2008-2011 · 2 model years
Owners have filed 2 complaints about the Tesla Roadster across 2 model years, and it has 1 recall. The 2008 has the most complaints once its age is allowed for (1). The most reported problem area is the acceleration & cruise control, followed by the suspension.
Highlighted: the year with the most complaints for its age. Older vehicles have had more time to collect complaints - the Safety Index grade allows for that.
Tesla motors, inc. Is recalling 345 my 2008 tesla roadster vehicles manufactured between march 2008 and april 22, 2009. The rear hub flange bolts on some of these vehicles may be under-torqued and may become loose. A loose hub could lead to degradation in...
Left rear suspension rod failure while driving vehicle at low speed (no injuries or damage to other vehicles) in 2012 on city street, resulting in abrupt stoppage of vehicle, which collapsed on left rear wheel- suspension rod was replaced by tesla. Now reporting as have read re concerns for suspension rods on model s. Date imprecise, can obtain exact date from tesla if necessary.
The vehicle is prone to 'sudden acceleration' problems where the driver loses control of the vehicle when the traction control system engages and forces the regenerative engine breaking system to disengage. The tesla roadster uses very aggressive engine regenerative breaking so, when it is disengaged, the car lurches forward uncontrollably and faster than the driver can react by engaging the breaks. This most commonly happens when I drive down a hill or around a corner at 20 mph using engine regenerative...
breaking to slow the vehicle and hit a bump in the road that engages the traction control system. The car will suddenly double speed (40 mph) for approximately five seconds as the engine regenerative breaking on this vehicle disengages... Faster than I can compensate by breaking. In effect, the car suddenly and unexpectedly lurches forward when the tcs kicks in. I probably see this behavior at least twice a week on one particular stretch of nearly empty road, but have had two near collisions recently, one on that stretch of road following a truck at a distance and one on a different stretch of road making a corner where the car nearly accelerated into an oncoming vehicle. Given how few of these cars are on the road, how aggressive the engine regenerative breaking is, and how little most other owners drive their vehicles relative to my daily commutes, I have to believe that this problem will lead to multiple accidents and potentially fatal accidents over the course of the next year. The issue has been communicated to tesla motors, but they've indicated that this is standard behavior for all vehicles using engine regenerative breaking and should be expected. I don't completely believe that -- or necessarily believe that other cars are as aggressive with their regen breaking as the tesla is -- but the bottom line is that this creatives a very unsafe driving condition that concerns me and should concern all other tesla roadster drivers. *Tr
Across every model year, owners report problems with the acceleration & cruise control (1), suspension (1) most often.
NHTSA lists 1 recall across all Tesla Roadster model years. Each year's page lists the recalls for that year; check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether the repair has been done.
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
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