Skip to content
SuspensionPart report

2018 Tesla Model S Suspension Problems

Complaints
20about this part
Share
12%of 170 total for the year
Median mileage
15,500miles
Trend
FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 20 complaints about the suspension of the 2018 Tesla Model S, 12% of the 170 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 15,500 miles. 3 of these say a crash was involved and 1 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

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

“1. Suspension problem, ongoing concern. 2. Excessive tire wear of unknown cause. 3. Driver screen for managing vehicle controls is faulty and hopefully being fixed via a warranty alert dated november 09, 2020. See attached document. My concern is that Tesla is not forthcoming in solving this suspension problem. I would encourage your agency to investigate claims into Model S vehicles produced through 2018 as well.”

NHTSA complaint #11376712, filed 2020-11, 9,500 miles

“The car software has been modified and appears to be compromised. Settings related to safety and autopilot have been unstable. Driver profile does not work properly. Factory reset performed by Tesla paramus and by switching email account doesn't not remove the malware. Personal data and malfunctioning of the car continue despite several complaints to Tesla.”

NHTSA complaint #11322359, filed 2020-04, 9,385 miles

“This a complaint about the Tesla suspension forelinks which are still snapping off and causing danger to the public. At least three new cases of failure have been reported within the last few weeks. Despite forum posters urging the owners to report their failures to NHTSA the owners have not done so. Pressure from Tesla supporters to support the mission and financial self-interest mean that these failures are being under-reported. …”

NHTSA complaint #11257794, filed 2019-09, 5,000 miles

“Design flaw on the rear suspension set up causes excessive tire wear on the inside of the tires. Very likely goes without being detected even by the service centers and can cause serious accidents due to tire blow outs specially on freeway drives.”

NHTSA complaint #11310421, filed 2020-02, 34,000 miles

“Here is a Tesla Model S in the junkyard. There is hardly any impact damage to the bodywork. No air-bags have been deployed. The cast alloy steering knuckle has cracked in half. The only possible way for that to happen is if there is a casting flaw during manufacture. This is a heavy high performance car that is frequently driven hands free on so called autopilot. Having such badly made weak suspension parts only adds to the danger. Will you please investigate this case and that of so many other Tesla suspension failures. Thank you. Keef”

NHTSA complaint #11289750, filed 2019-12, 16,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Suspension: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026114%
2025233%
202425%
202343%
202296%
2021169%
20201418%
2019818%
20182012%
201710725%
201621132%
201515022%
20149025%
20139220%
2012915%

Other parts of the 2018 Tesla Model S

Forward collision avoidance
50 complaintsOther or unknown
36 complaintsElectrical system
35 complaintsVehicle speed control
28 complaintsBrakes
25 complaintsSteering
15 complaintsLane departure
13 complaintsBody and structure
10 complaintsExterior lighting
8 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
6 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
5 complaintsAir bags
4 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2018 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