2017 TESLA MODEL S Wheels Problems
13 NHTSA complaints on file
Wheels Issues in the 2017 TESLA MODEL S
13 wheels complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2017 TESLA MODEL S. Of these, 2 involved a crash, 0 involved a fire, and 0 resulted in injury.
13
Complaints
2
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
All Wheels Complaints
On December 26, 2022 I was driving my Tesla S 2017. Full self driving was engaged. I have a video of the car footage showing the incident in full detail. The car took a left onto a 2 lane road and then without warning ran off the road hitting the curb and a metal drain. The force was so great that I suffered a contusion to my right knee from hitting the under side of the dash.
The car was left parked for 12h in a parking lot were I work. Whilst driving there and upon exiting the car, nothing out of the ordinary was observed. Getting back in the vehicule, the car seemed ok. Upon backing up the car, a loud sound plus weird wheel camber on the rear driver's side wheel were observed. Upon verification, it looks like a tie rod broke. Given the condition (no excessive load on the car, car parked, not significant impact that we are aware of, the sudden break), it tends to point to a fatigue fracture.
Reversing from my driveway it appears links or bolts on the steering and wheel suspension system failed. The wheels came into contact with the wheel cavity liner causing the steering to lock, the frame to protrude through the wheel cavity casing and the car to shut off or lock. The car is no longer safe to drive. The car is in my driveway, is available for inspection before I bring it back into Tesla for repair. Having just completed a highway drive, I dread to think what could have happened had this failure occurred on that journey at higher speeds. My car only has 40,000 miles and this issue or critical part failure appears to be premature. I have taken Video of the wheel moving independently to the car chassis structure. There was no warning in advance of the failure. I welcome an NHTSA or secondary inspection prior to repair...
While driving in heavy traffic on highway 92, the left hand fore link assembly (Tesla part no 1041570-00-B) finally cracked. A loud crunch and a dark smoke plume was let out as the front left tire made contact with the wheel well. I stopped to check for a blown tire, but found none. The vehicle was still operable and maneuverable, though for any braking or more than mild turning, the tire again made contact with the wheel well and gave off loud crunching sounds. No warning lamps or messages prior to the failure, but some weeks prior, the left fore wheel's tire thread depth had started wearing down significantly – down to 1mm, vs the others being 4, 6, and 4 – this part had probably been slowly degrading until it finally cracked and failed permanently on the road. This problem is apparently widely experienced, reported, and published (see https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/cracked-forelink.95637 for...
The upper control arm was replaced by Tesla outside of warranty because, as mentioned by technician, "the upper control arm ball joint was rubbing metal on metal and will fail eventually". I initially noticed this when the wheels were squeaking loudly while turning the wheel. According to the technician, this has been a common issue on the car. I realize Tesla did a recall in China but not in US so I'm submitting this info in case the data is helpful for any potential recall in the future. Please contact me for videos.
My car with nearly 17,621 miles only had a part come off the suspension system off drivers side. Appeared to be an aluminum part that cracked in half while pulling from the garage. This car never was in a wreck. The suspension failed and my tire backed into the plastic casing which eroded the tires causing extensive damage. If this had occurred on the highway, this would have certainly caused a fatality to myself, family and other cars on the road. It appears this has happened to many prior owners of this vehicle, mainly model X and S around this time frame. I do not want to become a statistic before a recall is reached. As a physician, I am very concerned for my family and others that may be driving a dangerous vehicle.
I TOOK MY CAR TO THE TESLA SHOP ON INDEPENDENCE AT CHARLOTTE, NC, AS EXTERNAL NOISE WAS INCREASINGLY AUDIBLE. I WAS CALLED FROM THE TESLA SHOP TO REPLACE THE TIRES AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED & ALIGNMENT DONE 2/16/21 FOR $1900. PICKED CAR 2/17/21 AND SAW THE TIRE PRESSURE CAME UP RIGHT AT THE PARKING LOT (STATIONARY) AND STATING LEFT FRONT TIRE PRESSURE 35 (42 PSI NORMAL). TESLA WAS SWAMPED WITH CUSTOMERS SO I WENT TO DISCOUNT TIRES TO GET THE PRESSURE RESTORED 2/18/21. MORNING OF 2/19/21, PRESSURE CHECK CAME BACK ON. I WENT BACK TO DISCOUNT TIRES, SAME TIRE PRESSURE WAS DOWN TO 29. I CALLED TESLA THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH THE REPLACEMENT TIRE RIGHT FROM THE SHOP, HENCE I DROVE STRAIGHT TO THE TESLA SHOP FROM DISCOUNT TIRES AS I COULDN'T RISK THIS HAPPENING AGAIN. TESLA FOUND A CRACK IN THE WHEEL OF THE...
THE WHEEL CONTROL ARM BROKE FOR NO REASON. IT SEEMS TO BE DEFECTIVE FROM THE TIME IT WAS MADE, IT HAPPENED WITH A POPPING SOUND WHEN PARKING
I WAS BRAKING FROM ABOUT 35 MPH TO MAKE A 90 DEGREE RIGHT HAND TURN INTO DRIVEWAY. THERE WAS A SUDDEN GRINDING NOISE AND SHUDDERING. I CONTINUED TO BRAKE AND TURN UNTIL I WAS SAFELY IN THE DRIVEWAY. A QUICK INSPECT REVEALED SOME DAMAGE TO THE WHEEL WELL, BUT THE CAR SEEM DRIVE-ABLE, SO I VERY SLOWLY LIMPED INTO A PARKING SPOT. I'VE READ ENOUGH POSTS FROM OTHER PEOPLE HAVING THIS SAME FAILURE TO IMMEDIATELY SUSPECT A SUSPENSION FAILURE. WHEN PARKED IT WAS EASY TO IDENTIFY THE SAME FAILURE I'VE SEEN ALL OVER THE INTERNET. CONTROL ARM FAILED, RESULTING THE WHEEL TOUCHING THE WHEEL WELL AS I WAS BRAKING, BURNING THROUGH TO THE METAL AND GOUGING MY WHEEL.
MY CAR IS ONLY 2 YRS OLD AND WHILE BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE IN A PARKING STRUCTURE, I FELT A LIFT THEN LOWERING OF FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE WHEEL (LIKE GOING OVER SPEED BUMP, BUT THERE WAS NONE) THEN WOULD BARELY DRIVE. TOLD THAT THE DRIVER'S FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARM IS BROKEN.
BACKING INTO A PARKING SPOT THE DRIVER SIDE FRONT FORE LINK FAILED WHILE TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. THIS DAMAGED THE WHEEL, TIRE AND WHEEL WELL.
ON MONDAY MORNING(29.01.18) MY TESLA BROKE DOWN. THE DRIVER'S SIDE REAR TYRE DISLODGED FROM THE SUSPENSION WHILE I WAS REVERSING INTO MY BAY. THE ISSUES BEGAN FROM THIS POINT 1 AT ONLY 4526 MILES AND 122 DAYS OF AGE, ENDING UP WITH 3 WHEELS IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE. 2 THEN ENSUED THE CONFUSION: I HAD TAKEN BREAKDOWN COVER FROM MY INSURANCE COMPANY INCLUSIVE OF COURTESY CAR. THIS WAS DESPITE THE SALES PITCH RECOMMENDING TESLA ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. THE MOMENT I CALLED TESLA IT WAS A CASE OF FIGHTING WITH THEM REGARDING WHOSE FAULT IT WAS RATHER THAN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. I DIDN'T FEEL SUPPORTED AT ALL. TESLA SERVICE AND ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE WERE CONFIDENT THAT THIS WAS A CASE FOR THE INSURERS 3 SO I CALLED MY INSURANCE COMPANY . THEY QUICKLY PICKED UP THE CAR AND HAVE DELIVERED THE SAME TOTESLA MANCHESTER SOUTH, WHERE I HAD PURCHASED IT. WITH A PARTING SHOT...
THE COMPLAINT/ REPORT ALSO AS HTTPS://DOCS.GOOGLE.COM/DOCUMENT/D/1KZCESCBMBYWP_CTENVB7A51L-XX5TDBJCWZKB_NQVSS/EDIT?USP=SHARING 04/26/2017 15:06 I, AS A REGISTERED STRUCTURAL/ CIVIL ENGINEER/ ARCHITECT, DROVE MY TESLA MODEL S 60D (WHICH UPGRADED TO 75D) STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHT AND LEFT TURN CASUALLY AFTER GREEN LIGHTS, ACCELERATE CASUALLY THEN HIT UNKNOWN OBJECTS/ CURB/ ISLAND, TYRE BURST, CAR STOPPED, NO AIRBAGS POP OUT. THE WHEEL BROKE NO AIRBAG POP OUT SHOWS THE HIT IS NOT SEVERE BUT ALUMINIUM ALLOY WHEEL BROKE. A PRACTICAL AND DUE DESIGN WOULD MAKE WHEEL AND TYRE ABSORB THE HIT IN 40~50 KM/HR WITHOUT BREAK AND BURST MAKES THE USER OF THE AUTO SAFE. TELSA MODEL S WHEEL IS SO FRAGILE (THE CASE IS 19 WHEEL). SIMILAR FINDINGS ARE REPORTED BY IIHS AND CARTHROTTLE IHS CRASH TEST FOOTAGE OF A 2016 TESLA MODEL S REVEAL A VERY DISTURBING PROBLEM WITH THE CAR'S WHEELS ON IMPACT, WHERE THEY SHATTER OF GREATER CONCERN, HOWEVER, IS THE BEHAVIOUR OF...
Other 2017 TESLA MODEL S Problem Areas
Suspension
107 complaints
Electrical System
103 complaints
Unknown Or Other
95 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control
46 complaints
Steering
45 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control
35 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking
27 complaints
Exterior Lighting
26 complaints
Service Brakes
25 complaints
Visibilitywiper
15 complaints
Structurebody
13 complaints
Lane Departure Assist
12 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings
9 complaints
Power Train
9 complaints
Visibility
9 complaints
Back Over Prevention
8 complaints
Back Over Prevention Warnings
8 complaints
Fuelpropulsion System
8 complaints
Lane Departure Warning
8 complaints
Air Bags
5 complaints
Back Over Prevention Rearview System Braking
3 complaints
Electrical Systemadasautonomousself Drivingsoftware
3 complaints
Engine
3 complaints
Equipmentelectricalinfotainmentvideo Touchscreenmonitorunit
3 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance
3 complaints
Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection
3 complaints
Latcheslockslinkagesdoorslatch
3 complaints
Electrical System Instrument Clusterpanel
2 complaints
Equipmentelectricalinfotainment
2 complaints
Seats
2 complaints
Back Over Prevention Sensing System Camera
1 complaint
Electrical Systemhorn
1 complaint
Electrical Systempropulsion Systemtraction Batterythermal Managementfan
1 complaint
Electronic Stability Control Esc
1 complaint
Lane Departure
1 complaint
Lane Departure Lane Keep Automatic Steering
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkages
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkagestrunk Lidlatchemergency Mechanical Release
1 complaint
Parking Brake
1 complaint
Steeringelectric Power Assist System
1 complaint