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Tesla Model SModel year report

2012 Tesla Model S Problems

Compared with other Tesla Model S years

Fewer complaints than typical for this model

0/100 0.0× a typical year · 50 = typical

Open NHTSA investigationRecall 23V838 Remedy Effectiveness; Sudden Unintended Acceleration

Based only on NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations. Not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold, and not a reliability rating. How this is calculated

Complaints
61filed with NHTSA
Median mileage
68,481miles, 41 complaints with mileage
Recalls
8campaigns on record
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA crash rating
—no overall rating published
EPA fuel economy
89 MPGecombined, Electric RWD · 88 city / 90 hwy

Sources: NHTSA records for the 2012 Tesla Model S (complaints, recalls, investigations), EPA fuel economy. Report an error

What owners report

Complaints about this model year centre on the large centre touchscreen, which owners describe freezing, rebooting or going permanently blank, taking backup camera, climate and defroster controls with it. The sample concentrates in the 30,000-130,000 mile range, with many failures described as sudden rather than gradual, and a second cluster of reports covers front and rear suspension parts, door handles, and drive-unit noise.

  1. Electrical system

    Centre touchscreen (MCU) freezes, reboots or goes blank

    • 35 complaints (57%)
    • median 70,799 mi at 8.7 yrs old (24 state mileage)
    • owner-quoted repair $2,287 (median of 5 quotes)
    • filed 2020–2026

    Owners describe the centre display locking up on start-up or while driving, sometimes needing a several-minute steering-wheel-button reset, and in some cases staying black until the car is powered off and restarted. Because climate, defroster, turn signals, headlights and the backup camera are routed through that screen, complaints say those functions become unavailable while it is down. Some owners report paid replacements or replacements under a warranty adjustment program, and several say a replacement unit later failed or a refurbished unit was fitted; others describe being told their VIN did not qualify or that reimbursement claims were rejected. Reported from roughly 29,000 to 130,000 miles, with many complaints filed between 2018 and 2021 on cars several years old.

    Recall 21V035000

    What to check: Ask whether the eMMC/centre display has been replaced under the 21V035000 program or at the owner's cost, and whether a new or refurbished unit was fitted. On a test drive, check that the screen wakes promptly from sleep and that the backup camera, defroster and turn signals respond.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “The touch screen on the Tesla is black and will not turn on. It's as if the computer is dead. It was working I parked at ups delivery got out, dropped off a package got back I. The car like normal with the key fob, sat down pressed the brake and noticed nothing moved, in other worded the seat, and the touch screen stayed off. Nothing came back after that...”

    NHTSA complaint #11338928, filed 2020-07, 114,938 miles

    “The touchscreen on my 2012 Tesla Model S becomes unresponsive each time I start the car. This dramatically limits the car's functionality and requires a several minute long reset process. The car is stationary as it happens when I first try to start it.”

    NHTSA complaint #11330643, filed 2020-06, 43,904 miles
  2. Suspension

    Front suspension and steering knuckle concerns

    • 8 complaints (13%)
    • median 35,000 mi at 5.0 yrs old (8 state mileage, few)
    • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • filed 2015–2020

    Complaints describe a front wheel collapsing or sitting visibly out of position, and in some cases a steering knuckle or suspension link found broken without collision damage; several are reports from salvage-yard vehicles rather than first-hand ownership. One owner reports a metal-on-metal clunk or grinding from the front left when turning or reversing, with vague steering over bumps. Others say front suspension links wear early and that the repair is costly because of how the components are packaged. Reports span roughly 5,000 to 70,000 miles, including vehicles photographed in salvage yards at low indicated mileage.

    What to check: Have a pre-purchase inspection check the front and rear suspension links, control-arm joints and knuckles for play, cracks or corrosion, and listen for clunks when turning at low speed. Ask whether any suspension arms have already been replaced.

    An excerpt from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Noticed this problem after I was backing up and turning my wheels and would hear a loud metal on metal clunk or grinding sound. It was coming from the front-left suspension and would occur causing my wheel and steering to feel like it was skipping. I noticed and my steering felt loose over bumps and would pull to the left. Again the vehicle is in motion and this was felt the most when turning full motion and/or backing up and turning. …”

    NHTSA complaint #10885723, filed 2016-07, 67,000 miles
  3. Electrical system

    Car shuts down or loses power while driving

    Mentioned in 5 of 56 sampled complaints

    Owners describe a warning that the vehicle may not restart followed within seconds by a full shutdown in traffic, leaving doors, windows and hazards inoperable and the car unable to be moved or jumped. Other reports describe the car cutting out on a highway with charge remaining and a battery-overheat warning, and a charging session where the car drew far more current than the setting allowed and damaged wiring. Mileage is not stated in most of these reports; they were filed between 2019 and 2022 on cars already several years old.

    What to check: Ask about 12-volt battery and high-voltage contactor service history, and check for any stored alerts. If charging at home, confirm the car respects the set charge current and have the charging equipment inspected.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Both the 12 volt system and High voltage battery system or a component communicating between the two failed. I received a warning message that my vehicle may not restart and within 30 seconds it completely shutdown while driving in the middle of the road. The vehicle was essentially dead weight at this point. None of its features worked, the ability to unlock it, the ability to use electronic doors and windows functions could not be performed. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11468855, filed 2022-06

    “I charge my Model S on a 30 amp circuit with the car location amperage set to 20 amps to avoid overheating the circuit. Around Sept 12 while plugged in to the 30 amp, the car pulled in 50 amps off the line causing a melting of the wires and a near fire based on the damages later found. The car is supposed to send charging error alerts or problems via the Tesla app. Instead it continued to try to pull power out of the burnt line for 11 days all the while further depleting the battery. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11488480, filed 2022-10
  4. Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)

    Heater and defroster stop working

    • 8 complaints (13%)
    • median 65,000 mi at 8.7 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
    • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • filed 2020–2021

    Owners report the cabin heater and defroster failing in cold weather, leaving the windshield fogged while driving. Several complaints link the loss of defrost control to the centre screen being unresponsive rather than to a separate heater fault, and one notes the defrost settings are unavailable whenever the display is down. Reported in cold-weather use, mostly in the 50,000-90,000 mile range.

    Recall 21V035000

    What to check: Test the heater and defroster on a cold start, and confirm the climate controls respond on the centre screen. Ask whether the centre display has been serviced under 21V035000.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “The heater and defroster stopped working in this cold weather as we were driving home with my sons. They were freezing and cold. I was not able to see clearly rather very foggy windshield due to non-working cabin heater and defroster. This issue had happened to many many Tesla owners, infact Model S like mine and even the brand new Tesla model 3 and model y with just less than 10o miles. This clearly is a huge negligence on the part of Tesla not wanting to fix the issue. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11385791, filed 2020-12, 56,700 miles

    “Mcu failure causing complete loss of instrument cluster, no backup camera, no defrost controls, and inability to access any other functions aside from hazard lights. This failure happed when I stopped to recharge the car. After a while and a system reset, I was able to drive the car again. Still seeing intermittent failures.”

    NHTSA complaint #11331627, filed 2020-06
  5. Transmission and drivetrain

    Drive unit noise and water intrusion

    • 5 complaints (8%)
    • median 90,300 mi at 9.0 yrs old (3 state mileage, few)
    • filed 2019–2023

    Complaints describe an abnormal humming or grinding from the drive unit at various speeds, with a service centre diagnosing that the unit needed replacement; one owner says it was replaced under warranty. Another report describes a service centre attributing drive-unit damage to water intrusion despite the car not being driven through deep water. A further owner reports motor noise and expects eventual failure based on owner-forum discussion. Reported around 59,000 to 111,000 miles in the reports that state mileage, filed between 2021 and 2023.

    What to check: Listen for humming or whining that rises with speed on a test drive, and ask whether the drive unit has been replaced and at what mileage.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “The drive unit has water damage from normal driving. The car never went through deep water or was flooded, but the tech at the service center is saying the units are sealed but still can get water in them and corrode. How can a vital sealed part of the vehicle be damaged by normal driving and claim water damage? The car operated just fine the day before. Please advise.”

    NHTSA complaint #11510630, filed 2023-03

    “The contact owns a 2012 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal humming sound detected coming from the drive unit. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed that the drive unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000.”

    NHTSA complaint #11422548, filed 2021-06, 59,000 miles

Buying note. The centre display is the item to verify first: confirm its replacement status and check that screen-dependent functions work before buying. A pre-purchase inspection covering suspension links and a listen for drive-unit noise is also worthwhile on a car of this age.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 56 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.

NHTSA recorded 61 consumer complaints for the 2012 Tesla Model S. 41 of the complaints include a mileage, and 27% of those were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the median is 68,481 miles. Of all complaints, 4 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 6 an injury, 1 a death, according to the filers. NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns and 87 technical service bulletins for this model year. Compared with the other 11 Tesla Model S model years that have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to compare, this one scores 0 out of 100, where 50 is a typical year for the model (fewer complaints than typical for this model). The comparison allows for the era and for how long each year has had to collect complaints, but not for how many vehicles were sold.

Which parts are reported most

Complaints can name more than one part, so the counts add up to more than the total. Select a part to see its complaints, recalls and bulletins.

Also reported: Air bags (1), Brakes (1), Engine (1), Lane departure (1), Steering (1), Vehicle speed control (1).

Example complaints

Electrical system: “I reached out to Tesla about the emmc recall. I booked an appointment, provided photos of various blackout, screen freezing and loss of connectivity issues. Tesla instructed me to update the firmware (which I did) and cancelled my appointment and told me I did not to bring in the car. They also said they would contact me if my emmc needed replacement. However, I continued to have this problem and left a message in the Tesla and did not get a response.”

NHTSA complaint #11408097, filed 2021-04, 68,599 miles

Other or unknown: “W mcu going out concerning I cannot safely operate vehicle. No way to control defrosting. Also door handles stick and pinch my fingers each time I open door. Screen is starting to bubble, hasn't failed yet.”

NHTSA complaint #11331602, filed 2020-06, 85,009 miles

Suspension: “The mcu - media control unit is slow to respond to inputs and slow to startup when entering the vehicle. The screen has locked up several times while driving which leaves the turn indicators unusable and the defroster deactivated until the mcu resets. The hazard indicators are inactive when the mcu turns off. The front suspension links wear out prematurely due to a poor design and the weight of the vehicle. Repairs are costly due the main high voltage battery needing to be removed in order to remove the suspension link bolts.”

NHTSA complaint #11376392, filed 2020-11, 65,000 miles

Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors): “This is related to NHTSA recall 21V-035. Tesla replaced the 8Gb memory card with a 64Gb memory card (so I'm told) but the main car display screen still does not function most of the time. This results in; -unavailability of the rearview camera display -defrost/defog control settings unavailable for purposes of ensuring visibility -and exterior turn signal lighting may increase the risk of a crash I've had this to Tesla twice now but it has not been fixed.”

NHTSA complaint #11432144, filed 2021-09

Mileage when problems were reported

27% of the 41 complaints with a mileage were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the middle half falls between 47,000 and 88,355 miles.

2%0–107%10–2517%25–5037%50–7520%75–10015%100–1502%150+
Share of complaints by mileage when the problem was reported, in thousands of miles (41 complaints with mileage). Red bars: under 50,000 miles. Bucket widths differ. Median: 68,481 miles.

Complaints by year filed

Trend: falling. Complaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

2016201926202120232026
Complaints by year the complaint was filed with NHTSA. Red bars: the last 3 full calendar years used for the trend. The current year (2026) is partial.

Fuel economy and running cost

EPA ratings for each 2012 Tesla Model S version. Annual fuel cost is the EPA's estimate at its current fuel prices for 15,000 miles a year (55% city driving); for electric versions it is the cost of electricity and the rating is in MPGe.

VersionEngineTransmissionCityHwyComb.Fuel / yr
Model S RWDElectricsingle-speed889089 MPGe$850

Source: U.S. EPA and Department of Energy, fueleconomy.gov. Ratings are for comparing vehicles; real-world mileage varies with driving and conditions.

Recalls and investigations

See all 8 recalls for the 2012 Tesla Model S → · Check a VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls

NHTSA investigations

Technical service bulletins

TSBs are manufacturer notes to dealers about known repair procedures. They are not recalls and do not by themselves mean a vehicle has a fault. 87 on record; the latest 10 are shown.

See all 87 bulletins →

Other model years of the Tesla Model S

YearComplaintsMedian miRecallsCrash ★MPGScore (50 = typical)Trend
20267—0—110 MPGe—Too new
20256—2—104 MPGe—Too new
2024383,5006—107 MPGeToo new to compareToo new
202311583,16613—120 MPGe41 · TypicalToo new
20221396,11820—116 MPGe60 · TypicalRising
20211796,00023—110 MPGe78 · MoreStable
2020802,50011—109 MPGe49 · TypicalFalling
2019445,10010—103 MPGe0 · FewerFalling
201817016,00011—102 MPGe51 · TypicalFalling
201742924,2369—102 MPGe72 · MoreFalling
201664926,25010598 MPGe100 · MoreFalling
201566849,2409595 MPGe76 · MoreFalling
201436752,4259589 MPGe41 · TypicalFalling
201346170,00011594 MPGe42 · TypicalFalling
20126168,4818—89 MPGe0 · FewerFalling

All Tesla Model S model years · Best and worst years by complaints

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2012 Tesla Model S?

Complaints about this model year centre on the large centre touchscreen, which owners describe freezing, rebooting or going permanently blank, taking backup camera, climate and defroster controls with it. The issues reported most often: Centre touchscreen (MCU) freezes, reboots or goes blank; Front suspension and steering knuckle concerns; Car shuts down or loses power while driving.

How many NHTSA complaints does the 2012 Tesla Model S have?

NHTSA recorded 61 consumer complaints for the 2012 Tesla Model S as of Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

What part of the 2012 Tesla Model S is reported most often?

Electrical system is named most often, in 37 complaints (61% of the total), followed by other or unknown with 12.

Has the 2012 Tesla Model S been recalled?

NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns for this model year. To check a specific vehicle, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

How efficient is the 2012 Tesla Model S according to the EPA?

The EPA rates the 2012 Tesla Model S (Model S, Electric) at 89 MPGe combined, 88 city and 90 highway, with an estimated annual electricity cost of $850 at 15,000 miles a year. Other battery and motor versions are rated differently.

At what mileage are problems with the 2012 Tesla Model S reported?

Among the 41 complaints that include a mileage, the median is 68,481 miles and the middle half falls between 47,000 and 88,355 miles; 27% were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles.

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Fuel economy is from the EPA and DOE (fueleconomy.gov).

Complaint counts come from NHTSA’s public complaint database; we count each complaint once. The source records for this vehicle are on nhtsa.gov. Scores and trends are our own summaries of that data, described in the methodology. This page is not legal, safety or repair advice: for a specific vehicle, check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and ask a qualified mechanic. See an error? Tell us.