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BrakesPart report

2013 Tesla Model S Brakes Problems

Complaints
25about this part
Share
5%of 461 total for the year
Median mileage
42,000miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 25 complaints about the brakes of the 2013 Tesla Model S, 5% of the 461 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 42,000 miles. 10 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Complete brake failure. Error messages came up on my screen. I was driving inside of my companies parking lot at 5mph. When I tried to drive the car to the dealer to get checked out the car stopped it self. It required Tesla to send an update to my car to have it be able to get to the dealer. This happened with 42k miles on the car.”

NHTSA complaint #10873811, filed 2016-06, 42,000 miles

“The driver of our car was parking our Tesla Model S p85+ and slowly moving into the parking spot nearing the final distance in to the spot, when the car suddenly lurched forward, hitting and knocking down a light pole. The driver did not cause this acceleration to occur and was quite surprised to have this happen. There were no injuries involved in the incident, but a light pole located 1.5 feet way from end of the parking spot was knocked down and we have minimal damage to the front of the vehicle.”

NHTSA complaint #10958834, filed 2017-03, 30,100 miles

“Takata recall : I have my used 2013 Tesla Model S 85 since last year. And since last year I'm having a big issue with the vibration coming from the break pedal. Everytime I use my break there is a abnormal vibrations and this issue was not fix. Tesla dublin performed the first service the vibration from the break pedal issue. After a week from the service the vibration is still there. The issue is still on going problem until now. Tesla dublin performed four service to fix the vibration from the break pedal issue. I have the invoice for those service. …”

NHTSA complaint #11208491, filed 2019-05, 95,625 miles

“Twice my Tesla lunged forward accelerating speed when trying to park resulting in accidents. I reported both issues to Tesla. First time they denied that happening and the second time this past year they needed additional information. Then when I provided the information my emails kept getting bounced back. First incident occurred when parking in a school parking spot with a cement block. As I was slowly driving into the spot the car suddenly accelerated so fast my car went completely over the block and I pulled the steering wheel left to avoid hitting the building in front of me. …”

NHTSA complaint #11309949, filed 2020-02, 27,000 miles

“Sudden unintended acceleration Tesla. I drove my Tesla from work, driving over 35miles during rush hour of the bay area. When I entered my subdivision, I was driving at 10 MPH, pulled into my driveway made 90 degrees turn at 5 MPH, applied the brakes. Instead of stopping, car sped up at extremely high acceleration. It drove through the garage door, hit maserati parked in the garage, and a motorcycle parked next to it. The maserati trunk was pushed in approx 3 feet, it slid sideways, hit the pillar, smashing driver door and window, slid to the front and hit the motorbike parked next to it. …”

NHTSA complaint #11082114, filed 2018-03, 48,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Brakes: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026114%
202365%
2022118%
2021169%
202068%
2019716%
20182515%
2017256%
2016569%
2015213%
2014103%
2013255%
201212%

Other parts of the 2013 Tesla Model S

Electrical system
195 complaints
Other or unknown
122 complaints
Suspension
92 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
35 complaints
Steering
29 complaints
Vehicle speed control
25 complaints
Fuel system
24 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
22 complaints
Engine
21 complaints
Body and structure
19 complaints
Exterior lighting
15 complaints
Air bags
8 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2013 Tesla Model S

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology