Complaint 2230103
2023 TESLA MODEL S • SEATS • incident Apr 9, 2026
Complaint Summary
SEATS
Owner Narrative
âThe driver's seat assembly on the vehicle suffers from a critical mechanical and software tracking defect that causes the seat to permanently jam into a mechanical lock, creating an immediate and severe safety hazard. âThe electronic calibration soft-stops for the driver's seat allow the mechanism to travel past the safe limits of the track when indexed or operated. When the seat reaches the absolute mechanical limit of the rear rail, the lead screw/worm gear mechanism binds tightly, resulting in a total mechanical lock where the motor lacks the breakaway torque to reverse direction. This causes the driver's seat to become permanently stuck in the fully rearward position. âThis defect directly compromises vehicle safety by potentially preventing a driver from safely reaching and operating the brake and accelerator pedals. âThe vehicle has been taken to the manufacturer's service center on three separate occasions for this exact issue. During these three visits, technicians physically replaced the seat motor, checked track alignment, and attempted recalibration. Despite these repeated hardware interventions, the defect persists, and the seat continues to travel past safe limits and bind into a mechanical lock. The manufacturer has now refused to correct the underlying track/assembly defect under warranty, incorrectly dismissing the recurring, hazardous mechanical failure as "customer education." The vehicle lacks a safe physical fail-safe to prevent the seat from self-destructing into a permanently jammed state.
Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.