Tesla Slammed By Consumer Reports

Owners of vehicles with advanced fuel-saving technology and digital multimedia systems, including the Tesla Model S sedan, are hurting reliability, Consumer Reports magazine found in its annual survey of vehicle reliability.

There is "an emerging trend of increased troubles" with many vehicles that use new transmission technology to boost mileage, the magazine said on October 20. The latest reliability survey was presented by the magazine's editors at a meeting of Detroit's Automotive Press Association.

One of the most technologically adventurous cars on the market, the Tesla Model S, registered a worse than average reliability score based on survey responses from 1,400 owners, Consumer Reports found. The battery powered Model S P85D was recently lauded by the magazine’s editors for racking up the best scores ever in its performance tests. But owners complained of rattles, leaks, and problems with the charging equipment, drivetrain, and center console displays, the magazine said.

Complaints about balky multimedia "infotainment" systems continue to plague several major automakers.

Consumer Reports said its 2015 reliability survey took into account data on 740,000 vehicles.

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