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2017 Tesla Model S problems & recalls

NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2017 Tesla Model S and owners have filed 379 complaints. The most-reported area is electrical system (104 complaints). 4 complaints describe a fire and 46 complaints describe a crash.

Recalls
0
Complaints
379
Crash reports
46
Fire reports
4
Injuries
22

Recalls (0)

NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2017 Model S.

Owner complaints (379)

What owners reported to NHTSA, by component. One complaint can name several components.

  • Electrical system104
  • Suspension104
  • Unknown or other88
  • Steering42
  • Forward collision avoidance41
  • Vehicle speed control33
  • Exterior lighting24
  • Service brakes20
  • Lane departure19
  • Back over prevention17
  • Visibility/wiper14
  • Structure13

Complaints over time

Apr 2017: 2 complaintsMay 2017: 0 complaintsJun 2017: 0 complaintsJul 2017: 2 complaintsAug 2017: 3 complaintsSep 2017: 2 complaintsOct 2017: 1 complaintNov 2017: 7 complaintsDec 2017: 1 complaintJan 2018: 6 complaintsFeb 2018: 4 complaintsMar 2018: 9 complaintsApr 2018: 3 complaintsMay 2018: 10 complaintsJun 2018: 1 complaintJul 2018: 1 complaintAug 2018: 1 complaintSep 2018: 1 complaintOct 2018: 1 complaintNov 2018: 3 complaintsDec 2018: 2 complaintsJan 2019: 1 complaintFeb 2019: 1 complaintMar 2019: 1 complaintApr 2019: 2 complaintsMay 2019: 1 complaintJun 2019: 1 complaintJul 2019: 2 complaintsAug 2019: 1 complaintSep 2019: 0 complaintsOct 2019: 3 complaintsNov 2019: 2 complaintsDec 2019: 3 complaintsJan 2020: 4 complaintsFeb 2020: 3 complaintsMar 2020: 0 complaintsApr 2020: 0 complaintsMay 2020: 0 complaintsJun 2020: 8 complaintsJul 2020: 13 complaintsAug 2020: 7 complaintsSep 2020: 6 complaintsOct 2020: 2 complaintsNov 2020: 25 complaintsDec 2020: 6 complaintsJan 2021: 24 complaintsFeb 2021: 13 complaintsMar 2021: 6 complaintsApr 2021: 6 complaintsMay 2021: 6 complaintsJun 2021: 4 complaintsJul 2021: 3 complaintsAug 2021: 2 complaintsSep 2021: 1 complaintOct 2021: 8 complaintsNov 2021: 1 complaintDec 2021: 7 complaintsJan 2022: 3 complaintsFeb 2022: 18 complaintsMar 2022: 4 complaintsApr 2022: 2 complaintsMay 2022: 3 complaintsJun 2022: 8 complaintsJul 2022: 3 complaintsAug 2022: 3 complaintsSep 2022: 8 complaintsOct 2022: 9 complaintsNov 2022: 5 complaintsDec 2022: 1 complaintJan 2023: 3 complaintsFeb 2023: 7 complaintsMar 2023: 2 complaintsApr 2023: 3 complaintsMay 2023: 1 complaintJun 2023: 4 complaintsJul 2023: 4 complaintsAug 2023: 5 complaintsSep 2023: 0 complaintsOct 2023: 1 complaintNov 2023: 1 complaintDec 2023: 3 complaintsJan 2024: 0 complaintsFeb 2024: 4 complaintsMar 2024: 8 complaintsApr 2024: 4 complaintsMay 2024: 2 complaintsJun 2024: 1 complaintJul 2024: 1 complaintAug 2024: 5 complaintsSep 2024: 0 complaintsOct 2024: 2 complaintsNov 2024: 3 complaintsDec 2024: 4 complaintsJan 2025: 2 complaintsFeb 2025: 1 complaintMar 2025: 1 complaintApr 2025: 1 complaintMay 2025: 4 complaintsJun 2025: 2 complaints20182019202020212022202320242025
Complaints filed per month. Peak: 25 in Nov 2020. Hover a bar for its count.
Complaints filed per month
MonthComplaints
Apr 20172
May 20170
Jun 20170
Jul 20172
Aug 20173
Sep 20172
Oct 20171
Nov 20177
Dec 20171
Jan 20186
Feb 20184
Mar 20189
Apr 20183
May 201810
Jun 20181
Jul 20181
Aug 20181
Sep 20181
Oct 20181
Nov 20183
Dec 20182
Jan 20191
Feb 20191
Mar 20191
Apr 20192
May 20191
Jun 20191
Jul 20192
Aug 20191
Sep 20190
Oct 20193
Nov 20192
Dec 20193
Jan 20204
Feb 20203
Mar 20200
Apr 20200
May 20200
Jun 20208
Jul 202013
Aug 20207
Sep 20206
Oct 20202
Nov 202025
Dec 20206
Jan 202124
Feb 202113
Mar 20216
Apr 20216
May 20216
Jun 20214
Jul 20213
Aug 20212
Sep 20211
Oct 20218
Nov 20211
Dec 20217
Jan 20223
Feb 202218
Mar 20224
Apr 20222
May 20223
Jun 20228
Jul 20223
Aug 20223
Sep 20228
Oct 20229
Nov 20225
Dec 20221
Jan 20233
Feb 20237
Mar 20232
Apr 20233
May 20231
Jun 20234
Jul 20234
Aug 20235
Sep 20230
Oct 20231
Nov 20231
Dec 20233
Jan 20240
Feb 20244
Mar 20248
Apr 20244
May 20242
Jun 20241
Jul 20241
Aug 20245
Sep 20240
Oct 20242
Nov 20243
Dec 20244
Jan 20252
Feb 20251
Mar 20251
Apr 20251
May 20254
Jun 20252

Recent owner reports

Jun 10, 2025Steering, Lane departure

While merging onto the highway an error message showed up on the dash stating "Steering Assist May be Reduced" upon immediately after the steering froze and could only be moved slightly using significant force. Approx. 75lbs. I am athletic and work out and had trouble moving the car to the side. If my wife or daughter had driven the car they would not have been able to steer and this could have caused a significant accident, injury or death. Upon pulling over, I rebooted both computers on the Tesla Model S 75 D and the problem went away. I immediately drove to the Tesla dealer in Chesterfield,…

Jun 6, 2025Steering

The intermediate steering shaft is binding, causing difficulty turning the wheel and inconsistent steering wheel feel. It often will cause the full self driving to disengage during turns Tesla has revised the part that now includes a protective rubber bootyet has not issued a recall as the part accumulates debris and rust out and binding the universal joint

May 8, 2025Steering

As I was driving down my driveway to the street the power steering failed. It was extremely difficult to then steer. My wife would have been unable to. I was able to re-enter the driveway, with GREAT difficulty from which the car was towed on a flatbed to the local Tesla service center. Had I been on busy city streets of highway I fear what would have happened. The service center cited the failure of a fuse ( fuse part # FUSE,BF180A,32V; #1071379-80-A) Though the car is a 2017 model the odometer shows 42,302 miles. I don’t know if this a systematic issue but I view it as a safety issue…

May 4, 2025Steering, Lane departure

Using software version 2025.14.1 with FSD (Full Self Driving) version 12.6.4. About 50% of the time the vehicle attempts and fails to change lanes when using FSD. It will: 1. Turn on signal and not change lanes, confusing cars around me. Or more often 2. Swerve between lanes indefinitely. See example at [XXX] It drives like a drunk driver. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

May 4, 2025Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance

Software 2025.14.1, Full Self Driving 12.6.4 (FSD). Vehicle when using FSD continuously slows to 10 MPH below the speed limit. You can manually press the accelerator to speed up but FSD will not brake when doing so and warns you of the same. After a minute of being back at the speed limit, FSD again slows down. Repeat this process constantly. Very dangerous.

May 1, 2025Unknown or other⚠ Fire⚠ Crash

I am reporting a traumatic incident involving a 2017 Tesla Model S (loaner) that crashed on [XXX], in Arizona while Autopilot was engaged. We were traveling eastbound at 55 mph on [XXX] near [XXX] when the vehicle suddenly pulled hard left into the median and hit a tree. I briefly lost consciousness and suffered a concussion; my passenger sustained a broken back and thumb. Smoke rose from the car, and doors wouldn't open. I’m claustrophobic—it was terrifying. I managed to exit via the front passenger door but couldn't move my friend due to possible spinal injuries. This incident changed our…

Apr 16, 2025Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance

Stoped at intersection. While trying to engage signal lights, hit the stalk below that engages full self driving. Car immediately jumped into intersection .in front of another car and almost collided. Since the last update, Cars with my configuration wave been acting irradely and it is not safe to use FSD.

Mar 20, 2025Unknown or other, Back over prevention

Car auto accelerated in parking lot structure. Hit column; air bags did not deploy so no injury to me, the driver. Dealer refuses to confirm the data to support their conclusion that driver was at fault. Vehicle inspected by dealer owned collision center and dealer related insurance company. No warning or messages prior to auto acceleration.

Tesla Model S news

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall and complaint records, updated Oct 1, 2026. Complaints are owner reports and are not verified by NHTSA. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.