Speed profiles don't adhere to actual speed limits. Speed can be higher or lower than posted. I can be driving in a 55mph speed zone and it will drop to 35 then accelerate to 65. On roads that have no speed limit posted car tends to want to go 55 rather than a more sensible speed of under 30, especially at night on a dirt road with wildlife about. Car will also see access road speed signs and slow down in the middle of traffic. To me i don't feel safe and have to disengage the system which adds stress to the drive. Being able to set my own speed is the solution, not having the car set it.
Acceleration & cruise control
Tesla Model S Acceleration problems by year
66 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Tesla Model S's acceleration & cruise control. Unintended acceleration, surging, throttle problems and cruise or adaptive cruise faults.
Acceleration complaints by model year
Latest Model S acceleration complaints
Tesla has taken away the ability to set maximum speed when using their Full Self Driving. THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!!!! Now, the car can and will do 85 on a 60mph freeway! Sometimes you can't even tell you're speeding that fast until it's too late. INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS! They used to have that feature and they've taken it away. For the greed of collecting more data... AT THE EXPENSE OF EVERY DRIVER'S SAFETY
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the cruise control feature engaged, the brakes independently activated without the brake pedal being depressed. No warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Supervised FSD does not have a remedy if it assigns an incorrect speed limit to the current roadway. The only action available is to disengage FSD. This incorrect speed limit happens quite often, especially in construction zones with temporary speed limit changes. Tesla used to have a 'max speed' setting that the driver could use to override an incorrect speed limit, but they removed that capability.
I have been driving my Model S Tesla for 13 years. On 30 April as I was pulling into a parking space at my local grocery store, I applied the brakes to ease into the space and my car surged forward with unintended acceleration. I smashed into the concrete base of a light pole, the airbags deployed and my car ricocheted back about 8 feet. There were no warning messages. I was taken to the emergency room and had whiplash and a burn on my leg from the airbag. No one else was hurt. I know it was the car that...
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malfunctioned because my foot was still on the brake after the collision and the airbags bruised the right side of my right leg. It could not have bruised it in that way if my foot had been on the accelerator. The insurance company inspected and declared a total loss. I obtained the black box data from Tesla and am uploading the documents below. The car is currently at the Tesla collision center. They do not seem interested in evaluating the problem.
On [[redacted]], at approximately [[redacted]], I was driving my 2013 Tesla Model S (VIN: [[redacted]] ) on [[redacted]] in Barrow County, Georgia when the instrument cluster/speedometer display went completely blank while driving. This is an intermittent issue that occurs without warning - the display turns off and sometimes freezes. Because the speedometer was not displaying, I had no way to know my actual speed. I was pulled over by Barrow County Sheriff's Office and cited for speeding. I explained the...
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instrument cluster malfunction to the officer at the scene and showed him the blank display. I took my vehicle to Tesla Service Center in Duluth, GA (3380 Satellite Blvd) on November 4, 2025 - as soon as I could get an appointment after the incident. Tesla cleared the filesystem caches but did NOT inform me about the existing eMMC recall (SB-21-21-001) that affects my vehicle, nor did they perform the recall repair. My 2013 Model S is equipped with the MCU1 with the 8GB eMMC that is subject to NHTSA Recall 21V-119. This is a known defect that NHTSA determined to be a safety issue because it affects critical displays including the speedometer, backup camera, and turn signal indicators. I have video evidence of the malfunction occurring and the Tesla service receipt documenting the issue. The fact that Tesla's service center did not notify me of the applicable recall or perform the free recall repair. This defect directly resulted in me receiving a traffic citation because I could not see my speedometer while driving INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
On October 17, 2025, while using Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode on my 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid, the car failed to stop at two red lights within a three-hour period. In each case, the car attempted to drive through the intersection even though the signal was solid red. I intervened manually and applied the brakes to prevent a potential collision. There were no prior warnings or alerts, and I have not modified the vehicle. This behavior endangers my safety and the safety of others. I am willing to provide the vehicle and any available data logs for inspection if requested.
The contact owns a 2013 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the message "Take to Service" was displayed. The local dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer by Tesla Insurance to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the drive unit was rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure via email and a letter. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
Tesla instrument cluster screens are leaking fluid and eventually failing. The instrument cluster is the only place I can see my speed, thus my car is now unsafe as I can not tell what speed I am driving at.
While driving on the freeway at 70 MPH with 39 miles of range left, the vehicle abruptly slowed down to 20 MPH...cars behind us almost hit us due to the car slowing down despite me accelerating. We pulled to the right shoulder, rest the car and then was only able to go up to 20MPH...range still said 39 miles. Shortly after the car stopped, there was a warning displayed, and the car turned off and could no longer turn back on. I believe the battery failed. The car was towed to Tesla Irvine Barranca Service center...
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and diagnostics confirmed the battery needed replacement. I traded in the car for a new vehicle. Safety of the driver, passengers, and the around us on the freeway were all at risk and we were lucky to avoid any issues. All Tesla told me was the battery died There was a warning that appeared when the car slowed down to 20mph...stating the car was no longer able to be driven
On February 11, 2024, as I was entering my house garage at a very low speed, the car suddenly accelerated and hit the wall of my garage, causing damage to the garage and interior of my house. The car was insured by State Fram. It was towed to a shop for repair at which time the insurance company notified me that the car could not be repaired. The car had been totaled. Over the following several weeks, I repaired the damage to my house and bought another car.
Driving on divided highway at night, the car slowed dramatically at each exit from the highway.
Vehicle braked without warning with cruise control engaged. Luckily there were no other vehicles near us when this phantom braking occurred.
The rear motor (drive unit) has gone out on this car twice in the last four years. I purchased it after it was last repaired. It most recently went out on 08/04/2023. When it went out two days ago it had less than 30,000 miles on it. This car has a motor on both the front and rear axles, so while the vehichle was still moving forward, if it slowed down at all that would engage the regenerative braking. Once regenerative breaking was engaged, the rear drive unit would normal perform that function, but since it was...
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out, it simply knocked the vehicle out of drive and made the transmission flash red. During this part, steering was affected in that the power steering was out, and the ability to move forward was diminished because the vehicle came out of gear. I was able to put my foot briefly on the brake and then tap the car back into drive, but anytime the car slowed down and engaged regenerative braking, this process would repeat. Looking at the forums, this is a known problem. As already stated, this is the second time in less than four years that this motor has needed replacement. Additionally, Tesla is saying that this motor is did not have a warranty on it, despite the fact that it was replaced only a few years ago. In my opinion, this is a clear safety issue. Reviewing the forums, it seems as though this issue is an endemic problem associated with the Tesla Model S from a range of years between 2012-2015. It is more probable than not that the company is aware of this deficit and has chosen to do nothing about it.
On March 19, 2023, I put my Tesla in drive and it went into reverse . When I tried to brake the speed accelerated. We were unable to stop the vehicle, while driving in reverse the car hit two mailboxes and two ceramic flower pots. It has been over 6 weeks and Tesla will not return my calls or messages. My insurance company looked at the body of the vehicle for a repair estimate. Nothing indicated that there was a problem prior to the incident.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data