Buyer Research

2017 Tesla Model S — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $13,000–$27,000. There are 4 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 13 Tesla Model S years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Three hundred and seventy-nine complaints with forty-six crashes attached, and NHTSA's index holds no recall campaign filed against this year — though owners inside the record describe receiving campaign notices and then waiting months for parts, so run the VIN through the lookup yourself rather than reading an empty line as an all-clear. Two clusters tie at twenty-seven percent each. One is the first-generation media control unit going black while the car is moving, taking the climate, the audio and the reversing camera with it. The other is the front suspension, where owner after owner describes the fore link snapping while reversing on full lock, some of them under 25,000 miles. The steering cluster beneath is partly the same failure seen from the driver's seat, and partly a genuine loss of power-steering assist. This is a lot of car for the money in 2026, but buy it off a lift and a service history, not off a drive around the block.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 379 owner complaints for the 2017 Tesla Model S, and 9 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. The largest single group is electrics and electronics at 27%. That is notable without being overwhelming — worth checking, not worth panicking about.

9 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2017 Tesla Model S

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Front fore link snaps on full lock, usually while reversingHigh — wallet impact

Twenty-seven percent of this record is suspension and fourteen of those filings report a crash. The pattern repeats on US, UK and Chinese cars alike: a loud pop while backing out on full lock, then a wheel that will not point straight, a grinding noise and a flatbed. Several owners were under 25,000 miles, and more than one had already reported a front-end grinding noise at a service visit and been sent away. Get the car on a lift and have the fore links, lower links and ball joints inspected, then reverse it on full lock in both directions yourself and listen.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$2,600 for the front links replaced at a Tesla service centre

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the suspension (104).

MCU1 screen blanks in motion and takes the climate, audio and camera with itHigh — wallet impact

The other twenty-seven percent is electrical, and the recurring word is 'screen'. A 2017 carries the first-generation media control unit, whose flash memory has a finite write life. Owners describe the large display going black while driving with no navigation, no heating or air conditioning, no audio — not even the indicator click — and no reversing camera. Sometimes it restarts itself in five minutes; sometimes it stays dark for the whole drive. A few filings in the same cluster are battery coolant leaks traced to the valves. Sit in the car for a full twenty minutes and see whether the screen stays awake.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$2,600 for an eMMC repair or an MCU upgrade

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (104).

Power-steering assist cuts out and the wheel goes heavier than unassistedHigh — wallet impact

Forty-two steering filings, and the sharpest describe a 'Steering Assist May be Reduced' message followed by a wheel that took an athletic driver roughly seventy-five pounds of force to move — heavier than a car with no assistance at all, as though the motor were resisting. Several owners report it happening twice. Tesla ran a campaign on earlier Model S cars over power-steering bolts corroding in road-salt states, so a car that has lived through northern winters deserves a direct question and a VIN lookup. Test it at parking speed on full lock both ways and watch the dash for assist warnings.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,200–$2,500 for a replacement steering rack

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under steering (42).

Air-suspension spring modules that rattle, bang and sagMedium

On cars fitted with the optional air suspension, owners report rattles and loud bangs over bumps at around 50,000 miles and a Tesla diagnosis of new front air spring modules on both sides — one was quoted over $3,000 and declined the work. The tell is a corner that sits low after the car has stood, or a car that takes an age to rise when you get in. Park it level, leave it overnight if the seller will allow it, and compare the gaps over all four wheels in the morning. A coil-sprung car is cheaper to keep and there is nothing wrong with preferring one.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$3,200 for a pair of front air spring modules

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the suspension (104).

Sixteen of the thirty-three speed-control filings report a crashHigh — wallet impact

Vehicle speed control is only nine percent of this record, but almost half of the filings in it have a crash attached — proportionally the most damaging cluster on the car. The reports describe the car moving under its own power when the driver expected it to creep or hold still. Regeneration on this generation is strong enough that anyone stepping across from a petrol car has to recalibrate their right foot, and NHTSA's earlier examination of Tesla sudden-acceleration claims concluded pedal misapplication rather than a defect. Take the car somewhere empty and practise stopping and parking before you take it into traffic.

Repair cost: Not yet priced — a safety matter first, a repair bill second

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under throttle and cruise control (33).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A pop, clunk or grinding noise as you reverse on full lock
✗Centre screen blanking, rebooting or dropping audio during a long test drive
✗A 'Steering Assist May be Reduced' message, or a wheel that goes heavy at parking speed
✗One corner sitting lower than the others after the car has stood overnight
✗A sweet coolant smell, or a damp patch under the front of the car

Good Signs

✓Front links and ball joints replaced, with a Tesla invoice naming the part numbers
✓MCU repaired or upgraded, dated in the service history
✓The centre screen awake and responsive through a twenty-minute drive
✓Even ride height at all four corners after a night parked on the level
✓A NHTSA VIN lookup run in front of you with every campaign showing closed