2016 Tesla Model S electrical problems

Counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many of these were sold; nothing here is a rate. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so “Electrical System” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.

Across model years: Tesla Model S electrical problems, every year on file →

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the electrical system. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.

Recalls filed under this heading

• 24V051000 Minor
  Jan 30, 2024 · 2,193,869 vehicles
• Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, 2019-2024 Model Y, and 2024 Cybertruck vehicles. An incorrect font size is displayed on the instrument panel for the Brake, Park, and Antilock Brake System (ABS) warning lights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 105, "Hydraulic and Electric Brake Systems" and 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
• 23V838000 Moderate
  Dec 12, 2023 · 2,031,220 vehicles
• Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with all versions of Autosteer leading up to the version(s) that contains the recall remedy. In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, the prominence and scope of the feature's controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse of the SAE Level 2 advanced driver-assistance feature.

NHTSA investigations

• EA26002 FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions
  opened Mar 18, 2026 · open
• The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Engineering Analysis to evaluate Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) degradation detection system. The focus of this investigation will be to assess the system’s ability, when encountering reduced roadway visibility conditions, to detect degradation and alert the driver with sufficient time …
• PE25012 Traffic safety violations while Full Self Driving ("FSD") is engaged
  opened Oct 7, 2025 · open
• The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) is opening this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of FSD executing driving maneuvers that constitute traffic safety violations. This investigation concerns versions of FSD that Tesla has labeled as "FSD (Supervised)" and "FSD (Beta)." Tesla characterizes FSD as an SAE Level 2 partial automation sy…
• AQ25002 Compliance with Standing General Order 2021-01 Reporting Requirements
  opened Aug 20, 2025 · open
• The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) has identified numerous incident reports submitted by Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) in response to Standing General Order 2021-01 (the “SGO”), in which the reported crashes occurred several months or more before the dates of the reports. The majority of these reports involved crashes in which the Standing General Order in place at the time required a report to b…
• PE24033 Actually Smart Summon sessions resulting in low-speed impacts.
  opened Jan 6, 2025 · closed Apr 3, 2026
• On January 6, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation 24003 (PE24033) to investigate Actually Smart Summon (Summon) sessions resulting in crashes during active sessions. According to Tesla, Summon is a short-distance SAE Level 2 system, controlled by the user from a cell phone within a certain distance and intended for use in parking lots and on private prope…

11 manufacturer bulletins filed under this heading

• SB-25-16-003 Service bulletin
  Jun 3, 2025
• On certain Model S and Model X vehicles, the battery powered Pyrotechnic High Voltage (HV) Battery Disconnect will reach the end of its battery lifespan in the near future, which will trigger alerts and may limit the vehicle’s performance.

The 1 newest are listed; every one is on the model year’s page. Quote the document number at a service desk — it is a diagnosis the maker has already written down.

• suspension problems 209 complaints
• steering problems 86 complaints
• cruise control problems 81 complaints
• automatic emergency braking problems 50 complaints