NHTSA Complaint #11701961 — 2020 TESLA MODEL X

My 2020 Tesla Model X experiences severe vibration, shaking, and rattling during acceleration, especially between about 20–45 mph and at higher suspension settings. The vibration is strong enough to affect steering stability and safe control of the vehicle during acceleration and lane changes. Tesla has already replaced the front half-shafts twice under warranty for this same problem, but the issue has returned again. This is a known defect documented by Tesla in Service Bulletin SB-21-39-001, which describes excessive front drive unit half-shaft vibration during acceleration and defines the repair with updated components. The latest revision of this bulletin (R3, dated January 19, 2024) explicitly adds “Customer Pay billing” instructions. Despite this, my local Tesla Service Center in Tempe, AZ (Supervisor: Lewis Holguin) refused to apply the SB-21-39-001 Customer Pay billing and instead charged full retail for the repair. On 11/28/2025, I was billed $1,694.86 out of pocket to replace both front half-shafts again (invoice shows approx. $1,046 in parts and $564 in labor). I have documentation showing that other Tesla customers with the same defect were billed only $350 under SB-21-39-001, which demonstrates that Tesla does apply a discounted bulletin rate in some cases. In my case, they refused to honor it even though this is a repeat failure of the same known defect and the prior warranty repairs did not permanently fix the problem. This is a repeat driveline/suspension defect that affects drivability and safety under acceleration. The shaking and vibration make it difficult to maintain stable vehicle control, especially during highway merging or lane changes. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate recurring front half-shaft failures and vibration/shudder issues on Tesla Model X vehicles and Tesla’s inconsistent handling of this known defect and service bulletin.