Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Tesla Model S owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). The contact stated that the recall repair was performed twice however, the vehicle experienced an unknown computer failure. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the seats moved independently. The contact was unaware of a warning light being illuminated. The contact stated that the driver's side seat would revert to the seat settings of the second driver independently while the vehicle was in motion. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the eMMC controller needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure occurred again and the eMMC controller was replaced a second time. The failure persisted. The failure mileage was 123,864.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the center display screen malfunctioned, causing the rearview camera to intermittently fail. Additionally, the failure caused a delay while switching gears to drive(D) and to park(P). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and determined through the Tesla App that the VCM daughterboard needed to be replaced with one containing an enhanced eMMC controller. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 95,500.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) unit became inoperable causing the vehicle to stall. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the VCM unit needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact then stated 18 months later, he received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V035000 (Back over prevention, Visibility, Exterior lighting). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
I brought in the car to be parked as part of NHTSA Recall No. 21V-035. The "fix" provided has led to my center console in the Model S to shutdown completely. I contacted Tesla to inform them that their fix as part of the recall has actually led to more problems.
Mcu1 with emmc is dead, which causes loss of center screen controls, thus you have no controls over interior defrosting or fogging to keep from having loss of visibility. In addition there is no backup camera. Also the car will no longer charge past about 20% leaving you stranded. Car was driving down the road when screen went out and would not come back. Last August I had to get the screen replaced for 1100.00 now this repair will cost 1600.00 and it comes with another screen. They will not just fix the emmc, p/n that is ordered for the repair includes a new screen that I don't need. I declined to pay for the repair at this time to wait until mcu2 is available, then a few days later my car will no longer even charge. Well it charges extremely slow to a maximum of 46 miles. They say the battery and drive unit is fine so guess what, no warranty for anything else for all this.
The media control unit (mcu) in my 2013 Tesla Model s stopped working when I rebooted the car while stationary (commonly needed to restore lost functionality), apparently due to a failure of the embedded multi-media card (emmc) memory. As part of this failure, the turn signals did not work when I later went to drive the car, the passenger airbag defaulted to 'off' (pic attached), and the HVAC system (including the windshield defroster) defaulted to an unknown setting and could not be controlled (neither by the dead mcu nor the smartphone application), though the car was otherwise still driveable. Apparently, the OEM emmc had limited re-write capability and a relatively high re-write frequency; when it failed, it not only created driving safety hazards, but also cost more than $1,000 to repair what was probably an inexpensive part (under $10) for the OEM.
On 9/5/19 my mcu (media control unit) (the main computer in my car) died. As a result, I was unable to: 1. Manually power off the vehicle and place in tow mode 2. Turn on parking lights, turn on/off headlights 3. Trigger on/off child protection locks additionally, 1. All heating, cooling, defrost, and defogging was disabled I've read that this is a common issue with Model s/x cars on multiple forums including https://teslamotorsclub.com/ & https://forums.Tesla.com. I believe the reason is shown here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-7b1waoj9q. Start at 8:40. This is quite worrisome, as it seems as though this failure will happen again in a few years. It was a hot day and not only was it unbearably inside my car, however, more importantly, many of the key safety functions (see above) were also disabled due to this failure.
The main/center screen blacks out on my Tesla, which is where all the car controls and back-up camera is viewed. Even when it doesn't completely black out, the back up camera doesn't function as it just stays frozen a lot of the time. Outside of the backup camera issues, all other functions, like turning on or off headlights is also impacted. At other times it seems like it impacts charging the car, which can leave me dead if I cannot charge. Other functions have also been impacted like turning air conditioning and navigation, however not necessarily safety issues. These issues have happened while sitting in my garage trying to leave, charging my car at a Tesla charging station, driving down the freeway or streets. I estimate they have been happening since about 60K miles and have progressively gotten worse.
My vehicle has the issue with the emmc chip being too small to handle all the logging Tesla was doing and now it's starting to fail. When it completely fails I won't be able to defog the windshield, the heat and ac won't work, the turn signals won't work and I won't be able to charge the vehicle. I got an email from Tesla saying my car doesn't qualify car the warranty adjustment program due to miles but it's within the years. This needs to be a recall regardless of miles. Tesla doubling the amount of logging caused excessive wear on the emmc. The failure is a safety issue.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Model S years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2013 Tesla Model S?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2013 Tesla Model S, 5% of the model year's 461 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2013 Tesla Model S window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof recall for the 2013 Tesla Model S, though it has 11 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2013 Tesla Model S window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 96,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 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.