NHTSA Complaint #11491487 — 2018 TESLA MODEL S EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Complaint Details

ODI Number	11491487
Vehicle	2018 TESLA MODEL S
Component	EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Date of Incident	October 1, 2022
Date Filed	October 30, 2022
Mileage	N/A miles
Crash	No
Fire	No
Injuries	0
Deaths	0
Vehicle Towed	No
State	CA

Consumer Description

Tesla designs a single piece headlight with no serviceable parts. This includes headlights, high beams, and namely daytime running lights. All of these components are on an LED strip that overheats and un-solders due to this high heat, which causes premature failure. Some owners have reported as little as 3 months of life before failing. The daytime running lights are essential for safety driving in low light situations. These daytime running lights are seemingly built to fail. The lights dim then eventually no longer work. Tesla's solution is to have the customer purchase a brand new headlight at $1500. My vehicle is 4 years old and has been through 3 pairs of headlights already, when the last set burnt out I just left them as is. Tesla should either goodwill swap out these headlights for a non-built to fail component, or offer a repair for a quality LED strip with proper heat distribution. Without daytime running lights safety is a major concern on foggy, rainy, and low light situations. I have attached an image showing how the failure begins on top then slowly goes all the way down to the side of the headlight which fails later.

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