Tesla Model X Airbag Problems

Airbag complaints by model year

Which parts fail

• Air bag/restraint control module
  2

Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  1077%
• 25k–50k
  215%
• 50k–75k
  00%
• 75k–100k
  18%
• 100k–150k
  00%
• 150k+
  00%

What owners report

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while the driver was driving at an undisclosed speed, another vehicle attempted to merge near the contact's vehicle, which caused the passenger front end of the vehicle to collide into a pole. The air bags did not deploy during the incident. The contact also stated that the front driver's door became inoperable, and the contact had to break the front driver's window to be removed from the vehicle. No injuries were sustained, and no medical attention was provided. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

My vehicle has had a multitude of errors for 5 months now about the safety systems being disabled, seat controls malfunctioning, etc. Tesla refused to repair the car (despite only being months old) because I had requested a buyback due to other electrical issues with the vehicle. The driver facing errors (ones shown on the screen that the driver would see) simply said "Safety systems disabled". I contacted Tesla about this months ago and after they pulled the logs from the car, I was assured it was just a generic error and assured me that the car was safe to drive. Today, I found out how to access "service mode" where I could read ALL of the service alerts. It turns out the vehicle is reporting electrical "resistance too high" errors with the airbags which is clearly a safety issue. These errors go back months and were present when Tesla lied about the vehicle being safe to drive. …

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the driver's side rear passenger's seat belt failed to release the child occupying the seat. The contact stated that after five minutes the seat belt was released. The contact then stated that while driving at approximately 20 MPH, with the front passenger and the driver's side rear seats occupied, the restraint system fault for each passenger was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the messages appeared intermittently while both seats were unoccupied. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that a seat belt module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.

I had my two Teslas parked in the garage. The model X was charging at about 1:30 AM. We heard explosions coming out of the garage. Went to check only to see my model X in flames. We evacuated and called 911 eventually a fire investigation report was made Showing the fire started within the vehicle outward. The battery pack was on fire. We had lithium contamination all over the house and this fire endangered five lives. This incident has been two years ago and until now Tesla refuses to acknowledge the faulty battery and is refusing to do anything about it

I own a 2019 Model X which I have been driving for six years without any driving issues. I did have a few incidents in which the screen went black while driving. That was scary - driving without controls. These issues reported to Tesla and were addressed by Tesla. Today I was pulling into a parking lot when all of a sudden my Tesla automatically accelerated to high speed. I could not control or stop the vehicle despite applying hard brakes. The car crashed through a metal fence and continued to accelerate through the wall of a building. The only reason it finally stopped was because the back tires got stuck on the ledge of the wall. The Tesla went through the metal gates and walls of the building, but the safety airbag never deployed. The car has been towed away and reported to the insurance immediately after the police report. …

Two separate safety issues. The horn and drivers airbag are not functional. Also, the vehicle stops steering when driving at times. According to Tesla, The airbag assembly needs to be replaced at $1200 as well as the steering rack needs to be replaced at $5300. The vehicle is available for inspection. I have had several safety incidences. A couple where I needed to honk my horn and was not able to honk. As well as the steering going out and not being able to continue driving. The problem has been reproduced by the dealership. No one, besides Tesla has inspected the vehicle. There were no warning lamps for the horn and airbag. The steering warnings were steering assist reduced and steering may require increased effort while stuck in the middle of a lane or almost striking another vehicle. …

The Automated Emergency Brakes did not activate. This car hit the next car on the street. I was driving when I noticed the brake lights on the car in front of me, so I applied the brakes. Though it did not work, as this car is equipped with the Automated Emergency Brakes feature, it was expected that the car would activate the feature to stop to avoid impact and an accident. Which did not happen, and this car has a tremendous loss; the car in front also suffered a loss. The car manufacturer has given data in Excel files showing the events; it has no data at the time of the impact, but it has data well before and well after. Due to the failure of this important feature, the car has suffered a loss (potentially a total loss), the insurance process has been affected, and there has been a mental impact on my family members and me. Hence, requesting help in this regard.

Since the purchase of this vehicle the Safety Restraint System Fault Alert intermittently pops up while I am driving the vehicle. Tesla has owners make service appointment in an App which I have done multiple times in the past few years but each time the alert has gone away and the service appointments have been canceled. Turns out now, 4 years later, we have been driving with a faulty restraint system and there is a disconnect between the system and the wiring. Essentially this is a safety issue in that the notification system is faulty and incorrectly and only intermittently warns of possible failure as well as a possibility of the restraint system actually failing in a driving scenario. This problem is particularly concerning because they are unable to correctly diagnose which seats are affected and that includes seats that may have car seats attached.

Related recalls (5)

NHTSA investigations