2018 Tesla Model X Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe unexpected acceleration or braking behaviour at low parking speeds and in Autopilot or cruise control, along with repeated screen and instrument-cluster failures. A second cluster of reports concerns suspension and wheel problems, including premature tire separation, often noticed in the first 25,000 miles. That the complaints remain rate-limited and filed at relatively low mileage suggests many failures show up early in ownership rather than after long-term wear.

1. 1
   Suspension

   Premature rear tire separation and wheel wobble

   • 39 complaints (20%)
   • median 20,000 mi at 2.2 yrs old (20 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2019–2026

   Owners report shuddering, wobbling or vibration felt through the car and steering, sometimes noticeable only when turning, without a tire-pressure warning. Service centres reportedly diagnosed internal separation or bubbles in the rear tires and recommended replacement; one owner was told the brand of tire had a history of such problems. Other complaints describe rear wheels sitting at an odd angle or coming loose, which owners attribute to suspension or ball-joint failure. Typically reported between roughly 7,000 and 27,000 miles, often noticed over a period of weeks before diagnosis.

   What to check: Inspect all four tires for bulges or internal separation and check even wear, and have the rear suspension and wheel bearings checked by an independent shop. Ask whether tires have already been replaced and why.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Please not that I have used the VIN of another Tesla Model X in order to be able to file this complaint. I do not have the VIN of the car in question. This owner's life is in immediate danger and so are the lives of innocent road users. Despite hundreds of cases of broken Tesla suspensions that have been filed at NHTSA and that have been discussed in online forums this owner is unaware that he has the classic symptoms of failed suspension links. Link to discussion. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11281192, filed 2019-11, 18,000 miles

   “Tires are separating internally after 27k miles. Continental tires. This tire should be good for 45k miles. It has no other problems. Tesla says they have lots of problems with those tires. When the tire has problems it faults all the safety issues of car and computer. Big problem. Only answer is to replace all of tires and see what works.”

   NHTSA complaint #11383515, filed 2020-12, 27,000 miles
2. 2
   Vehicle speed control

   Unexpected acceleration at low speed while parking

   • 22 complaints (11%)
   • median 8,000 mi at 1.8 yrs old (15 state mileage)
   • 15 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2025

   Owners describe the vehicle speeding up on its own while creeping into a parking space, driveway or garage, often with a foot reported on the brake. Several say the car jumped a curb and struck a wall, fence, pole or another car, and that airbags did not deploy in some of these events. A few state that service downloaded vehicle data and told them the accelerator had been pressed, while others report the dealer could not reproduce the concern. Mostly reported within the first few thousand miles, typically during low-speed parking manoeuvres in lots and driveways.

   What to check: During a test drive, practise slow parking manoeuvres and confirm the pedal feel and creep behaviour are consistent. Ask the seller whether any unintended-acceleration reports were raised on this vehicle and whether service downloaded event data.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “We had an accident 2days ago. We were in the school loop to drop off our son to school. My husband was driving and was heading towards the drop off area when everything just happened so fast, the next thing I knew is that we hit one of the in-ground installed basketball hoops. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11300230, filed 2020-01, 43,000 miles

   “Was parking my 2018 Model X on feb 1, 2019, in my driveway. The vehicle suddenly accelerated, hit the garage door(closed. No warning from sensor), went through garage door( vehicle did not stop after hitting the garage door), did not sense things(like washer, dryer, water heater, wall to my kitchen) in the garage door and finally smashed the washer/dryer before coming to stop. Washer/dryer hit the wall and damage the entire kitchen. No airbags came out. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11183334, filed 2019-03, 2,146 miles
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Touchscreen and instrument cluster freeze or blank

   • 54 complaints (28%)
   • median 12,000 mi at 2.5 yrs old (22 state mileage)
   • 9 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $2,000 (median of 5 quotes)
   • filed 2018–2026

   Complaints describe the centre display and instrument cluster going black, freezing or rebooting slowly, sometimes for many minutes during a drive. When the screens are down, owners report losing the speedometer, turn-signal indicators, audible chimes, radio and climate controls, and some note that rear doors cannot be opened normally. Several say the service centre restarted the software or declined further repair, with one told that an occasional blank screen was acceptable. Reported across a wide mileage range, often from a few hundred to around 50,000 miles, and sometimes within months of purchase.

   Recall 21V035000

   What to check: Ask whether the media control unit or its storage has ever been replaced, and check which hardware version the car has. A recall covering display memory wear on some earlier cars exists, so confirm it was completed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Hello, I thought it would be best to send my latest service note about my car. Tesla continues to avoid fixing or addressing the problem. We are not sure where else to turn and see so many other complaints about this online. I finally decided it was time to reach out to you. Thank you in advance for any assistance or guidance you can provide. ' hi there are no time stamps, as it has for the past 6 months, the screen is perpetually slow. I assume it is in the records, we have reached out to service many times. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11387286, filed 2021-01, 23,000 miles

   “I am filing a complaint against Tesla regarding the mcu infotainment on the Model X. My vehicle is 2 years old and began to suffer mcu failure after upgrading to Tesla's hw3. The mcu failures has resulted in severe lag, low vehicle startup. Vehicle start up has taken anywhere from 10 minutes to 20. Recently, a family member was required to be driven to the hospital. Due to the mcu causing my behave slowly, 911 was required to be called for an ambulance. The mcu failure is severely effecting medical emergencies. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11342008, filed 2020-07, 26,000 miles
4. 4
   Forward collision avoidance

   Phantom braking and false forward-collision warnings

   • 28 complaints (15%)
   • median 24,500 mi at 2.7 yrs old (10 state mileage)
   • 10 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2026

   Complaints describe the car braking hard with cruise control or Autopilot engaged when no vehicle or obstacle is ahead, including on clear, straight highways. Some report the forward-collision warning failing to sound or the automatic emergency braking not stopping the car for a vehicle in front. Owners say dealers could not duplicate the behaviour or told them no assistance was available, and one report notes a communication error was linked to false warnings and unexpected emergency braking. Usually reported between about 30,000 and 45,000 miles, at highway and motorway speeds.

   Recall 21V846000Recall 23V838000Recall 23V085000Recall 22V037000

   What to check: Ask whether the car has the latest driver-assistance software and whether any Autosteer or forward-collision recalls were completed. Test cruise control on an open road and note any unexplained braking.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Note: I am not a Tesla short seller, I am real owner, driver of Tesla for the last 19 + months. 1.sudden acceleration happened many times during autopilot, vehicle doesn't decelerate even when another vehicle is in front, I had to take control from autropilot with this sudden acceleration and I apply brake. This has been many many times at different locations (freeways ~65mph, expressways ~45/50mph speeds). …”

   NHTSA complaint #11300604, filed 2020-01, 14,100 miles

   “It happened on freeway 57 when I was on the way to work in the early morning. I was driving my Tesla Model X, and in the autopilot mode. Supposedly in the autopilot mode, Tesla will detect the speed and the object in front and slow down or accelerate. If Tesla is too close to an object, it will beep and stop. But in that morning, the car slowed down but did not stop. And also there is no 'beep' the warning sound when car is too close to the car. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11252720, filed 2019-09, 18,000 miles
5. 5
   Body and structure

   Falcon wing doors and lockout or access problems

   • 25 complaints (13%)
   • median 13,000 mi at 2.2 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2026

   Owners describe the falcon wing doors sensing an obstruction that is not there and refusing to open, and in some cases passengers could not get out until someone reached them through the trunk. Other complaints report the car locking owners out entirely, or rear doors becoming unusable while the centre screen is down, with the only manual release requiring removal of door trim. Reported from a few hundred to around 30,000 miles, usually while parked.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Operate both falcon wing doors several times and check for obstruction warnings, and ask about the rear door cladding sensor service bulletin for early-2018 builds. Confirm the key fobs and phone-key entry work reliably.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My Tesla Model X falcon wings do not open at times. They sense an obstruction when there is none. My kids have been stuck in the car because the doors do not open. I had to crawl through the trunk to get my kids out of their car seats. This occurs when the car is park/not in motion.”

   NHTSA complaint #11330562, filed 2020-06, 30,000 miles

   “Audio warning glitch in Tesla Model X. Scenario is that the car is in park with the passenger's door and hatchback open. Car is placed in to reverse gear and the audio tone sounds warning of open door and open hatchback. Passenger's door is closed by occupant and audio signal stops, although rear hatchback is still open. Audio tone is still silent if the vehicle moves in reverse gear although the hatchback is still open. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11170234, filed 2019-01, 13,000 miles

Buying note. A pre-purchase inspection by an independent Tesla-experienced shop is worthwhile for tires, rear suspension and display hardware, and confirm that open recalls and available software updates have been applied. Ask the seller for the service history, particularly any screen, door-sensor or tire work.

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.