT, FROM 237 MILES TO 208 MILES. HORSEPOWER AND GENERAL PERFORMANCE OF THE CAR WAS ALSO REDUCED. TESLA HAS IMPLIED THAT THIS ACTION WAS TAKEN, FOR SELECTED TESLA CARS, OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION AS A FIRE-SAFETY UPDATE, BUT OFFICIALLY NO SAFETY RECALLS RELATED TO THIS UNEXPLAINED ACTION HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED. NO ONE ASSOCIATED WITH TESLA HAS OFFERED ANY FURTHER DETAILED EXPLANATION FOR THIS SUDDEN ACTION, WHICH, IN ADDITION TO REDUCING PERFORMANCE AND DISTANCE MILEAGE OF THE CAR, HAS ALSO REDUCED, OVERNIGHT, ITS INTRINSIC ASSET VALUE. THE RESULTS DESCRIBED HERE HAPPENED OVERNIGHT, WHILE THE CAR WAS AT REST---PARKED INSIDE A GARAGE.

Mileage: 122,300

RE: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT : BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES

Mileage: 63,000

RE: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT : BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES I AM AN EARLY MODEL TESLA OWNER. I STOPPED ACCEPTING OTA UPDATES TO MY CAR BECAUSE I DID NOT LIKE THE NEW FEATURES BEING ROLLED OUT. I HAVE FOUND A NEW STORY ONLINE ON TESLA THAT THEY RELEASED AN OTA UPDATE OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION AFTER FIRES IN EARLY TESLA MODELS BUT THEY DO NOT GO INTO ANY SPECIFICS. AFTER READING FORUMS FOR OTHER OWNERS I SEE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON WITH OUR CARS THAT TESLA REFUSES TO COMMUNICATE WITH US. ARE WE SAFE OR NOT WITHOUT THE UPDATE? ALSO OTA UPDATES ARE NOT MANDATORY SO IF THEY DID DO A SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR SAFETY THERE ARE PROBABLY MANY OTHERS LIKE MYSELF THAT DO NOT HAVE THE LATEST SOFTWARE UPDATE AND ARE NO LONGER SAFE. I AM AFRAID THAT MY VEHICLE MIGHT CATCH FIRE BUT TESLA WON'T ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS AND NEED YOUR HELP. THANKS

Mileage: 110,000

ON OR ABOUT JUNE 24, 2019, MY PARKED CAR'S SOFTWARE WAS FORCIBLY UPDATED WITHOUT MY PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, WITHOUT ANY PRIOR NOTIFICATION AND WITHOUT MY AUTHORIZATION. THIS FORCED SOFTWARE UPDATE REDUCED THE NOMINAL CAPACITY OF MY BATTERY BY 16.02%. ON JUNE 23, 2019, MY 100% STATE OF CHARGE (SOC) WOULD CHARGE EACH CELL IN MY BATTERY PACK TO 4.2 VOLTS, RESULTING IN A RATED RANGE OF 256 MILES. UPON ENTERING MY PARKED CAR ON JUNE 24, I DISCOVERED THAT TESLA "CAPPED" THE BATTERY SUCH THAT EACH CELL WOULD ONLY CHARGE TO APPROXIMATELY 4.09 VOLTS, RESULTING IN A RATED RANGE OF 215 MILES AT A 100% SOC, OR A RATED RANGE LOSS OF 41 MILES. THEY ALSO SLOWED THE CHARGING RATE BY OVER 50%. FOUR TESLA CARS THAT WERE PARKED RECENTLY CAUGHT FIRE. AFTER THE FOURTH FIRE, TESLA ISSUED AN OVER THE AIR (OTA) SOFTWARE UPDATE PREVENTING THE FULL CHARGING (E.G., TO 4.2 VOLTS FOR EACH CELL) OF THE BATTERY PACK, LIMITED THE AMOUNT OF CURRENT THAT CAN BE "PULLED" FROM THE BATTERY PACK AT ANY ONE TIME, RESULTING IN A LOSS OF ACCELERATION. TESLA STATED THE UPDATE WAS "OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION" AFTER THE OCCURRENCE OF SEVERAL NON-CRASH FIRES. TESLA UNILATERALLY TOOK THIS ACTION OF ISSUING A "FIRE-SAFETY UPDATE" WITHOUT INFORMING THE CAR OWNERS OF THE REASON FOR THE UPDATE, WHY SAID UPDATE SHOULD BE INSTALLED AND THE EFFECT ON THE CAR ONCE THE UPDATE WAS INSTALLED. IN MY CASE, THE UPDATE WAS FORCED ON MY PARKED CAR VIA AN OTA UPDATE ON JUNE 23 (OR 24) WITHOUT PRIOR NOTIFICATION TO ME NOR REQUESTING MY APPROVAL NOR INFORMING ME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF INSTALLING THE UPDATE (REDUCED RANGE, POWER, ETC.), TESLA SAID THAT THEY WERE RELEASING A FIRE-SAFETY UPDATE, BUT OFFICIALLY NO SAFETY UPDATE WAS RELEASED. SEE, FOR EXAMPLE: HTTPS://WWW.THEVERGE.COM/2019/5/16/18627746/TESLA-FIRE-BATTERY-SOFTWARE-UPDATE-MODEL-S-X HTTPS://JALOPNIK.COM/TESLA-IS-UPDATING-BATTERY-SOFTWARE-AFTER-A-MODEL-S-CATC-1834794877

Mileage: 120,000

I HAVE A 2013 TESLA MODEL S85. THREE DAYS AGO WHILE DRIVING ON I 70 BETWEEN COLUMBUS, OHIO AND INDIANAPOLIS, IN, THE CAR LOST POWER ABRUPTLY JUST 40 MILES OUTSIDE INDIANAPOLIS. IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THE PROBLEM WAS IDENTIFIED AS A FAILED DRIVE TRAIN. MY WIFE WAS DRIVING AND SHE COULD PULL OFF THE ROAD SAFELY FORTUNATELY, ALTHOUGH THE REGENERATIVE BRAKING IN THE CAR DOES NOT GIVE YOU MUCH TIME TO PULL OVER. NOW LOOKING ON LINE, I SEE THAT THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE AND SOME DRIVERS HAVE HAD TO CHANGE DRIVE TRAINS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN SINCE IT IS NOT EASY TO PULL OFF THE ROAD WHEN THE CAR HAS REGENERATIVE BRAKING. HAS THERE BEEN ANY ACCIDENTS DUE TO THE POWER TRAIN FAILURE? SHOULD THIS BE A RECALL ITEM?

Mileage: 37,800

DOOR HANDLE PROBLEMS THE HANDLE FAILS EVERY 6MONTHS SHOULD BE A RECALL DRIVE TRAIN ISSUES

I WAS DRIVING MY TESLA MODEL S EARLY IN THE MORNING IN A QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN WAS SLOWLY APPROACHING TO FOUR-WAY STOP SIGN INTERSECTION BY GRADUALLY STEP ON THE BRAKE. AT THE VERY BEGINNING, I CAN FEEL THE CAR DECELERATED, SUDDENLY THERE WAS UNINTENDED ACCELERATION THAT I FELT. THERE WAS A JERKING FORWARD OF THE CAR, SO I WAS NOT ABLE TO MAKE A FULL STOP AT THE STOP SIGN. THEN THE SPEED DROPS DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY, ALMOST TO ZERO. I PRESSED THE FLASHING LIGHT BECAUSE THERE WAS A LINE OF CARS BEHIND ME AND I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE CAR WAS IN ALMOST ZERO SPEED, SO I TRIED TO MOVE THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND PRESSED THE ACCELERATION PEDAL A LITTLE. THE CAR DIDN'T ACCELERATE, INSTEAD, IT TURNED INTO A STOP SITUATION. I REALIZED I LOST DRIVING POWER OF THIS CAR. I PRESSED THE "P" BUTTON, THEN ALL FOUR MODE LETTERS "P", "N", "R", "D" TURNED RED, BLICKING. THE CAR STOPPED CLOSE TO THE CURB BUT PARTIALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE CAR AND CALLED TESLA ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. THEY CHECKED SOME LOG AND RESPONDED WITH TOWING SERVICE TO SEND THE CAR TO THE SERVICE CENTER. THE OVERALL SITUATION COULD HAVE TURNED VERY SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE IF EVER THIS HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY, OR THERE WAS HUMAN BEING WALKING ACROSS THE STREET WHILE I WAS NOT ABLE TO FULLY STOP THE CAR, NEITHER CONTROL IT. I AM WAITING FOR OFFICIAL SERVICE REPORT BUT THE CAR IS CONFIRMED NOT IN DRIVABLE CONDITION. AND I FEEL EXTREMELY UNSAFE TO DRIVE IT NOW AND EVEN NOT COMFORTABLE TO DRIVE IT AFTER WHAT JUST HAPPENED THIS MORNING. THE ENTIRE DRIVE UNIT WAS MAINTAINED AND CHANGED TO A NEW ONE IN 2015, SO ITS LIFE ONLY ABOUT 3 YEARS IN THIS CAR. PLUS, I JUST HAD THE CAR SERVICE AT THE TESLA SERVICE CENTER MONTH AGO. IT IS WORRISOME THEY CAN'T EVEN PREVENT SUCH ISSUE AND DETECT IT IN AN EARLY STAGE, PERHAPS A DESIGN ISSUE TO ADDRESS?

Mileage: 68,752

ON 4/15 2016 MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE CAR ON A ONE LANE ROAD AND THE "POWER PLANT" FAILED (PER THE TESLA SERVICE INVOICE) AND THE CAR IMMEDIATELY LOST ALL POWER. THE CARE WAS TOWED TO THE SERVICE CENTER IN ROCKLIN CALIFORNIA. THERE TEST RESULTS STATES "CONFIRMED REAR DRIVE UNIT WILL NEED REPLACEMENT DUE TO INTERNAL FAILURE" A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR THE DRIVE WHEN IT HAPPENS AT SPEED IN TRAFFIC.

Mileage: 33,000

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TESLA S 985. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE WAS EXPERIENCING SEVERAL FAILURES WITH THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE VARIOUS SHIFTING ISSUES WHEN USING REVERSE. IN ADDITION, UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OCCURRED ONLY WHEN DRIVING IN EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE COMPUTER SYSTEM WAS REPROGRAMMED BUT THE FAILURES RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. ..UPDATED 04-16-14 *BF UPDATED 04/17/14*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED AFTER THE RE-FLASH, HE NO LONGER WAS ABLE TO PUT THE VEHICLE IN REVERSE. UPDATED 05/20/14

Mileage: 200