Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, backup camera).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2016 Tesla Model X owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that the display screen went blank while driving at various speeds without warning. The contact restarted the vehicle and the display screen functionality returned; however, the failure recurred soon after restart. The contact then received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). The contact took the vehicle to a service center and was informed that there was a limited amount of parts to repair the vehicle. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not on the priority list for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle remained at the dealer and was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model-X. 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 contact stated that the center display intermittently turned blank while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that upon engaging the turn signals, there was no indication that the turn signals were engaged. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that his vehicle was previously included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). The contact stated that the main computer screen would intermittently fail to operate as needed. The contact had taken the vehicle to a service center where it remained in their possession. The contact was informed that dealer was unable to install a chip needed to perform the recall repair. The contact was then informed that the entire computer system needed to be replaced out-of-pocket. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the front driver's side door would not completely close or lock securely. The contact then received a message from the manufacturer's APP, indicating that the vehicle was not locked securely. Also, a gel-like substance was leaking from the monitor display unit onto the monitor screen posing a visibility hazard while using the backup camera. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local service center and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 31,570.
Possibly loss of power to the steering wheel, caused the car hitting the freeway middle cement separator Tesla refuses to look at my drive report to identify the exact fault of the car This happened on November 4th and I see there was an issue with Tesla cars due to a faulty software download during that time I've reached out to Tesla numerous numerous times, they refuse to review the report and identify the malfunction
Was stopped at a red light behind the car in front of me. I was stopped at a appropriate distance from the car in front of me. I had my right foot on the brake pedal, when the car accelerated on its own. It launched its self into the car ahead of me. I looked down and my foot was still on the brake pedal. None of the air bags inside the car deployed.
On July 13, 2021 at round 1951 hours, in broad day light at that time of Summer, The Tesla Model X , 75 D, was engaged in autopilot mode travelling westward at posted speed limit of 50 mph on a local highway road. The vehicle failed to slow down by using "ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL" but went ahead and hit the parked Dooley Truck at Red light, causing crumpling of the front of Tesla and some dent in the vehicle that got hit by it. It failed to give enough 'FORWARD COLLISION WARNING" to apply brakes. It did not deploy "EMERGENCY BREAKING SYSTEM", to avoid the Collision. When the Forward Collision sound was heard, it was too late, and when the brake was applied, it disabled the whole Vehicle and collided and stopped. The Air bag was deployed, but with minor injuries to the Drivers. …
I have my car in service right now for a recall that needed a replacement EMMC. On a service that was estimated for 2.5 hours have now gone on to 2 weeks. They also marked this recall service as complete within week 1 and tried returning the vehicle with errors pertaining to the emergency brake system, autopilot, sentry security system, and a list of other errors that came from the software not downloading properly and therefore, not installing the new EMMC correctly. Because this service was marked complete, I am no longer able to pull up with recall with my VIN # and I just wanted to document this to ensure this is fixed properly. I am now told By Tesla that I need to pay $1500 for a new infotainment system or $1600 for a new DAS system in order to address the recall issue. …
Two issues that are concerning and I have told Tesla: 1. The car will be on cruise control and I will be relaxed and all of a sudden it will just brake for no reason. Praise God I am aware of it now and prepared so I have to compensate, but it is very dangerous and made the cruise control useless. While it was under warrantee I request it be fixed, but they said there was no way to do that. 2. The car's back up screen is compromised and has a distortion on the bottom that was caused by a download. I requested four separate times a service requests to fix it while it was under warrantee, but they were unable to repair it. The first time they said I needed to wait for a download, then the second time they said it was a hacker, third time they replaced a chip, and the four time they told me to repair it I need to upgrade my entertainment package for $1500 so I cancelled the appointment. …
Hi, My steering wheel turning very hard even though NHTSA issued the the recall last month but your website says your vehicle is not on recall. Also my rear camara is working still Tesla said needs to be replace again even though Tesla replace in 2023 which is I paid. My autonomy is not working even though I paid $8000 plus $500 tax when I purchase my model X in 2016 for full self driving/ Tesla doesn't want to honor this to us. Hopefully NHTSA put my vehicle in recall list. Thanks for you help. Best regards
NHTSA investigations
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.
Automatic vehicle control systems
On May 7, 2016, a 2015 Tesla Model S collided with a tractor trailer crossing an uncontrolled intersection on a highway west of Williston, Florida, resulting in fatal injuries to the Tesla driver.Data obtained from the Model S indicated that:1) the Tesla was being operated in Autopilot mode at the time of the collision; 2) the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system did not provide any warning or automated braking…
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.
Collision Avoidance complaints in other Model X years
Frequently asked questions
How common are collision avoidance problems on the 2016 Tesla Model X?
NHTSA has 37 complaints about the driver assistance of the 2016 Tesla Model X, 8% of the model year's 450 complaints. The component named most often is automatic emergency braking (16 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2016 Tesla Model X collision avoidance problems?
No. NHTSA lists no driver assistance recall for the 2016 Tesla Model X, though it has 12 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 2016 Tesla Model X collision avoidance problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 57,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to driver assistance 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.