Tesla, Facing Massive Recall, Has Long History of Reliability Issues

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Tesla cars feel like the future. Anyone who’s ever driven one could immediately attest to the novelty of the experience: the gigantic, engrossing touch screen; the ability to drive over 300 miles on a single electric charge; the jarring silence of the engine, seducing drivers to climb over the speed limit without noticing. Not to mention that the closest thing our society has to a real-life Tony Stark is at the driver’s seat of the company.

And yet the future, as most have already realized, is messy.

In late December of last year, Tesla issued its biggest vehicle recall ever: 475,318, to be exact, with 356,309 of those being of its Model 3 and 119,109 of those being of its Model S. Notably, it is recalling all of its Model 3 vehicles manufactured between 2017 and 2020. 

The trouble with the Model 3s has to do with a faulty rearview camera, which could possibly fail due to issues with its harness, and the issue with the Model S vehicles is more severe, due to a faulty front trunk latch which could possibly open while driving.

“These safety issues impose a good (chance) of a crashing threat,” says Adam Grant, a car specialist and founder of an automotive startup, although it must be noted that no crashes, injuries, or deaths have been reported due to the issues being remedied by the latest recall.

Still, this isn’t great news for the company, which sold nearly a million cars last year and saw its stock rise to an all-time high. The current recall is Tesla’s biggest; last summer, it recalled almost 6,000 cars over loose caliper brakes, and a few months before that, it recalled nearly 135,000 vehicles over issues relating to the cars’ touchscreen.

It’s important to note that recalls are common for auto manufacturers, and while Tesla’s recall may be its biggest yet, it pales in comparison to some truly disastrous ones throughout American history.

In 1981, Ford had to run a recall operation affecting 21 million cars due to a faulty parking gear that could inadvertently lead to the vehicles reversing; this caused 1,710 injuries and 98 deaths.

In 2010, Toyota had to issue a recall of 9 million vehicles over a floor mat that could accidentally hold down the accelerator pedal, an issue which led to 89 deaths. While Tesla has been able to remedy many of its past issues through over-air software updates, its current crop of recalls all require trips to a service center.

Among modern car manufacturers, there may be no more polarizing company than Tesla, whose public perception mirrors the image of its CEO — himself a public figure with as many detractors as devoted fans. TopClassActions.com spoke to several Tesla vehicle owners, whose experiences ranged from ecstatic to extremely disappointed. 

“The biggest problem that I’ve faced as a Tesla owner is mostly based on quality and performance such as a blurry backup camera which made reversing the car difficult for me,” says Farhan Rauf, a marketing professional and owner of a Tesla Model S.

Rauf also mentioned other minor issues, such as a defective touch screen, a malfunctioning GPS, and occasional power loss to the vehicle. Rauf said that while Tesla was his top choice initially, he understands why the company is ranked near the bottom on Consumer Reports’ reliability and dependability rankings, and expressed frustration at the near-constant repairs for “every single thing.”

Another Tesla Model S owner, Matthew Davis, an insurance executive living in California, expressed similar grievances. Davis says that within the first 10 miles of driving his vehicle, he noticed issues from “from grinding noises in the front motor, the console panel slider scratching the finish when opening & closing, and road noise from an improperly installed passenger side front triangle window.”

However, Davis went on to say that the service he received in repairing his vehicle was impeccable, and that “my Tesla is probably one of the greatest vehicles I have ever owned, and I have owned a lot of vehicles…I do believe there are some materials and finish items that are not as nice as those used by some other manufacturers, but then again the technology and abilities of Tesla vehicles more than makes up for it.”

The highs and lows of Davis’ Tesla experience seem to be common among the company’s customers. Another Tesla owner, Hector Ruiz, raved about the technology in the vehicle, specifically referencing the sound system, touch screen, and the powerful, sleek, and silent vehicle operation. However, he emphatically noted that “I will never purchase another Tesla. It is difficult to pass on this degree of technology but their car build quality is inferior to that of almost any other car manufacturer.”

“I’ve had ten-dollar automobiles parked next to me, and their fit and finish is a hundred times better than my Model Y,” Ruiz went on to say. “Many people love the brand and overlook the problems, but Tesla is not at the quality level of, say, BMW, although their cost is.”

Ruiz is right — regardless of any quality issues, Tesla continues to outsell other automakers in the electric car market. In 2021, the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3 were the No. 1 and No. 2 best-selling electric cars in the United States, according to Car and Driver, with each having well over 100,000 sales.

How did the next most popular electric car model fare? The Ford Mustang Mach E trailed far behind the two Tesla models at a distant third place, with less than 30,000 vehicles sold.

It remains to be seen if Tesla’s sales will take any hits from this most recent recall. But with sales numbers like the company has been seeing, it seems hard to believe any impacts from the recall be big enough to hurt the electric automaker.

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