Tesla complaints & recalls by model
Across 4 Tesla models and 35 model years, NHTSA has logged 9,652 owner complaints and 69 recall campaigns. The brand averages 59.5 complaints per year on the road — more complaints than typical (index 1.47).
Analysis
Among the tracked Tesla models, the Model S has the fewest complaints per year and the Model Y the most. By model year, the brand's average rate is highest for 2023 (126.4 per year) and lowest for 2019 (30.9).
Tesla owners complain about Driver-assist systems more than owners in general: 29.3% of complaints, 5.1× the share across all tracked vehicles. In the last 12 months owners filed 1,376 complaints versus 1,285 in the previous 12 months — up 7%.
Recalls: 69 recall campaigns across the tracked model years, most of them received in 2022 (20). 25 NHTSA investigations touch Tesla models, 8 of them still open.
Models
| Models | Segments | Complaints | Complaints per year on the road | Complaint index | Trend | Recent activity | Recalls | Investigations | Most common issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | Electric vehicles | 3,850 | 112.3 | 2.78 | Stable | Within ±30% year on year | 43 | 18 | Driver-assist systems |
| Tesla Model 3 | Electric vehicles | 4,327 | 91.6 | 2.27 | Worsening | Within ±30% year on year | 36 | 18 | Driver-assist systems |
| Tesla Model X | Electric vehicles | 752 | 17.1 | 0.42 | Worsening | Within ±30% year on year | 33 | 18 | Unspecified or other |
| Tesla Model S | Electric vehicles | 723 | 16.1 | 0.4 | Worsening | Falling | 31 | 19 | Unspecified or other |
1.00 means the same rate as the comparison group. 2.00 means twice as many complaints per year on the road.
By model year · Complaints per year on the road
All-vehicle average: 40.4
What owners complain about
vs. all vehicles: 1.00 = All-vehicle average
Recalls by year received
Do-not-drive / park-outside: 0
Investigations
- Lower Lateral Link detachment Open
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 156 complaints alleging a suspension failure in model year (MY) 2018-2020 Model 3 and MY 2021-2023 Model Y vehicles. The suspension failure involves the detachment of the front lower lateral link, which potentially causes a loss of vehicle directional control. In most cases, there was no advance warning or indication that the suspension failur…
- FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions Open
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Engineering Analysis to evaluate Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) degradation detection system. The focus of this investigation will be to assess the system’s ability, when encountering reduced roadway visibility conditions, to detect degradation and alert the driver with sufficient time …
- Emergency egress controls are not readily accessible and clearly identifiable. Closed
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has completed its review of a defect petition received on November 24, 2025, requesting an investigation into the emergency mechanical door release in 2022 Model Year (MY) Tesla Model 3. The petition alleges that the controls for the emergency mechanical door release are not accessible and clearly identifiable and thus fail to comply with Federal Motor Ve…
- Traffic safety violations while Full Self Driving ("FSD") is engaged Open
The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) is opening this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of FSD executing driving maneuvers that constitute traffic safety violations. This investigation concerns versions of FSD that Tesla has labeled as "FSD (Supervised)" and "FSD (Beta)." Tesla characterizes FSD as an SAE Level 2 partial automation sy…
- Electronic door handles become inoperative Open
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received nine Vehicle Owners Questionnaires (VOQs) reporting an inability to open doors on Model Year (MY) 2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles. The most commonly reported scenarios involved parents exiting the vehicle after a drive cycle in order to remove a child from the back seat or placing a child in the back seat before starting a drive cycle. In those ev…
- Compliance with Standing General Order 2021-01 Reporting Requirements Open
The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) has identified numerous incident reports submitted by Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) in response to Standing General Order 2021-01 (the “SGO”), in which the reported crashes occurred several months or more before the dates of the reports. The majority of these reports involved crashes in which the Standing General Order in place at the time required a report to b…
- Actually Smart Summon sessions resulting in low-speed impacts. Closed
On January 6, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation 24003 (PE24033) to investigate Actually Smart Summon (Summon) sessions resulting in crashes during active sessions. According to Tesla, Summon is a short-distance SAE Level 2 system, controlled by the user from a cell phone within a certain distance and intended for use in parking lots and on private prope…
- FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions Closed
On October 17, 2024, NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24031) of Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) to assess: the ability of the FSD system to detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions; whether any other FSD crashes had occurred under degraded roadway visibility condit…