Skip to content
Tesla Model SModel year report

2013 Tesla Model S Problems

Compared with other Tesla Model S years

Typical for this model

42/100 0.8× 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
461filed with NHTSA
Median mileage
70,000miles, 291 complaints with mileage
Recalls
11campaigns 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
5 / 5stars overall
EPA fuel economy
94 MPGecombined, Electric RWD · 93 city / 96 hwy

Sources: NHTSA records for the 2013 Tesla Model S (complaints, recalls, investigations), NHTSA crash tests, EPA fuel economy. Report an error

What owners report

Owners of the 2013 Model S mostly report problems with the center touchscreen (MCU) failing or freezing, often after many years of use, which takes out climate control, the rear camera, turn signal indicators and sometimes charging. Suspension and steering complaints also appear at relatively low mileage, and drive-unit, battery and parking-brake faults show up on higher-mileage cars.

  1. Electrical system

    Center touchscreen (MCU) freezes, blanks or dies

    • 186 complaints (40%)
    • median 92,000 mi at 7.7 yrs old (125 state mileage)
    • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • owner-quoted repair $1,600 (median of 40 quotes)
    • filed 2016–2026

    Complaints describe the 17-inch center screen going black, freezing or rebooting over and over, sometimes while driving, with owners saying a reboot only helps briefly. When it fails, climate control, the rear camera, navigation, audio, turn-signal indication and in some cases charging stop working, and the car may not start or drive. Several owners say service centers diagnosed a failed memory chip or computer and quoted a paid replacement of the unit or screen, with prices around $1,500-$3,000 reported. Mostly reported between about 40,000 and 145,000 miles on cars several years old, often appearing at startup or after parking.

    Recall 21V035000

    What to check: Ask whether the MCU/eMMC has been replaced or upgraded to a later unit, and get the service records. Check that the screen boots promptly, responds to touch, and that the rear camera and climate controls work.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Screen occasionally goes black either when stationary or driving. At the moment I can 'reset' the car and get the instruments back, but research tells me that this will only get worse. This is a known problem (a memory chip fails through wear over time). When it does fail it is a safety issue as rear lights can fail and all indicators (including speed) disappear.”

    NHTSA complaint #11340107, filed 2020-07, 69,000 miles

    “Vehicle was stationary for a few days in my garage. When I turned it on, the touchscreen was black and Tesla has told me that the mcu units needs to be replaced. During my call with the technician, he explained that the new software that were sent caused some of the units to go bad. I think it's outrageous that they want me to pay $1,500 to fix something that was caused by an internal update.”

    NHTSA complaint #11342114, filed 2020-07, 121,000 miles
  2. Suspension

    Front suspension control arm and knuckle failures

    • 128 complaints (28%)
    • median 50,000 mi at 5.0 yrs old (103 state mileage)
    • 20 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • owner-quoted repair $2,750 (median of 13 quotes)
    • filed 2013–2026

    Owners report upper control arm failure and broken front suspension or steering knuckle parts, sometimes while turning at low speed on ordinary roads, and one report of a rear subframe replacement being classified as wear. Complaints also describe clicking or thumping noises, and some owners link vague steering to worn front suspension components. Reported from roughly 40,000 to 92,000 miles, often during low-speed turns or reversing.

    What to check: Have a pre-purchase inspection check the front upper control arms, ball joints and knuckles for play or cracking, and listen for clunks over bumps.

    An excerpt from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “We own a 2013 Tesla Model S 85, rear wheel drive, no autopilot. As vehicle aged, the steering was noticeably vague and the vehicle became darty on the highway, seemingly wanting to drive out of the current lane on its own. This dartiness became worse and worse over time, and also was worse when accelerating or decelerating. We first alerted the dealer of the problem in aug 2019, and they replaced few components in the front suspension (both upper control arms and the right forelink) and charged us $1571+tax for parts and labor. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11382892, filed 2020-12, 90,000 miles
  3. Transmission and drivetrain

    Drive unit, battery and power-loss alerts

    • 91 complaints (20%)
    • median 84,571 mi at 6.9 yrs old (51 state mileage)
    • 11 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • owner-quoted repair $3,447 (median of 15 quotes)
    • filed 2013–2026

    Complaints describe reduced power or shutdown warnings, messages that the vehicle may not restart, and in some cases a complete loss of motive power while driving. Owners say service centers diagnosed a faulty drive unit, water intrusion from the rear, coolant reaching the battery, or a battery that needed replacement, and some report reduced range after software updates. Mostly reported between about 95,000 and 130,000 miles, often appearing as warnings while driving or after the car sat unused.

    1 related service bulletin

    What to check: Ask for the drive-unit and battery service history, check remaining range and charging behavior, and confirm whether any high-voltage disconnect or battery service has been performed.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “While driving on a six lane highway, I received multiple alerts from the car saying that power was reduced, the vehicle was shutting down, service is required, pull over safely and vehicle may not restart. I pulled over into a parking lot to monitor the car, the alerts continued to come and go but the car remained on. I decided to drive the rest of the way home. I notified Tesla service and received no response. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11338856, filed 2020-07, 128,600 miles

    “Media control unit failed while in the custody of the dealer after a drive unit failure. The unit began malfunctioning a few days before. The direction indicators and radio were working intermittently with the audio blanking off at 12 second intervals. This coincided with a drive unit failure. The car had to be taken to Tesla by a flat bed. We were charged nearly $3000 for the repair. Service invoice attached.”

    NHTSA complaint #11330510, filed 2020-06, 105,579 miles

Buying note. Budget for the center screen to be repaired or replaced at some point, and confirm whether the car has already had the MCU, steering and drive-unit work done. A pre-purchase inspection of the suspension and a scan for stored alerts are worthwhile on this model year.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 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 461 consumer complaints for the 2013 Tesla Model S. 291 of the complaints include a mileage, and 35% of those were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the median is 70,000 miles. Of all complaints, 41 involved a crash, 19 a fire, 24 an injury, 5 a death, according to the filers. NHTSA lists 11 recall campaigns and 102 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 42 out of 100, where 50 is a typical year for the model (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: Body and structure (19), Exterior lighting (15), Air bags (8), Back-over prevention (rear camera) (8), Wheels (7), Electronic stability control (6), Lane departure (5), Equipment (4), Seats (4), Forward collision avoidance (3), Seat belts (3), Tires (3), Latches, locks and linkages (2).

Example complaints

Electrical system: “The main screen that controls everything has a massive issue. It controls all the functions in the car, like the rear back up camera, ability to control AC, etc. The screen is peeling from the inside, and many people have reported this on the Tesla forums. Tesla wants to charge me at least $2500 to fix the problem, and I know this is affecting many cars.”

NHTSA complaint #11355701, filed 2020-09, 41,000 miles

Other or unknown: “Vehicle touchscreen constantly freezes and needs to be restarted. I reported this issue to Tesla due to their claimed extended warranty on mcu issues, however, they have refused replacement. I am concerned about my safety driving the vehicle as a significant amount of operations are controlled by the touchscreen.”

NHTSA complaint #11390619, filed 2021-01, 64,000 miles

Suspension: “Suspension links in my Tesla Model S 2013 were advised to be replaced at 56,000 miles. If not replaced by service I was told the wheels could break off. No timeline was given. The car was moderately used on average condition roads in the state of connecticut. Suspension links should be more reliable and not require a replacement after 56,000 of regular usage.”

NHTSA complaint #10968448, filed 2017-03, 56,000 miles

Transmission and drivetrain: “On or about june 24, 2019, my parked car's software was forcibly updated without my prior knowledge, without any prior notification and without my authorization. This forced software update reduced the nominal capacity of my battery by 16.02%. On june 23, 2019, my 100% state of charge (soc) would charge each cell in my battery pack to 4.2 volts, resulting in a rated range of 256 miles. …”

NHTSA complaint #11266874, filed 2019-10, 120,000 miles

Mileage when problems were reported

35% of the 291 complaints with a mileage were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the middle half falls between 38,000 and 100,000 miles.

7%0–1011%10–2518%25–5020%50–7519%75–10023%100–1504%150+
Share of complaints by mileage when the problem was reported, in thousands of miles (291 complaints with mileage). Red bars: under 50,000 miles. Bucket widths differ. Median: 70,000 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.

’14’16’18’20158’22’24’26
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.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2013 Tesla Model S. Frontal results are shown driver / passenger; rollover shows the star rating and NHTSA's estimated risk of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

VersionOverallFrontalSideSide poleRollover
Model S · hatchback RWD★★★★★5 / 5555 · 5.7% risk

Neighbouring years: 2014: same overall rating. A redesign between years can change both the car and the test.

Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (5-Star Safety Ratings), nhtsa.gov/ratings.

Fuel economy and running cost

EPA ratings for each 2013 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 (40 kW-hr battery pack) RWDElectricsingle-speed939694 MPGe$800
Model S (60 kW-hr battery pack) RWDElectricsingle-speed949795 MPGe$800
Model S (85 kW-hr battery pack) 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 11 recalls for the 2013 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. 102 on record; the latest 10 are shown.

See all 102 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 2013 Tesla Model S?

Owners of the 2013 Model S mostly report problems with the center touchscreen (MCU) failing or freezing, often after many years of use, which takes out climate control, the rear camera, turn signal indicators and sometimes charging. The issues reported most often: Center touchscreen (MCU) freezes, blanks or dies; Front suspension control arm and knuckle failures; Drive unit, battery and power-loss alerts.

How many NHTSA complaints does the 2013 Tesla Model S have?

NHTSA recorded 461 consumer complaints for the 2013 Tesla Model S as of Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

What part of the 2013 Tesla Model S is reported most often?

Electrical system is named most often, in 195 complaints (42% of the total), followed by other or unknown with 122.

Has the 2013 Tesla Model S been recalled?

NHTSA lists 11 recall campaigns for this model year. To check a specific vehicle, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

How did the 2013 Tesla Model S do in NHTSA crash tests?

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings give the 2013 Tesla Model S 5 out of 5 stars overall. Ratings from different model years are only comparable when the vehicle was not redesigned in between.

How efficient is the 2013 Tesla Model S according to the EPA?

The EPA rates the 2013 Tesla Model S (Model S (40 kW-hr battery pack), Electric) at 94 MPGe combined, 93 city and 96 highway, with an estimated annual electricity cost of $800 at 15,000 miles a year. Other battery and motor versions are rated differently.

At what mileage are problems with the 2013 Tesla Model S reported?

Among the 291 complaints that include a mileage, the median is 70,000 miles and the middle half falls between 38,000 and 100,000 miles; 35% 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. Crash ratings are from NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program. 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.