Is this once again because electric vehicles don’t get pulled into a mechanics shop every 10,000 miles for their oil to be changed and coincidentally inspected at the same time for mechanical defects that could be caught before they get pulled into a TUV annual inspection?
Can't Musk 'encourage' Germany and EU democracies to vote for the right people and take over a wrecking ball to all these agencies causing mischief to his many and varied businesses? I'm sure there are politicians who need a couple of hundred dollars.
This is from November 2025. I suspect it was reposted due to the news[0] of Tesla discontinuing their other models and the Model Y being one of the remaining two (besides the Model 3).
This mimics numbers from Denmark, where Model 3 had a failure rate of 20-25% after four years a couple of years ago, and last year the first Model Y's had to go through their first 4 year inspection and 45% failed. 34% of Model 3's failed last year.
For comparison: Last year VW ID4 had a failure rate of 2%, and the average for _all_ electric cars (no matter age, including Teslas) was 7% failure.
Causes: Breaks, wheels, steering, and a few more critical things along those lines.
Objectively speaking, Tesla cannot manufacture cars that live up to European standards.
> "Axle suspensions suffer under the high weight of the drive battery, and the brakes are rarely used due to regenerative braking," Bühler told ADAC. "This can lead to defects in the brake discs, and there is a risk of reduced braking performance."
I had a 5th gen Camaro that had terrible brakes because I could never get the rotors/pads hot enough during normal operation to properly "clean" them. They were so big you just couldn't do it without visiting the freeway or a race track. I had to get the rotors machined or replaced about once a year because the car mostly went to the grocery store.
I think the best thing you can do is to occasionally stand on the brakes as hard as you can from >60mph. In a heavy EV you probably only need to do this once a week/month.
There is something about mechanical contrivances and rare use. Complex machines tend to get sloppy when they aren't exercised regularly. The best way to prove a machine will work correctly is to use it frequently.
This appears to be even more of a problem with EVs and their regenerative breaking and I wonder whether this could not be easily fixed by software: "Breaks were not used recently or car did not move in some time? ⟹ Temporarily disable regenerative breaking for a few minutes until the break pads can be assumed to be clear again."
Reminds me of the concept of the "Italian tune-up" where carbon fouling in exotic sports cars would be rectified through a spirited driving session to cook it off.
I also don't buy the argument brought up several times in the comments here that this is caused by the lack of regular inspections. This is about very new cars, there shouldn't be that many issues to catch in inspections when the car is less than 3 years old.
I find any report that lists Mini Cooper and Audi as the most reliable cars to immediately be suspect. I'm not a Tesla or Musk fan by any stretch of the imagination, but Mini and Audi are not known for reliability, at least in their ICE vehicles.
The Irish NCT results for 2024 show high failure rates for Teslas in:
- Vehicle safety and Equipment
- Steering and Suspension
- Side Slip
- Wheels and Tires
and to a lesser extent
- Lights
- Lighting and Electrical
The (Tesla) overall failure rate is over 50% (697/1301), which is above the (population) overall failure rates of just under 50%.
Note that the oldest Tesla is 2015, and most are 2020+ which is significantly newer than a good chunk of the cars on the road here.
Also note that in my personal experience of ~10 NCTs, I've had 3 nominal failures which were stupid trivial things that aren't actually maintenance issues. (1, extra seat not in car. 2, tent peg fell in and folding seat didn't lock in place. 3, folding seat wasn't up when tested, as well as at least one where my mechanic swears that they screwed it up (steering rack boot not attached))
I've been saying for ages that when I see a breakdown truck it most often has some sort of Tesla on the back, and lots of people sneer about that and say I must have some kind of "EV derangement syndrome".
I just want a chart of total maintenance/running costs per model.
Also maybe a chart of "uptime" per model - ie. how many days in the year on average was it drivable, vs in the shop being repaired/inspected/waiting for parts.
"The most important section is that of 2-3 year old vehicles, because maintenance and mileage play lesser roles in reliability. The best performers in this category were the Mazda2 (2.9% defect rate)"
Once again, my intuition is wildly off regarding how bad even the relatively good things are. 3% defect rate is good?
Tesla seems insane. How do you get away with being so much worse for so many years in a highly competitive market?
That's a very fluffy blurb. They state simply state "drivetrain components" are unreliable on their overall EV set and don't get into any details on why the Tesla are unreliable. You're better off stopping at a Supercharger and asking 10 random strangers how their vehicle has held up.
European propaganda at its finest!
> Report doesn't mention which defects were responsible for the Model Y's disappointing performance
Because the only thing they really saw were rusty brake discs that aren’t heavily used, because Tesla tries to be really Eco and recovers energy instead of wasting.
> Mercedes will usually receive better care than a cheap Dacia that may never see an authorized repair shop
Poor Mercedes. Authorized shops never recommend to replace transmission fluid or do care about engine roughness. Unauthorized shop and Dacia will replace engine oil every 10-15k km or 40-60k km for gearbox and the car can easily do 2-3x more distance than Mercedes. Audi TFSI engines require full rebuild after 120k km because of such servicing, Mercedes V8s break after 25-40k km (valve springs break, cylinders got scratched).
It’s great that for 2nd time in HN this propaganda without facts is spread again. And even if I’m defending Tesla here I love and drive petrol V8s. Not supporting diesel gate, simple maintenance and maybe some day (because they don’t break) easy repairs.
Interesting been driving a Tesla since 2014 - worst issue I had was the seat belt recall - had to drive to the service center for a guy to tug on my seat belt and tell me I was all good… my current 2019 x has been rock solid - due for new tires but otherwise solid
I think this might be very misleading. I own (in Europe) my 3rd VW.
The reality is, that this check is done in the VW car service, and they do a pre-check. Then they call me on the phone and tell me what they need to fix and how much it will be. I always tell them OK, and they just fix everything before the real check is done. And this is exactly how it always works for all the people I know.
Also, as far as I know, Tesla owners just take the car to a "random" check point and are probably surprised why it didn't pass.
"Tesla Models 3 and Y: Ranking third-from-bottom and dead last respectively, these models are conspicuous for early issues with their brake discs and suspension." (1)
30 comments
[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 65.8 ms ] threadWhy are they not publishing which defects exist? Not only it make more credible, it would also warn people of what to look for.
Hrm, I wonder.
~ Lord of the Lithium.
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46802867
For comparison: Last year VW ID4 had a failure rate of 2%, and the average for _all_ electric cars (no matter age, including Teslas) was 7% failure.
Causes: Breaks, wheels, steering, and a few more critical things along those lines.
Objectively speaking, Tesla cannot manufacture cars that live up to European standards.
Source: https://fdm.dk/nyheder/nyt-om-trafik-og-biler/tesla-skandale...
I had a 5th gen Camaro that had terrible brakes because I could never get the rotors/pads hot enough during normal operation to properly "clean" them. They were so big you just couldn't do it without visiting the freeway or a race track. I had to get the rotors machined or replaced about once a year because the car mostly went to the grocery store.
I think the best thing you can do is to occasionally stand on the brakes as hard as you can from >60mph. In a heavy EV you probably only need to do this once a week/month.
There is something about mechanical contrivances and rare use. Complex machines tend to get sloppy when they aren't exercised regularly. The best way to prove a machine will work correctly is to use it frequently.
I also don't buy the argument brought up several times in the comments here that this is caused by the lack of regular inspections. This is about very new cars, there shouldn't be that many issues to catch in inspections when the car is less than 3 years old.
Note that the oldest Tesla is 2015, and most are 2020+ which is significantly newer than a good chunk of the cars on the road here.
Also note that in my personal experience of ~10 NCTs, I've had 3 nominal failures which were stupid trivial things that aren't actually maintenance issues. (1, extra seat not in car. 2, tent peg fell in and folding seat didn't lock in place. 3, folding seat wasn't up when tested, as well as at least one where my mechanic swears that they screwed it up (steering rack boot not attached))
https://www.rsa.ie/road-safety/statistics/nct-statistics-and...
Nope. I do see a lot of broken Teslas.
Also maybe a chart of "uptime" per model - ie. how many days in the year on average was it drivable, vs in the shop being repaired/inspected/waiting for parts.
Does anyone make that?
Once again, my intuition is wildly off regarding how bad even the relatively good things are. 3% defect rate is good?
Tesla seems insane. How do you get away with being so much worse for so many years in a highly competitive market?
> Mercedes will usually receive better care than a cheap Dacia that may never see an authorized repair shop Poor Mercedes. Authorized shops never recommend to replace transmission fluid or do care about engine roughness. Unauthorized shop and Dacia will replace engine oil every 10-15k km or 40-60k km for gearbox and the car can easily do 2-3x more distance than Mercedes. Audi TFSI engines require full rebuild after 120k km because of such servicing, Mercedes V8s break after 25-40k km (valve springs break, cylinders got scratched).
It’s great that for 2nd time in HN this propaganda without facts is spread again. And even if I’m defending Tesla here I love and drive petrol V8s. Not supporting diesel gate, simple maintenance and maybe some day (because they don’t break) easy repairs.
These numbers are meaningless because the top manufacturers do pre-checks/repairs at the dealer before you go to TUV for inspection.
Some discussion then: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46064456
The reality is, that this check is done in the VW car service, and they do a pre-check. Then they call me on the phone and tell me what they need to fix and how much it will be. I always tell them OK, and they just fix everything before the real check is done. And this is exactly how it always works for all the people I know.
Also, as far as I know, Tesla owners just take the car to a "random" check point and are probably surprised why it didn't pass.
1) https://www.tuvsud.com/de-de/-/media/de/corporate/pdf/presse...