Problems · by component
2018 Tesla Model S P100D electrical system problems
32 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2018 Tesla Model S P100D cite electrical system, 25% of all 128 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
32
25% of all complaints
Crashes
7
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“This is very comment of tesla not responding to customer about the power reduced in the car is safe concerns is lot of people with the same problem and tesla want Pay for all the repairs of the car even with my car still Warranty”
“The Instrument Cluster Freezes and has to be reset. When it freezes you have not knowledge of speed you are going. After bringing it into Tesla Service I was told that is a known defect. The only way to fix is to replace Infotainment system at a cost of $2,100. Infotainment system currently works fine. The rep informed me that the system does not have enough memory to run the computer correctly after all the updates that Tesla Makes you install.”
“The cable harness (slip ring) connecting the steering wheel controls including the vehicle horn, steering wheel buttons, scroll wheels, and potentially the airbag (according to the service technician) failed on this vehicle in January 2025. The vehicle was inspected by Tesla’s mobile service and they acknowledged that the cable harness had indeed failed. It is available for inspection. We have been forced to drive this car without a functioning horn and airbag. There were no warning signs or messages on the vehicle computer.”
“•I’m not sure what component was responsble for either the braking issue or the fire. It is available for inspection. •When driving the brake pedal had a frightening delay that almost caused 2 accidents and unfortunately my car was charging on the 24th of October which could have something to do with arching that led to my garage catching fire rendering the car unable to move or turn on after the incident. I’ve insisted Tesla insurance to look into possible causes because the Fire dept. mandated the a LADWP (power company) to install new transformers to our power supply a couple of days after the fire, which they did. Tesla insurance seems uninterested in finding the cause and wants to compensate me for the vehicle but I believe it’s in their best interest to find a cause and document it. The car had no issues prior, in fact the service center sent a mobile tech to replace the 12volt battery on the car not even 10 months ago. After the fire the car died and has a bunch of codes that make it inoperable. • Service center rejected looking at it because of the risk. They said since it was possible salvage they could not look at it which is understandable but they…”
“The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH the message, "Acceleration and Top Speed Reduced," suddenly displayed on the instrument panel. The contact had not noticed any changes in the functionality of the vehicle and continued driving. After parking the vehicle for a while, the contact attempted to drive the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact attempted to reverse, and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the message, "Power Reduced -Vehicle System Shutting Down” and "Air Suspension Adjustment Unavailable - Functionality May Be Available on the Next Drive" were displayed on the instrument panel. The contact restarted the vehicle however the failure persisted. The message, "Unable to Drive - Oil Tank Supply Low, " was then displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that while on hold with Tesla Roadside Assistance, the following message were displayed, "Electrical System Power Reduced - Vehicle may shut down Unexpectedly”. The vehicle was towed by Roadside Assistance to the dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of…”
“I took my car to the dealership to have the MCU1 recall performed because my behind the steering wheel monitor and center touch screen monitor kept turning off and reseting while driving. When this happened I would lose the ability to see my speed or view my back up camera. The recall was performed and the problem was not fixed. The screen does not turn off as often, but it still regularly happens. I contacted Tesla to let them know the problem remains and they want me to pay $1750 to UPGRADE to the newer MCU2.”
Showing 6 of 32 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.