81 of the
5,283 complaints filed about the Tesla Model S
are about the airbag system —
2% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2015.
This issue appears to be related to a known MCU failure affecting early Tesla Model S vehicles. The touchscreen exhibits screen melting/discoloration and eventually goes blank or becomes inoperative. When this occurs, critical functions including occupant detection indicators, seatbelt warnings, and windshield defrost controls may become unavailable. The loss of these functions creates potential safety risks involving visibility, occupant protection, and driver awareness while operating the vehicle."
NHTSA complaint #11744090 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This issue appears to be related to a known MCU failure affecting early Tesla Model S vehicles. The touchscreen exhibits screen melting/discoloration and eventually goes blank or becomes inoperative. When this occurs, critical functions including occupant detection indicators, seatbelt warnings, and windshield defrost controls may become unavailable. The loss of these functions creates potential safety risks involving visibility, occupant protection, and driver awareness while operating the vehicle."
NHTSA complaint #11744091 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This issue appears to be related to a known MCU failure affecting early Tesla Model S vehicles. The touchscreen exhibits screen melting/discoloration and eventually goes blank or becomes inoperative. When this occurs, critical functions including occupant detection indicators, seatbelt warnings, and windshield defrost controls may become unavailable. The loss of these functions creates potential safety risks involving visibility, occupant protection, and driver awareness while operating the vehicle."
NHTSA complaint #11744089 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle developed a leak in the AC condensate drain. The leak is directly above the safety restraint control module. The module got wet deactivating the vehicle and causing havoc with the airbag system. Many electrical systems turned off such as the power to the steering wheel buttons( the left blinker, the right blinker, and the horn). Luckily this happened while my vehicle was parked but if this happened while someone was accelerating or driving on the highway they would lose control of the vehicle. I spoke to a Tesla Service Tech about the concern and he informed me that this AC leak happens very often in the 2021 and newer Tesla Model S vehicles and that Tesla is aware that the AC drain leaks onto the Restraint Contol Module but has not created a technical service bulletin or a recall for the safety issue.
NHTSA complaint #11726866 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving about 20mph, my airbag deployed for no reason. No recalls, no warnings, nothing. I had my [XXX] daughter in the car and it was all filled with white smoke. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11724472 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have started receiving airbag & seat safety issue alert but recieved appointment after a month even considering major safety concern. Some of 2021 vehicles are serviced under the recall Tesla sent. But told me mine doesn’t qualify for same issue for same year, same model cars. It seems like issue is with all Tesla Model S 2021 but Tesla charging big dollar amount to repair the safety concern. They have also mentioned there is on going concern with air suspension and all Tesla starts giving problem between 60,000 miles to 90,000 miles. It costs around $6000 to fix that issue and told me these are not safety concerns.
NHTSA complaint #11711634 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
-Airbag warning light on -Horn not working -Steering wheel scroll buttons not working -Clicking noise when turning wheel This failure occurred during normal driving. Airbags will not deploy and horn is inoperable, creating a safety risk myself and my family. I have never been into any accidents and have only driven normal. These safety systems should not fail. This is a manufacturing issue.
NHTSA complaint #11709701 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In the evening of [XXX] of this year, the driver door airbag in my 2012 Tesla Model S self-deployed as I opened the car door to exit after parking in my garage. I brought the car to the Tesla dealer in Buena Park California, and they told me they could not fix it because the car’s warranty had already expired. I was not concerned about getting it fixed for free under warranty, but wanted Tesla to acknowledge that this was a serious safety hazard and what could be done to prevent this from happening again, seriously injuring me or someone else driving my car. My concern is that the dealership implied that the owner’s/driver’s safety is not Tesla’s responsibility after the warranty period ends. The dealership did not comment any further. A search on Reddit shows that airbag self-deployments during normal driving situations (non-accident) is not an isolated incident, but Tesla‘s airbag problems do not seem to have been well-publicized so that other Tesla owners or potential buyers can be made aware of this potential safety hazard. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11707948 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My 2018 Tesla Model S has a recurring safety-critical defect involving the steering system and the Chassis CAN communication network. On October 20, 2025, the vehicle had to be towed to a Tesla Service Center because it would not power on and displayed multiple safety alerts (traction control disabled, stability control disabled, ABS disabled, and reduced steering assist). Tesla documented that the steering rack was “bringing down the Chassis CAN” and stated the issue might require a new steering rack and coolant pump if it returned. The warnings have now returned, and the vehicle is again showing active alerts for disabled traction control, disabled stability control, and previously reduced steering assist. This is a repeat of the same unsafe condition that Tesla attempted to repair. The car is unsafe to drive and could cause loss of steering control. This is a recurring steering/Chassis CAN failure with major safety system disablement. I am reporting this because the defect affects vehicle control and increases the risk of a crash.
NHTSA complaint #11704380 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
During a road accident, Driver airbags were deployed and caused injuries to driver in left hand, left leg and right chest by flying debris’s due to airbag deployment.
NHTSA complaint #11688760 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
What happened? While driving my 2015 Tesla Model S, the main touchscreen (MCU) began intermittently going black, disabling access to essential vehicle controls, navigation, climate settings, and rear-view camera display. At times when the MCU was functioning, the rear-view camera feed would still display a black screen upon shifting into Reverse, leaving me without any rear visibility. Component or system that failed: Media Control Unit (MCU1) / eMMC memory failure Rear-view camera and/or associated wiring harness Safety risk: The intermittent blackouts of the MCU and loss of rear camera feed created significant safety hazards, especially when reversing or attempting to adjust driving settings while in motion. The loss of rear visibility increased the risk of collision with pedestrians, cyclists, or obstacles. The MCU failure also limited access to defrost/defog controls and turn signal audio feedback. Problem reproduction and confirmation: Tesla Service has confirmed both the MCU1 hardware failure and the rear-view camera malfunction. The problems occurred repeatedly before being inspected. Inspection: The vehicle has been inspected by Tesla Service Center technicians, who diagnosed both the failing MCU1 and the defective rear-view camera. Warning messages or symptoms prior to failure: For MCU: slow system performance, frozen screen, then intermittent complete blackouts while driving. For rear-view camera: black or distorted camera feed when in Reverse, even when the MCU display was otherwise operational. These issues began occurring in June 2025 and became progressively worse until Tesla inspection on July 6, 2025.
NHTSA complaint #11680801 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My car is displaying a message that the "Front left safety restraint issue". Airbags are off. brought the car in for service, they said they fixed some low voltage pin. Less than a week later the message appeared again. Tesla did not take this issue seriously -- I'm driving around with no airbags? The next available appointment is a month out for Tesla. I've uploaded my Tesla invoice where they fixed it and a photo from today when the message is back again.
NHTSA complaint #11676291 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The cable harness (slip ring) connecting the steering wheel controls including the vehicle horn, steering wheel buttons, scroll wheels, and potentially the airbag (according to the service technician) failed on this vehicle in January 2025. The vehicle was inspected by Tesla’s mobile service and they acknowledged that the cable harness had indeed failed. It is available for inspection. We have been forced to drive this car without a functioning horn and airbag. There were no warning signs or messages on the vehicle computer.
NHTSA complaint #11644246 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I pulled into a driveway on a one lane road (due to construction) to allow a car traveling downhill to pass so they would not have to back up. I had come to a complete stop in the driveway with the car in drive. As I started to put the car in reverse it surged forward at a high rate of speed crashing into my neighbor's garage, tearing the door completely down pushing the door into the garage and my car entering the garage at least 15 feet hitting the car that was parked inside and pushing it with such force that the front end of the vehicle struck the garage cabinets tearing them down. My air bag did not deploy nor did the automatic braking system engage, it just sped up as it was doing the damage. The car has been deemed a total loss by my insurance company but i don't want this report to go unnoticed. To my knowledge the insurance company has not inspected the computer on the vehicle. I'm not sure how they will investigate this occurrence. I feel strongly that this was a malfunction with my car. The message that showed immediately was "driver assist unavailable", I have NEVER used driver assist.
NHTSA complaint #11619723 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Full Self driving did not show signs of slowing down at Everett traffic slow down from about 60 miles to a standstill. I realized the speed not slowing down (about 5 car distance from stopped distance) I tried to apply the brakes that were completely nonresponsive, instead the car sped up. I avoided backend collision with the first car be maneuvering to the shoulder, however the next car was parked halfway into the shoulder that didn't leave enough room to not hit it. The car hit two other cars before coming to a full stop. While checking for any injuries for myself and passenger, after a delay and hitting 3 cars the airbags uselessly deployed. Total failure of brakes, auto emergency braking and airbag deployment. I have requested Tesla to look into the logs but havent gotten any feedback.
NHTSA complaint #11605194 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was involved in a significant vehicle crash with my Tesla Model S, the vehicle wa a complete write-off and was towed away. I was taken via ambulance unconscious from my injuries. The vehicle was struck by a perpendicular vehicle who ran a stop sign and hit the front driver's side firewall/door area. The impact was hard enough to drive my car sideways against all wheels into the curb, over the curb, onto the sidewalk, and into a pole. My head hit the drivers window hard enough to break the glass and render me unconscious. No airbags deployed, curtain/seat/otherwise - no side impact airbags even. Seatbelt was worn, I was extracted by first responders - I later spoke with Tesla regarding my complaint of no air bag protection, and was told they would take this seriously and investigate. I later found out the car was auctioned off (presumably for scrap) with no evidence of Tesla even attempting an investigation and zero response indicating otherwise. After reaching out again to Tesla seeking a response, they assured me that they have GPS coordinates, Police Reports, asked for pictures (which I did send), and they promised to respond - that was more than 5 months ago and still no answers.
NHTSA complaint #11600212 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Front safety system fault with complaints on Nov 21, 2023, Nov 27, 2033 and then on March 6, 2023 then Tesla service finally repaired and advised as follows: “Technician Notes Verified customer concern alert was not present on drop off but when moving drivers seat through range of motion found faults appeared. Inspected pin fit of harness found no pin issues. Replaced the drivers seat harness and re tested during seat movement verified faults not currently present.”
NHTSA complaint #11576318 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On[XXX], at approximately 6:30 PM while I was driving my 2019 Tesla Model S in Fort Lee, NJ. While navigating through congested traffic and executing a right turn from [XXX] on a green light, the auto-pilot system was not using, my vehicle unexpectedly experienced sudden acceleration. Despite my immediate attempts to pump the brakes, the car failed to decelerate, resulting in a collision with a small bus at its rear side. Subsequently, the car continued at full speed, colliding with three additional vehicles before finally coming to a stop. Under such impact, no air bags opened. I would greatly appreciate further investigation and assistance in understanding the cause behind this sudden acceleration, as it not only endangered my safety but also resulted in damage to multiple vehicles. I do have a Police Report but cannot upload to this report, please let me know how to submit the report (Fort Lee Police Dept. Incident # [XXX] ). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11564407 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
So essentially I stopped for a charge about 30 minutes before, I charged it, then hopped back on the turnpike as I was heading to Outer Banks NC, while I was on the turn pike where I believe at the time I started to go around a curve not a sharp one but a curve right after coming off this bridge. Every 1 minute and 30 seconds you have to put your hands on the wheel and give it a jerk to keep it enable so it had to have popped up within the 1 minute and 30 seconds. As I was changing the album of the artists I was listening too I heard the BEEP BEEP BEEP which means you are approaching something and are about to hit it, As I looked up all I saw was blinking lights and really smacked the rear end of this traffic control truck, anywhere from 65-75 miles per hour with no time to react. If I remember correctly I had my car on 7 lengths away (maximum amount you can have away). As I hit the control I hit my head pretty hard on the steering wheel so the whole memory is blurry following when it happened and my adrenaline was very high but I didn’t wanna go to the Emergency room even though they suggested highly because I have no health insurance and that would have had to come out of my own pocket and I was stuck in Pennsylvania by myself and didn’t wanna get stuck in the hospital too. Thank you so much for taking your time to look at this it means a lot.
NHTSA complaint #11560159 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.