I pulled my Tesla Model S in a parking lot, and as I turned the car into a parking spot, the car suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb next to the parking lot and hit a tree. The car speed when I pulled into the parking lot and then into a parking spot was very low. so I was very surprised and startled to see the car suddenly on its own accelerating and jumping the curb.
2018 Tesla Model S: sudden unintended acceleration
14 of the 170 complaints about the 2018 Tesla Model S describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 14
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- typical mileage
- 7,410
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
I pulled into a driveway on a one lane road (due to construction) to allow a car traveling downhill to pass so they would not have to back up. I had come to a complete stop in the driveway with the car in drive. As I started to put the car in reverse it surged forward at a high rate of speed crashing into my neighbor's garage, tearing the door completely down pushing the door into the garage and my car entering the garage at least 15 feet hitting the car that was parked inside and pushing it with such force that the front end of the vehicle struck the garage cabinets tearing them down. My air bag did not deploy nor did the automatic braking system engage, it just sped up as it was doing the damage. The car has been deemed a total loss by my insurance company but i don't want this report to go unnoticed. To my knowledge the insurance company has not inspected the computer on the vehicle. I'm not sure how they will investigate this occurrence. I feel strongly that this was a malfunction with my car. The message that showed immediately was "driver assist unavailable", I have NEVER used driver assist.
My wife, [XXX] was driving the car on April 12, 2023 and following is her statement of the incident. April 12, 2023, I was pulling my car into a parking space of a supermarket. It was about to come to a stop and all of a sudden it accelerated, hit the car parked facing it and then dragged for about 20 feet before coming to a stop. it was an unintended acceleration, which I have been trying to contact Tesla for investigation. I requested pre-accident scan data using Tesla App. Did not get any response from Tesla for weeks. After making numerous calls and spending 40-50 hours on the phone trying to get a hold of someone regarding the data I requested, I drove down to West Covina (CA) Tesla service. The service manager told me that the report has been run and reviewed by Tesla and it is determined that the car did what it was supposed to be doing. I requested a copy of the report (scan) to understand how it was determined. He said it can not be released. I have to formally request using the link he provided. I did so and the report (vehicle data) that I received is a bunch of matrix which can not be understood. I am trying to contact Tesla and once again "No Response". It is very frustrating. I am afraid of driving my car so have not used since the day of incident. I want the bug to be fixed before using my car. Anybody whom I have spoken with knows somebody who has experienced similar situation. All of the Tesla owners are unhappy about Tesla's customer support. I am reaching out for a help to investigate the glitch in the software and also to get it fixed. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving down an inclined driveway the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to lose control of the steering and crash into the nearby RV garage. During the incident, the airbag was deployed and the driver sustained injuries to both knees and left hand. No police report was taken. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact indicated that the failure had previously occurred in 2018. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 38,000.
As I was turning right into a parking space going at a very slow speed, the tesla suddenly accelerated to full speed. I did not press the gas or commit any other user error. I tried to apply the brake. However, because of this sudden unintended acceleration, I crashed into the building in front of me.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 tesla model s. The contact stated that while driving at very slow speed and parking, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to lose control of the steering and crash into a transformer. No injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer tesla of honolulu (1450 ala moana blvd, honolulu hi) was notified of the failure. The contact stated that after the vehicle was repaired the same failure had occurred while parking causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a concrete wall. During the crash the driver sustained a chest injury due to the air bag deploying which required medical treatment. No police report was taken. The vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact also stated that while driving the instrument display pad had suddenly blacked out on multiple occasions and the doors had failed to open on several occasions. The cause of the failures were not determined. The failure mileage was 7,410. Owner is extremely scared to drive again. Car is sitting in the garage. Worried about anyone driving the car may get into a fatal accident.*dt
As I was parking the car, the car suddenly accelerated without warning, went over the curb and hit a tree at high speed. The air bags deployed during the crash and the front of the car was badly damaged. I smelt smoke in the car after the accident. We got off the car immediately afraid of the battery going into flames. The car had to be towed away. This was such an unusual event and a freaky accident as the car accelerated as I was parking it. The car came to a stop before it accelerated at high speed and I lost control of the car. It must be an error in the car's technology.
I was pulling into a parking spot in a place I park on many occasions, had my foot off the accelerator, to put on the brake, and the car suddenly accelerated, went up over the curb, and almost down an embankment. I was able to stop the car before that happened.
I was at a parking lot and I was making my way into a slot when I first had to reverse them when I changed the gear the drive and released the breaks to move forward into the slot I suddenly accelerated and had to press on the breaks harder than ever because I thought at first I was releasing it too fast. But eventually I screeched into a full stop and avoided hitting the cars parked and worse going over the street onto incoming traffic. I noticed tire marks that my breaking had made at the lot.
I am the owner of a 2018 tesla model p100d. On dec 17 at approximately 11:40 am I and a business associate were driving to my home at 804 duke street, alexandria, va. My associate was driving approximately 1-2 miles/hour and starting to park. The parking location is in front of a brick wall. While coming to our final stop the tesla began to accelerate on its own as though the gas was punched (it was note). The car thrust forward and slammed into the wall, destroying a part of the wall and damaging the front of the tesla. The air bags did not engage and we were not injured. The car simply accelerated on its own. I reported the incident to tesla but they have not responded.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 tesla model s. The contact stated while shifting into park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward and impacted into the wall of a building. The front of the vehicle was damaged as well as the building causing its electric to shut off. No warning light was illuminated. The contact was asked about the air bag deployment and confirmed that the air bags did not deploy. The contact did not sustained any injuries or seek medical attention. It was unknown if a police report was filed. The vehicle was drivable after the impact. The contact stated she contacted her insurance company and had the cosmetic repairs performed at an approximate $5,000 repair cost. The manufacturer and dealer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 12,000.
It was on friday morning on january 11th 2020 at 8.30am. I was slowly pulling into a parking space in front of my medical office where I have practiced for 21 years. I was in an outdoor parking deck. I touched the brakes to stop the car and the car suddenly accelerated forwards and hit a concrete wall in front of it. I know that I did not hit the accelerator. I was slammed into my steering wheel. My airbag did not deploy. I have been driving for 30 years and have driven a tesla for 5 years. I know the difference between the accelerator and the brake. Tesla claims that I put my foot on the accelerator and drove into the concrete wall. That is not what happened. I have serious safety concerns about what happened. The car was out of my control.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2018 Tesla Model S sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2018 Tesla Model S?
14 of 170 owner complaints about the 2018 Tesla Model S (8%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 2016.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 Tesla Model S?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 2018 Tesla Model S
Adaptive cruise 22Phantom braking 14Door locks 6No deployment 5Backup camera 5Collision warning 5
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