2016 Tesla Model S cruise control problems
81 of the 647 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2016 Tesla Model S name the cruise control (NHTSA’s “Vehicle Speed Control” heading — cruise control, adaptive cruise and unintended-acceleration reports). Filed under the same heading: 2 NHTSA investigations. Every figure below is a document in a federal file, linked; none is a failure rate, and none is a verdict on any one car.
What owners filed about the cruise control
Source: NHTSA complaint database35 of the 81 reports a crash · 1 a fire · 37 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2016: 27 · 2017: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2020: 12 · 2021: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2026: 7
Half of the 56 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the cruise control problem between 2,000 and 25,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
647 complaints in all about the 2016 Tesla Model S, 7 filed in 2026. The whole picture, every system →
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 “Vehicle Speed Control” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.
Across model years: Tesla Model S cruise control problems, every year on file →
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the cruise control. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.
Must we wait for more deaths before the Tesla autopilot is banned? Here is a new video from russia? Showing the driver placing lives in danger. Youtube. Com/watch?v=gm_5oeidd_e here is a video showing the death of a young man in china and the effect this tragedy has on his family. Youtube.
Here is another complaint about the Tesla autopilot to draw attention to the way in which owners are behaving in real life. The proposed upgrades to the autopilot will do nothing to prevent the behavior shown in this video. Youtube.
This is yet another complaint about the autopilot. Please watch this video in full. It shows how an intelligent and well educated driver chooses to use the autopilot without having any idea that he is placing his own life and that of other road users in extreme danger. Youtube.
Here is another complaint about the Tesla autopilot. Here is a recently uploaded video of a Tesla employee giving a customer a test drive and demonstration of autopilot. Youtube. Com/watch?v=tbcx2o-otso the demonstrator is only playing lip-service to the requirement that drivers should keep hands on the wheel.
This a complaint about the Tesla autopilot. This video has just been uploaded. Youtube. Com/watch?v=vcc7jh8ux-e here is an owner driving hands free at high speed while waving his arms around and even crossing his arms across his chest. The irresponsible marketing and promotion of the Tesla autopilot has encouraged this kind of behavior.
What is on file about the cruise control
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNHTSA investigations
- DP23002 Sudden Unintended Accelerationopened Jun 29, 2023 · open
- The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition requesting that ODI reevaluate its decision to deny DP20-001 on the basis that intermittent high electrical current demands on the vehicles' 12VDC systems may have caused some or all of the incidents examined by ODI in DP20-001. The petitioner bases this information on a review of open-source research and the DP20-001 denial. The petiti…
- DP20001 Sudden Unintended Accelerationopened Jan 13, 2020 · closed Jan 8, 2021
- On December 19, 2019, NHTSA received a petition from Mr. Brian Sparks requesting that the Agency recall all [Tesla] Model S, Model X, and Model 3 vehicles produced from 2013 to the present due to sudden unintended acceleration (SUA). In his petition and follow-up submissions, the petitioner identified a total of 232 non-duplicative complaints to NHTSA, including 203 reporting crashes. On January 1…
Other systems with a record on the 2016 Tesla Model S
Source: the same files- suspension problems 209 complaints
- electrical problems 150 complaints
- steering problems 86 complaints
- automatic emergency braking problems 50 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre cruise control problems common on the 2016 Tesla Model S?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 81 owner complaints naming the cruise control on this model year (13% of everything owners filed about it), and 2 NHTSA investigations are filed under the same heading. Whether it is a problem on one particular car is a diagnosis, not a count, and a count says nothing about how many were sold.
Is there a recall for the cruise control on the 2016 Tesla Model S?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 10 filed under other headings). A bulletin is not a recall: it carries no federal duty to repair for free.
When do cruise control problems show up on the 2016 Tesla Model S?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 5,000 miles; half of them between 2,000 and 25,000. That is when reports cluster, not the life of a part.
What does NHTSA's "Vehicle Speed Control" heading cover?
Cruise control, adaptive cruise and unintended-acceleration reports. Owners choose the heading when they file, so it says which area of the vehicle the complaint is about, not which part failed.