2013 Tesla Model S driver assist problems

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

November 20, 2025 To the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation Subject: Safety Defect Complaint – Tesla Model S I am submitting this complaint regarding a serious and dangerous safety defect involving my Tesla Model S. Safety Defect Summary:    •   After the high-voltage battery failed, the vehicle would not enter Neutral.    •   I had to use Tow Mode in the middle of a street on a hill to avoid blocking traffic.    •   Once in Tow Mode, the car could not enter Park and the emergency/parking brake would not engage.    •   The car became completely free-rolling, posing danger to myself, other drivers, and pedestrians.    •   When Tesla returned the car to my home, their technicians also could not get the vehicle into Park or activate any emergency braking system.    •   The car is currently stuck in Tow Mode in my driveway with physical objects placed behind the wheels to prevent it from rolling. Why This Is a Safety Hazard: A vehicle that cannot shift into Park, cannot use its emergency brake, and remains free-moving after a failure represents a serious safety defect. This occurred without warning and left the vehicle unsafe to operate or even store. Request: I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate this as a potential safety defect affecting the Tesla Model S when the high-voltage battery fails. A car should never lose all ability to secure itself.

NHTSA complaint #11700490 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 57 MPH, the Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking was inadvertently activated. The emergency brake fault and parking brake fault warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and inspected. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that unknown parts needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,143.

NHTSA complaint #11594388 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the center display screen malfunctioned, causing the rearview camera to intermittently fail. Additionally, the failure caused a delay while switching gears to drive(D) and to park(P). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and determined through the Tesla App that the VCM daughterboard needed to be replaced with one containing an enhanced eMMC controller. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 95,500.

NHTSA complaint #11505178 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

Sept 30, 2022. Driving East bound on interstate 10 ,east of Tallahassee FL, car started flashing dash RED. Car applied brakes while going 70 mph. Car made me pull off the road because of applied braking. It would not release the brakes. I called Tesla Roadside assistance, "you have a flat tire". Attached are screenshots. I didn't have a flat tire. Had to get towed 300 miles home. Next day brakes released, drove car. I keep getting error codes everyday. Car has been in service, "nothing wrong". This a safety Hazzard, imagine in heavy traffic on a bridge.

NHTSA complaint #11494985 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). The contact stated that the recall repair was performed twice however, the vehicle experienced an unknown computer failure. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the seats moved independently. The contact was unaware of a warning light being illuminated. The contact stated that the driver’s side seat would revert to the seat settings of the second driver independently while the vehicle was in motion. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the eMMC controller needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure occurred again and the eMMC controller was replaced a second time. The failure persisted. The failure mileage was 123,864.

NHTSA complaint #11485517 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

The car suddenly has a powertrain issue, but it is a widely known problem with some estimates of 66% of all early Teslas having a powertrain issue by 60k miles. Mine happened at 56k. There is clearly a defect with early Tesla powertrains, as they increased the warranty to 8 years or 50k miles. My car is now at 9 years, and because of the low mileage due to covid, they will not cover the powertrain issue of the car. The following are links proving significant issues of my car. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1093907_tesla-model-s-drivetrain-warranty-rises-to-8-years-same-as-battery-pack https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles/tesla-problems-3-major-issues-you-need-to-know-about https://www.autoevolution.com/news/early-tesla-model-s-powertrain-reliability-issues-come-into-question-in-low-volume-study-102773.html I not only have the powertrain issue, but my center screen is also screwed up. This is a massive issue in Teslas because I cannot access my HVAC controls, or any safety controls with this not working. I have contacted Tesla numerous times, I will be happy to provide email exchanges and they have not done anything to help me except want to charge me a lot of money, 9k to fix all of this!

NHTSA complaint #11467079 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

Part II AFTER I EMAILED TESLA KEARNEY MESA SERVICE STATION, WITH MY CONCERN ABOUT THEIR BILLING FOR THE RECALL AND CUSTOMER SERVICE; I WAS SENT A NEW BILLING. MIND YOU, ALL MY ISSUES ARE RELATED TO THE RECALL AND TESLA SCHEMES AND FALSEHOODS. SEE ATTACHED

NHTSA complaint #11457920 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST

Part II AFTER I EMAILED TESLA KEARNEY MESA SERVICE STATION, WITH MY CONCERN ABOUT THEIR BILLING FOR THE RECALL AND CUSTOMER SERVICE; I WAS SENT A NEW BILLING. MIND YOU, ALL MY ISSUES ARE RELATED TO THE RECALL AND TESLA SCHEMES AND FALSEHOODS. SEE ATTACHED

NHTSA complaint #11457920 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA complaint #11453426 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

The vehicle's main center console doesn't work, even after a recall notice from Tesla. Tesla tried to see what was going on with my car, but they could not find it, but 5-10% of the time my car still has a center console screen not working. There is a defect and these times it is very dangerous to drive the car.

NHTSA complaint #11432706 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) unit became inoperable causing the vehicle to stall. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the VCM unit needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact then stated 18 months later, he received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V035000 (Back over prevention, Visibility, Exterior lighting). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA complaint #11423549 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

Hi, Tesla has a recall from the NHTSA regarding the MCU chip that powers the main center console screen. It can fail over time. My vehicle is under the recall, and they did the MCU chip recall but it did not help the screen. It is still failing. Without the screen working, the vehicle controls are not usable since 95% of the functions are through the screen. I contacted Tesla and they have ignored me and declined to fix the vehicle, even though the purpose of the recall was to fix the center screen.

NHTSA complaint #11423662 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS

Hi, Tesla has a recall from the NHTSA regarding the MCU chip that powers the main center console screen. It can fail over time. My vehicle is under the recall, and they did the MCU chip recall but it did not help the screen. It is still failing. Without the screen working, the vehicle controls are not usable since 95% of the functions are through the screen. I contacted Tesla and they have ignored me and declined to fix the vehicle, even though the purpose of the recall was to fix the center screen.

NHTSA complaint #11423662 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING

TESLA IS NOT REPLACING THE EMMC CARD THAT HAS BEEN RECALLED IN A TIMELY MANNER AS THEY ARE REQUIRED TO.

NHTSA complaint #11407698 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

TESLA IS REFUSING TO REFUND THE OUT OF POCKET COST PAID FOR THE MCU TOUCHSCREEN REPAIR, DESCRIBED BY THE NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 21V035. PLEASE FIND ATTACHED TESLA'S AUTOMATED SYSTEM REFUSING TO REFUND, PLUS MY SERVICE RECEIPT SHOWING IT WAS PAID OUT OF POCKET.

NHTSA complaint #11406908 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS

TESLA IS REFUSING TO REFUND THE OUT OF POCKET COST PAID FOR THE MCU TOUCHSCREEN REPAIR, DESCRIBED BY THE NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 21V035. PLEASE FIND ATTACHED TESLA'S AUTOMATED SYSTEM REFUSING TO REFUND, PLUS MY SERVICE RECEIPT SHOWING IT WAS PAID OUT OF POCKET.

NHTSA complaint #11406908 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS

FAILURE OF THE TOUCHSCREEN RESULTS IN LOSS OF REAR CAMERA IMAGE DISPLAY WHEN REVERSE GEAR IS SELECTED, RESULTING IN REDUCED REAR VISIBILITY WHEN BACKING. SCREEN ALSO COMPLETELY FREEZES AND CANNOT CONTROL CLIMATE CONTROL ELEMENTS, SOUND, ETC. WHEN BACK UP CAMERA FINALLY DOES ENGAGE, BACKUP CAMERA SCREEN IS BLACK WITH TWO WHITE LINES.

NHTSA complaint #11382923 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.