2014 Tesla Model S Problems and Recalls (363 Complaints)
The most-reported problem on the 2014 Tesla Model S is Suspension (22% of 363 owner reports). There are 9 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Suspension — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 363 complaints · 9 recalls
What problems show up on the 2014 Tesla Model S?
80 of 363 filings named Suspension (22% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.
Second is Electrical (70 reports).
There are 9 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Seat belts, Steering, Airbags, Rear camera / backup safety, and Electrical. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.
The 2013 has 455 reports on file; this year has 363. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.
What owners reported
System named most often: Suspension 80 complaints · 22.0% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
- Crashes 52
- Fires 9
- Injuries 19
- Deaths 13
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Which systems owners named
Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.
“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.
View component data as a table
| System / Component | Complaints | Share of Reports | Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension (SUSPENSION) | 80 | 22.0% | 25 crashes · 1 fires |
| Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) | 70 | 19.3% | 0 crashes · 4 fires |
| Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) | 24 | 6.6% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| Steering (STEERING) | 18 | 5.0% | 2 crashes · 0 fires |
| Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) | 17 | 4.7% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) | 16 | 4.4% | 10 crashes · 0 fires |
| Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) | 14 | 3.9% | 1 crashes · 2 fires |
| Body / frame (STRUCTURE) | 12 | 3.3% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Automatic braking / collision warning (FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE) | 8 | 2.2% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Unclassified NHTSA leftover | 101 | 27.8% | 9 crashes · 1 fires |
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
When reports and recalls showed up
When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.
- Campaign 18V204000 was reported 1,111 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 19V002000 was reported 278 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 21V035000 was reported 13 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 21V00B000 was reported 2,517 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 23V838000 was reported 3,212 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 24V051000 was reported 3,261 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2015-Q1 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2015-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2015-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2015-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2016-Q1 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2016-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2016-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2016-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2017-Q1 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2017-Q2 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2017-Q3 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2017-Q4 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2018-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2018-Q2 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2018-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2019-Q1 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2019-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2019-Q3 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2019-Q4 | Owner reports | 16 | |
| 2020-Q1 | Owner reports | 13 | |
| 2020-Q2 | Owner reports | 32 | |
| 2020-Q3 | Owner reports | 50 | |
| 2020-Q4 | Owner reports | 18 | |
| 2021-Q1 | Owner reports | 21 | |
| 2021-Q2 | Owner reports | 16 | |
| 2021-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2021-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2022-Q1 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2022-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2022-Q3 | Owner reports | 10 | |
| 2022-Q4 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2023-Q1 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2023-Q2 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2023-Q3 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2023-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2024-Q1 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2024-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2024-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2024-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2025-Q1 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2025-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2025-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2025-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2026-Q1 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2026-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2026-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 15V780000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 17V260000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 18V204000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 19V002000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 21V035000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 21V00B000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 23V838000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 24V051000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 24V376000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE16007 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | DP19005 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | DP20001 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE20010 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA20003 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE20020 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE21020 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA21002 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA22002 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | DP22005 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | DP23001 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | DP23002 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | RQ24009 |
Safety Recalls (9)
Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.
In short, these campaigns were filed about Seat belts, Steering, Airbags, Rear camera / backup safety, and Electrical.
-
Recall campaign 15V780000
Seat belts
- Report date
- Component:
- Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)
- Consequence:
- If the seat belt is not correctly attached to the pretensioner, it may not properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
- Remedy:
- Tesla will notify owners, and service centers will inspect the driver and front passenger seat belts, correcting their connection, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 14, 2015. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-15-20-002.
-
Recall campaign 17V260000
Safety recall 17V260000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- If the gear breaks during parking brake release, the vehicle will not be able to be moved. If the gear breaks during parking brake application, the parking brake may not adequately hold the vehicle, potentially resulting in the vehicle rolling, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- Tesla will notify owners, and service centers will replace both the left and right electric parking brake calipers, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2018. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-17-33-002.
-
Recall campaign 18V204000
Steering
- Report date
- Component:
- Steering (STEERING)
- Consequence:
- Loss of power steering assist would require a higher steering effort, especially at lower speeds, which may increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the steering gear mounting bolts and add a corrosion-preventative sealer, free of charge. The recall began May 7, 2019. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-18-32-002.
-
Recall campaign 19V002000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the passenger frontal air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began May 29, 2019. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-19-20-001.
-
Recall campaign 21V00B000
Safety recall 21V00B000
- Report date
- Component:
- Unclassified NHTSA leftover
- Consequence:
- If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly, obstructing the driver's view and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- Tesla Service will inspect and reposition the latch assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 18, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-11-003.
-
Recall campaign 21V035000
Rear camera / backup safety
- Report date
- Component:
- Rear camera / backup safety (BACK OVER PREVENTION)
- Consequence:
- The eMMC controller wear-out condition can cause the loss of the rearview camera display, defrost/defog control settings, and exterior turn signal lighting, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- Owners should ensure their vehicles are operating firmware release 2020.48.48.12 or newer, which will alert owners if the eMMC is approaching lifetime wear. Tesla will notify owners, and will replace the VCM daughterboard with one containing an enhanced eMMC controller, free of charge. The recall began March 29, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-21-001.
-
Recall campaign 23V838000
Electrical
- Report date
- Component:
- Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)
- Consequence:
- In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, and the driver does not maintain responsibility for vehicle operation and is unprepared to intervene as necessary or fails to recognize when Autosteer is canceled or not engaged, there may be an increased risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-23-00-008.
-
Recall campaign 24V051000
Electrical
- Report date
- Component:
- Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)
- Consequence:
- Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- Tesla began releasing an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-003.
-
Recall campaign 24V376000
Seat belts
- Report date
- Component:
- Seat belts (SEAT BELTS)
- Consequence:
- A seat belt warning system that fails to alert occupants of an unbelted seat belt can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
- Remedy:
- Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update. Owner notification letters were mailed July 26, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-008.
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
What owners actually wrote
Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Showing 5 of 363 complaints · page 1 of 15
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Dashboard is leaking glue out the bottom center causing the computer screen and dash control panels to move. I'm not feeling safe driving as I'm not sure if they will drop down or stop functioning at any point. Tesla wants $1500 to fix, and I don't have that money being retired. How can Tesla glue their cars together, and it only last for about 10 yrs?? I feel like this is a safety issue that they should be fixing.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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."
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I have been driving my Model S Tesla for 13 years. On 30 April as I was pulling into a parking space at my local grocery store, I applied the brakes to ease into the space and my car surged forward with unintended acceleration. I smashed into the concrete base of a light pole, the airbags deployed and my car ricocheted back about 8 feet. There were no warning messages. I was taken to the emergency room and had whiplash and a burn on my leg from the airbag. No one else was hurt. I know it was the car that malfunctioned because my foot was still on the brake after the collision and the airbags bruised the right side of my right leg. It could not have bruised it in that way if my foot had been on the accelerator. The insurance company inspected and declared a total loss. I obtained the black box data from Tesla and am uploading the documents below. The car is currently at the Tesla collision center. They do not seem interested in evaluating the problem.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Motor suddenly failed after a required update while driving, nearly causing a crash with multiple commercial vehicles and pedestrians, leaving brake lights dangerously always on and alarm sounding, killed 12v as well.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
**Incident / Defect Description for NHTSA Safety Complaint** **Vehicle Information** - Make: Tesla - Model: Model S - Year: 2014 - VIN: [XXX] - Approximate Mileage: 148,129 miles - Date of Discovery / Failure: 04/23/2026 **Description of the Defect** This vehicle is equipped with Tesla’s Large Drive Unit (LDU / rear drive unit), which was used in the majority of 2012–early 2020 Model S vehicles (RWD and Performance models). The LDU design routes coolant through the hollow rotor shaft. Over time, the rotor seal fails and allows ethylene glycol coolant to leak internally into the motor and inverter. Evidence of this failure is easily visible by removing the rear speed sensor, where blue coolant, corrosion, and debris are present. This is a well-documented design flaw affecting thousands of vehicles. **Consequences of the Defect** Coolant intrusion causes: • Corrosion and rust in the stator windings • Washing out of bearing grease • High-voltage isolation faults • Inverter damage • Complete drive unit failure **Safety Risks** This defect presents an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety because: • Drive unit failure can occur suddenly and without warning while driving, resulting in total loss of propulsion. This is especially dangerous on highways, in traffic, or at high speeds. • Coolant inside high-voltage electrical components increases the risk of electrical shorts, arcing, or fire. • Reduced power or complete shutdown can lead to loss of vehicle control and potential crashes. I have experienced complete drive unit failure. Many other owners report identical issues, often between 50,000–120,000 miles. Tesla has not issued a recall despite this being a widespread, predictable design defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems on the 2014 Tesla Model S?
Owners named Suspension most often — 80 of 363 reports (22%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.
Are there recalls for the 2014 Tesla Model S?
NHTSA lists 9 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Seat belts, Steering, Airbags, Rear camera / backup safety, and Electrical. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.
What should I inspect before buying a 2014 Tesla Model S?
Look up the VIN for open recalls. Listen for clunks over bumps and look at tire wear for alignment issues. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.
Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?
No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Methodology & Data Integrity
Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.