2016 Tesla Model S Problems, Recalls & Reliability
1,024 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2016 Tesla Model S, alongside 10 recall campaigns and 18 defect investigations. It scores 100/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Suspension leads the reports, typically around 11,000 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2016 Tesla Model S sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 2012, 2019–2020, 2022.
Avoid
Where 2016 sits among all Model S years
What owners report
“Model s freshly arrived in the junkyard: https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=26126022&rownumber=91&loadrecent=true suspension collapsed. All wheels whompy. Please investigate. Very concerned citizen etc.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model S
“The center screening (mcu) is defective. It often will be rebooting by itself while driving. While this does not affect the mean drive motor functions, it does affect the backup camera. Also the random reboot is distracting while driving. It is my understanding that this is a known issue with tesla…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model S
“The instrument cluster goes out randomly when driving. This means there is no speed displayed. I reported to Tesla and they did nothing to correct this problem.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model S
“The center console is once again failing. It will randomly go black and then reboot. This is the same component that was subject to a previous safety recall. I had it repaired under that recall, but it is now failing again. When I reported the problem to Tesla Service, their response was to tell me…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model S
“Here is a recent youtube video showing what appears to be a tesla employee demonstrating the use of autopilot and encouraging the driver to take his hands off the wheel. This is utterly irresponsible. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jptyoykotps”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model S
“My car slams on the brakes consistently at green lights when FSD is activated. This is version 12.5.4.2 of FSD. Tesla is not responding to my inquiries.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model S
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 605 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 26,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 5,000 and 58,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (10)
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2024 Model S, 2015-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. In the event of an unbelted driver, the seat belt warning light and audible chime may not activate as intended. As such, these…
Fix: Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update. Owner notification letters were mailed July 26, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, 2019-2024 Model Y, and 2024 Cybertruck vehicles. An incorrect font size is displayed on the instrument panel for the Brake, Park, and Antilock Brake System…
Fix: Tesla began releasing an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-003.
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with all versions of Autosteer leading up to the version(s) that contains the recall remedy. In certain circumstances when…
Fix: Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752.…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016-2023 Model S, Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) software or pending installation. The FSD Beta system may allow the vehicle to act unsafe…
Fix: Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 15, 2023. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752.…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. The "rolling stop" functionality available as part of the Full Self-Driving (Beta) software may allow the vehicle to travel through an…
Fix: Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update that disables the "rolling stop" functionality, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2022. Owners may contact…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2014-2021 Model S vehicles. The front trunk latch assembly may be misaligned, preventing the secondary hood latch from engaging. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle…
Fix: Tesla Service will inspect and reposition the latch assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 18, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Tesla Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles with a center display equipped with a NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and an 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device. When the 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device for the center…
Fix: Owners should ensure their vehicles are operating firmware release 2020.48.48.12 or newer, which will alert owners if the eMMC is approaching lifetime wear. Tesla will notify owners, and will…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling all 2014-2016 Model S vehicles equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating…
Fix: Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the passenger frontal air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began May 29, 2019. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with Bosch steering racks. The aluminum bolts that attach the power steering gear assist motor to the gear housing may corrode and fracture causing a reduction or complete…
Fix: Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the steering gear mounting bolts and add a corrosion-preventative sealer, free of charge. The recall began May 7, 2019. Owners may…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016 Model S and Model X vehicles. The electric parking brake calipers have an internal gear that may be improperly manufactured, possibly resulting in the gear fracturing during parking brake application or release.
Fix: Tesla will notify owners, and service centers will replace both the left and right electric parking brake calipers, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2018. Owners may contact Tesla customer…
Federal defect investigations
Still open as of the last data refresh. An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Engineering Analysis to evaluate Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) degradation detection system. The focus of this investigation will be to assess the system’s ability, when encountering…
Model years named: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS
The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) is opening this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of FSD executing driving maneuvers that constitute traffic safety violations. This investigation concerns versions of FSD that Tesla has labeled…
Model years named: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS
The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) has identified numerous incident reports submitted by Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) in response to Standing General Order 2021-01 (the “SGO”), in which the reported crashes occurred several months or more before the dates of the reports. The majority of these…
Model years named: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:DRIVER MONITORING:SOFTWARE
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening a Recall Query to assess the remedy adequacy of Recall 23V838. On December 12, 2023, Tesla filed a Defect Information Report (Recall 23V838) applicable to all Tesla models produced and equipped with any version of its Autopilot system, which…
Model years named: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition requesting that ODI reevaluate its decision to deny DP20-001 on the basis that intermittent high electrical current demands on the vehicles' 12VDC systems may have caused some or all of the incidents examined by ODI in DP20-001. The…
Model years named: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade,…
Model years named: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Led to recall campaign 22V063000.
Led to recall campaign 23V085.
Led to recall campaign 21V035.
Technical service bulletins
99 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on electrical and seats & interior — are on file for the 2016 Tesla Model S. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2016 Model S TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2016 Tesla Model S reliable?
The 2016 Tesla Model S drew 1,024 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 100/100, scored against the model's worst year (2016).
What are the most common 2016 Tesla Model S problems?
The top reported problems for the 2016 Tesla Model S are suspension (209 complaints), electrical (199), and other (161).
At what mileage do 2016 Tesla Model S problems show up?
Owners most often report 2016 Tesla Model S problems around 26,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 5,000 and 58,000 miles.
Does the 2016 Tesla Model S have recalls?
10 recall campaigns apply to the 2016 Tesla Model S. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.