2021 Tesla Model S: Recalls, Complaints & California Lemon Law

STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The horn button on the yoke steering wheel is a safety hazard. In a situation that requires quick responsiveness immediate reaction is to press the center of the steering wheel. Tesla has come out with a retro fit and the new yoke has it in the cente | The position of the horn button on the steering yoke is problematic. The horn button on the 2021 Tesla model S is operated by the right thumb. This position causes activation problems in various situations. One example is where quick horn use is requ | During afternoon commute in a residential area, driving at 19 mph, a cat running after some type of lizard run in front of my car. I have been driving for the last 40 years, safe driver designation on my license, and have more than 1,000,000 miles o

Allegedly reported: 1 death (as reported to NHTSA).

SERVICE BRAKES

To avoid collision on the highway with a deer crossing in front of me, I braked very hard. The left rear brake caliper mount broke as a result. I did not lose brake fluid pressure, thankfully but this could’ve been a catastrophic failure. I contacted | Im having total braking loss around freezing temps The issue occurs around freezing temps, after a car wash or if the roads are wet after driving on the highway for 20-30min without using the brakes. (Using one pedal driving) Last year I had the sa | Brakes are not strong enough to brake tires loose or cause anti lock. My Chevrolet Colorado out stops my Tesla. Hit an animal that my truck would not have. Helpless feeling.

STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Tesla Model S 2021 Long Range: Upon closing the rear trunk close button from the app or close button on the hatch, the hatch goes down but won’t lock. It gives 3 beeps. Upon pressing open, it won’t go up and gives 3 beeps. | Spontaneous explosion of front passenger door window while driving

STEERING

I am the owner of a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid (VIN# [XXX] ). At approximately 12,000 miles—well within the 4-year/50,000-mile Basic Vehicle Warranty—I began experiencing peeling on the yoke steering wheel. I reported this issue verbally at the time, b | I have the yoke steering wheel. To activate the horn, you press on the right side of the steering wheel. I was driving at freeway speeds and a car did not see me and started to move into my lane. Due to the placement of the horn on the side next t | Due to the yoke not having a traditional horn button it is hard to remember to push the tiny capacative touch button... very dangerous. Also the yoke feels more dangerous than a normal wheel.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Driving on divided highway at night, the car slowed dramatically at each exit from the highway. | Vehicle braked without warning with cruise control engaged. Luckily there were no other vehicles near us when this phantom braking occurred. | The Traffic-Aware Cruise Control has been braking unexpectedly and for no valid reason. The most recent example was when we were driving along US Hwy 24 between Wilkerson Pass and Fairplay, CO. The car suddenly braked even though there was no hazar

SUSPENSION

I purchased my Tesla in September 2021. At 12000 miles, I had to replace both rear tires due to severe inside wear. I replaced them and continued driving, but at 22000 miles, the same issue occurred. Each time, I performed service exclusively at Tesl | There is a repeated issue with my vehicle and I looked it up online and it seems all Tesla Model S vehicles have this issue. This is the 2nd time I've had this same issue. As I go over any bumps, accelerate, or decelerate there's a clicking sound com | The suspension is very stiff and to the point when the smallest of pot holes, road bumps, or going over the road divider marker sends the shock to the body of the passenger. My family complaints of neck pain after a short ride. I live in San Jose, CA

TIRES

Certified pre-owned 2021 Tesla Model S delivered on October 21, 2025 with worn Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires (255/35ZR21 front, 295/30ZR21 rear). Tread depth measured approximately 2/32" on the outer tread shoulders of all four tires, below Te | I have a 2021 Tesla Model S Long Range with rear tire size 295 / 30 ZR 21. Both rear tires are worn so bad on the insides that the cords are showing. These tires were purchased and installed by Tesla along with a wheel alignment under 10,000 miles ag | 295 / 30ZR 21 - My tire failed well before the tread life expired. You can see in the attached images that the tire failed at the meeting point between the tread and the sidewall.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

On [XXX] at approximately [XXX] I was driving down a small back alley/street in Baltimore when my Tesla Model S Plaid sedan stopped operating. It would not restart, including with the emergency restart bar. Since I was unable to restart it, I left | The blinkers on the steering wheel inadvertently stop working from time to time causing a dangerous situation for myself and the drivers around me. | The start up chime that dings when the car starts plays CONTINUOUSLY while the car is driven. This is not only distracting, but it prevents the driver from hearing the other dings that are associated with the safety systems (collision warning, lane d

SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Third time this week I have been thrown forward into the steering wheel with no cars or objects surrounding me. | Another automatic phantom braking throwing us toward in the car with no objects or other cars in proximity. | Our Tesla, in the "Full Self Drive" mode, has on more than one occasion applied the brakes suddenly without warning while traveling on the freeways. The date I indicate below was the last occurrence. I see that others have indicated this malady and

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The reverse lights are incredibly insufficient and pose a safety risk when backing up. The lights are so dim, they are virtually ineffective to the point that they illuminate nothing that may be behind the car. This is not a bulb issue as they came f | Passenger side headlight, daytime running light portion, is flickering, approximately 1-2 times a minute. I only noticed this as I parked in a dark garage with my lights on, seeing the light flickering against the wall. There is no warning from my ca | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH and attempting to switch lanes, he attempted to use the turn signals; however, the turn signals were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; howev

WHEELS

Have just learned (on routine check) that Front/Rear tire configuration has been backwards since delivery from the FACTORY; 24 mo, 24k miles. Factory specified FRONT REAR 255/45R19 285/40R19 NOTE REVERSAL Actual upon delivery FRONT | The OEM 21 inch wheel cracked which resulted in a flattening tire. | On both rear tires on the inner part of the tire the tread on Michelin 295 30zr21 is literally coming apart on both tires. Both at rear , no pot holes have been hit. rims are immaculate. Car was purchased brand new and only has 9800 miles. Almost li

AIR BAGS

The airbag module installed in the yoke has popped out while driving. It currently hangs by a wire. This makes the car completely inoperable safely. In fact had the airbag ever gone off in this condition it could cause serious injury and possibly dea | Tesla Service Center canceling appointments to repair driver airbag recall. Numerous attempts to have recall accomplished with Tesla Service Center in Palm Springs, CA. Unsuccessful since November 2021 (3 months). | Safety restraint system malfunction. On January 18, 2022 this brand new car, only 3 days old with 1,000 miles, suffered a malfunction with the safety restraint system and displayed the following warning: "Safety restraint system fault - Service is re

LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

There was a trash can on the edge of the road and my vehicle was in autopilot/FSD mode and for some reason it swerved over too close to the edge of the road. I intervened in time to avoid hitting the trash can head-on but it still struck the passeng | While using wildly falsely marketed $10k "full self driving" add-on across multiple software revisions and after reporting each and every bug to company I have experienced potentially fatal phantom breaking while at highway speeds and could have been

SUSPENSION,WHEELS

Premature tire wear. Inside edges of rear tires wore out in 10k miles | The 2021 and beyond Tesla Model S comes installed with camber arms that cause the wheel to be tilted in and thus wears the tire on the inside to the point of wearing out within 6 months. This is a flaw in the building and pertains to all the model S' | The inner edge of rear tires wear out very quickly leading to loss air pressure. Many other owner of Tesla 2021+ on 21 inch wheels and Michelin stock tires have exact same issue. Very dangerous if the tire bursts on highway, can lead to serious accid

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver’s side indicator was inoperable on the yoke steering wheel. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The vehicle w | While driving with a fully charged battery, the car dash warned “pull over to safe location. Battery cannot support all functions”. We were unable to fully pull over in the time before the car experienced a critical loss of functionality, as the car

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the message “Climate Control System Service Required” was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the local Tesla Service Center however, the | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the man | The contact's wife owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that after his wife entered the vehicle and closed the driver's side front door, the driver's side front window exploded. There was no impact on the window that could have caused it to

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was connected to the charging port and independently went into Race mode. The contact stated that the charge increased from 0 to 60 instantly. Th | The horn is a small button in a very small area of the steering wheel. The center of the steering wheel which acts as a horn on almost all other vehicles, does not work. In the event of an emergency, and the horn needs to be activated, it is diffic | The instrument panel (screen) goes blank for approximately 5 seconds while driving. This issue happens at random. It has happened while on city streets, the highway, and in parking lots. Because of this issue, I cannot see my speed, the visualization

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Driving Southeast on [XXX] between Gallup, NM and Albuquerque, NM. I was traveling at 75 MPH on an open road, it was a sunny day. I had the adaptive cruise control engaged (ACC). Literally no traffic in front of me for as far as the eye can see. Noth | The adaptive cruise control has had phantom braking issues from day 1 of ownership (and through every software release from Tesla as I always update when a new one is available). Most of the time it's not possible to identify exactly what triggers th | Adaptive Cruise Control. The vehicle in this mode suddenly brakes for no apparent reason which under the right circumstances could cause a collision. Tesla Service Center looked at it but could not reproduce. This has happened many times on various

STRUCTURE

Front license plate holder is required in California. The bracket that holds the plate on the car is secured to the bumper with adhesive tape only. My bracket became loose, and thankfully we were able to retrieve the plate and bracket upon parking. T | I recently encountered a problem with my Tesla where the drivers door opened on its own while operating the vehicle. Tesla reported it was a faulty door handle. I am concerned that the software interlocks related to the door operation have anomalies | Drivers door will not latch and car thinks the door is closed/latched. This allows the driver to drive away with the door unlatched. I've had to open and close the door while moving to get it to latch which is obviously unsafe. In attached picture yo

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 70-75 MPH with the Autonomous Self-Driving feature activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking on numerous occasions. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 72 MPH with the autonomous self-driving feature activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or deale

LANE DEPARTURE

I have never received an audible alert for my blind spot warning. There is no light on the outside mirrors or anywhere else inside the vehicle to catch your attention. If I am looking at my display in front of my steering wheel I will see a car that | Autopilot cut off while driving on curved highway exit ramp, leading to driver's side of car grazing guard rail and rims of wheels grazing curb. Mostly paint damage. Repair estimate: $7,000.00 Car sustained minor damage, but I was told by collisio | Right and left door pillar cameras accumulate condensation, leaving door pillar cameras “blocked or blinded.” This affects collision avoidance. While the owners manual mentions that condensation can accumulate in these cameras, the stated remedy

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH or slower, the pedestrian alert warning system failed to activate as designed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the mechan | This was a Autodrive malfunction event on a brand new Tesla Model S. I was in standstill traffic when my car, which had been engaged in Autodrive, lurched forward and suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed into the car in front of us, without

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I bought my car used last year! I have almost been involved in many accidents with this car! There is only 1 small button for the horn mixed in with other buttons on the right side of the steering wheel! When stress hits because somebody is heading r | I received recall notice for 24V-554 on 9/22/2024. The recall notice informs that Tesla will resolve the recall safety defect by over-the-air update via the car's WIFI capabilities. I have informed Tesla that my car's WIFI capabilities are broken and | The horn is a button. As someone almost steered into me, I looked down to find the horn and almost ran into a child as my car swerved!!! This is incredibly unsafe to hide the horn button in an incredibly small area next to the wiper button and cruis