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2013 Tesla Model S electrical complaints

Page 3 of 8: complaints 41 to 70 of 195, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2013 Tesla Model S electrical problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jan 8, 2022 · Electrical · CA

"Center Display Unavailabe" message on dashboard. The center display screen that is critical for operating the vehicle controls and camera etc. was blank.

Filed Jan 6, 2022 · Electrical · MA

Screen went totally blank and I can’t control anything. No access to heating, backup camera, navigation, etc.

Filed Dec 30, 2021 · Body, Electrical · 45,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive and electrical power. A warning message stating that the vehicle was about to shut off was illuminated. The contact swerved to the right, attempting to veer to the side of the road on the right lane; however, the vehicle stopped midway and a semi-truck almost crashed into the rear passenger’s side of the vehicle. The contact pushed the vehicle into a nearby parking lot with assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the battery had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer advised the contact that they had replaced the battery with a new battery; however, the failure reoccurred, and the battery was replaced for a second time. The Department of Auto Motor Repair of California investigated and informed the contact that the dealer had kept his original battery and the third battery that the dealer installed in the vehicle was not new. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the third battery with the original one; however, the failure reoccurred. The dealer replaced the original battery with an upgraded battery. The contact also stated that the hood would not close securely. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired. The vehicle was towed to a second dealer; Tesla (7077 W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89117) who repaired the vehicle. The contact stated that the rear passenger’s side door would fail to close. The vehicle was towed twice to the second dealer and was finally repaired. The contact stated that the center display of the vehicle would inadvertently turn off while driving. The contact stated that the failure had prevented him from using the rearview camera or have control of the door switches and some features of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

Filed Dec 27, 2021 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the media control unit turned off and was unable to operate the windows or the Air Conditioner in the vehicle. The contact stated that the temperature inside the vehicle began to rise and had to park the vehicle for 30 minutes. The contact stated she was able to restart the vehicle and was able to access the windows and the Air Conditioner and some other features. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing to replace the old hardware to access the new updates. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated she had experienced the failure on multiple occasions. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Dec 13, 2021 · Electrical · NC · crash · 1 injury

The rear view camera did not deploy when I was backing out of a driveway and I was struck by another vehicle. The police determined it was a no-fault accident. My insurance company deemed me primarily responsible. I was unable to see any oncoming traffic because the camera was not working and there were obstacles to seeing oncoming traffic. The car was deemed totaled by the mechanic and my insurance company. The car battery died soon after the accident and the vehicle remains in my garage and is immovable. I sustained minor head, neck and back injuries.

Filed Nov 18, 2021 · Electrical · CA · fire

Car was charging in the garage on Dec 30, 2020 when at 5:25 AM a message was sent to my phone that the charging had been interrupted but not completed. 12 minutes later at 5:37 AM a message was sent that the Alarm on the vehicle had been activated. 2 minutes later the second Tesla in the garage sent a message that the alarm had been activated. None of these messages were seen at the time since we were asleep in the back of the house, but the car alarm did wake us up. Hearing the alarm woke us and soon after we heard smoke alarms from teh garage and throughout the house. When we walked to the front of the house, we could see flames from the garage to the top of the second story. We immediately exited the house. The attached article and video describes the situation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/04/tesla-fire/ Both Tesla cars and half the house was destroyed by the fire. Tesla never came to the house to inspect the car that started the fire. To date it has not been examined and Tesla takes no responsibility for the damage. They advertise that the battery is warranted and that they will cover any damage caused by a faulty battery, but have refused to do anything.

Filed Sep 16, 2021 · Electrical · WA

I had a failure on my main computer. The MCU failed and the screen would not turn on. Tesla replaced a chip in my MCU but it did not fix all of my issues. I have to reboot my computer 95% of the time I am driving. Here are the issues: 1) 3g/GPS not activating. Leads to not being able to use GPS navigation. 2) Computer freezes. Usually while sleeping, computer does not wake up or the central screen does not respond leading to failures in many systems including: blinker, AC, radio, rear view for backing up, garage control, creep mode, etc. One time I left my computer in 'camp mode' so that it would keep cool on a hot day. While I was away from car, I checked on my mobile app to see the status of the car. The app could not connect to my car. When I came back, the computer had frozen up which meant that the AC was no longer working. This caused a unsafe level of temperature in my car of 100 degrees +. Luckily there was no dog or child in the car but I hate to think if there was. When I leave the car in 'dog mode' or 'camp mode', I expect it to do what it states it is going to do and keep my car cool. This could be very dangerous, especially on a hot day. In conclusion, even though Tesla did the fix for my MCU and my screen does turn on, it is not fixed 100% leading to constant reboots due to 3g failures and computer freezes. This happens almost every day.

Filed Jun 21, 2021 · Electrical · CA

Tesla has had a mandatory recall for the MCU and the screen. I went to get my car repaired, and they only fixed the MCU. They said my screen was not under the recall, but the whole point of the recall was to fix it. Now, with the screen not working, I am unable to control 95% of the functions of the car, including safety features like seeing the rear camera. They wish to charge me 800$ to replace the screen, which is not right when the original recall was the fix the screen issue.

Filed Apr 7, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 99,234 miles · WA

Tesla is refusing to refund the out of pocket cost paid for the mcu touchscreen repair, described by the federal safety agency recall number 21v035. Please find attached tesla's automated system refusing to refund, plus my service receipt showing it was paid out of pocket.

Filed Mar 18, 2021 · Electrical · 84,984 miles · NJ

The car is not getting its software updates because of a bad mcu. The dealer is quoting $1200 to replace.

Filed Mar 13, 2021 · Electrical · CA

Replaced mcu for touchscreen at a cost of $1,359.50. Car was on recall for this reason. Nothing on tesla site for reimbursement.

Filed Feb 26, 2021 · Electrical · 179,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 tesla model s. The contact stated that coolant was leaking onto the battery. The battery warning light was illuminated and shortly afterwards, the battery was not charging properly. The vehicle was taken to local dealer tesla service center (8105 big lake rd, village of clarkston, mi 48346, (248) 241-9321) however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure, and stated the issue would be at the residence electricity. The contact stated he continued to experience the failure. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer at tesla service center (6142 telegraph rd, toledo, oh 43612, (567) 420-6130) where it was diagnosed with needing the charging port to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired, but continued to experience the failure. The vehicle was taken to another dealer and the media control unit was updated. The contact stated that the vehicle continued to experience the failure. The contact stated that he had the vehicle serviced on three different occasions. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 179,000.

Filed Feb 25, 2021 · Electrical · 40,000 miles · HI

The speedometer cluster is leaking and delaminating causing the glue to drip onto other components, possibly causing a fire hazard or unsafe environment. Talking to other owners, this is a common issue on older tesla model s cars.

Filed Feb 3, 2021 · Brakes, Electrical · 98,000 miles · WA

1. Driving screen failed. 2. During wet weather brakes will not slow down car for 3 seconds...very distrubing 3. 2013 model s with under 100k miles had font end parts fail. Required a $3,000.00 repair. Have never had an american car, even with twice the mileage have multiple front end parts fail.

Filed Jan 25, 2021 · Electrical, Lights · CA

Backing up mcu fail backup camera failed almost back on a kid ran behind my car while I was looking down at a disabled screen. Driving to tesla service department main screen failed due to computer car crippled to minimal safety control. Car now in service tesla require me to pay $1500 for new mcu2 instead of recalling and replace the defective mcu.

Filed Jan 22, 2021 · Electrical · 107,890 miles · WA

The main touch screen controlling backup camera, nav, air-con /heat and defrost systems goes dark. I have no control over those items making driving unsafe. The speedo and gear indicator on the driver side allows you to drive but it is not safe. I have video of the car driving to prove it operates without the controls.

Filed Jan 14, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · 95,000 miles · CA

Main processing unit for the car stops working and displays go black. Turn signals do not audibly annunciate. Climate control turns off. Lighting, security and other safety controls cannot be changed. I have dates and times and symptoms for some of the failures. Occurs typically weekly, but can have multiple episodes per day. Tesla service has been requested and performed 4-5 times. The oem mpu was replaced approximately 4 months ago and yet problems persist. Mpu has failed while parked, while driving, on city streets and highways. Can occur at any time.

Filed Jan 14, 2021 · Electrical · 41,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 tesla model s. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the media control unit and the dashboard lights flickered on and off before becoming inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact drove to the residence. The next day the contact drove the vehicle to tesla (811 s san fernando blvd, burbank, ca 91502) who diagnosed the failure to the media control unit. The failure mileage was 41,000.*dt the failure of the media control unit has occurred many times before the contact made this report. The above represents the latest occasion of incident. Some of the media control unit failures occurred while driving on a highway at speeds of 65 miles per hour. When contact took his vehicle to tesla, the service center stated that the media control unit needed replacement, but wanted estimated $1,400.00 for the replacement. The media control unit was not replaced due to high cost. The media control unit failure occurred again in early january 2021, after this report was originally submitted.*dt

Filed Jan 14, 2021 · Electrical · 140,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 tesla model s. The contact stated that the media control unit was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to tesla (7500 windrose ave b185, plano, tx 75024) and was diagnosed that the chip within the computer failed and needed to be replaced. The computer chip was replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately was 140,000.

Filed Jan 14, 2021 · Electrical · MN

I have had multiple issues with my 2013 model s including but not limited to total failure of the mcu, total failure of the battery and partial failure of the tire pressure monitoring system. Some problems that I have encountered during the mcu failure before and after the mcu was replaced include loss of ability to access the screen to turn on heat, radio, defrosters, bluetooth, or any other function of the screen that is available, loss of blinker sound, loss of parking chime sound, loss of sound from the stereo including no bluetooth or music. While driving from blaine, mn to st. Paul, mn with my blinker on the majority of the time on the freeway with out my knowledge because the was no blinker sound. That was not only frightening but also dangerous. I have had a myriad of issues with this vehicle and I am really fearful of a total failure while I am driving. All of the issues noted above were during motion. One other problem I have noticed is my car takes an excessive amount of time to turn on.

Filed Jan 8, 2021 · Electrical · 95,052 miles · IL

Computer screen went dark several times and affects the turn signals for the vehicle making it unsafe to drive. The problem has happened at least 5 times in the last 60 days. The dark screen makes it impossible to adjust any of the heating, cooling, or use of hands free devices.

Filed Dec 23, 2020 · Electrical · 92,000 miles · NY

In june 2019 I noticed the control screen of my 2013 tesla model s going blank randomly while the car was in motion and then re-activating after minutes, hours or until the car sat before being driven again. This continues and I am unable to access the screen to select the backup camera as the screen freezes and does not allow use of any features. Periodically the side view mirrors will not extend while driving until we have driven for 5 to 30 minutes. I have reported the screen blanking issue and mirrors to tesla service in syosset ny and they told me that it is related to my model s being an older model with an older computer that has to 'catch up' to what is being selected on the screen. The software it is running is really intended for newer models that have a faster computer. I was told that since the car was not under warranty, tesla would have to charge me to diagnose this problem and would probably reach the conclusion that tesla service told me. I recently read about tesla's warranty adjustment program: touchscreen component ' 8gb embedded multimediacard (emmc) in media control unit (mcu). It appears that what is described in this warranty adjustment is identical to the symptoms with my tesla as I am unable to access the safety features, rear camera and side view mirrors. My car has 113,500 miles and the program only covers cars with less than 100,000 miles. I feel that I was misled by tesla service as I reported this problem prior to the car going over 100,000 miles and was advised that this was not an issue covered under warranty. It seems that tesla is avoiding a known problem with older model s cars such as mine. I believe tesla should replace the mcu unit of my model s for no charge as they knew this problem existed and misled me to think that the issues with my backup camera and mirrors was not related to any issues with the model s.

Filed Dec 23, 2020 · Electrical, Transmission · 121,000 miles · CA

Repeated emmc failure, reoccurring failures and reboots of the mcu , see investigation:ea 20-003. Since there are over 100k miles, tesla suggests $2700 mcu replacement, not free emmc replacement as they are doing for models with under 100k miles

Filed Dec 10, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 26,800 miles · WA

Failure of the touchscreen results in loss of rear camera image display when reverse gear is selected, resulting in reduced rear visibility when backing. Screen also completely freezes and cannot control climate control elements, sound, etc. When back up camera finally does engage, backup camera screen is black with two white lines.

Filed Nov 30, 2020 · Electrical · 88,000 miles · AZ

Replacement of touchscreen in jan 2020 due to fluid leakage and mcu replacement in aug 2020 for non-responsiveness.

Filed Nov 28, 2020 · Electrical · TX

The primary tesla screen regularly has intermittent screen failures. This leads to me having to reset the computer while driving a few times before operation resumes. This causes the rear cam, air conditioning, navigation, and other consistently to cease for a short period. Recently the screen has developed air bubbles in the screen and leaks goo into the floor (the leaking fluid).

Filed Nov 18, 2020 · Electrical, Transmission · 77,000 miles · NJ

The car can't receive safety firmware updates because of a failure of the mcu. Tesla wants customer to pay to replace.

Filed Nov 17, 2020 · Electrical, Visibility · 145,000 miles · OH

My vehicle has the issue with the emmc chip being too small to handle all the logging tesla was doing and now it's starting to fail. When it completely fails I won't be able to defog the windshield, the heat and AC won't work, the turn signals won't work and I won't be able to charge the vehicle. I got an email from tesla saying my car doesn't qualify car the warranty adjustment program due to miles but it's within the years. This needs to be a recall regardless of miles. Tesla doubling the amount of logging caused excessive wear on the emmc. The failure is a safety issue.

Filed Nov 17, 2020 · Electrical · 110,000 miles · FL

I have 110,000 miles on my tesla, the screen blacks out sometimes. I hear that you might make them do a recall.

Filed Nov 16, 2020 · Electrical · CA

Screen failed which resulted in all systems being unable to operate. Car was just out of warranty and tesla required the unit be completely replaced for

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