Tesla Model 3 Complaints (2021)

674 consumer complaints on file.

#11452630February 17, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving with cruise control engaged the vehicle will suddenly brake without reason. I have almost been rear-ended multiple times. My wife had things thrown off of seats and onto the floorboard. When I wrote to Tesla they said this can be normal and gave me excuses including lighting problems and semis too close. Frequently this happens with no one around with no lighting problems.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452628February 17, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While autopilot was engaged at a speed of around 75 mph, the emergency brakes automatically engaged thought there were no impediments on the roadway. The closest car to the front was too far ahead for it to register on the screen. In another instance the same action occurred but as the car was going under an overpass. It was a sunny day so I assumed the shadows created by the overpass triggered the emergency braking. My spouse also reported two instances that this occurred to her while she was driving alone.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452623February 17, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
My vehicle will be in Autopilot mode on a two lane highway, when suddenly it will brake very hard, so hard that I have to hit the gas to avoid a collision from the car behind me. It also does this on interstates when approaching and passing a tractor trailer. It seems to read the shadow on the road cast by the truck as an obstacle and brakes very suddenly. Taking me from 65mph to much slower in a second or two. It seems very dangerous. This has happened at least 100 times in the past few months.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452618February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Both the adaptive cruise control and the Autopilot are dangerously defective. The car will brake without any valid reason. If put into use, the phantom braking will occur several times per hour, regardless of speed. Other drivers have honked at us after nearly rear-ending at highway speeds. We have been unable to use either feature. The car has been back to the dealership in Vallejo CA. Hours of data log have been given to Tesla. We have loaded every software update including the most recent. Nothing helps. I have given Tesla a list of the situations that seem to cause the invalid braking. These include: Red & Blue markers in Nevada that mark highway cross-overs for their highway patrol. Large highway signs at the outside of a curve. K-Rail at the outside of a curve, Black tar sealant lines on the highway, Overhead Highway signs as the car is coming up a rise, and many more. We actually made a game of predicting the phantom braking and were right over 50% of the time. As it is, it is unsafe and unuseable. Pending a fix, they should at the very least give drivers the option to revert to plain, old dumb cruise control. It would be far safer. The "Autopilot" feature is even worse than the Adaptive Cruise control. It freaks out at corners with K-rail and when you do see a problem that hasn't registered with Autopilot (road hazard) the Autopilot fights you trying to take control. I almost crashed into a bumper that was on the highway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452617February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I was driving the vehicle on a highway at night and there were no other vehicles around. I engaged the adaptive cruise control to set at 75mph. Suddenly the vehicle applied the break very hard on its own and slowed down to less than 30mph. It was very scary and unsettling. This happened on at least 2 separate occasions within about a month and both times there were no other cars nearby.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452591February 17, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On several occasions since June 2021, my Tesla Model 3 has suddenly braked hard on its own while the Autopilot cruise control function was engaged (phantom braking). There has been no apparent reason for the sudden braking incidents, and they have happened at highway speeds. When I reported these incidents to my Tesla dealer, I was told that Tesla was aware of this problem with Tesla Model 3 vehicles, and that Tesla was working on finding a solution. Yet the problem has continued, and occurred again as recently as yesterday
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452570February 17, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving 72 mph on Ca State Hwy 99 in the #2 lane. The closest car to me (front) was about 100 yards away in the fast lane #3. I had cruse control on when the vehicle applied its emergency braking bring me down to 54 mph in about a second. This caused the truck behind me to almost hit me. He then went around my vehicle and slammed on his breaks thinking I did it on purpose.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452556February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While using either the Autopilot or Adaptive Cruise Control, the car will unexpectedly brake for no reason. This happens almost every single time the car is using either of the two features. Sometimes it brakes so hard it creates a safety issue for the cars traveling behind.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452551February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
When driving with Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Autopilot the car will randomly apply the brakes in causing a severe drop in speed frequently from 70 MPH to less than 50 extremely quickly. This happens primarily on undivided highways with no pattern - sometimes when other vehicles are approaching, no distinction between large or small or color, but most frequently and most violently occurs when no vehicles or obstacles are present. This sudden drop and alarm notification from the car can cause me to quickly jerk the steering wheel in response and potentially losing vehicle control. In some occasions this happened at highway speeds with people behind me almost causing a rear-end collision. I put in a repair notice with Tesla and the response was that the TACC and Autopilot are beta and upon review of trip logs they noticed no faults and closed the repair request. This feature is unsafe and since a cruise control is a necessity for my frequent longer trips, having a car without a functioning cruise control is beyond inconvenient, it is a safety issue. The breaking has also occurred on divided multi-lane roads but less frequently and with less severity.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452550February 17, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While using adaptive cruise control on freeway my suddenly reduces speed significantly quickly as if it’s trying to stop. I always fear car behind me is going to bump into my car. Also it hurts passengers into the car when it happens.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452544February 17, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The issue is "Phantom Breaking" while using "Traffic Aware Cruise Control" and "Auto Pilot" The car suddenly breaks for no reason when using either mode listed above. It happens more frequently with sun and shadows than on overcast days. It's so upsetting that I don't try to use either with passengers onboard or when traffic is following close behind.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452532February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving along a 2 lane road around 1:00 PM. It is a bright sunny day. I put the car into TACC (Traffic Aware Cruise Control) and set a speed of 70MPH in a 65 zone. Once a car came a certain distance away traveling in the opposite lane towards my vehicle the car would brake slightly and drop my speed below 70. I corrected the speed drop by applying the accelerator. Again within a few minutes the same behavior occurred when a vehicle in the opposite lane came into view the car braked and dropped my speed by 5-10 miles an hour before I was able to correct and accelerate again to cruising speed. This happened continuously almost every time a car was visible in the other lane until I turned it off. I attempted to use TACC again on the way home on the same ride in the evening and the same behavior occurred where the car would brake suddenly even though nothing was passing in front of the vehicle that would require a stop. I use TACC on freeways regularly and also use Autopilot and it generally does not brake when it doesn't need to, but it still can occur on freeways. The most dangerous use is on 2-way roads. It is unusable and constantly brakes the car when another car approaches in the other lane. This braking is sudden and unexpected and could lead to a rear end collision. There is not an option to use cruise control that doesn't cause this problem. I am taking the vehicle to Tesla 2/17 and will have them inspect it. There are no warnings or messages on the vehicle saying there is a problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452522February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
My 2021 Tesla model 3 when on auto pilot or adaptive cruise control some times on a 2 lane road and meeting a large truck in the on coming lane will suddenly apply the brakes. Another case is where there are heavy shadows across the road. Should someone be following closely there could be a rear end collision. Perhaps this problem started after Tesla stopped using radar on the 2021 Model 3 teslas Anyway, this is very concerning to me and my passengers.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452515February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
When using the traffic-aware cruise system on the interstate, the car will sometimes dramatically reduce its speed (within seconds)/apply the brakes for what appears to be no reason at all (often referred to as phantom braking). The most recent incident occurred while accelerating up an interstate entrance ramp. The car had reached the target speed of 75 MPH before suddenly braking and reducing the speed down to around 65MPH before I hit the accelerator to prevent it from slowing down any further. Within a few seconds, the care went back to accelerating normally again. There were no warning indicators on the display that would explain why the vehicle slowed down. I've noticed that sometimes there are certain spots on the interstate where this behavior will happen repeatedly. I will be cruising along at a set speed and the vehicle will suddenly slow down for a few seconds then continue back at the set cruise speed. This occurs when there are no other vehicles or objects in front of the car. Available for inspection upon request: Yes Safety Risk: Rapid deceleration on the interstate at high speeds risks a rear end collision Reproducible: Yes, but it seems to occur mostly at random, has not been confirmed by the dealer Inspected By Others: No Warning Lamps/Messages: Only once has it generated a pre-collision warning, all other instances generate no warning/alert Only once have I had the system falsely generate a pre-collision warning and dramatically slow the vehicle while the vehicle had just entered the interstate from an entrance ramp (traveling at 70 MPH) and no other objects or vehicles were around me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452510February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My Tesla in auto pilot brakes randomly while on the highway or in a lanes roadway. I almost got rear ended last week.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452481February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would brake without warning while autopilot mode was engaged. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer to be inspected. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was unavailable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452472February 17, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving on highway 70 in Florida which is one lane in each direction. When in cruise control the car braked on its own multiple times when car or truck approaced from opposite direction
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452432February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While in Autopilot, with adaptive cruise and lane assist active, the car will randomly brake despite there being no object or vehicle in front of it that would require braking. It has happened over a dozen times over the past 6 months, primarily on two-lane country roads (where I've stopped using Autopilot) but also at least three times on the expressway. Despite no potential collision incidents ahead, the car abruptly braked and I had to disengage Autopilot to resume normal speed. Luckily in all cases there was no car directly behind me. On more narrow two-lane roads, I know twice the car has perceived a stopped car on the shoulder as a hazard and has abruptly braked, but most incidents have been on open roads with no obvious hazards ahead.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452407February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While traveling at highway speeds, the vehicle arbitrarily applies the brakes when adaptive cruise is being used. It is scary to me and my passengers, and I am afraid to use this feature.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452384February 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
In cruise control or autopilot, the car will apply brakes randomly and without warning. It is extremely scary to have it slam on the brakes for no reason. Luckily no one was behind me, so I wasn’t in danger of causing an accident, but the problem is constant enough I cannot use the cruise control nor autopilot.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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