2015 Tesla Model S Exterior lighting Problems
- Complaints
- 46about this part
- Share
- 7%of 669 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 62,000miles
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 46 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 2015 Tesla Model S, 7% of the 669 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 62,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“The touchscreen in my 2015 Model S has completely failed. I've attempted all of the resets that Tesla recommends to restart the system to no avail. The car is nearly useless, none of the electrical features of the vehicle work, including heating/air conditioning, charging features, audio or turn signals. The car worked fine yesterday, today the screen was just gone.”
NHTSA complaint #11338680, filed 2020-07, 85,290 miles“The mcu/screen stopped working and I was able tondrive, but not use any safety features, including blinkers, back-up camera, or navigation. It took over a week to get a service appointment and the item was not covered under warranty, so I had to pay over $1600 out of pocket. The car was not in motion when the failure occurred, and I was able tondrive, though not as safely as expected.”
NHTSA complaint #11330588, filed 2020-06, 62,000 miles“My vehicle was serviced by Tesla's sunnyvale service center and when returned, they obviously never did a safety test. After driving down the street I found they didn't reconnect several cables, including the fog lights and the emergency flashers. They also disabled several safety features (lane departure warnings, speed warnings, door locks, child locks) without telling me any of this!”
NHTSA complaint #11316627, filed 2020-03, 50,000 miles“The Tesla's large screen quit working. These are controls that power off the vehicle, turn the defrosters off and on along with the climate control. Control steering modes. Control back up camera, control lights. From the reading I have done it is called the mcu. It partially went out while I was driving, it came back on and then it died while I was working and I found out about it when I started the car after work.”
NHTSA complaint #11348489, filed 2020-08, 42,000 miles“My touchscreen has failed completely and I am unable to use my blinkers or control my lights this is a big safety concern and Tesla has stated that it's normal for computer systems to fail.”
NHTSA complaint #11331332, filed 2020-06, 62,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10153419Jan 3, 2019On certain Model S vehicles, the liftgate has plugs that do not allow water to drain, causing condensation to build up inside the tail light assembly. Tail light functionality is…
Exterior lighting: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | 4% |
| 2022 | 6 | 4% |
| 2021 | 6 | 3% |
| 2019 | 2 | 5% |
| 2018 | 8 | 5% |
| 2017 | 28 | 7% |
| 2016 | 49 | 8% |
| 2015 | 46 | 7% |
| 2014 | 27 | 7% |
| 2013 | 15 | 3% |
| 2012 | 5 | 8% |
Other parts of the 2015 Tesla Model S
266 complaintsOther or unknown
189 complaintsSuspension
150 complaintsSteering
51 complaintsVehicle speed control
40 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
39 complaintsFuel system
32 complaintsForward collision avoidance
31 complaintsBody and structure
30 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
29 complaintsAir bags
22 complaintsBrakes
21 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2015 Tesla Model S
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 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