On October 25, 2026, I was slowly pulling out of a residential parking space in my 2015 Tesla Model S, which has approximately 82,500 miles. Suddenly, I heard a very loud grinding noise, and the vehicle came to an immediate stop. Afterward, the car would not move either forward or backward. I had not hit any potholes, curbs, or other obstacles. There was no collision or external impact. When I inspected the vehicle, I noticed that the left rear wheel was severely tilted and misaligned. The vehicle became completely undrivable. Based on the visible damage, I suspect a serious failure involving the left rear suspension or wheel assembly. However, the exact component that failed and the cause of the failure have not yet been determined. The vehicle has not yet undergone a mechanical inspection. I have photographs documenting the condition of the rear wheel and suspension area. I am very concerned about the safety implications of this sudden failure. Had this occurred at highway speed, it could have resulted in a serious accident. I contacted Tesla regarding the incident. I am reporting this failure to the federal safety agency as a potential vehicle safety defect and requesting that it be reviewed for similar incidents involving the 2015 Tesla Model S.
2015 Tesla Model S wheels problems
13 complaints (2% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 56,000.
- owner complaints
- 13
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- typical mileage
- 56,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Rim1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Tesla Model S wheels problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 2015 Tesla Model S owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
In 2016, approximately 18 months after purchasing my Tesla Model S, I was driving to work and brushed a curb on a tight city street. Upon arriving at my office parking garage, as I was parking and turning the steering wheel sharply to park in a space, my front right wheel fell off and the axle completely sheared off. Tesla blamed the incident on my curbing the wheel, which only caused light damage. However, more and more reports have come out recently (including this article: [XXX] ) which suggests that Tesla has known defects they are denying and blaming on customers. Not only did this cost me money out of pocket (more than just my deductible), but my insurer had to pay the full amount. Tesla admitted no fault and made me & insurance pay the full amount. I have multiple photos, but the Upload feature on this site is NOT working so I am unable to upload them but can provide them later as needed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I had driven to a shopping center for buy a new backpack for my daughter who was starting school. After shopping, as I reversed my car, I felt as if I had gone over a bump. I came out to see if there was a bump or something else in the parking lot but found nothing that my car could have gone over. I got back in the car and started my drive and immediately, started hearing loud and griding noises. The noise would get worse as I would turn the steering wheel and the car would also seem as it is going over bumps. I immediately came out and look around and found nothing; I then looked at the wheel well and the surrounding area and didn't detect anything out of ordinary. I was able to drive the car home (roughly 1.5 miles) at speed no faster than 3-5 miles/hour without continuous loud and griding noise. I contacted Tesla who gave me an appointment for a week later. Inspection found fore-link broken. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Left fore-link connected to the front suspension of the car. Part is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The breakage of the part made the wheel get disconnected from the suspension. Had I been driving on a highway or other roadways at higher speed, my car would have certainly gotten out of control and endangered my life and the lives of others. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? This is a known issue that has been reported by many Tesla Model S owners. There is also a recall in China for the similar parts. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes, it was inspected by Tesla service center. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There were no warnings or other symptoms prior to the failure of the fore-link.
This is the second time that a wheel becomes "lopsided" and no longer perpendicular to the axle. On 4/13/22 I was driving to work and suddenly I heard noises coming from the back wheel and I felt the car dragging. I found that the passenger rear tire was lopsided and almost falling out of the car. Then this year on 2/4/23 as I was going to work I found the driver rear tire also lopsided. Both times I had to pay for towing and $4000+ get the tire back on securely mounted to the axle. Both times the REAR UPPER CONTROL ARMS - FORWARD and REARWARD - need to be replaced. Last time we took it to a local repair shop, this time we took it to Tesla. This time, the following parts also needed to be replaced: REAR UPPER LINK SUSPENSION ASSEMBLY HALFSHAFT - REAR DRIVE UNIT - LH SUSPENSION - REAR UPPER - LH TOE LINK ASSEMBLY - REAR - LH INTEGRAL LINK - REAR - LH DROP LINK - SWAY BAR - REAR - LH SPRING and DAMPER ASSEMBLY - REAR - LH This is a unsafe car to drive - I understand that it's a low car and there are pot holes on NYC streets. But this car is still unreliable if it happens within 12 months that I cannot get to where I need to go because the car is undrivable.
While I was backing out from my car garage and turn the steering wheel, I heard a squeaking sound while applying a brake on the passenger front tire area. I stopped the car and went out to check, the front passenger tire pretty much pushed all the way back touching the wheel arch liner (see photo). I called tesla and they sent a tow truck to towed it to their service center near by. I didn't realize how wide spread the issue was until I research the problem online. I filed this complaint to solidify with other people which have the same problem.
I noted a clunking noise on the driver side wheel area while driving. I ask for help from service, but everything is automated and they made an appointment for a month later. A few weeks after reporting the noise, I was breaking when my driver side front wheel seem to give way and the car started to skid. The affected wheels seem to be scraping the wheel well. Not much help from the service app and suggested I get it towed 200 miles away at $1100 so they could evaluate. My local tire guy saw the broken left lower control arm and said this was all over the internet and class action suit had just been filed. Telsa has been unresponsive and inaccessible due to their automated system. So far bill to fix is over $4,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 tesla model s. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 to 30 MPH, the vehicle drove over pothole and the passenger's side front and rear tires sustained blowouts. Additionally, the passenger's side front rim was fractured, rear suspension was fractured, and the rear ball joint was also fractured. The vehicle was towed to tesla (8105 big lake road, clarkston, mi, 48346, (248) 241-9321) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the front driver's and front passenger's side fore-link assembly, the passenger's side upper rear suspension link assembly, and passenger's side rear wheel liner needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 89,000.
Front passenger control arm is broken, pushing the tire into the wheel well. I was reversing in my driveway when I felt the drag on the passenger side of the car. I got out and looked around the vehicle and saw a metal piece snapped. I could not move the car, as the tire was pushed into the wheel well. Called for a tow truck. This vehicle was manufactured in fremont, ca in 08/2015, with the other vehicles sold to china, which are now being recalled for the same reason.
Pulling my car out of my driveway, I attempted to reverse the car into the garage to charge it. After putting the car in reverse I heard a loud pop noise and the steering wheel refused to turn. Attempting to turn the wheel at all resulted in a grinding noise that made the car undriveble. After a tow truck was called, we noticed that the entire front driver side wheel was shifted backward and was resting on the rear of the wheel well liner. The air suspension controls would not allow me to move the height of the vehicle and instead were locked at "very high".
I was at the drive-thru banking, sitting stationary when suddenly the car accelerated at full speed, out of my control, I could not brake. Finally, the car stopped with a red error message "low tire pressure"
Questions about the 2015 Tesla Model S wheels
Does the 2015 Tesla Model S have wheels problems?
Owners have filed 13 complaints about the wheels of the 2015 Tesla Model S, 2% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2015 Tesla Model S wheels problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 56,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2015 Tesla Model S wheels?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Tesla Model S have bad wheels?
The Tesla Model S model years with the most wheels complaints are 2016 (15 complaints), 2015 (13 complaints) and 2017 (13 complaints).
Other 2015 Tesla Model S problems
Electrical 268Suspension 150Driver assistance 70Steering 51Lights 46Acceleration 40Visibility 39Fuel system 32Body 30Transmission 29Airbags 22Brakes 21Engine 17Locks 8Seat belts 3Seats 2
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