← NHTSA complaints

2013 TESLA MODEL S — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire · 1085189 · 2014-07-10

Vehicle

Make
TESLA
Model
MODEL S
Year
2013
Manufacturer
Tesla, Inc.
Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THE UMC SOFTWARE "FIX" DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEMS. CHARGE CONNECTORS HAVE CONTINUED TO OVERHEAT, MELT AND BURN. ALLEGEDLY SOME OF THE UMC CONNECTOR TO WIRE WELDS ARE INSUFFICIENT, AND A FIRE HAZARD, INDICATING POOR MANUFACTURING AND POOR QUALITY CONTROL. SOME CUSTOMERS CLAIM TO HAVE HAD A DOZEN OR MORE UMCS FAIL. TESLA (ELON MUSK) CLAIMED THAT NEW AND REVISED ADAPTERS WOULD BE MAILED OUT WITHIN TWO WEEKS, IT WAS ABOUT TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE REVISED ADAPTERS UNDER THE RECALL STARTED TO BE SHIPPED OUT. THE RECALL HAS BEEN SLOW. CUSTOMERS ARE ALLEGING THAT TESLA DOES NOT KEEP OWNERSHIP ADDRESSES UP TO DATE, SO MANY CUSTOMERS ARE NOT GETTING RECALL NOTICES OR THE REVISED ADAPTERS UNDER THE RECALL. TESLA (ELON MUSK) CLAIMED THAT THE ADAPTERS WOULD CONTAIN A THERMAL FUSE TO REDUCE THE FIRE HAZARD, YET ALLEGEDLY THE REVISED ADAPTERS THAT HAVE BEEN SENT OUT UNDER THE RECALL DON'T HAVE THERMAL FUSES. THE CONNECTORS BETWEEN THE ADAPTER AND THE MODULE/BRICK SEEM TO BE INSUFFICIENT AND A FIRE HAZARD. SOME CUSTOMERS ARE REPORTING THAT NEW REVISED GRAY ADAPTERS ISSUED BY THE RECALL ARE ALSO OVERHEATING AND MELTING; EVEN WITH THE SOFTWARE UPDATES THAT TESLA (ELON MUSK) CLAIMED WOULD FIX THE PROBLEMS. ALLEGEDLY THE REVISED GRAY ADAPTERS HAVE HIGHER TEMPERATURE PLASTICS AND IMPROVED WELDS; YET SOME UMCS ARE CONTINUING TO OVERHEAT AND MELT. SOME OF THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS STILL HAVE NOT BEEN RESOLVED, THAT'S WHY THE UMCS ARE STILL A FIRE HAZARD. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10609726
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown