2016 Tesla Model S acceleration problems

Filed Oct 31, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

1. 2016 Model S suffered a sudden, complete loss of motor power at 70 mph on a high-speed freeway due to internal coolant intrusion, creating a life-threatening emergency requiring a 911 dispatch. - Car went into Limp mode. What happened is a known, well-documented mechanical issue: the internal rotor seals on early-generation Tesla Large Drive Units are prone to failing over time. When this seal fails, pressurized liquid glycol coolant leaks directly into the motor housing. It then submerges the motor encoder (speed sensor) and the electrical wiring harness. This instantly causes a short circuit, throws the car into limp mode to protect the high-voltage system, and effectively leaves you stranded. I was in middle lane, car died, unable to get out of traffic, limped to side divider in center of freeway, called 911. No warning prior to failure, turtle after incident on dash. Unable to get out of car, cars swerving around me at high speed rocking car.- TESLA IS NOT LISTING THIS IN SERVICE ESTIMATE SO HAVE TO GET THEM TO DO IT

Filed Aug 19, 2026 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · CA · crash

UPDATE to Complaint XXX. Reference VIN [XXX] Tesla Model S 2016. Incident XXX [XXX] XXX Report XXX. Tractor [XXX] Unit XXX + Trailer XXX. 11 sec forward camera video proves Tesla BEHIND trailer at Time 0, 30ft gap. Tesla travels 88ft (30ft gap + 53ft trailer + 5ft to diesel tank/step) in 3-4 sec to lateral impact at driver diesel tank/step. Calculation: 88ft/3sec=29ft/sec avg requires 50-60 mph peak. At 5 mph (7.33 ft/sec) would need 12 sec - impossible. Proves Sudden Unintended Acceleration. Lateral impact, video shake rightward, NOT CVC 21658(a) lane change. AEB failure + FCW failure, no braking/warning. Request EDR preservation. Contact [XXX] [XXX] [XXX]. OMB [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 15, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

This complaint covers a 13-month continuous chain of severe electrical system failures stemming from a deficient federal safety recall remedy on my vehicle's Media Control Unit (MCU) architecture. Tesla's corporate policy has been to replace only the isolated center screen explicitly tracked by the recall while leaving connected legacy components intact on mismatched architecture. This creates an uneven electrical strain loop that has systematically destroyed my vehicle’s electronics over the last year.In July 2025, the initial recall failure required a VCM processor card swap. In September 2025, the resulting voltage strain forced a center navigation screen upgrade, during which the facility held my car for two full weeks. In December 2025, this continuous parasitic power drain burned out my 12V auxiliary system, forcing me to pay out of pocket for a replacement battery. Now, in August 2026, the 2016 dashboard instrument cluster has completely blacked out while traveling at highway speeds (70 MPH), leaving the vehicle completely illegal and unsafe to drive with zero speedometer visibility.The service facility is actively attempting to evade its 12-month workmanship and parts warranty obligations. Their official technician notes confirm the dashboard screen arrived completely black, yet their recorded remedy was to execute a temporary software reboot and officially instruct me in writing to 'perform scroll wheel resets as needed' while actively operating the vehicle on public highways. Following my official written rejection of the vehicle due to this safety hazard, the local facility even attempted an unauthorized forced delivery transport of the vehicle to my house to hide their failed repair before turning back. They are using temporary software patches to run down the remaining days on my parts warranty and dodge an incomplete federal recall remedy. I am requesting a formal federal investigation into this facility.

Filed Jun 29, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

On 6/11/26, around 2:10 pm, when i was slowly pulling over to park on a road side, the car suddenly rushed forward unexpectedly. It was so powerful, at the time I could only hear the panic reactions from the two passengers and sense the imminent collision with the parked bmw in the front of several car length away. Right before the collision i steered the wheel to the right to avoid the bmw and my car came to violent halt less than a foot next to the bmw. I came out of my car to check the tire position before backing out to park a bit behind. This was on a country road, a Thursday afternoon with not much traffic. There was no distraction. If not were the enough spacing i would have no doubt crashed into the bmw in the front. When the dust settled, I did a "power off" reset to the model S and drove the rest of the day normally without any incidents. I went to Tesla service center near where i live the next morning, 6/12/26, to report it. They asked the precise time the incident occurred. But did not inspect the car. I was told an inner inquiry will be opened and it would take at least a few days. They said i could continue to drive the car normally which i have not because of not knowing what had caused it. I went to the service center today 6/29/26 after more than two weeks of no feedback. I was very disappointed in the answers given. The guy said basically based on the design of the car the incident could not have been caused by the car ,without providing any info as to what had been found from the promised inquiry. There was no written report on this. The person offered to check the brakes but also said he did not think its necessary. Just to made me feel better he said. At last, he provided the tesla web site to request "private data" during time window of the incident. I told him i will seek help from the federal safety agency now that tesla is not. I was told by AI, tesla has collected data on every car they sold to the details that can reveal how the paddles were pressed.

Filed Jun 26, 2026 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · CA · crash

"What happened?

Filed May 4, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

I own a 2016 Model S P100D equipped with the Large Drive Unit (LDU). The component that fails is the rotor coolant seal in the rear drive unit motor. Coolant leaks internally into the motor and inverter, causing bearing wear, corrosion, isolation faults, and eventual complete drive unit failure. The affected drive units are still installed and available for inspection upon request. This defect puts my safety and the safety of others at risk because it can cause sudden loss of propulsion (especially at highway speeds), power reduction, or total drivetrain shutdown, potentially leading to a crash. Coolant in high-voltage areas also raises electrical fault/fire risks. The problem is widely reproduced and confirmed: Tesla service centers are familiar with it and replace failed units with updated “-U” revisions that include a coolant bypass. Independent EV shops confirm the exact root cause (rotor seal failure) via encoder inspections showing coolant intrusion and through disassembly. This is a documented pattern failure in all 2012–2020 LDU vehicles. No police or insurance inspections have occurred yet, as no crash or total failure has happened. Tesla is aware of the recurring issue through service records on similar vehicles. Early symptoms before full failure typically include rear motor whining/grinding (especially under load), reduced power warnings, “Rear Drive Unit Fault” messages, and visible coolant on the speed sensor. These can appear gradually. My vehicles have not yet experienced total failure, but the defect is known to be inevitable. I am proactively monitoring encoder sensors. Because this is a systemic design defect affecting thousands of vehicles with clear safety implications, I request the federal safety agency open an investigation and require Tesla to issue a recall for free repairs/replacements on all affected 2012–2020 LDU vehicles.

Filed May 4, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

I own three 2016 Tesla vehicles with the same known safety defect: two Model S P100D and one Model X P100D, all equipped with the Large Drive Unit (LDU). The component that fails is the rotor coolant seal in the rear drive unit motor. Coolant leaks internally into the motor and inverter, causing bearing wear, corrosion, isolation faults, and eventual complete drive unit failure. The affected drive units are still installed and available for inspection upon request. This defect puts my safety and the safety of others at risk because it can cause sudden loss of propulsion (especially at highway speeds), power reduction, or total drivetrain shutdown, potentially leading to a crash. Coolant in high-voltage areas also raises electrical fault/FIRE risks. The problem is widely reproduced and confirmed: Tesla service centers are familiar with it and replace failed units with updated “-U” revisions that include a coolant bypass. Independent EV shops confirm the exact root cause (rotor seal failure) via encoder inspections showing coolant intrusion and through disassembly. This is a documented pattern failure in all 2012–2020 LDU vehicles. No police or insurance inspections have occurred yet, as no crash or total failure has happened. Tesla is aware of the recurring issue through service records on similar vehicles. Early symptoms before full failure typically include rear motor whining/grinding (especially under load), reduced power warnings, “Rear Drive Unit Fault” messages, and visible coolant on the speed sensor. These can appear gradually. My vehicles have not yet experienced total failure, but the defect is known to be inevitable. I am proactively monitoring encoder sensors. Because this is a systemic design defect affecting thousands of vehicles with clear safety implications, I request the federal safety agency open an investigation and require Tesla to issue a recall for free repairs/replacements on all affected 2012–2020 LDU vehicles.

Filed Feb 5, 2026 · Acceleration · MD · crash

I was parking the car and gently tapped on the accelerator to inch forward. The car accelerated suddenly, crashed into a concrete sign holder, and knocked down a sign, until I was able to stop it using the breaks. The accident caused $5000 worth of damage that I paid out of pocket to fix, since I assumed I must have made a mistake. However when I got the car back a month later, unintended acceleration happened AGAIN - under the same circumstances. I was parking and inching forward. I tapped the accelerator and the car accelerated suddenly. This time I was able to stop it before causing any damage. At this point, I KNEW that the first accident was not my error, since it had now happened again, and I was 100% sure that I did nothing wrong. I looked up "unintended acceleration - Tesla" and found examples of the exact same thing happening while parking. I looked for a fix, and it suggested changing the mode of the car to "creep." This so far has worked well.

Filed Dec 15, 2024 · Acceleration, Brakes · PA

My car slams on the brakes consistently at green lights when FSD is activated. This is version 12.5.4.2 of FSD. Tesla is not responding to my inquiries.

Filed Nov 27, 2024 · Acceleration · CA

The accelerating pedal is the one that was affect it is available upon request for inspection. It put me in danger because while I was driving, it snapped off. Has not been inspected by others. There was no warning lamps and it just happened out of nowhere as well. I was driving.