Ford Escape Hybrid vs Tesla Model S

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Ford Escape Hybrid	Tesla Model S
Complaints on file	2,267	5,283
Model years covered	2005–2025	2012–2026
Worst model year	2020	2016
Best model year	2010	2024
Crashes reported	69	659
Fires reported	18	94
Injuries reported	27	207
Deaths reported	0	35
Most complained-about part	Brakes	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	5%	18.8%

Ford Escape Hybrid by year

237 305 156 584 194 73 47 20 10 367 150 87 32 4 1

05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 20 21 22 23 24 25

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Brakes 434 19.1%

Engine & Cooling 417 18.4%

Steering 278 12.3%

Electrical System 238 10.5%

Body & Structure 187 8.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 157 6.9%

Other & Unspecified 132 5.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 120 5.3%

Tesla Model S by year

89 677 546 1,057 1,027 673 288 73 123 279 198 162 78 7 6

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 1,001 18.9%

Other & Unspecified 863 16.3%

Suspension 730 13.8%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 672 12.7%

Steering 344 6.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 273 5.2%

Brakes 208 3.9%

Lights 195 3.7%