Recently right side blind spot monitor camera stopped working. As result, majority of safety features in vehicle has been disabled to include forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, and many other safety features of the vehicle.
2018 Tesla Model S: false forward collision warnings
5 of the 170 complaints about the 2018 Tesla Model S describe false forward collision warnings.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- recalls
- 3
False forward collision warnings by model year
- 20233
- 20222
- 20216
- 20203
- 20185
- 20174
- 20164
- 20154
- 20141
- 20131
What owners say
In July 2024 all the cameras on the Tesla Model S except the rear stopped working after a failed software update. This meant that all of the driver assistance systems as well as GPS, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, forward collision warning etc stopped working. The lack of availability of this system meant that the car no longer had any advanced safety features that came with the car. It took many months for Tesla service to diagnose and fix the problem, which they identified as a failure of the Auto Pilot computer. After I was finally able to get an appointment with the Service center, they replaced the Autopilot computer at a cost of over $1500. The failure first appeared in July 2024. The symptom was GPS location being stuck and Autopilot and all safety features being not available.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the forward collision avoidance feature was inoperable. The contact stated that due to the failure, the vehicle crashed into the guard rail. The contact stated that damage was done to the front driver's side and rear driver's side of the fender. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. The VIN was unavailable.
On freeway in traffic, autopilot is enabled. Vehicle is running perfectly fine in start stop traffic slowing down and speeding up as needed. Traffic starts to clear up, and as vehicle speeds up, there is a sudden slowdown again. Instead of braking/slowing down, autopilot turns off without an additional audible alarm (just the standard sound for turning off autopilot), instead the forward collision warning alert goes off. Able to brake in time to prevent accident.
I drove to work on may 2, 2019, and was trying to park in my allotted parking stall on the 3rd level of my office parking garage. My parking stall was along the outer edge of the garage and the only barrier to the outside was a set of three (about " diameter) cables strung between outside columns of the garage, besides a thin perforated corrugated metal sheet outside the cables, acting as a rain stop. I was trying to slowly turn right from the parking aisle to park between two pickup trucks on either side of my stall. When I had turned partway into my stall, my tesla suddenly accelerated into my parking stall at high speed, hit the outside cables, rebounded backwards and stopped about 10 feet from the outside cables. The cables saved me from plunging 3 floors down from the garage. There was extensive damage to the hood and front portions of my tesla. There was also some damage to the metal corrugated sheets outside the cables and a slight dent on the corner of the vehicle parked to my right. I have been parking in my office parking stall for about the past six months without any issue like this. I want to know why my car accelerated like that without warning and why the collision warning system was not triggered by the outside corrugated metal sheet. Also, there was an issue with my tesla the previous evening. When I tried to start my tesla after work, I got the 'systems are powering..' message on the screen and my car would not start even after a long wait. Then, I had to google to find a way to reboot the car computer, by pressing two buttons on the steering wheel. On the day of the accident, I used the intermittent rain sensing wipers for the first time, as there was a light rain. My car is still in the body shop waiting for some back ordered parts. I have asked tesla to do a diagnostics to see if there were any software bugs in the system.
Related recalls
Forward collision avoidance: warnings: external/pedestrian alert
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2013, 2018-2021 Model S, 2020-2021 Model X, 2018-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A factory reset muted the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
- Risk
- Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are muted, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, release 2023.44.30.14, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 27, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-006.
Recall number 24V153000 · Recall details
Back over prevention: display function
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Model S, Model X, and 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles equipped with Autopilot Computer 2.5 and operating certain firmware releases. The rearview image may not immediately display when the vehicle begins to reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
- Risk
- A delayed rearview camera image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 17, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-004.
Recall number 22V169000 · Recall details
Forward collision avoidance: sensing system: camera
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles operating software version 2021.36.5.2. A communication error may cause false forward-collision warning (FCW) or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency brake (AEB) system.
- Risk
- Unexpected activation of the AEB system may cause the car to stop suddenly, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla Service has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. The recall began October 25, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-00-004.
Recall number 21V846000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2018 Tesla Model S collision warning
Is false forward collision warnings a common problem on the 2018 Tesla Model S?
5 of 170 owner complaints about the 2018 Tesla Model S (3%) mention false forward collision warnings. The model year with the most reports is 2021.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 Tesla Model S?
There are 3 recalls and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2018 Tesla Model S
Adaptive cruise 22Phantom braking 14Sudden acceleration 14Door locks 6No deployment 5Backup camera 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2018 Tesla Model S?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history