2017 Tesla Model S Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 10about this part
- Share
- 2%of 431 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 10,500miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 10 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2017 Tesla Model S, 2% of the 431 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 10,500 miles. 4 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“On saturday 5/11/2019 around 12:45pm while I was driving on the highway the car suddenly made a loud sound then the car shut down in the middle of the highway leaving me stuck. The car would not go into gear. The car display an error on the center console unable to drive, please proceed to safety (something like this) I did not take a photo since I was concerned about being rear ended. I had to call 911 to stop all traffic so the car could be pushed off the highway. As we were about to push the car it started working again. …”
NHTSA complaint #11207856, filed 2019-05, 9,000 miles“I have reached out to Tesla 3 times to fix a sudden unintended acceleration issue. 11 days after I reported the issue and they told me my car was ok to drive I got into a accident. It took Tesla 5 months to give back the reports of the crash in which they said it was my fault. I have lost trust in the company and have seen that 127 other people have been affected by the same issue according to cnn please take care of this issue. Any Tesla owner is a pioneer of a future creation. After the accident they told me autopilot is on beta mode its not perfect yet. …”
NHTSA complaint #11307255, filed 2020-02, 35,000 miles“Our Tesla has had two incidents in the last three months of uncontrollable acceleration....once slowly going into a parking place and once backing out of our garage. The first one resulted in a couple of cracked ribs (with seatbelt on) and $18,000 in damage. The second incident: the Tesla, when backing up went totally out of control by accelerating and it barreled across the street and knocking down a tree before coming to a stop. The Tesla is now in the repair shop with extensive damage to the rear of the car. Not sure yet of the dollar amount. …”
NHTSA complaint #11162968, filed 2018-12, 12,000 miles“On july 13, 2017, my Tesla was driving south on the I-680 in the vicinity of fremont, california. My vehicle was in self-drive mode traveling in the left-most lane at 65 MPH. My hands were on the steering wheel. We entered a long curve to the right and approached stopped cars ahead of us. The self-drive mode in my Tesla then stopped operating and I was left to suddenly have to steer the Tesla onto the left shoulder of the highway in order to avoid hitting the vehicle directly ahead of me. This all occurred under clear skies and dry road conditions. …”
NHTSA complaint #11005992, filed 2017-07, 600 miles“While reversing into a parking spot, like I have over 1000 times in this car, I heard a loud crack and scrape. When the tow driver got the car up we were able to see it was a Lower A-arm failure in outward loaded bearing stress. This seems like a common problem with these cars as a simple google search found many other drivers with similar issues.”
NHTSA complaint #11490930, filed 2022-10Related service bulletins
- 10251045Jan 18, 2024Some versions of Model S and X front drive unit halfshafts might cause excessive vibrations during hard acceleration at higher ride height settings. This is exclusively an NVH…
- 10212803Dec 10, 2021Some versions of Model S and X front drive unit halfshafts might cause excessive vibrations during hard acceleration at higher ride height settings. This is exclusively an NVH…
- 10162295Jun 25, 2019Older versions of the Model S and Model X LH front drive unit clevis mount contain a bushing that allows the front drive unit to move side-to-side more than expected during hard…
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 33% |
| 2023 | 3 | 3% |
| 2022 | 3 | 2% |
| 2021 | 2 | 1% |
| 2020 | 6 | 8% |
| 2019 | 3 | 7% |
| 2018 | 5 | 3% |
| 2017 | 10 | 2% |
| 2016 | 18 | 3% |
| 2015 | 29 | 4% |
| 2014 | 27 | 7% |
| 2013 | 35 | 8% |
| 2012 | 5 | 8% |
Other parts of the 2017 Tesla Model S
114 complaintsSuspension
107 complaintsOther or unknown
96 complaintsForward collision avoidance
69 complaintsSteering
48 complaintsVehicle speed control
36 complaintsExterior lighting
28 complaintsBrakes
25 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
25 complaintsLane departure
24 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
20 complaintsBody and structure
14 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2017 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