2016 Tesla Model X Problems, Recalls & Reliability
684 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2016 Tesla Model X, alongside 12 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 20,000 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2016 Tesla Model X sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 2021.
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Where 2016 sits among all Model X years
What owners report
“Hello! The front fore links have failed in my vehicle which are a known issue in Tesla Model X's manufactured in 2016. I want to report this to add to the number of complaints”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model X
“Center screen (mcu) dies/freezes up while driving and must try to reset all the time. Tesla refuses to accept resposibility and replace with new mcu under warranty.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model X
“I was driving my tesla model x ev home and there were no problems. When i pulled into the driveway the self driving features accelerated the vehicle causing an accident.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model X
“The steering is stiff and hard to turn this is the second time this has happened. It happened last year around this same time. I took to Tesla service in New Orleans for repair and they said they cleaned the bolts and reconnected the line. And now the car is experiencing the same issue”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model X
“Falcon doors missing from ui. While on highway going highway speed, piece of the roof flew off car.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model X
“Tesla error 'Park Assist not avialable' - error code, and Tesla service wants service fee to check error”— owner report to NHTSA, 2016 Model X
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 374 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 35,750 miles. Half of those reports fall between 6,000 and 59,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (12)
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016 Model X vehicles. The front and center roof cosmetic trim pieces may be adhered to the vehicle without primer. As a result, one or both pieces of trim may separate from the vehicle.
Fix: Tesla service will test the roof trim adhesion and reattach the trim pieces as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 14, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer…
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 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 certain 2016 Model X vehicles. The front and spine cosmetic roof trim may have been adhered to the vehicle without first using primer. As a result, one or both pieces of trim may separate from the vehicle while moving.
Fix: Tesla will notify owners, and dealers will test the roof trim adhesion, and, as necessary, apply primer, free of charge. The recall began January 15, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Model X vehicles. The aluminum bolts that attach the power steering gear assist motor to the gear housing may corrode and fracture causing a reduction or complete loss of power steering assist.
Fix: Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the steering gear mounting bolts with coated steel bolts, and add a corrosion-preventative sealer to the steering gear motor housing…
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Model X vehicles. The left-side, second row, reclining seat backs may not fully latch due to having incorrectly adjusted recliner mechanism cables. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the…
Fix: Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla service technicians will correct the cable adjustment for the left-side, fold-flat, second row, seat recliner mechanism, free of charge. The recall began on…
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…
Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain model year 2016 Model X vehicles manufactured September 29, 2015, to March 30, 2016. In the affected vehicles, the third row seat back may move forward under load such as in a frontal collision. As such, the…
Fix: Tesla will notify owners, and dealers will replace all affected third row seats, free of charge. The recall began on April 20, 2016. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-844-248-3752 or…
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: 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: 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,…
Led to recall campaign 22V063000.
Led to recall campaign 23V085.
Led to recall campaign 21V035.
Technical service bulletins
142 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on body & structure and electrical — are on file for the 2016 Tesla Model X. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2016 Model X 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 X reliable?
The 2016 Tesla Model X drew 684 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 X problems?
The top reported problems for the 2016 Tesla Model X are suspension (150 complaints), electrical (106), and other (99).
At what mileage do 2016 Tesla Model X problems show up?
Owners most often report 2016 Tesla Model X problems around 35,750 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 6,000 and 59,000 miles.
Does the 2016 Tesla Model X have recalls?
12 recall campaigns apply to the 2016 Tesla Model X. 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.