Tesla has received a brutal reality check from Germany this week. The country’s closely watched TÜV Report 2026 has not only ranked the Tesla Model Y as the absolute worst car for reliability in its age group but noted that it has the highest defect rate of any vehicle tested in the last ten years.
It’s a tough look for the world’s best-selling car, though the details paint a more nuanced picture than just “the car is falling apart.”
The TÜV Association (Technischer Überwachungsverein) is the organization responsible for mandatory vehicle safety inspections in Germany. These aren’t just consumer surveys; they are rigorous mechanical exams that every car must pass to remain road-legal.
In its latest “TÜV Report 2026,” which analyzed 9.5 million vehicle inspections, the Tesla Model Y came in dead last among all cars in the 2-to-3-year-old category.
According to the data, 17.3% of Model Ys failed the inspection with “significant” or “dangerous” defects. For context, the average failure rate for this age group is roughly 6.5%. The Model Y didn’t just fail; it failed spectacularly, posting the worst score TÜV has seen in a decade.
The Model 3 didn’t fare much better, landing in the third-to-last spot with a 13.1% failure rate.
So, what is actually breaking?
According to the report, the main culprits are the same ones we’ve been hearing about for years: suspension components and brakes.
TÜV inspectors flagged frequent issues with axle suspension parts, such as the notorious control arm bushings that have plagued Tesla owners for a long time. They also found significant problems with brake discs. Because EVs use regenerative braking for most deceleration, the physical friction brakes rarely get used. In Germany’s wet climate, this leads to rust and corrosion on the discs, causing them to fail safety inspections even if they “work” mechanically.
Lighting defects were also a major contributor to the failure rate.
In stark contrast, other EVs performed exceptionally well. The Mini Cooper SE had a defect rate of just 3.5%, and the Audi Q4 e-tron sat at 4.0%, proving that this isn’t an “electric vehicle problem”—it’s a specific Tesla problem.
We need to separate the signal from the noise here.
First, let’s address the brakes. Failing a safety inspection because of rusty brake discs is a known issue for all EVs, but it seems to hit Tesla harder. If that’s the case, we should look into why that’s happening.
While it’s technically a “defect” in the eyes of TUV as it doesn’t achieve the required safety standards, it doesn’t mean the car is unreliable in the sense that it will leave you stranded. That said, Tesla owners should be careful. I enjoyed one pedal driving more than anyone, but I do make an effort to use my brain regularly. You don’t want to have a problem with them when you actually need them.
The suspension issues are a different story.
We have been reporting on Tesla’s suspension problems for years. They have been NHTSA investigations about it and recalls. It is disappointing to see that even on 2-to-3-year-old Model Ys, these parts are still failing at an alarming rate. When nearly one in five cars is failing its first mandatory inspection, you can’t just wave that away as “FUD.”
The good news is that Tesla’s powertrain is solid and doesn’t contribute much to the poor reliability rate.
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