Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11683322August 27, 2025
STEERING, WHEELS
While driving a Tesla 2021 model 3 tonight at 8:45 P.M. turning left the wheels locked to the left and would not turn straight causing me to hit a concrete divider. After hitting concrete divider steering released to normal driving but driver side car front rim tire was damaged and wheel alignment misdirected.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11683208August 26, 2025
SEAT BELTS
Passenger safety restraint failure message came on so I made an appointment and took it to Pleasanton Tesla for repair 3/19/25; was under the 60,000 safety warranty. Then on 5/6/25, 6 weeks later, the passenger safety restraint failure message appeared again. I contacted Pleasanton Tesla and they told me I was now responsible for a different piece to be replaced, which was quoted over $1,000 to repair, as the 60,000 mile safety warranty was up and it is a different piece that needed to be replaced. I said it’s the same message, passenger safety restraint failure!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682354August 22, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, STEERING
On 08/20, while driving to work, I experienced a serious safety failure with my vehicle. The brake pedal became completely firm and unresponsive, making it impossible to press. At the same time, the steering wheel became very difficult to turn, severely limiting control of the car. Multiple warning messages appeared, including: •Regenerative Braking Disabled •ABS Fault •Traction Control Fault •Limited Power I was able to carefully maneuver the vehicle into a nearby parking lot and safely exit. After restarting the vehicle, the warning lights disappeared, and the car resumed normal operation. I immediately brought the vehicle to the Tesla Service Center the same day (08/20). As of now, there has been no resolution provided.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682336August 22, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
pedestrian warning system has failed for a second time. speaker was replaced once already. presents safety issue to pedestrians (this displays an error that it is not working, the error also states that the horn may not work, however this is for newer cars that do not have separate horns and PWS speaker) Horns are intermittent in functionality, sometimes high or low tone only works, other times no horn sounds, this is a separate device from the PWS speaker, there is no error message shown for this when the PWS is functioning as intended
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682153August 21, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, AIR BAGS
The contact owned a 2024 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH on the freeway, the central touchscreen interface displayed a blank screen. The contact mentioned the autopilot engaged independently, causing the vehicle to merge to the left and collide with another vehicle in front of the driver's side. No air bags deployed. The contact stated that she sustained injuries on the left side of her wrist and arms, and a bruise on her right arm near her elbow and upper right thigh swollen on her neck, shoulders, and full back and both hands are swollen. Medical attention was required. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision garage. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the dealer diagnosed and informed the contact to speak with a lemon law expert. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The contact stated the vehicle has been in the dealer over nine times. The manufacturer was notified and opened a case, then closed it. The approximate failure mileage was 9,611.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11682105August 21, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Button turn signal on New Model 3 is vet dangerous. When steering is rotated, is is impossible to find the Signal Button because of the location of the Button is also rotated according to the Rotation of the Steering Wheel. It caused me a traffic accident when I tried to find the Signal Button when there was traffic congestion in the middle os traffics. This must be replaced traditional turn signal lever.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681858August 20, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
While driving at highway speed, the air conditioning system suddenly failed without warning. The system began blowing hot air and making a loud squealing noise. Shortly after, the vehicle abruptly went into limp mode and lost normal driving power, creating an unsafe situation on a major highway. The vehicle was towed by Tesla Roadside Assistance. Both roadside associates inspected the vehicle at the scene and confirmed there was no body damage. The vehicle was then transported to a Tesla service center, where Tesla later claimed there was body damage and denied warranty coverage. This contradicts the inspection at the time of failure and my own video evidence. The problem has not been repaired. The vehicle remains at the service center and is available for inspection. The failure put my safety at risk by causing sudden loss of drivability in highway traffic. No warning lamps or error messages appeared before the failure. The only symptoms were sudden AC failure followed minutes later by limp mode.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681752August 20, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SEATS
Rear seat safety restraint system fault
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681518August 19, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL, STEERING
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while in reverse (R) and backing up at approximately 5 MPH down a slight incline, the vehicle accelerated inadvertently. The contact stated that she turned the steering wheel to the right to get on the road. The contact had taken her foot off the accelerator pedal when the vehicle gained momentum and drove backwards about 50 feet and crashed into a tree with the rear end. The contact stated that the passenger side rear bumper and an aftermarket trailer hitch were dented, crumpled, and bent. The contact stated that the rear windshield was cracked on the driver's side. The contact stated that the regenerative braking feature never engaged. The contact also stated the steering had locked, and she was unable to turn the steering wheel. The contact stated that there were no warning lights. The tree had stopped the vehicle, and the contact stated that she was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact stated her left eye had a bruise, and there were no other injuries. The police were called, but advised that since there were no serious injuries or other vehicles involved, there was no need to send an officer to the scene. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The failure mileage was 9,840.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11681396August 18, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Component/System involved: Advanced Driver Assistance Systems — FSD (Supervised)/Autosteer (Lane Keeping Assistance) and Adaptive Cruise Control. Possible failure to warn/stop (FCW/AEB). Vehicle and data are available for inspection upon request. I preserved dashcam files and requested Tesla to preserve engineering logs and EDR. What happened & safety risk: On [XXX] at ~[XXX] PDT on [XXX] near East Palo Alto, CA, with FSD (Supervised) engaged, the system appeared to misinterpret an exit ramp/gore area as a continuing lane at a highway fork and maintained ~60 mph (posted ~70). As soon as I saw the trajectory was unsafe, I braked and began manual steering takeover, but the vehicle contacted a roadside sign near the gore/shoulder before I could complete the maneuver. I then stopped safely. No other vehicles were struck. Airbags did not deploy. This posed a serious collision risk to me, my passenger, and nearby traffic. Reproduction/confirmation: NOT REPRODUCED. I have not attempted to reproduce the event. UNKNOWN whether the issue has been reproduced by Tesla or a service center yet. Inspection to date: Police responded (report pending). My insurer has opened a claim. I opened a Tesla Service request asking to PRESERVE Autopilot/FSD engineering logs for the incident window and to coordinate EDR extraction; engineering review pending. Vehicle remains drivable. Warnings or symptoms before failure: No audible/visual forward-collision warning was perceived by me and I did not observe automatic emergency braking. No prior warning lamps/messages were noticed before the departure toward the gore. UNKNOWN whether any internal/partial interventions were recorded in logs. Evidence available: Four-camera Tesla dashcam footage saved and backed up (see [XXX] ); precise time window ~[XXX] PDT on [XXX]. I can provide files and cooperate with data retrieval/inspection upon request. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681387August 18, 2025
AIR BAGS, STRUCTURE:BODY, SEAT BELTS
On June 7, 2025, I was a passenger in a 2025 Tesla 3. Driver of Tesla made an unsafe lane change coming off an Interstate and my side was struck almost T-bone style by an oncoming vehicle going between 45-55mph. Our seatbelts did not lock us in place causing the driver to hit his head on steering wheel and then on driver side window causing lacerations and possible concussion. My side tool the impact and no side curtain airbags deployed and neither did the dash airbags. I am concerned that the location and speed with which we were hit could have been much worse up to and including death as the airbags did not deploy nor seatbelts firmly lock us in place. The car was deemed a total loss and all 4 panels on passengers side were impacted in the collision. I have pictures, Tesla video, police report I can provide. I want this looked into for defect of the Tesla sensors. All public data indicates that at a minimum the side curtain airbags should have deployed as there isnt much of a wrinkle zone and the speed of impact should have deployed them. I was unable to get out passenger side door and had to crawl across driver seat to get to EMS assistance. I was then transported along w Tesla driver to local hospital.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11681259August 18, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The design of the turn signals has several severe driver distracting safety issues. This is ultimately a design issue due to the choice of buttons on the steering wheel instead of a turn signal stalk. The buttons do not always activate the turn signals. Deactivation of the turn signals is counter intuitive, pressing the opposite direction does not deactivate them, instead activating the direction pressed. The significant departure from a standard stalk is dangerous. This is opposed to the other digital modifications tesla has made, as they are not in, or do not need to be in active use during driving activity, but the turn signals are a different matter.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681065August 16, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
Tesla M3 RWD 2022 - 79750k miles. Touchscreen keep restarting throughout the day , in the morning when I am backing out of the garage, while I am driving, while I parked. It is dangerous specially while I am backing out of garage, car will stop sometime, because whole system reboots. I have no visibility I have to wait till its finish restarting. Tesla's main computer handles everything in the car, A/C, Turn signals, speedometer, backup cameras, forward collision warning and many more necessary function of the car. Tesla service center diagnose stats "The cause was identified as kernel panics detected in the system. The internal memory of the car computer is corrupt and will not allow enough data transfer and causing the computer to reboot to clear space" They suggested to replace the computer and its a out of warranty fix, since I drove 79k miles. This is a crucial of the car and it should not fail in 3 years, driving 79k in California is not unusual, Tesla service also blamed that we didn't extended our warranty after 50k. We couldn't find any correspondence from Tesla on service app or email regrading warranty extension. $3000 to replace a computer is a very high price.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681049August 16, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Driving in the dark I almost had a front end collision and the car had zero reaction. The lights on the oncoming semi truck were bright so as usual I glance away from the lights and generally focus on right lane marker and suddenly I could see an oncoming car out of the corner of my eye cut across the front left corner of my car just barely missing within inches of clearance. Unfortunately I was shaken too much to remember and save the video. Not only does the vehicle software create solid phantom objects but ANYTIME the cameras get blinded the safety system does NOT work and now you have allowed Tesla to drive unmanned. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11680657August 14, 2025
STEERING
The contact owns a 2025 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the turn signal switch failed to function as intended. The turn signal switch located on the steering wheel was stuck while attempting to indicate a left turn. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering column control module had failed. The steering wheel and steering control module were replaced. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who refused to repair the vehicle and stated that the vehicle was already been repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11680594August 14, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While using Tesla’s Auto Park feature, the vehicle struck an obstacle without detecting it before or after impact. The system failed to log a collision event in its detection systems, giving no warning and providing no reasonable opportunity for driver intervention. Data retrieved directly from Tesla confirms that forward/side collision sensors did not activate, “Near Deploy” collision detectors remained inactive, and although a “Crash Algorithm Wake-Up” was triggered, the vehicle did not brake or attempt avoidance. This represents a potential systemic defect in Tesla’s Auto Park detection logic and/or related hardware that could result in collisions without driver awareness or system logging — a safety risk for any Tesla driver using Auto Park.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11680247August 12, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I am filing an urgent complaint regarding multiple incidents involving my 2024 Tesla Model 3 (VIN: [XXX] ) that caused major safety risks, personal property loss, and serious disruption to my life. [XXX] – While in a left-turn lane with Autopilot engaged, the car attempted to go straight. When I took over, the system malfunctioned severely. (Photo evidence available) [XXX] – Remote support failed; car towed to Tesla Upland Service Center. June 27, 2025 – Issued loaner vehicle. July 1, 2025 – Tesla claimed I must pay for repairs. I requested a written evaluation report, but to date it has not been provided. July 20, 2025 – Without consent, Tesla remotely locked my vehicle with my personal belongings inside, violating my property rights. Aug 1, 2025 – Tesla promised review and report but refused to unlock my car. Aug 12, 2025 – After 10+ days, still no report. Upland “options” included threats that my locked car in my garage could be deemed stolen, causing severe mental distress. Demands: 1.Full investigation into Autopilot failure and handling delays. 2.Immediate delivery of written evaluation report. 3.Accountability for delays, threats, and property rights violations. 4.Compensation for all losses and disruptions caused. Contact: [XXX] I request a written response within 24 hours. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679887August 11, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I am NOT the owner of this Tesla. I am the owner of the car behind it that hit the Tesla because the Tesla went into Emergency Automatic Braking and the sudden additional deceleration happened too quickly to react to it and contact occurred while I was still doing about 5-ish MPH. The Tesla driver obviously wasn't braking effectively, and the car took over for him to avoid hitting the car in front of him. But there is no consideration for the car behind. I do not know how far back the Tesla stopped from the car in front of it, but all I needed was 2-3 feet. (When I get into these 60 to 0 deceleration, when I know "I'm good" I ease up on the braking to give the guy behind me as much space as possible for HIM to get stopped so I don't get hit.) Tesla's Emergency Automatic Braking caused this accident.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679841August 11, 2025
TIRES
On [XXX], I was given a Tesla Model 3 loaner vehicle (VIN: [XXX] ) from the Knoxville, TN Tesla Service Center while my own Tesla was in for warranty repair. At pickup, I told the service advisor that the passenger-side tires looked unsafe. No inspection or warning was provided. After driving only 7.7 miles at normal speed on smooth roads, both passenger-side tires failed simultaneously. There were no potholes, curbs, or debris impacts. Tesla’s own service invoice states the cause was “not specified” and only speculates possible curb or debris damage without proof. Two tires failing on the same side so soon after hand-off suggests a pre-existing structural defect or safety issue. This incident posed a serious safety risk to myself and other motorists and could have caused loss of control at highway speeds. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679584August 9, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I pulled up to a red light in a protected left turn lane. My car is set to use regenerative braking and hold/not roll once stopped. I felt my car roll forward a bit, which shouldn't happen when these settings are on. I quickly checked my rearview mirror, assuming someone had hit me from behind to cause me to roll forward. No one was behind me. I hit my brake and the car suddenly accelerated at full throttle speed, I would guess, into the intersection, despite the light being red for me. I quickly glanced down at my foot to confirm that it was on the brake pedal and it definitely was. I continued to repeatedly push the brake pedal down to no avail. I was steering and tried to navigate my way through 4 lanes of moving traffic because they had a green light. I hit the front end of a car, which didn't slow my car at all. I went on to hit another car's front end, which didn't slow my car at all either. My car then charged out of control to hit the curb on the opposite side of the street facing traffic. Hitting the curb stopped my car finally. I noticed that the airbags on the right side of my car were deployed. Components that failed/malfunctioned: brakes, fuel/propulsion system, speed control, automatic emergency braking, collision warning/avoidance, traffic signal detection Tesla Insurance has deemed the car a total loss. I also reported the malfunction to their Vehicle Support but haven't gotten the report or the data report from the car that I requested yet. I was told that the report would be complete by 8/7/25. The car was placed on a hold for the investigation, so it should be available for inspection. I do have the dashcam videos and photos of my car, if needed. This incident was terrifying because I had zero control of my vehicle due to the sudden unintended acceleration (SUA). I see on the internet that SUA is a problem with Tesla that has been reported repeatedly. It is a miracle that no one was hurt or killed. Tesla needs to address this immediately!
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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