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Tesla Model S

Every model year 2016–2026: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

11 Model years 2016–2026

115 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

1,855 Complaints owner reports, all years

A Newest grade 2026 Safety Signal

2017 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2026 Model S →Which years to avoid Compare it

Tesla Model X — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Tesla Model X (2012 generation) · Photo: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Every Tesla Model S model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2026	Electric	A	0	7	—	410 mi
2025	Electric	B	2	6	—	410 mi
2024	Electric	C	6	38	—	402 mi
2023	Electric	F	13	114	—	405 mi
2022	Electric	F	20	139	—	405 mi
2021	Electric	F	23	179	—	405 mi
2020	Electric	D	11	80	—	402 mi
2019	Electric	D	10	44	—	370 mi
2018	Electric	D	11	170	—	335 mi
2017	Electric	D	9	429	—	335 mi
2016	Electric	F	10	649	★★★★★	315 mi

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2017

On the filed record so far, the 2017 is the cleanest Model S year we hold, and the 2016 the one to check hardest.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2017	D	1	48
2018	D	1.4	21
2019	D	1.4	6
2020	D	1.8	13
2023	F	4.3	38
2021	F	4.6	36
2022	F	5	35
2016	F	1	65	1 critical

Which Tesla Model S years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2016 steering complaints at 0.1× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 5,000 miles). Latest: 2017 visibility/wiper at 1.83× (55,000 miles).

Year	Suspension	Electrical System	Vehicle Speed Control	Steering	Visibility/Wiper
2018	0.94×	0.89×	0.55×	—	—
2017	0.52×	1.03×	0.56×	0.33×	1.83×
2016	0.32×	1.13×	0.17×	0.1×	1.17×

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the Tesla Model S, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

automatic emergency braking problems 394 complaints, every model year suspension problems 390 complaints, every model year electrical problems 373 complaints, every model year steering problems 239 complaints, every model year cruise control problems 189 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2025: best range 402 → 410 mi
2024: best range 405 → 402 mi; 1 → 3 EPA configurations
2023: 3 → 1 EPA configurations
2022: 4 → 3 EPA configurations
2021: best range 402 → 405 mi; 5 → 4 EPA configurations
2020: best range 370 → 402 mi; 7 → 5 EPA configurations
2019: best range 335 → 370 mi; 4 → 7 EPA configurations
2018: 8 → 4 EPA configurations
2017: best range 315 → 335 mi; 13 → 8 EPA configurations

Compare

All Model S head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2026 Model S vs Acura Integra · Large Hatchback	Integra +17.9
2026 Model S vs Porsche Panamera · Large Hatchback	Model S +34.2

Common questions about the Tesla Model S

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Tesla Model S year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2017 Model S comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade D (63/100), 9 recalls and 429 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Tesla Model S years should I avoid?

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 have the weakest recall records in this range. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every Model S model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Tesla Model S have?

Across model years 2016–2026, NHTSA has posted 115 recall campaigns for the Tesla Model S. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.