2023 Tesla Model S
This year drew an ordinary 114 complaints for a Tesla Model S — the model's median is 176. What they were about is the unusual part: 58.8% of them mention horn, against 0.5% across the model's other years.
Generation 1 of the Tesla Model S, which began in 2012. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
| Complaints filed | 114 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 176 |
| Involving a crash | 9 |
| Recalls | 13 |
| EPA combined | 120 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- horn — 58.8% of this year's complaints, against 0.5% across the model's other years (111.4×).
- button — 52.6% of this year's complaints, against 0.8% across the model's other years (64×).
- steering wheel — 54.4% of this year's complaints, against 5.3% across the model's other years (10.3×).
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
The horn is a touch button on the steering wheel which makes it hard to find and press in emergency.
No proper horn button, this is a major safety issue. Horn should be in the center or steering wheel. Almost got into crash.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 23V085000 STEERING Fixed free of charge.
- 23V489000 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE Fixed free of charge.
- 23V488000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 23V743000 STEERING Fixed free of charge.
- 23V838000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 23V862000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES Fixed free of charge.
- 24V035000 BACK OVER PREVENTION Fixed free of charge.
- 24V051000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
Showing 8 of 13. The rest are on NHTSA's site.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Tesla Model S was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2023 Tesla Model S? What happened to yours?
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