Edmunds.com Tested The Tesla Model S For Over A Year And Found A Lot Of Problems

Automotive website Edmunds.com released the results of its 17-month test of the Tesla Model S and while reviewers commended many aspects of the all-electric sedan, they also noted some problems.

The Edmunds' Model S experienced a total of 28 repairs. While some were minor, others were more serious. Several involved the car's drive system, which during the test period was replaced three times: twice due to "suspicious noises" and once when the car died on the side of the road.

The car also had to have its main battery pack and its 12-volt battery replaced. And according to Edmunds, the Model S suffered numerous failures of it revolutionary 17-inch touchscreen display. Edmunds noted that the main screen had to be replaced, and the infotainment system had to manually rebooted after freezing on nine occasions.

Other repairs - including a tire alignment, a cracked vanity mirror, and a broken door handle - were less serious. Edmunds also pointed out that their 2013 Model S, purchased for $103,770, was an early production model that hadn't had all the kinks worked out. Tesla fixed multiple faults at the same time, so over the 30,000 miles the Model S was driven, it made a total of nine trips to the service center, two of them for overnight stays.

In a statement to Business Insider, Tesla stated:

"...we err on the side of being proactive to ensure the best driving experience possible. That means we are particularly attentive in addressing potential issues, even if those issues appear to be very minor or have a low likelihood of causing any future problems."

During Tesla's second-quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO Elon Musk said that the Tesla service team was being "ultra-proactive" to "make Edmunds happy." He also stressed that Model S vehicles built "during the past year" shouldn't experience the same number of problems.

Edmunds was very generally very complimentary of Model S's performance and technology. In many respects, the car lived up to its billing, receiving praise for its superior battery range, speedy acceleration, and easy-to-use driver interface.

Ultimately, however, Edmunds decided that the Model S was "hard to recommend."

Read Edmunds' full report here >