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2014 Tesla Model S Recalls & Complaints

9

open safety recalls on record

Critical

546 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 1.04 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical19V002000

Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module

inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy & full details

Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the passenger frontal air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began May 29, 2019. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-19-20-001.

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling all 2014-2016 Model S vehicles equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Serious17V260000

Parking Brake

If the gear breaks during parking brake release, the vehicle will not be able to be moved.

Remedy & full details

Tesla will notify owners, and service centers will replace both the left and right electric parking brake calipers, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2018. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-17-33-002.

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016 Model S and Model X vehicles. The electric parking brake calipers have an internal gear that may be improperly manufactured, possibly resulting in the gear fracturing during parking brake application or release.

Serious18V204000

Steering:Electric Power Assist System

Loss of power steering assist would require a higher steering effort, especially at lower speeds, which may raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the steering gear mounting bolts and add a corrosion-preventative sealer, free of charge. The recall began May 7, 2019. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-18-32-002.

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with Bosch steering racks. The aluminum bolts that attach the power steering gear assist motor to the gear housing may corrode and fracture causing a reduction or complete loss of power steering assist.

Serious15V780000

Seat Belts:Front

If the seat belt is not correctly attached to the pretensioner, it may not properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

Tesla will notify owners, and service centers will inspect the driver and front passenger seat belts, correcting their connection, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 14, 2015. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-15-20-002.

Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Model S vehicles manufactured May 31, 2012, to November 12, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with driver or front passenger seat belts that may be improperly connected to the outboard lap pretensioner.

Serious21V035000

Back Over Prevention:Software

The eMMC controller wear-out condition can cause the loss of the rearview camera display, defrost/defog control settings, and exterior turn signal lighting, reducing visibility and raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Owners should ensure their vehicles are operating firmware release 2020.48.48.12 or newer, which will alert owners if the eMMC is approaching lifetime wear. Tesla will notify owners, and will replace the VCM daughterboard with one containing an enhanced eMMC controller, free of charge. The recall began March 29, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-21-001.

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Tesla Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles with a center display equipped with a NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and an 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device. When the 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device for the center display reaches lifetime wear, the eMMC controller will no longer be able to maintain the integrity of the filesystem, causing a failure in some of the center display functions.

Serious21V00B000

Latches/Locks/Linkages:Hood:Latch

If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly, obstructing the driver's view and raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Tesla Service will inspect and reposition the latch assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 18, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-11-003.

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2014-2021 Model S vehicles. The front trunk latch assembly may be misaligned, preventing the secondary hood latch from engaging. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 113, "Hood Latch System."

Serious23V838000

Electrical System:Adas:Autonomous/Self Driving:Software

In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, and the driver does not maintain responsibility for vehicle operation and is unprepared to intervene as necessary or fails to recognize when Autosteer is canceled or not engaged, there…

Remedy & full details

Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-23-00-008.

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with all versions of Autosteer leading up to the version(s) that contains the recall remedy. In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the prominence and scope of the feature's controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse of the SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance feature.

Serious24V051000

Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel

Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Tesla began releasing an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-003.

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, 2019-2024 Model Y, and 2024 Cybertruck vehicles. An incorrect font size is displayed on the instrument panel for the Brake, Park, and Antilock Brake System (ABS) warning lights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 105, "Hydraulic and Electric Brake Systems" and 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."

Serious24V376000

Seat Belts:Front:Warning Light/Devices

seat belt warning system that fails to alert occupants of an unbelted seat belt can raises the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy & full details

Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update. Owner notification letters were mailed July 26, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-008.

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2024 Model S, 2015-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. In the event of an unbelted driver, the seat belt warning light and audible chime may not activate as intended. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Complaint volume

546 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

76Crashes
12Fires
28Injuries
27Deaths

Across 546 complaints. Severity Index 1.04.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Electrical System130 · 24%Suspension89 · 16%Unknown Or Other82 · 15%Power Train27 · 5%Steering27 · 5%Exterior Lighting27 · 5%Structure · Body25 · 5%Fuel/Propulsion System23 · 4%
  1. Electrical System — 130 reports
  2. Suspension — 89 reports
  3. Unknown Or Other — 82 reports
  4. Power Train — 27 reports
  5. Steering — 27 reports
  6. Exterior Lighting — 27 reports
  7. Structure:Body — 25 reports
  8. Fuel/Propulsion System — 23 reports
  9. Vehicle Speed Control — 22 reports
  10. Visibility/Wiper — 15 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

2012 (8) · 2013 (11) · 2014 · 2015 (9) · 2016 (10) · 2017 (9) · 2018 (11) · 2019 (10) · 2020 (11) · 2021 (24) · 2022 (20) · 2023 (13) · 2024 (6) · 2025 (2) · 2026

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.