Most common 2013 Tesla Model S problems
Share of the 461 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Tesla Model S complaints by model year
Best Model S years: 2012, 2019, 2025. Years to avoid: 2023, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022. Compare all years →
2013 Tesla Model S recalls (11)
Seat belts › Front › Warning light/devices
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2024 Model S, 2015-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. In the event of an unbelted driver, the seat belt warning light and audible chime may not activate as intended.
Remedy: Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update. Owner notification letters were mailed July 26, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-008.
Forward collision avoidance › Warnings › External/pedestrian alert
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2013, 2018-2021 Model S, 2020-2021 Model X, 2018-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A factory reset muted the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds.
Remedy: Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, release 2023.44.30.14, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 27, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752.
Electrical system › Instrument cluster/panel
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.
Remedy: Tesla began releasing an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-003.
Electrical system › ADAS › Driver monitoring › Software
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.
Remedy: Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752.
Visibility › Defroster/defogger/HVAC system
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Tesla Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles with a center display equipped with a NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and an 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device.
Remedy: Owners should ensure their vehicles are operating firmware release 2020.48.48.12 or newer, which will alert owners if the eMMC is approaching lifetime wear.
Steering › Electric power assist system
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with Bosch steering racks. The aluminum bolts that attach the power steering gear assist motor to the gear housing may corrode and fracture causing a reduction or complete loss of power steering assist.
Remedy: Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the steering gear mounting bolts and add a corrosion-preventative sealer, free of charge. The recall began May 7, 2019.
Show 5 more recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling all 2013 Model S vehicles equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment.
Remedy: Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the passenger frontal air bag modules, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in March 2018.
Parking brake
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016 Model S and Model X vehicles. The electric parking brake calipers have an internal gear that may be improperly manufactured, possibly resulting in the gear fracturing during parking brake application or release.
Remedy: Tesla will notify owners, and service centers will replace both the left and right electric parking brake calipers, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2018.
Seat belts › Front
Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Model S vehicles manufactured May 31, 2012, to November 12, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with driver or front passenger seat belts that may be improperly connected to the outboard lap pretensioner.
Remedy: Tesla will notify owners, and service centers will inspect the driver and front passenger seat belts, correcting their connection, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 14, 2015.
Equipment › Electrical
Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain model year 2013 Model S vehicles equipped for, and delivered with, certain NEMA 14-50 (240 volt) Universal Mobile Connector (UMC) adapters. During charging, the adapter, cord, or wall outlet could overheat.
Remedy: Tesla will notify owners and provide an over-the-air (OTA) software update. Some owners have already received this update. This update allows the Model S on board charging system to detect any unexpected fluctuations in…
Seats
Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain model year 2013 Model S electric vehicles manufactured May 10, 2013, through June 8, 2013. An improper method for aligning the left hand seat back striker to the bracket may have weakened the weld between the bracket and the frame of the vehicle.
Remedy: Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will inspect the left hand second row strikers. Tesla will add additional mounting hardware to ensure a proper joint between the bracket and the frame, free of charge.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 12 possible defects involving the 2013 Tesla Model S:
Recall 23V838 Remedy Effectiveness
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening a Recall Query to assess the remedy adequacy of Recall 23V838. On December 12, 2023, Tesla filed a Defect Information Report (Recall 23V838) applicable to all Tesla models produced and equipped with any version of its Autopilot system, which Tesla described as an SAE Level 2 (L2) Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS).
Fore Link Failure
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.
Loss of rearview camera
On June 22, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE20-010 to investigate incidents of media control unit (MCU) failures resulting in loss of rearview camera in model year (MY) 2012-2015 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with an integrated 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device.
Fire - Propulsion Battery - Road Debris
The subject vehicles (SV), model years 2012-2013 Tesla Model S, are emerging technology electric vehicles using a high voltage battery (HVB) to provide propulsion energy. The HVB uses lithium-ion cells combined in 60 or 85 kWh capacities, and a control system that monitors the HVB and its liquid cooling system.
Autopilot System Driver Controls
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) upgraded PE21020 to EA22002 on June 8, 2022, to extend work and deepen the PE21020 crash analysis, to supplement that analysis with additional data, and to perform vehicle evaluations to understand how Tesla's Autopilot system may exacerbate human factors or behavioral safety risks by undermining the effectiveness of the driver's supervision.
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Loss of rearview camera
On November 20, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Engineering Analysis (EA) 20-003 to investigate incidents of media control unit (MCU) failures resulting in loss of rearview camera in model year (MY) 2012-18 Tesla Model S and model year (MY) 2016-2018 Tesla Model X vehicles equipped with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with an integrated 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device.
Sudden Unintended Acceleration
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.
Defect Petition Interlock Request
On March 21, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition requesting a "recall of all Tesla cars" produced from 2013 to the date on which the petition was filed due to what Petitioner considers to be the increased likelihood of pedal misapplication. Attached to the Petition is a paper authored by Petitioner.
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles.
Sudden Unintended Acceleration
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.
Battery Management Software Updates
In a letter dated September 17, 2019, Mr. Edward Chen petitioned the NHTSA to initiate a defect investigation of certain Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles that received revised battery management software in one or more over-the-air (OTA) updates from Tesla, beginning in May 2019.
What 2013 Tesla Model S owners say
Electrical system all 195 →
Car was charging in the garage on Dec 30, 2020 when at 5:25 AM a message was sent to my phone that the charging had been interrupted but not completed. 12 minutes later at 5:37 AM a message was sent that the Alarm on the vehicle had been activated. 2 minutes later the second Tesla in the garage sent a message that the alarm had been activated. None of these messages were seen at the time since we were asleep in the back of the house, but the car alarm did wake us up. Hearing the alarm woke us and soon after we heard smoke alarms from teh garage and throughout the house. When we walked to the front of the house, we could see flames from the garage to the top of the second story. We immediately exited the house. The attached article and video describes the situation. …
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that the parking brake seized while leaving a charging station, and the vehicle screeched into oncoming traffic and stalled. The parking brake warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle had not been charged prior to a snowstorm, and the battery became fully drained. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the main battery and 12-Volt battery needed to be replaced before the diagnostic test. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle failed to shift into drive or move. The jack mode was disengaged. While driving, the rear wheels were screeching. The contact stated that the failure was related to TSB: SB-21-33-002). …
Suspension all 92 →
I was approaching a stop sign at 2 mph when I heard a terrible metallic clunking sound from under the front of the car. When I went to make a right turn, I was unable to steer the car. I was able to get it into a parking lot where I saw that the front right wheel was cambered in at about 30 degrees. I took photos of the car and in the wheel well and saw that the wheel was disconnected from an upper control bar. I had it towed to the Tesla Service Center and they confirmed that the Upper suspension link had disconnected from the wheel. There is a ball and socket type of joint that connects the two and the ball had popped out of the socket causing the problem. I had them check the Right front connection and was told that that socket was also loose and needed to be replaced. I had both sides repaired. …
I own a 2013 Tesla Model S. While investigating a knocking noise from the rear of the vehicle, I had a local shop disassemble the affected area and we discovered a crack in the rear subframe near a weld and mounting bracket. The fracture appears clean, with little or no visible corrosion. No previous repairs have been performed in the affected area. Given the location of the failure and the structural function of the component, I request an engineering review to determine the likely failure mechanism and whether similar failures have been documented on early Model S vehicles. My research shows the same failure in NHTSA complaint [redacted]. Other local shops also describe the same subframe failure on this Model and manufacturing year. Please advise whether any applicable service campaigns, revised replacement components, or goodwill repair assistance are available. …
Transmission & drivetrain all 35 →
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, there was a loud knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle started losing motive power. The contact was able to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road. The contact called the roadside assistance and the vehicle was towed to a local dealer. The local dealer inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the failure as a rear drive unit malfunction. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost of the repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,523.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the message "Take to Service" was displayed. The local dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer by Tesla Insurance to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the drive unit was rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure via email and a letter. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
2013 Tesla Model S engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric | Single-speed | RWD | 94 / 97 / 95 MPGe | 208 mi |
EPA ratings. Class: Large car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2013 Tesla Model S a good car?
Based on 461 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2013 Model S rates average: about as many complaints as a typical year of the Model S at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2013 Tesla Model S?
The electrical system — 195 complaints, 42% of all complaints for this model year, most often about 12v/24v/48v battery. Next are the suspension (92) and transmission & drivetrain (35).
How many recalls does the 2013 Tesla Model S have?
There are 11 recalls for the 2013 Tesla Model S, the most recent from May 28, 2024 (warning light/devices). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Tesla Model S?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2012, 2019 and 2025. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2023, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2022. See the full Tesla Model S years comparison.
At what mileage do 2013 Tesla Model S problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 70,000 miles; 35% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.