Tesla Roadster
Registered from 2008 to 2012.
About this model
The first generation Tesla Roadster is a battery electric sports car based on the Lotus Elise chassis, and was produced by Tesla Motors from 2008 to 2012. The Roadster was the first highway legal, serial production, all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells, and the first production all-electric car with a range of more than 200 miles (320 km) per charge.
From the Wikipedia article Tesla Roadster (first generation), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Regulator investigations
Opened by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation is a question the regulator asked about a possible defect, not a fault it found — most end without a recall.
Pedestrian alert sounds
Defect petition, opened January 2023, closed August 2023.
What the maker told its dealers
Service bulletins are the manufacturer's own repair guidance to dealers, filed with NHTSA. A bulletin is not a defect finding; the count rises with how many things a maker writes down, not only with how many go wrong.
Tesla filed 8 bulletins about the 2011 Roadster.
- Electrical system: 5
- Engine and engine cooling: 2
- Parking brake: 1
- Tesla: due to isolation of model s high voltage, a monitor is installed in battery to ensure no electrical current, between vehicle and high voltage conductor, is being carried and is measured,… · August 2013
- Tesla: the high voltage interlock loop (hvil) diagnostic guide. this is not an official bulletin. no model types or model years were provided. *js updated 10/21/14. *pe · July 2013
- Tesla: when removing the battery pack these procedures need to be followed in order to ensure proper sealing of the hv rapid mate. no model or model years given. *js · July 2013
- Tesla motors: during the shipment of battery pack sheets, residual coolant may leak effecting shipping container integrity. *pe · March 2012
- Tesla: information provided in regards to assembling a new sealed bearing dual pem/motor fan that is retrofit dual design to replace two separate fans with a single assembly to improve reliability… · January 2012
- Tesla: information regarding the motor and pem fans where certain types of weather conditions, such as snow, may accumulate too close and cause adverse affect on the airflow and cooling efficiency.… · January 2012
- Tesla: during normal operation of vehicle, aps cable grommet can become dislodged. to improve security against water ingress a new design has been provided. *pe · January 2012
- Tesla: there may not be sufficient clearance of the parking cable when the suspension is at full compression. there may be a clicking noise. *rm · September 2011
Grouped by NHTSA's top-level system; a bulletin filed under a sub-heading counts toward its system.