Tesla Model S vs Ford Expedition

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	Tesla Model S	Ford Expedition
Complaints on file	5,291	12,004
Model years covered	2012–2026	1991–2026
Worst model year	2016	2003
Best model year	2024	2026
Crashes reported	660	740
Fires reported	94	848
Injuries reported	207	610
Deaths reported	35	33
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	18.8%	18.6%

Tesla Model S by year

89 677 546 1,057 1,029 674 288 73 123 279 199 166 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 864 16.3%

Suspension 731 13.8%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 673 12.7%

Steering 345 6.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 273 5.2%

Brakes 209 4.0%

Lights 195 3.7%

Ford Expedition by year

1 1 4 1 3 1,065 1,022 1,137 1,136 742 415 800 381 452 395 267 179 42 74 92 167 116 97 229 280 480 482 640 547 302 173 93 113 58 18

91 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 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

Engine & Cooling 2,044 17.0%

Transmission & Drivetrain 1,584 13.2%

Electrical System 1,414 11.8%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 838 7.0%

Brakes 770 6.4%

Tires 690 5.7%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 635 5.3%

Suspension 561 4.7%