Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.
Chart based on 85 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2017 Tesla Model S 4dr Hatch
417-horsepower Electric 1-speed automatic AWD
48000 mi
Software problem. Car would not turn on. Dealer reset car.
2000 mi
There had been a few yellow warning messages indicting a charging or electrical problem, perhaps affecting the 12v system or air suspension, which could make the car not start. Then when it didn't start, I called Tesla. They had the car trailered in to Boston (100 miles) where they after a weekend of sitting idle, they could start the car and couldn't replicate the failures. Two weeks later at a Supercharger, car would not start again. Photographed warning lights this time, which enabled them to diagnose the problem. Replaced 3rd Gen charger on refresh Model S due to CHG alerts present when Supercharging. This was causing the Car Needs Service alert to appear.
The entire MCU stopped working. The car was not functional. It took about 8 weeks to get the car to the dealer and another 3 weeks at the dealer. The dealer left their lunch in the trunk after they returned it to me.
Rated Range not achieving expected web site numbers. Found no issue. Told that I need to cycle battery from 80%-30% (despite this not being in any manuals or other Tesla documentation)
9000 mi
Main battery max charge continues to decline more than normal. Tesla accepted the report this time; removed original battery to be sent in for reconditioning and repair; Temporary loaner battery pack installed until original is returned
Both motores deactivated during normal driving. Was not able to restart the car. Needed a full shutdown of the car for several minutes with a complete reboot of all systems. Service center couldn't find a reason.
27000 mi
Plug on battery
15000 mi
US $2500
console panel failure leading to inability to charge (ie, refuel) car.
13000 mi
Bad connection inside the HV battery pack. Caused car to shut down after a software install.
30000 mi
The large High voltage was replaced with a loaner battery. My battery is being sent to the factory for repair after which it will be put back in my car. It took a long time for them to receive the loaner battery.
40000 mi
There was a small coolant leak. The 4 way valve was replaced.
2000 mi
Received various "car needs service" and "car will not start" errors. Was determined it was the wire harness between the battery pack and the front motor. From the invoice, "HV Harness - Front Drive Unit to HVJB (1050805-10-C)"
Charger port had to be replaced. Car would not charge at normal charge rate using 240V plug.
85000 mi
Car could slow charge from AC sources, but could not fast DC charge at Tesla superchargers.
63000 mi
US $940
Coolant heater for battery replaced
49600 mi
Rear drive unit developed some slack and an almost imperceptible 'tink' when going on and off throttle. Drive unit was replaced as an entire assembly under warranty.
Car would stop charging intermittently, usually restarting charging on its own. Often it would cycle on and off multiple times within an hour. Occasionally the charge handle seemed to make a poor connection (it would charge when pushing down on it, letting go would cause it to stop charging). Replaced trident cable (low voltage data cable between charge port and onboard charger). This significantly reduced the intermittent charging problem, but didn't completely eliminate it. Rear drive unit was making the well-known "milling" noise (spaceship sound) due to an internal bearing that isn't properly affixed. Not a reliability problem, just annoying. Replaced drive unit with rebuilt unit.
37600 mi
Car would sometimes randomly stop charging, and usually immediately restart on its own, sometimes several times in a row (only when using the mobile connector). They previously replaced the trident cable (low voltage harness from charger to charge port), which reduced this, but didn't fix it completely. Also, the mobile connector charge handle got stuck in the charge port and couldn't be removed (the charge port wouldn't unlock the handle). I called technical support and they walked me through some tricks that eventually got it released. They checked the vehicle logs remotely and replaced the mobile connector. Works fine now, and the random charging failures are completely gone too.
21500 mi
Replace entire drive unit due to noise - non-functional issue but noise only. known on this car from 2012-2014/15
Car jolts after being stopped. Issue send to engineering, no repair made at the moment.
69440 mi
C $1200
Battery heater failure
90690 mi
High voltage battery replaced due to a car fault warning message. Dealer said it was the connector between the car and the battery that was actually the problem.
83000 mi
US $800
Battery heater fault - replaced
21480 mi
Passenger side radiator cooling fan stopped working. Car could still Supercharge without issue as system is fully redundant.
This repair was funded under warranty. Digital aspects of the vehicle were not functioning, including the big Tesla screen. The car could still be driven, but it was far from ideal. I was also having difficulty charging the car at level 2 (it started and stopped a lot). The service center diagnosed a problem with a chip relating to the MCU (master control unit?) and did some replacement of a daughter board.
During yearly maintenance appointment a "noise" was discovered in drive unit. Entire drive unit; AC motor, inverter, and gear box were swapped out.
49000 mi
Rear drive unit was clunking and had excessive free play. Service center lubricated all 4 hubs and replaced all 4 axle nuts. This did not correct the problem.
49000 mi
Rear drive unit had excessive free play and was clunking. Service center verified the clunk and replaced the rear drive unit.
Had a "Low coolant" message in the car occasionally, getting more often each day. 2 days ago I saw liquid under the car, took pictures and sent to mobile service team which was supposed to come a week later. They told me to go to the service center ASAP, which I did. They found leak from the 4 Way Coolan Valve - Series/Parallel. They replaced it, it was quick work. Charge cable didn't work with 110v or 220v. Replaced universal mobile connector.
57040 mi
Replaced 3-way coolant valve (chiller bypass)
65720 mi
C $524
3 way valve leaked. This valve was replaced 2 years ago. Leaking again...
Did not send to Tesla, cost way too much than a closer repair shop that does Teslas. Drove there as the leak didn't prevent me to go.
40000 mi
Drive Unit was replaced under warranty due to noise.
68000 mi
US $125
Car wouldn't start or release charge cable — dead in garage. Car was transported to service center for diagnosis and repairs. Problem was a corroded wire to the charge port. Tesla service said it took nine hours to find the problem but they comped me all but one hour. My car is long out of warranty (except for the battery and drive unit). Service also paid for a rental car to get me to the service center to pick up my car.
Computer operating system updates. Power rectifier/battery temperature control. Hi power battery connection modifier.
46000 mi
DC Converter replaced
6000 mi
85 kWh Battery Pack, tripped Circuit Breaker. Reduced Car Performance, Notified to Pull over and Call Tesla. Rangers came and took care of business. Replaced Battery Pack
22000 mi
Drive Unit failure
98000 mi
US $200
Motor replaced due to difficulty in getting alignment done properly. Under warranty
111000 mi
US $8000
Electric Motor required replacement.
16720 mi
Drive unit was louder than normal at speeds between 80 and 100 km/h. Reported to Service Center. SC diagnosed and found faults with inverter, replaced complete rear drive unit.
49600 mi
High Voltage traction battery complete failure. Ran from 80% charge down to 0% overnight and subsequently would not accept charging. Reconditioned replacement battery installed under warranty.
23000 mi
Replaced drive unit as it had developed a clunking noise when getting on and off the accelerator at low speeds.
47000 mi
Main battery needs to be rebuilt, so a loaner 85 kWh battery was put in while they rebuild it. 12V battery replaced.
56100 mi
battery contacts fused causing a catastrophic failure of the powertrain; car gracefully shut down, but would not operate until serviced; had to flatbed it from the freeway where it broke to dealer for service which was covered under warranty
98000 mi
A fourth drive unit was swapped mere days before full warranty expiry. Took considerable escalation with Tesla to get them to commit to it, but they eventually did. The "milling noise" associated with bearing wear had become increasingly severe, and while Tesla service centers repeatedly dismissed it as a non-issue, I later learned that not only was this a known problem, but they even had dB thresholds of noise that would trigger repair. This is quite a change from proactive swapping they did early in the life of the car.
60000 mi
Drive unit replaced due to water intrusion
31000 mi
Battery pack failed, reporting 0 charge when it was nearly full. Tesla towed the car to their shop and sent us home in an Uber. The battery pack was replaced with a loaner pack while ours is headed to California for repairs.
32000 mi
Tesla has a "charger" in the car which converts 240VAC from the power mains to DC for charging the battery. Mine failed. Tesla diagnosed this remotely and said it was safe to drive the car to the shop. The charger was replaced under warranty.
37000 mi
Our original battery, shipped to the factory after a defect, finally returned home and was reinstalled in the car. Curiously, the "loaner" battery gave 2.5% more range at the same charge level.
44000 mi
US $200
The drive unit (motor) was making a "milling" noise, commonly attributed to bearings wearing down. Also, there was some play in the connector from motor to drive shaft resulting in clunking noises. The motor was replaced with a remanufactured unit under warranty.
51000 mi
US $200
Louver doors in the cooling system (used for both in-cabin and battery cooling) we're stuck, and the fan was spinning much faster as a result. Parts replaced, but no details provided.
12000 mi
Replaced drive train motor
28500 mi
Subtle friction noise coming from the rear of the car. Intermittent and apparent at highway speeds only. Tesla replaced the "drive unit" under warranty. So far the noise has not reoccurred.
22000 mi
Drive unit replaced
44000 mi
Onboard charger replacement
51000 mi
Primary Charger replacement
64000 mi
US $200
Drive unit replaced for minor gear lash clunk
74000 mi
US $2300
This is an electric vehicle and the on board charging mechanism was not working so it was replaced.
Traction battery display symptoms of failure. Traction battery serviced and reinstalled. The vehicle was picked up by Tesla and a loaner was provided.
68000 mi
Noisy electric traction motor
7000 mi
Problem with charging cable not locking in port while charging.
140000 mi
US $1800
High voltage to Low voltage converter replaced
37200 mi
Replace motor/drive unit under warranty
42160 mi
Replace main propulsion battery under 8 year warranty. The battery failed to only 77km of capacity from the normal 400km. It was technically drivable, but it would not have made it to the service center without at least two charging stops. Tesla recommended not even trying and covered the towing and ferry costs.
11300 mi
The dealership contacted me to warn me that one of the battery cells had an abnormally hi drainage. I was unaware there was a problem with the car. They sent a tow truck and a loaner car. The drive battery was replaced.
143000 mi
Battery to drive motor Contactors replaced. Half shafts repacked, rear suspension bushings replaced.
53100 mi
New rear electric motor. Tesla replaced the motor to reduce the noise. Car was perfectly functional before and after repair. Amazing service!
60140 mi
Battery heater failed.
94240 mi
C $820
Coolant pump for the battery conditioning system.
Behaviour was inability to charge car ("refuel") or precondition battery in cold temperatures.
77000 mi
Rear drive unit failed and was replaced under warranty
42000 mi
US $2000
replaced battery coolant heater
44000 mi
main battery pack replaced
44000 mi
Drive unit replaced. This was the third trip in for what appeared to be the same issue ("car may not restart" warning), and finally appears to have fixed things.
11780 mi
Loading 2 of 3 chargers that convert AC to DC failed and needed to be replaced. So it loaded only slow with normal plugs but normal at superchargers
7840 mi
Would not charge using a third-party cable, only with Tesla's cable, which doesn't fit public outlets in Norway. Malfunctioning master charger replaced.
Car said it might stop, Tesla sent a flat bed took to service center replaced drive motor under warrenty
26700 mi
Drive unit replaced by Tesla for free
65000 mi
US $200
Battery management system, high voltage contactors needed to be replaced. The car would not come on or stay on when jumped.
74000 mi
US $200
The drive unit was replaced.
5000 mi
DC to DC converter failed, causing the 12V battery go below its operating range.
63000 mi
US $465
Rear drive unit started making a high pitched whining noise when accelerating at low speeds (up to 30mph). Volume/intensity progressed over several months until noise was distracting.
Tesla service bulletin to remove the main battery pack and send to factory for refit of contactors. Installed a loaner replacement battery. They said 3 months or so for rework and would need car back to reinstall the original repaired unit.
The original battery Rev-A had the High Voltage Contactor fail. The battery was swapped with a Refurbished Rev - A. Tesla service was fantastic. Tesla trailered a Model S loaner car to my home (80 miles from service center) and returned my car as well.
50800 mi
The replacement battery started exhibiting strange behavior after about 4 weeks (reduced range and charging failures). Tesla determined one of the cell groups was significantly unbalanced. Tesla swapped the battery with a much newer Rev - D battery. The Drive train (motor/inverter/gearbox) was swapped for a new unit at the request of TESLA engineering due to gearbox noises. My understanding is TESLA swaps the full unit so engineering can analyze the failure or early units to determine the root cause.
See our lemon odds and nada odds page to see vehicles with no repairs or vehicles with more than three repairs. To see how
frequently Tesla Model S problems occur, check out our car reliability stats.
