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The Tesla Model Y Just Scored the Worst Reliability Rating in a Decade
- accrual 11mo agoHere are the key points one can have after using some scripts to load the content: * Tesla Model Y ranked most unreliable among nearly new cars, with 17.3% serious defect rate. * TÜV report found rising major defects, particularly in electric vehicles like Tesla’s Model 3 and Y. * European brands, especially Mercedes and Volkswagen, dominated reliability rankings across all age groups.
- Night_Thastus 11mo agoAre you sure about that third point? Going to the graph they link, Volkswagen ranks near dead last: https://www.autoblog.com/features/predicted-car-reliability https://www.autoblog.com/features/predicted-car-reliability
- croes 11mo agoThe article is about TÜV findings, the linked graph is the average predicted reliability based on Consumer Report member survey.
- deleted 11mo ago[deleted]
- orwin 11mo agoI think the TUV is mostly about safety equipment (light, breaks) that don't pass the two year check (they probably also test the alignment and other stuff), and your link might be about engine/transmission/power train defects.
- accrual 11mo agoIt was a copy/paste, I make no claims about whatever the points indicate
- deleted 11mo ago[deleted]
- mgarfias 11mo agoMy MYP has needed to go into the shop once (aside from a Portland pothole wrecking a wheel and bending a suspension arm). Our Benz sprinter needed an engine at 11k miles. I wonder what they count as defects.
- catlover76 11mo ago[dead]
- jmpman 11mo agoI have a 2019 Model 3, and it has some paint issues, specifically in the door hinge areas. It had some suspension issues which were repaired in half a day, under warranty. It has an issue where the windshield in front of the self driving cameras gets obscured with some gunk, blocking the cameras (it continues self driving even when half blind). The steering wheel material is falling apart. Other than that, for the past 6 years, it’s turned on every day, driven flawlessly, and cost me exactly $0 in maintenance other than tire replacement - not even brakes needed in 90k miles. No German car I’ve owned has ever come close to that record. I’m skeptical of the review.
- cheschire 11mo agoare you familiar with how statistics and sample sizes work?
- jmpman 11mo agoN=1, but many of my other friends also have Teslas and their experiences are similar.
- pfannkuchen 11mo agoI have a similar experience and also a recent German car with more problems than the Tesla.
- croes 11mo agoI never had any problem with any car
- pfannkuchen 11mo agoAre you a bus enjoyer?
- croes 11mo ago
- browningstreet 11mo agoMy Model Y has been more reliable than the two Highlanders I had before.
- nodesocket 11mo ago[flagged]
- AmVess 11mo agoI have to laugh at the absurdity of a German company evaluating quality and reliability of vehicles.
- WheatMillington 11mo agoAmerican cars, such as Tesla, have a MUCH worse reliability record than German.
- chasing0entropy 11mo agoDo you know where most performance and luxury vehicles beyond mass manufactured models are designed?
- armada651 11mo agoThe serious defect rate is 17.3%, thus there's an 82.7% chance you don't encounter serious defects. Which group do you think is more likely that you're a part of? Just because you haven't personally encountered a serious defect doesn't mean there's no problem with it at all.
- croes 11mo agoI never had any problem with any of my cars, so any critique on any car manufacturer is a hit piece, right?
- WheatMillington 11mo agoImagine seeing an article backed by statistics and facts and describing it as an anti-Elon hit piece.
- bri3d 11mo agoThe competence and pricing of dealers along with the proclivities of a car’s customers have a lot to do with it, too. This ranking is basically “of the cars brought for the german federal safety inspection, what percentage were issued a note or failure about an item in a given category” Things like bent suspension linkage caused by driving into a curb, poorly maintained brake pads, or torn rubber boots left unaddressed would all count. You can see this skew quite easily on these reports by looking for VW AG cars that are generally identical, and comparing their rankings, like Audi A1, VW Polo, Seat Ibiza and Skoda Fabia. (note that this isn’t really to defend Teslas, which are clearly behind on this metric in Germany for some reason. Just; the reason could be “their service is overpriced and nobody wants to take the car in” rather than “the car is junk.”)
- jonnrb 11mo agoDo regular service intervals influence this? Would Tesla improve the safety of their cars (by this metric) by giving a regular service for safety items in tandem with the safety inspection interval? Damage done by the driver is one thing (AFAIU, Tesla Service pricing is pretty damn competitive for repairs), but warranty work like light alignment and function, premature suspension wear (big on Teslas), and brake maintenance probably don't make a difference to Tesla if they are done before the safety inspection or after in terms of cost, but is rather important in terms of reputation...
- dzhiurgis 11mo ago> Do regular service intervals influence this? Yes but generally in Germany dealer does TUV for you (on newish cars) where they obviously fix issues before actual TUV officer appears and TUV officer are likely to turn blind eye to many issues since they've been going to same dealer for 20 years. With Tesla first you take to TUV yourself and then go to Tesla to fix them under warranty. Saying that clearly Tesla's have certain issues and at least we can see them in public. Very disappointing TUV didn't release breakdown of exact problems, by age, region, mileage, etc.
- port11 11mo agoDamn competitive? In Europe? Dad's friend is a mechanic and the quotes he's heard of for Tesla repairs are all but preposterous. He's a little biased since he works for a competitor, but also does repairs on the side and Tesla parts alone can be 2/3x other brands. Data size of one, but still…
- mephitix 11mo agoHad my Model Y for 4 years with no issue! Funny enough, my 2007 BMW had so many issues and cost so much to maintain i used to call it a “wallet burning machine”
- FridayoLeary 11mo ago"Big Money Waster" is what we used to call them. They are notorious for electronic faults in particular. They're just very complicated, which electric cars aren't.
- sharkweek 11mo agoMy friend and I have started tinkering on our cars together. He’s got an early 90s 525i BMW and I’ve got a 2000 SR5 Toyota 4Runner. The engineering of my Toyota is so much simpler and easier to work on than his BMW. But his BMW has given us a lot more practice, if you know what I mean ^_^
- WheatMillington 11mo agoSo your 19 year old car has more trouble than your 4 year old car? Weird.
- darth_avocado 11mo agoOr maybe their 2007 BMW was causing them to lose money since 2007.
- mephitix 11mo agoI had the car for about 5 years since 2007 - didn't say I had it for 19 years :)
- domoregood 11mo agoB-M-trouble-yew is another fave
- jsxyzb 11mo agoWhy is this happening? This isn't real, is it?
- smoovb 11mo agoScan their other posts - you might notice some bait. https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=autoblog.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=autoblog.com
- iambateman 11mo agoI’m confused from the report about how Volkswagen and Mercedes beat Toyota in reliability when my perception is that it’s not even close. Are the Germans biasing toward their companies? Or am I underrating VW’s quality?
- potato3732842 11mo agoFirst off, all manufacturers are way, way closer in practical reliability than internet comment section circle jerks. It's like when you look at a wild stock ticker and then see the Y axis is somewhere misleadingly far from zero. Second, as described in other comments, this is just an analysis of safety inspection data. So you've got to consider the ease with which people can "just take it to the dealer", whether they trust the dealer enough to take petty stuff to them and the kind of people who buy what (Altima factor).
- iambateman 11mo agoSome of that makes sense but the article itself mentions Mini Cooper at 3% major-defect and the Tesla at 17%…which is obviously a tremendous difference. If that’s true, those manufacturers are in entirely different leagues of reliability. I’m not disagreeing…I’m just confused. It’s a good point on the selection bias.
- sda2 11mo agoGerman cars can be very reliable if maintained properly. I think a lot of the bad reputation stems from owners who buy a depreciated German car and then cut corners on maintenance. Japanese cars are more forgiving in that regard; some can go forever with the bare minimum.
- smoovb 11mo agoConsumer reports put VW 18th out of 22 in reliability, yet some how this article states: "Volkswagen emerged as a dominant force in the reliability rankings, with the Golf Sportsvan, T Roc, and Touareg earning top marks in the four-year and older bracket." https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/ https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-s...
- ggreer 11mo agoThe post doesn't link to the report itself. It looks like you can only read a summary of it for free and must pay 5.90 to download a copy.[1] From what I can glean from reading TUV's summary, it seems like the Teslas had significantly higher mileage than other vehicles (>50,000km in 2-3 years). Also their failures were mostly in brake discs and rear axle issues, which makes me think that due to regenerative braking, the discs were rusty from disuse. The rear axle issue they mention is probably a clicking noise caused by under-torqued rear halfshaft nuts.[2] Tesla updated their torque values last year[3], so this shouldn't be a problem anymore. Any older vehicle that has the click can be fixed by re-lubricating the hub and torquing the nut to the new value. Without paying for the report, we can only speculate as to what TUV considers a serious defect. If the rates are as high as claimed (17% Model Y, 13% Model 3), then the issues are most likely minor things such as rusty brakes or rear axle clicking. Rusty brakes are less than ideal, but they're common on EVs and they work just fine. The fix is to simply use the brakes occasionally. If anything it's an indication that the vehicle requires less maintenance because the brake pads won't need replacement as frequently. 1. https://www.tuvsud.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025/november/used-e-vehicles-are-keeping-up-where-safety-is-concerned https://www.tuvsud.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025/novem... 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HncCmgMp-s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HncCmgMp-s 3. https://service.tesla.com/docs/Model3/ServiceManual/2024/en-us/GUID-6E9E8172-C599-40D6-8798-8081429A3666.html https://service.tesla.com/docs/Model3/ServiceManual/2024/en-...
- kotaKat 11mo agoAs a Ford Fusion Hybrid owner I blow out my rear brakes a lot more often out of rust and lack of use due to regen too, so the TUV is just calling out people not getting their vehicles inspected and serviced as regularly as they should. In other words... Tesla owners just don't pay attention to service intervals as dedicated and surefast as a VW owner would.
- kimos 11mo agoCan cobfirm, I’ve been driving a Model 3 for 6ish years and the brakes have problems from disuse pretty regularly. It’s annoying but not critical. Other than that it has been shockingly reliable. This matches my experience.
- yalogin 11mo agoI am not surprised, my model s, supposedly a good build year is absolutely crappy and feels like a cheap piece of plastic. Talk about regret! I can only complain anonymously because I am sure musk will be vindictive and cut off all updates, service and even self driving just for me :)
- jonnrb 11mo agoMy 2021 S I bought used has been rather as expected in terms of issues... which is to say I have a similar experience to you, somewhat due to the prior owner leaving a litany of subtle issues for me to find and get serviced and also due to the S-ness. It's low volume, so I get it, but I think most of the cheapness is not safety related (except that all PS4S on 21" configurations should be fired into the sun they are such utter crap in terms of longevity and handling feel).
- evo_9 11mo agoI’ve owned two model Ys over the past 5 years or so. Zero maintenance issues. I also had a 2020 Model 3 that I recently sold and it had 1 issue with the small secondary battery after 5 years. Tesla charged me ~$140 to come to my house and replace it.
- aaomidi 11mo ago> The 2025 TÜV Report has delivered The article doesn't even get this right. It's the 2026 report. https://www.tuvsud.com/de-de/publikationen/tuev-report/maengelzwerge-und-fehlerriesen https://www.tuvsud.com/de-de/publikationen/tuev-report/maeng... Trying to buy this report but I am failing right now.
- odysseas 11mo ago[Bought cheapest Tesla Model 3 Nov 2022.] [Before that - owner of 2 consecutive Priuses] - before that 2 caravans 2 jeeps etc (I am 60+yrs old) I have the answer to all these questions :-) Its very simple. I was about to answer "me too - i have no clue why the germans say that" (to all the (real) tesla owners here that explain that their car was by far the most reliable car they ever drove.. But then I forced my mind to truly remember. None of the two priuses had any issue that required repair in its first 60K miles.. - I remember saying that because the caravans were not like that.I never bought a over-engineered german car - but I am guessing they are not far behind. But really the tesla - had some issues: - taking the car to fix an erroneous TPMS alert (tire pressure measuring system) (twice) - replace headrest - headrest "bubbles" My mind doesnt really recorded the above as repairs.. because they were totally painless... the second was a mobile visit - I opened the app - service - asked me for photos - it told me sorry - we will fix for free - because its the first time - they asked me to leave the car outside the garage - the next day found the car fixed As for the TPMS it involved a 4 week out visit to a tesla - and even though nothing was perfect... i left that place feeling i have visited a utopia were car dealerships are friendlier than anthropology and more trust worthy than your accountant. Most importantly though i never did anything else for the Tesla. no oil service nothing. For 3 yrs I just commuted in it - occassionally washed it - and last month i changed its tires... Not even refilled the water. Every other car (included the priuses) involved the time investment of visiting a dealership twice a year - were someone would make sure the car was alright. They wouldnt charge me - because they made me buy with extra $K the free service while the car in warranty package.. .. But still in my head I must have counted this as an actual service penalty. So thats the diff in the apples to oranges german comparison. They compare german cars that are being regularly service with Teslas that never do. I may be right!!! odysseas
- discordance 11mo agoI have a Model Y from September 2022 (made in China). Aside from there being white paint on the inside passenger door on delivery (which they fixed the next day), I haven't had an issue since getting it. The first service was a couple of months ago where they: - Changed the HVAC filter - Changed the HEPA and carbon filter - Checked the brakes, which were fine. Aside from that, I've put on new windscreen wiper blades and a new set of tires.
- daft_pink 11mo agoThe fact that VW and Mercedes dominated the reliability ratings not Toyota and some other Japanese brand makes me extremely suspicious of this metric.
- rasz 11mo agoThe metric here is Does the car exhibit problems on an inspection checklist, not is th car reliable. Broken VW are either repaired or scrapped and dont see the light of TUV. VW owners service cars regularly once a year like a clockwork so all the minor ripped rubbers, misaligned headlights, suspension alignment problems, leaking shocks, exhaust leaks, indicator lights etc are routinely tested. Tesla cars dont need _any_ of that. A lot of owners change tires and keep driving until weird smells (cabin filter) or ride harshness (clapped out bushings) starts to really annoy. Its quit common to see Teslas for sale here with untouched suspension and parts grinding metal on metal. I suspect Toyota might also be a victim of its own reliability. Why would you pay for full service when cars dont break during first 5 years of ownership.
- AtlasBarfed 11mo agoRegardless of the accuracy of this particular report, the general trend seems to be that Teslas are not improving in reliability, fit, finish, or worst of all, availability of spare parts as time progresses. This is now, what, a 15 year old company? My biased opinion is that it won't get better in the future, because Tesla has ceased to be a company that aspirational people will work at, and the CEO isn't even interested in being CEO of a car company. I hope that Chinese EV makers gain access to the US market directly or indirectly, and are able to globally diversify. It's the only way we'll really get the EV revolution and the diversity of models and form factors. We'll certainly never get it with Tesla. They are years behind in battery tech, they basically make two cars. If Tesla had a real CEO, they wouldn't just have 10 models of cars, they'd have multiple marques, true luxury cars, entry level cars, probably would have acquired other struggling automakers for production capacity, market access, existing designs to adapt, would have had companies pushing PHEVs with their motors, battery packaging, and battery management. Instead, they make two cars, and still have a CEO that did perhaps the single dumbest public gaff in the history of corporations with his public nazi salutes and AfD dogwhistling.
- siggi_pop 11mo ago[dead]
- siggi_pop 11mo ago[dead]
- QuiEgo 11mo agoTesla has its problems (between 2019 and 2024 the auto headlights and auto wipers were borderline unusable, now they are merely tolerable, and autopilot is a whole story on it's own), but maintenance is not one of Tesla's issues. Useable, human-readable errors in the app/touch screen (the car self diagnosed it's 12V battery problem and told me to call a tech) and mobile service is just an awesome experience.
- tarsinge 11mo agoExcept if a car was reliable it shouldn’t have errors at least until at least being 10 years old (the 12V battery is an exception because it has a smaller lifespan than the car). I never had a check engine light on my previous car during 10 years of ownership, I’m worried about consumers getting used to a new normal of low quality.
- AStrangeMorrow 11mo agoYeah people love to hate on Tesla and always point out the maintenance issues. But from the reports I have seen, Tesla is indeed one of the companies with the worst record in terms of number of incidents requiring maintenance, but among the cheapest, if not the cheapest in cumulative amount spent on maintenance. I feel like if these report included the price and severity instead of just the frequency of the maintenance it would paint quite a different picture.