2012 Tesla Model S: recalls and problems
8 recalls and 59 owner complaints on file with NHTSA. The most-reported problem area is electrical system.
Most common problems
What owners report
Motor is starting to make sounds and according to teslamotorsclub.com the motor will fail eventually. many have to had to have the motor switched out multiple times. it is quite evident that there was a design flaw which tesla corrected in later years.
The drive unit has water damage from normal driving. the car never went through deep water or was flooded, but the tech at the service center is saying the units are sealed but still can get water in them and corrode. how can a vital sealed part of the vehicle be damaged by normal driving and claim water damage? the car operated just fine the day before. please advise.
I tried to start the car and got the “center display unavailable” message. reset the computer doesn’t help. i have to wait for more than 5 minutes for the system to be on.
I charge my model s on a 30 amp circuit with the car location amperage set to 20 amps to avoid overheating the circuit. around sept 12 while plugged in to the 30 amp, the car pulled in 50 amps off the line causing a melting of the wires and a near fire based on the damages later found. the car is supposed to send charging error alerts or problems via the tesla app. instead it continued to try to pull power out o
Source: NHTSA recalls, complaints and NCAP APIs, covering Model S. Last refreshed 2026-09-29.