2017 Tesla Model X suspension problems
59 of the 268 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2017 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.
What owners filed about the suspension
Source: NHTSA complaint database6 of the 59 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 3 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2017: 8 · 2018: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2020: 9 · 2021: 10 · 2022: 8 · 2023: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2025: 5
Half of the 29 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.
268 complaints in all about the 2017 Tesla Model X, 5 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 →
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.
I believe Tesla has designed and installed defective upper control arm, joints, and bushings that do not support the weight of the vehicle. I have experienced a slight gliding of vehicle in addition to creaky and clangy sounds emitting from the front suspension. The gliding occurs during 30-45 MPH, and the noises occur at slow speeds.
When turning the wheel and backing up into a parking spot at my work, there was a loud thud/pop near the front left tire. I was traveling 1-5 MPH since I was being careful with my new car. This car was purchased not more than 48 hours before from a Tesla dealership.
Here is a Model X in the junkyard. Iaai. Com/vehicledetails/35688671/72 the front wheel and suspension have fallen off because the ball joint popped apart allowing the wheel to whomp about and batter the begeezus out of the bodywork. There is no possible excuse for the back wheel going whompy.
This is a complaint about a 2017 Tesla Model X with 3 wheels that has just shown up in the salvage yard. Here is the car. Iaai. Com/vehicledetails/35678369/1 because the listing does not include the full VIN detail I have used the VIN of another wrecked Tesla so as to be able to file the report.
Here is a Model X in the junkyard. Copart. Com/lot/61279099/photos it has not been in a crash, no damage to the bodywork and no air-bags deployed. The reason that it is an insurance write off is that the air suspension has collapsed forcing the wheels up into the arches and damaging the weel well liners.
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 X
Source: the same files- electrical problems 72 complaints
- steering problems 50 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre suspension problems common on the 2017 Tesla Model X?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 59 owner complaints naming the suspension on this model year (22% 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 X?
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 suspension problems show up on the 2017 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 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.