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Home›Tesla›2016 Tesla Model X› suspension problems
Owner complaints · Suspension

2016 Tesla Model X suspension problems

150 of the 448 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2016 Tesla Model X 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.

150 complaints 33% of this model year’s 15 reports a crash 3 a fire typically at 20k miles

What owners filed about the suspension

Source: NHTSA complaint database
150complaints name the suspension

15 of the 150 reports a crash · 3 a fire · 13 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.

Filed per year: 2016: 11 · 2017: 34 · 2018: 4 · 2019: 13 · 2020: 28 · 2021: 22 · 2022: 16 · 2023: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2025: 4

20kmiles, typically

Half of the 103 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the suspension problem between 5,000 and 48,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.

33%of this model year’s complaints

448 complaints in all about the 2016 Tesla Model X, 4 filed in 2025. 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 X suspension problems, every year on file →

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In owners’ own words

Source: NHTSA complaint database

Filed 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.

This is a complaint about the Tesla Model X suspension which appears to be failing repeatedly. I believe that these failures are being under-reported. Here is a thread in which owners report snapped bolts and suspension links leading to collapse of the suspension. Posters are being abused for daring to mention the problem.
Suspension at 5,000 miles Mar 23, 2017 NHTSA owner report
Here is another Tesla Model s in the junkyard. Copart. Com/lot/24527147/photos it has only done 4500 miles. It has a ca salvage certificate. There is no damage to the bodywork to suggest that it has been in a collision but the suspension has collapsed and the front rh wheel has jammed up into the wheel well causing some minor damage to…
Suspension at 4,500 miles Mar 18, 2017 NHTSA owner report
Here is a Model X in the junkyard. Copart. Com/lot/24690287/photos the front lh suspension has collapsed causing the wheel to jam up and back in the wheel well. These cars are described by the manufacturer as sports utility vehicles which implies that they can be driven over bumps without the wheels falling off.
Suspension at 5,000 miles Mar 17, 2017 NHTSA owner report
Here is a Model X in the junkyard. Copart. Com/lot/32375026/photos it has only done 1500 miles but is now written off (fl certificate of destruction) it has not been in a crash, no air-bags have deployed. The only damage is caused by a broken suspension. The front suspension arm has snapped the wheel has been sliced completely in half.
Suspension at 1,500 miles Mar 2, 2017 NHTSA owner report
Here is a Tesla Model X in the salvage yard. It looks as though the suspension has collapsed. The front lh wheel is jammed up against the rear of the well and it looks as though the rim of the wheel has been sliced apart whilst it was still rotating. It seems very strange that such a failure would happen on a near new vehicle.
Suspension at 1,000 miles Feb 17, 2017 NHTSA owner report

What is on file about the suspension

Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communications

NHTSA investigation

Other systems with a record on the 2016 Tesla Model X

Source: the same files
From here
Every 2027 model on file, by price Compare two vehicles, trim vs trim See what a VIN was priced at See what owners reported

Common questions

Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communications

Are suspension problems common on the 2016 Tesla Model X?

They are documented: NHTSA holds 150 owner complaints naming the suspension on this model year (33% 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 2016 Tesla Model X?

No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 12 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 2016 Tesla Model X?

Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 20,000 miles; half of them between 5,000 and 48,000. 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.