2012 Tesla Model S
Safety Score
72
Average
Recalls
4
Complaints
50
NCAP Stars
—
Recalls (4)
| Date | NHTSA ID | Component | Units | Completion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-28 | 24V376000 |
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WARNING LIGHT/DEVICES | 125,233 | — | Details |
| 2024-01-30 | 24V051000 |
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL | 2,193,869 | — | Details |
| 2021-01-29 | 21V035000 |
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM | 134,951 | — | Details |
| 2017-01-10 | 17V023000 |
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE | 2,997 | — | Details |
Owner Complaints (showing up to 50)
| Date | Component | Crash | Injuries | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-26 | AIR BAGS | No | 0 | In the evening of [XXX] of this year, the driver door airbag in my 2012 Tesla Model S self-deployed as I opened the car… |
| 2023-01-19 | POWER TRAIN | No | 0 | The drive unit has water damage from normal driving. The car never went through deep water or was flooded, but the tech… |
| 2022-11-29 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | I tried to start the car and got the “Center Display unavailable” message. Reset the computer doesn’t help. I have to w… |
| 2022-09-12 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | I charge my Model S on a 30 amp circuit with the car location amperage set to 20 amps to avoid overheating the circuit.… |
| 2022-03-08 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | No | 0 | Both the 12 volt system and High voltage battery system or a component communicating between the two failed. I receive… |
| 2021-12-01 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | The vehicle was not experiencing display or review view camera display issues but was out of caution serviced nuder Man… |
| 2021-11-19 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | No | 0 | MCU failure after 12 months replacement that I paid for at time of replacement. Service center cannot schedule a servic… |
| 2021-11-18 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | I appears that Tesla had capped my battery. I have lost significant range for no reason and they have no explanation. |
| 2021-10-05 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | No | 0 | As the car drains the battery pretty quickly, I have turned on energy saving mode. In this mode the car enters a deepe… |
| 2021-09-22 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | No | 0 | The contact owns a 2012 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over… |
| 2021-08-21 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | The contact owns a 2012 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle made an abn… |
| 2021-08-18 | POWER TRAIN | No | 0 | The contact owns a 2012 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle independently shifted to ne… |
| 2021-07-22 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | I recently had my Tesla Model S serviced due to the touchscreen going blank (losing functionality of defrosting, temper… |
| 2021-05-17 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | No | 0 | eMMU seem to have caused "Console display not available error" |
| 2021-04-12 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY OVER THE HILL THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN ON ME AND IT WAS 43% ON THE BATTERY AND IT KEEPS SHOWI… |
| 2021-03-09 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | I REACHED OUT TO TESLA ABOUT THE EMMC RECALL. I BOOKED AN APPOINTMENT, PROVIDED PHOTOS OF VARIOUS BLACKOUT, SCREEN FREE… |
| 2021-02-11 | ENGINE | No | 0 | Motor is starting to make sounds and according to teslamotorsclub.com the motor will fail eventually. Many have to had … |
| 2021-01-20 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | No | 0 | THERE IS A KNOW PROBLEM WITH THE TESLA INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM FAILING SO I HAD MINE UPGRADED. NOW THE REAR CAMERA IS NEARL… |
| 2020-12-28 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | THE HEATER AND DEFROSTER STOPPED WORKING IN THIS COLD WEATHER AS WE WERE DRIVING HOME WITH MY SONS. THEY WERE FREEZING … |
| 2020-11-23 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | No | 0 | ON NOVEMBER 23RD 2020 I TOOK MY MODEL S ([XXX]) TO TESLA SERVICE CENTER LANCASTER, PA FOR THE TESLA WARRANTY ADJUSTMENT… |
| 2020-11-01 | SUSPENSION | No | 0 | HERE IS A TERDSLA IN THE JUNKYARD HTTPS://WWW.IAAI.COM/VEHICLEDETAILS/38424109?ROWNUMBER=4 FRONT SUSPENSION HAS COL… |
| 2020-11-01 | SUSPENSION | No | 0 | YOU ARE INVESTIGATING TESLA FRONT SUSPENSION FAILURES. YOU SHOULD ALSO INVESTIGATE TESLA REAR SUSPENSION FAILURES. HE… |
| 2020-10-20 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | THE MCU - MEDIA CONTROL UNIT IS SLOW TO RESPOND TO INPUTS AND SLOW TO STARTUP WHEN ENTERING THE VEHICLE. THE SCREEN HAS… |
| 2020-10-20 | EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:INFOTAINMENT:VIDEO (TOUCH)SCREEN/MONITOR/UNIT | No | 0 | TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT WAS INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE … |
| 2020-09-01 | POWER TRAIN | No | 0 | The contact owns a 2012 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal hummin… |
| 2020-08-28 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | Tesla has rejected my claim for repayment for the emmc repair that I paid for that was performed by their Toledo, OH Se… |
| 2020-08-06 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | MAIN INFOTAINMENT SCREEN FAILS TO RESPOND AND NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED FREQUENTLY |
| 2020-07-14 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | THE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM IS FREEZING WHICH DOESN'T ALLOW YOU TO USE ANY FEATURES OF THE CAR EXCEPT BASIC DRIVING FUNCTIO… |
| 2020-07-10 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | THE TOUCH SCREEN ON THE TESLA IS BLACK AND WILL NOT TURN ON. IT'S AS IF THE COMPUTER IS DEAD. IT WAS WORKING I PARKED … |
| 2020-06-29 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | No | 0 | W MCU GOING OUT CONCERNING I CANNOT SAFELY OPERATE VEHICLE. NO WAY TO CONTROL DEFROSTING. ALSO DOOR HANDLES STICK AND P… |
| 2020-06-25 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | THE MAIN COMPUTER IN CAR - MEDIA CONTROL UNIT - MALFUNCTIONED... IT CRASHED AND CAUSED NO TURN SIGNALS, NO REAR VIEW CA… |
| 2020-06-22 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | TOUCHSCREEN LOCKS UP AND PERIODICALLY NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. GETTING WORSE, ALSO NEEDS TO BE … |
| 2020-06-20 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | MULTIPLE TIMES MY MASTER CONTROL UNIT IN MY CAR IS FREEZING AND LOCKING UP. IT REQUIRES A HARD REBOOT WHICH TAKES SEVE… |
| 2020-06-15 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | No | 0 | THE VEHICLE'S MAIN DISPLAY, WHICH SHOWS THE BACKUP CAMERA, FREEZES/LOCKS WHEN TURNING ON THE VEHICLE. THE ERROR MESSAG… |
| 2020-06-12 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | No | 0 | THE TOUCHSCREEN ON MY 2012 TESLA MODEL S BECOMES UNRESPONSIVE EACH TIME I START THE CAR. THIS DRAMATICALLY LIMITS THE C… |
| 2020-06-07 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | WHILE DRIVING MY VEHICLE THE MCU RANDOMLY SHUTS DOWN I LOSE MY INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SPEEDOMETER AND OTHER FUNCTIONS UNTIL… |
| 2020-06-06 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | MCU FAILURE CAUSING COMPLETE LOSS OF INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, NO BACKUP CAMERA, NO DEFROST CONTROLS, AND INABILITY TO ACCESS… |
| 2020-05-15 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | EACH TIME THE TESLA S IS STARTED THE LARGE TOUCH DISPLAY SCREEN IS INOPERATIVE. NO FUNCTION ON THE SCREEN WORKS. THE RE… |
| 2020-04-07 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) FAILED TO OPERATE AS… |
| 2020-03-19 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | MY MAIN COMPUTER WENT OUT AS I GOT HOME. SCREEN JUST WENT BLACK AS I PULLED IN GARAGE. AC RAN ALL NIGHT, WOULDN'T TURN … |
| 2020-03-02 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | CAR WON'T START, COMPUTER PROBLEMS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, AFTER MULTIPLE CALLS TESLA HAD NO RECORD OF PRIOR COMPLAINTS … |
| 2020-01-14 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO MY MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) AND TOUCHSCREEN FAILED, REQUIRING A REPLACEMENT. I JUST READ AN ARTICLE… |
| 2019-12-28 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | LOSS OF REAR VIEW CAMERA. THE MIDDLE TOUCH SCREEN OR MCU QUIT WORKING. THIS IS MY 3RD MCU. THE CAR HAS 41K MILES. T… |
| 2019-09-17 | STRUCTURE:BODY | No | 0 | SLOWLY BACKING UP AND REAR SUB FRAME MOTOR MOUNT BROKE. ON A CITY STREET UNDER 5MPH |
| 2019-08-15 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | Yes | 0 | CAUSE UNKNOWN. THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED JUST BEFORE ENTERING INTO A HEAD IN PARKING SPACE WHEN WITH THE BRAKE DEPRESSED,… |
| 2019-06-13 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | THE MCU ON MY 2012 TESLA MODEL S FAILED IN JUNE OF 2019, WHEN MY CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE CENTER SCREEN WENT AND S… |
| 2019-05-24 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | THIS COMPLAINT MAY REFER TO THE REFERENCE NUMBER PROVIDED BELOW: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT:… |
| 2019-05-08 | STRUCTURE:BODY | No | 0 | I HAVE A 2012 TESLA MODEL S P85 WITH 90,000 MILES. I NOTICED THE CAR FISHTAIL AGGRESSIVELY WHEN I ACCELERATED A FEW WEE… |
| 2019-02-21 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | No | 0 | This is related to NHTSA recall 21V-035. Tesla replaced the 8Gb memory card with a 64Gb memory card (so I'm told) but t… |
| 2019-01-01 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No | 0 | MCU FAILURE. VEHICLE NOT SAFELY DRIVEABLE |