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 2017 Tesla Model X owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the center display would inadvertently turn blank or reset on its own. The contact stated that the rear-view camera would inadvertently turn blank and the center display would take more than five minutes to reset while driving. The contact also stated that the audio sound of the vehicle would fail to work, including the turn signal beeping sound. The vehicle was taken to a Tesla service center who reset the software; however, the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to a second Tesla service center, Tesla (320 W Golf Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60195) several times and the software was reloaded; however, the failure persisted. …
The contact owns a 2017 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 unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had experienced the failure and while operating the vehicle the display screen which included the backup camera would randomly malfunction causing the screen to freeze or turn black. Additionally, while operating the vehicle the power steering assist had malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn in either direction. The cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Tesla Full Self Driving FSD is too dangerous for public street experiments. The video evidence is not from my vehicle but mine does not recognize many obstacles that increase the risks of collisions: The YouTube video shows the automatic system failed to recognize the green bollard and even with the quick intervention from a claimed well experienced FSD driver, the car collided with the green bollard. The public should not be forced to be at risk for allowing this automatic system with numerous dangerous behaviors to experiment on the public street. Tesla should have tested this in its closed course by building its own green bollard and then it can crash all it wants but not at the expense of public safety. https://youtu.be/Zl9rM8D3k34
The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while reversing there was no image displayed on the infotainment screen. The contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently. The contact stated that the center front camera failed to record. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that no failure was found. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) and scheduled an appointment with the dealer however, the dealer cancelled the appointment. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The approximate failure mileage was 49,000.
The steering wheel was dysfunctional; the wheel was locked in the middle of the highway, and the car started to change lanes, causing a massive accident. There was a significant accident between my car and a truck; both cars were totaled. My airbags didn't open as well. I got a massive concussion, and I do not know about the condition of the other driver. There was a recall about the steering wheel, and we brought our car to the dealership, and supposedly they fixed the issue. There was no warning or message before the accident. The message appeared on my Tesla screen for the first time less than a few minutes before the accident.
I was driving my Tesla on left line of I75 Norh with 70 miles speed. It was on autopilot . Without any warning car lost the control and slipped, changed three lines and collide at the right side median .it's happened on 3 July 2022. I reported the accident to Tesla right away. The accident took place more than 6 months and still Tesla is saying they are studying the car and not giving a clear report. So the repair people doesn't know how to fix it and I am out of car. Please investigate the case and help me to get a report so that I can fix the car.
While driving CA-17, as is frequently the case, I had to disengage automatic steering several times to correct its poor lane keeping. Much to my surprise, the vehicle stopped maintaining speed, creating a dangerous situation with vehicles behind me as the uphill road caused the vehicle to rapidly decelerate the second I turned the wheel. After experimentation, I discovered that Tesla has completely removed cruise control capabilities from these vehicles unless you completely disable the FSD beta functionality, which makes this vehicle highly unsafe to drive in any environment where autosteer is inadequate, including CA-17. Further, this isn't just unsafe on weird highways. This poor decision on Tesla's part could very easily cause rear-end collisions on freeways. …
Firmware version: 2020.48.37.8 Date of Occurrence: 2/18/22 Location: I66 Westbound Description: On I66 Westbound near Rt123 Exit the car was traveling at 70mph and decreased 50mph. The car was on full autopilot. Set speed limit changed from 70 to 50mph but signage and the car's perceived speed limit was 55mph. No cars ahead of me to initiate the rapid deacceleration. The occurrence happened between 8 to 8:15AM. Weather was partly cloudy. Second occurrence of rapid deacceleration occurred on the same commute. On I66 Westbound near Rt50 the car was traveling at 70mph and the vehicle decreased speed to 30mph. The autopilot set to 70mph and rapidly deaccelerated to 30mph. Cars ahead were several car lengths away. No braking or deacceleration was observed by the cars ahead. The occurrence happened between 8:15 to 8:30AM. Weather was partly cloudy. …
Highly repeatable issue: driving on left lane of a highway going at high speed (60) with adaptive cruise control enabled (but *not* full self drive mode). Put on turn signal to merge into right lane. There was a car in the right lane directly next to me but I had not initiated the merge, was merely signaling my intent to merge. My car SLAMMED on the breaks (very dangerous as I was almost rear ended the first time by a 18 wheeler). Did some testing at a later date- if there is a car slightly ahead of me in the right lane, the car behaves normally (maintains speed) if there is a car in my blind spot, the car indicates there is someone in my blind spot but maintains speed. If I am driving in the left lane all three scenarios (slightly ahead, directly adjacent, in blind spot) the car maintains appropriate speed. …
When using autopilot (handsfree) feature, it brakes automatically. In some cases, there is no car in front of it and applies short brake automatically. During bottleneck traffic it gets worst, applies throbbing hard brake and due to excessive hard braking rotors/pads are going bad very often. Whatever is on your seats, will be on the floor and feels like you are having a stroke. Due to the defect in autopilot feature, rotors/pads are going bad and need to spend lot of money replacing them. As tesla service centers are pretty expensive. Attached is the invoice. I feel that brake pads/rotors/labor should be all covered under Tesla warranty. Autopilot feature is very dangerous to use and it also creates lot of stress when the feature is engaged. One of the location/time stamp sharing it below, pretty sure Tesla can pull it off from their history as well. …
Related recalls
Forward collision avoidance › Software
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles operating software version 2021.36.5.2. A communication error may cause false forward-collision warning (FCW) or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency brake (AEB) system.
Remedy: Tesla Service has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. The recall began October 25, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752.
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.
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 2017 Tesla Model X?
NHTSA has 47 complaints about the driver assistance of the 2017 Tesla Model X, 18% of the model year's 268 complaints. The component named most often is adaptive cruise control (22 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2017 Tesla Model X collision avoidance problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 21V-846 (software, Oct 29, 2021). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2017 Tesla Model X collision avoidance problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 22,000 miles, and 56% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 0 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.