2020 Tesla Model X Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe noise and vibration from the front and rear suspension, and many report the screens or central computer going dark while driving. A second cluster of complaints covers driver-assistance behavior, including the car braking hard on its own and, in a smaller but repeated group, surging forward at low speed in parking situations.

1. 1
   Suspension

   Suspension noise, vibration and premature tire wear

   • 33 complaints (26%)
   • median 4,000 mi at 0.8 yrs old (13 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2020–2026

   Complaints describe a squeak or creak from the front suspension, a shudder felt through the steering wheel and floor when accelerating roughly between 15 and 35 mph, and rear tires worn down to the cord on the inside edge well before expected. Several owners say half-shafts, control arms or ball joints were replaced, sometimes more than once, and that the noise or vibration returned afterwards. Others report air suspension dropping, ball joints separating and a wheel leaning over at low mileage, and a few say the dealer could not duplicate the noise or declined further repair. Many reports arrive under 10,000 miles, with some at only a few hundred miles, and tire-wear reports appear around one year or 10,000-12,000 miles.

   Recall 22V818000

   What to check: Listen for creaks or squeaks over bumps and feel for vibration or shudder during a part-throttle acceleration run; inspect the inner edge of the rear tires for uneven wear and ask whether half-shafts, control arms or ball joints have already been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Our Tesla Model X 2020 has only 6300 miles. After noticing that one of the rear tires was flat, I realized that the two rear tires were extremely worn on the inner rim, even exposing the steel belt on both.”

   NHTSA complaint #11360573, filed 2020-09, 6,300 miles

   “Both rear tires are severely worn on the inside shoulder/tread after only one year. The driver/owner cannot inspect the rear tires because visibility is severely limited. In my case, I had a nail in the tire. The tire store removed the tire and noted the tire was worn down to the cord at the extreme most tread on the inside of the tire. Also, these tires cannot be rotated since the front tires are a different width (275 rear vs. 265 front). Tesla indicated that there was no adjustment to the rear wheel camber for the Model X. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11415547, filed 2021-05, 11,500 miles
2. 2
   Forward collision avoidance

   Car brakes hard on its own under cruise or Autopilot

   Mentioned in 10 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners describe the vehicle slowing abruptly or braking hard with no obstacle in front, most often while cruise control, Autopilot or the self-driving feature is active on a highway. Some say the brake event was severe enough to bring the car near a stop, and several report that it happened repeatedly. Repair attempts varied: some were told a software update would address it, others were told no fault was found, and in some cases the vehicle was diagnosed with a failed driving-assistance computer. Reported across a wide mileage range, including cars under 10,000 miles and others past 45,000 miles, usually at highway speed with driver assistance engaged.

   Recall 21V846000Recall 23V085000Recall 22V037000

   What to check: Ask whether any braking-related software updates or recalls have been applied, and if you can, drive the car with cruise control engaged at highway speed to see whether it slows or brakes without a reason.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “When I'm using the driving assistance on the highway, and I'm doing like 60 or 70 mph, all of a sudden the car brakes to 45mph if it (falsely) thinks we are in a construction zone I believe. I have almost gotten in 3 accidents because the car suddenly brakes hard on its own, without me braking.”

   NHTSA complaint #11467935, filed 2022-06

   “I have experienced several issues with my car: It brakes suddenly for no reason in the middle of the freeway It displayed an error message that said the right rear seat safety system has failed and needs service It displayed an error message that said the ultrasonic sensors are not communicating with each other (I believe these are used for the driver safety systems). I reached out to Tesla asking to look into these issues. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11478914, filed 2022-08
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Screens and center computer go dark while driving

   • 29 complaints (23%)
   • median 10,155 mi at 1.3 yrs old (14 state mileage)
   • 5 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2020–2026

   Owners report the central touchscreen and the driver display blanking out together, sometimes rebooting on their own after roughly half a minute and sometimes staying dark, leaving no speed readout, camera view, navigation or warning indicators. Some describe the loss happening at highway speed, and a few mention low-voltage or battery-drain messages beforehand. Dealers in the complaints reformatted software, replaced parts such as the driving-assistance computer, or told owners the issue was being worked on. Spread across the mileage range from under 1,000 miles to past 50,000 miles, frequently reported during highway driving.

   Recall 23V838000Recall 24V051000

   What to check: Check the software version and whether recent updates are installed, ask whether the screens or computer have been replaced or reformatted before, and watch the displays during a test drive for flicker, freeze or restart.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While driving the car - the car's central computer rebooted. When this happens the music stops, all the screens (center console + driver display) go black. I was not using any autopilot functionality during this time. I'm curious what would have happened if I was. It takes about 30 seconds for the driver display to fully recover. I have a video of this in action.”

   NHTSA complaint #11375399, filed 2020-11, 427 miles

   “I was driving my Model X (june 2020) home last evening on a road I normally drive. (6 lane road) I was approach a traffic light that turned yellow and I determined I didn't have enough time to stop - so I hit the accelerator to get through the light before it turned red and then everything on the car stopped working. No alarms, no sounds, no warnings, nothing - music even stopped playing. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11394404, filed 2021-02, 11,840 miles
4. 4
   Vehicle speed control

   Sudden acceleration at low speed in parking situations

   • 12 complaints (9%)
   • median 300 mi at 0.7 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
   • 8 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2020–2026

   Complaints describe the car surging forward or backward while maneuvering in a parking lot, at a drive-through, at a stop light or while pulling into a space, sometimes ending against a curb, post, wall or another vehicle. Owners state they were on the brake or had not pressed the accelerator, and several mention the incident happening shortly after putting the car into drive. In most of these reports the outcome was crash damage rather than a diagnostic finding. Mostly reported at very low mileage, often within the first few thousand miles and in parking or stop-and-go situations.

   What to check: There is no inspection that rules this out; it is worth asking the seller whether the vehicle has any recorded incident or service history tied to unintended movement, and to be deliberate about pedal position when maneuvering at low speed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “When pulling into a parking space the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated causing the vehicle to jump the parking curb and strike a retaining wall. I have the video from the car. While turning right into an available parking spot, I was about 80% into the spot when the vehicle surged.”

   NHTSA complaint #11320402, filed 2020-04, 2,470 miles

   “I was the fourth vehicle in line at a bank drive thru and when the vehicle in front of me moved up in line, I placed the vehicle in drive and suddenly the vehicle accelerated out of control and hit two vehicles and then went over a curb into a parking lot and crashed into two other vehicles, which resulted in a serious accident involving four other vehicles. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. My vehicle was a total loss.”

   NHTSA complaint #11337072, filed 2020-07, 2,000 miles

Buying note. On this model year the recurring themes are suspension noise and vibration, screen or computer dropouts while driving, and driver-assistance braking behavior, so a thorough test drive plus a look at the service history and open recalls is worth the time. Many of these reports describe repeated repair attempts, so knowing what has already been replaced matters as much as the mileage.

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.