Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Tesla Model X owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the vehicle became stuck in drive(D) and failed to shift to park(P). Due to the failure, the safety system locked the doors, and the contact was trapped inside the vehicle. The front end of the vehicle struck the garage door, causing damage to the garage door. The vehicle then rolled backwards and came to a complete stop after depressing the brake pedal. No air bags had deployed during the failure. The message "Self-Driving Feature Disabled" was displayed. A Police report was filed. No injuries were reported. The Fire Department arrived at the scene and had to open the frunk to cut the wires and disconnect the battery to turn off the vehicle, and the contact safely stepped out of the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. …
Feb 2022 while driving horn engaged and would not go off , had to pull over , steering wheel then locked up and car would not start again but horn continued to go off and had weird smell until it died out. Took vehicle to Tesla service center, was told multiple fuses were blown , mother board and several other electrical/computer issues. May 2023 while parked in driveway horn engaged wound not stop, steering wheel once again locked up and unable to use any features in the car, while looking for fuse to pull to stop horn, noticed smoke coming from under frunk and smelled like something was burning , pulled main front end fuse which stopped the horn and burning. Called Tesla emergency services, advised not to drive it and have it towed to Tesla service center . …
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while attempting to park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward independently. As a result, the vehicle careened through an outdoor dining area, causing extensive property damage. The air bags did not deploy. A Police report was not filed, and injuries were not reported. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed from the scene directly to a body shop for the repair. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V838000 (Electrical System) and the VIN was included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 40,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been taken to a local dealer on multiple occasions for various unknown failures; however, the cause of the failures could not be duplicated. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact then stated that after starting the vehicle, the instrument cluster was inoperable. The contact made the dealer aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the media control unit (MCU) display screen and instrument cluster became inoperable. The contact restarted the vehicle and on the third attempt, the media control unit operated as designed. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the MCU was operating as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,300.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while driving at various speeds in self driving mode, the vehicle would experience phantom braking during events when a vehicle was not in front of the contact's vehicle. The contact spoke to a dealer and they informed the contact that they were unable to assist. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000.
As proactive and responsible car owners, we experienced an alert on our Tesla X stating it needed service, vehicle may not restart. We also recorded a concerning noise that clearly showed a problem ...And brought the car into the Tesla Blue Ash service center. It was estimated 3/4 hours to repair. After a day or so, we inquired and we were informed of "difficulty" performing diagnosis. We once again patiently waited for a diagnosis that was not received until we inquired again, days later. The car was held for a week and deemed acceptable as noted in the invoice. We drove this vehicle for less than a total of 1-2 hours over Saturday to Sunday to discover it unresponsive in our garage. It was stuck on the charger. HV battery fully charged. Tesla remote came out to remotely help us. …
My 2018 Tesla Model X experienced repeated over-the-air software update failures starting in late December 2025. Each update attempt would run for hours and then fail with a timeout error. This pattern continued for several weeks with the same error every time. After these repeated failed update attempts, the Autopilot ECU (computer) completely failed. Tesla service diagnosed the issue on January 6, 2026 as a failed Autopilot ECU 3.0 requiring full replacement at a cost of $1,808. The failure has disabled Full Self-Driving, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking, and all driver-assistance safety features. I am concerned this represents a systemic defect where Tesla's software updates are damaging or exposing failures in Autopilot hardware. …
I was driving on [redacted] from Carson City to Reno in Washoe Valley while on autopilot, the car suddenly alerted with very loud alarms, showed 1. steering assist reduced, 2. Automatic Emergency Braking is unavailable 3. Traction Control disabled 4. Stability control disabled 5. Park Assist unavailable. I pulled over to a safe parking area. Then the car locked out for 75 mins, in Neutral gear, can't shut off, can't park, can't reset the car at all even after talking to Tesla support. While waiting for the tow truck, I turned it into Tow mode, was able to change into Park mode finally, and hard reset the car. I took it in and Tesla told me the steering system was the problem and I was out of warranty so I had to pay A LOT OF money to repair/replace it.
For the past year, the battery will not hold it charge. I am getting about 30% of predicted mile range in colder weather and about 50% of predicted range in warmer weather. This makes the car unusable except for short trips and even then requires frequent charging. In addition, intermittantly, it will not charge quickly at a Supercharger. When others cars present are charging 180 range mph, I am charging at 20-50 range mph. I have had Tesla evaluate the issue and they claim there is nothing wrong but refused to share their evaluation with me. The rep would not give me any specific reason for my problem other than they found nothing wrong. I started the process before the end of the battery warranty (8 years) which has now expired. I feel Tesla service is committing systemic fraud in their approach to warrantied battery failure.
Related recalls
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.
NHTSA investigations
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).
Traffic safety violations while Full Self Driving ("FSD") is engaged
The Office of Defects Investigation ("ODI") is opening this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of FSD executing driving maneuvers that constitute tra c safety violations. This investigation concerns versions of FSD that Tesla has labeled as "FSD (Supervised)" and "FSD (Beta)." Tesla characterizes FSD as an SAE Level 2 partial automation system requiring a…
FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions
On October 17, 2024, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24031) of Tesla's Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) to assess: the ability of the FSD system to detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions; whether any other FSD crashes had occurred under degraded roadway visibility conditions that are…
Autopilot & First Responder Scenes
On August 13, 2021, NHTSA?s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE21-020) to assess the performance of Tesla?s Autopilot system (a system characterized by Tesla as an SAE Level 2 driving automation system designed to support and assist the driver in performing the driving task) available in Tesla vehicles.
FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Engineering Analysis to evaluate Tesla's Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) degradation detection system. The focus of this investigation will be to assess the system's ability, when encountering reduced roadway visibility conditions, to detect degradation and alert the driver with sufficient time to respond.
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.
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.
Compliance with Standing General Order 2021-01 Reporting Requirements
The Office of Defects Investigation ("ODI") has identified numerous incident reports submitted by Tesla, Inc. ("Tesla") in response to Standing General Order 2021-01 (the "SGO"), in which the reported crashes occurred several months or more before the dates of the reports.
Electrical complaints in other Model X years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2018 Tesla Model X?
NHTSA has 36 complaints about the electrical system of the 2018 Tesla Model X, 19% of the model year's 193 complaints. The component named most often is instrument cluster/panel (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2018 Tesla Model X electrical problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 24V-051 (instrument cluster/panel, Jan 30, 2024); NHTSA recall 23V-838 (software, Dec 12, 2023). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2018 Tesla Model X electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 12,000 miles, and 67% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 1 fire and 1 injury to electrical system 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.