2017 Tesla Model S suspension problems
107 of the 424 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2017 Tesla Model S name the suspension (NHTSA’s “Suspension” heading — springs, dampers, control arms and their bushings and joints). Filed under the same heading: 1 NHTSA investigation. 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 suspension
Source: NHTSA complaint database14 of the 107 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 5 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2017: 6 · 2018: 22 · 2019: 12 · 2020: 18 · 2021: 18 · 2022: 17 · 2023: 8 · 2024: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2026: 1
Half of the 63 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the suspension problem between 5,000 and 30,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
424 complaints in all about the 2017 Tesla Model S, 1 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 “Suspension” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.
Across model years: Tesla Model S suspension problems, every year on file →
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the suspension. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.
Please note that I AM not the owner of this vehicle. I have searched your database and it seems the actual owner has not filed a complaint. This car is in a salvage auction yard. It has a snapped suspension ball joint. Iaai.
Here is another complaint about the Tesla suspensions falling apart. The owner of this car is a Tesla enthusiast who owns three teslas. I AM doubtful that he will make a complaint to NHTSA himself so I AM passing on this information in the public interest. Here is a link to the video he has just uploaded.
Copart. Com/lot/35285257/photos the front end is all bent out of shape but there is no excuse for the back wheel to have gone whompy. These teslas have already claimed too many lives. Please take them off the roads. Thank you. Furious citizen
Com/threads/model-s-recall.109425/ snip**** there have been a spate of teslas where the front suspension fails reversing on full lock, for some reason over the icey weather I saw reports of 3 in a matter of days.
Copart. Com/lot/50374997/photos there is some collision damage on the lh side but the rh side is completely undamaged except that the rh back wheel has gone whompy indicating a broken suspension part. Hardly surprising since the suspension parts appear to be made from monkey metal.
What is on file about the suspension
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNHTSA investigation
- PE20020 Fore Link Failureopened Nov 22, 2020 · closed Aug 12, 2024
- The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation based on forty-three complaints alleging failure of the left or right front suspension fore links in Tesla model year (MY) 2015 through 2017 Model S and MY 2016 through 2017 Model X vehicles. The investigation has identified 426 instances of failure on part number 1041570-00-A or 1041575-00-A fore links. None of the insta…
Other systems with a record on the 2017 Tesla Model S
Source: the same files- electrical problems 114 complaints
- automatic emergency braking problems 87 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre suspension problems common on the 2017 Tesla Model S?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 107 owner complaints naming the suspension on this model year (25% of everything owners filed about it), and 1 NHTSA investigation is 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 suspension on the 2017 Tesla Model S?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 9 filed under other headings). A bulletin is not a recall: it carries no federal duty to repair for free.
When do suspension problems show up on the 2017 Tesla Model S?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 14,500 miles; half of them between 5,000 and 30,000. That is when reports cluster, not the life of a part.
What does NHTSA's "Suspension" heading cover?
Springs, dampers, control arms and their bushings and joints. Owners choose the heading when they file, so it says which area of the vehicle the complaint is about, not which part failed.