Tesla Model S: Too Many Problems To Recommend, Consumer Reports Says

Every honeymoon comes to an end sooner or later, and so it was with Consumer Reports and its former paramour, the Tesla Model S electric car.

As part of its yearly reliability report on cars sold in the U.S. market, the respected consumer magazine said it could no longer recommend the Model S because the car's predicted reliability is below average.

Specifically, CR said, "The main problem areas involved the drivetrain, power equipment, charging equipment, giant iPad-like center console, and body and sunroof squeaks, rattles, and leaks."

DON'T MISS: Tesla Model S P85D Lauded By Consumer Reports, 'Breaks' Rating System (Aug 2015)

In its article, bluntly titled, Tesla Reliability Doesn’t Match Its High Performance, the magazine noted that it had previously given the Model S high marks for driving dynamics, livability, and energy efficiency.

In fact, this past August, CR deemed the Tesla Model S P85D the best-performing car it had ever tested.

But what a car is like to drive can differ considerably from its predicted long-term reliability.

The magazine included about 1,400 Model S owners as part of its Annual Reliability Survey. The results, it said, predicted a worse-than-average overall problem rate--lower than last year's prediction of "average".

This year, climate control, steering, and suspension systems all appeared to have more problems than they did during the 2014 model year. And complaints about the drive system from owners of older 2013 cars have risen as well, CR said.

The most common problems involve replacement of the electric motors, warped brake rotors, door handles that fail to slide out as a driver approaches, and numerous squeaks and rattles, which may be more apparent given the very quiet nature of electric propulsion.

ALSO SEE: Consumer Reports: Tesla Model S 'Best Overall' Again In 2015 (Feb 2015)

Other problem areas cited by Tesla owners are leaking cooling pumps for the battery pack, dead windshield wipers, persistent alignment issues with the wheels, and misaligned latches for the front trunklid and the rear liftgate.