Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2017 Tesla Model S owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while approaching a stop light, while the contact was depressing on the brake pedal to slow down the vehicle accelerated on its own causing the contact to strike the vehicle in front. The contact stated that no warning light illuminated, and the brake assist did not activate. The contact stated when the vehicle struck the vehicle in front the vehicle continued driving forward and then the vehicle was able to come to a complete stop. The vehicle had front-ended damages and the other vehicle had rear-ended damages. No one was injured. The air bags deployed. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a repair center. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 54,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S 75. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 mph, the brakes were seized while on autopilot. In addition, there was a warning error the contact was unable to remember. The contact mentioned the emergency brake engaged independently and the contact was unable to control the vehicle which caused the vehicle to crash into the guardrail. A police report was not filed. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was towed to a service center where a diagnostic was not attempted but the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 21v846000 ( forward collision avoidance). The approximate failure mileage was 54,504. Vehicle was not listed on the recall.
While in autosteer, I pressed on the brakes which normally deactivates the autosteer while coming to a stop. In this particular case the car did not brake upon command and the car maintained acceleration thru a stop light and veered into a median causing a collision with a curb causing structural damage to the frame of the vehicle. I have put in a claim with both my insurance and Tesla and advise that the brakes did not activate in a timely fashion upon disengaging from Autosteer thus causing the collision and was advise by Tesla that I would be responsible to cover the damages when the accident was caused by the vehicle not disengaging. I was only advised after the fact of the recall for the very reason I complained to Tesla in the first place and have been waiting 5 months for a resolution.
Full Self driving did not show signs of slowing down at Everett traffic slow down from about 60 miles to a standstill. I realized the speed not slowing down (about 5 car distance from stopped distance) I tried to apply the brakes that were completely nonresponsive, instead the car sped up. I avoided backend collision with the first car be maneuvering to the shoulder, however the next car was parked halfway into the shoulder that didn't leave enough room to not hit it. The car hit two other cars before coming to a full stop. While checking for any injuries for myself and passenger, after a delay and hitting 3 cars the airbags uselessly deployed. Total failure of brakes, auto emergency braking and airbag deployment. I have requested Tesla to look into the logs but havent gotten any feedback.
The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The contact stated that the vehicle quickly decelerated without warning to 50 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,798.
While driving in heavy traffic on highway 92, the left hand fore link assembly (Tesla part no 1041570-00-B) finally cracked. A loud crunch and a dark smoke plume was let out as the front left tire made contact with the wheel well. I stopped to check for a blown tire, but found none. The vehicle was still operable and maneuverable, though for any braking or more than mild turning, the tire again made contact with the wheel well and gave off loud crunching sounds. No warning lamps or messages prior to the failure, but some weeks prior, the left fore wheel's tire thread depth had started wearing down significantly - down to 1mm, vs the others being 4, 6, and 4 - this part had probably been slowly degrading until it finally cracked and failed permanently on the road. …
Ever since I purchased this car I have suffered from Phantom Braking when using Cruise Control. As a result, I am unable to use any of the advanced Autopilot features. I spent $10,000 for something that has never even begun to work. Phantom Braking occurs seemingly at random, with no vehicles in front, nothing on the road and no overpasses or shadows. I try every few months to see if anything has improved, most recently in January on 101 north of Petaluma. The car suddenly braked, freaking out my passenger. I only try it when no other vehicles are around, so that I am not rear-ended when it happens, after some very scary near-rear-ending events early on. I have reported this problem to Tesla on MANY occasions but after being told "it is a known problem" I have given up reporting it. Is it repeatable? Yes, just drive on cruise control. Safety risk is being rear-ended. …
I was driving at low speed when I suddenly felt a very loud pop and snap. I thought I had a flat tire. The car pulled to the left. I had trouble pulling over and thought I was going to hit someone. I was able to come to a stop abruptly. I checked for a flat and had none. I called Tesla after limping the car home because I could not see a flat. The car had a broken control arm and had completely pulled the left wheel against the frame. Almost like I got something really hard but I hadn't. I had just pulled away from a stop sign when the snap took place. I was put at risk as well as my child. I couldn't control my vehicle. There were no warning messages. The vehicle was repaired by tesla and they didn't even call me to tell me what was wrong with it. I found out it was the control arm from the documents i was given.
On at least three (3) separate occasions, my Tesla has automatically slammed on the brakes. Once it happened while driving on Hwy 101 in high speed traffic flow. I was passing a right side on-ramp and I believe the Tesla got confused when it saw a car approaching the highway from the merge lane on my right. One time it happened on Hwy 101 in a construction zone marked 55mph. Perhaps the auto drive cameras got confused by the poorly marked road and lack of lane markings as traffic merged. One of the times it happened in Santa Barbara on State St, in a 35 mph zone. In each of the above cases, *I was not in autodrive*. I was subscribed to Beta software updates, but after these scary incidents, I discontinued Beta and went back to Standard updates.
The brakes have engaged while driving at high speeds (perhaps on about a half dozen occasions) when using either the adaptive cruise control or auto pilot, at a time when there were no road hazards or other cars in the forward or side vicinities. The braking that occurred was severe - a hard braking if you will. On two occasions, this same kind of braking occurred at the same point on a certain freeway that I was traveling on. This braking also occurred once while driving on a city street at low speeds with auto pilot engaged. The dates in which these incidents occurred were all in 2021. The only specific time frame I remember was in July 2021
Brake complaints in other Model S years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2017 Tesla Model S?
NHTSA has 25 complaints about the brakes of the 2017 Tesla Model S, 6% of the model year's 428 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2017 Tesla Model S brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2017 Tesla Model S, though it has 9 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 2017 Tesla Model S brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 24,000 miles, and 60% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 8 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.