Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11581314April 5, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V838000 (Electrical System) however, the instructions to do the recall repair were not accurate. While using the Tesla App, the Software version failed to display. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the instructions were not accurate to do the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool shows no open recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581258April 4, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Autonomous Driving Problem [XXX] Driving from Cornelia, GA to Commerce, GA on [XXX] at 60 mph driving on the right lane with very lite traffic. 6 different times the FSD (Full Self Driving) (Supervised) 2021 Tesla Model 3 starts signaling left and changes lanes with no traffic or vehicles in front. The 5th time FSD (Supervised) changed lane to the left was a near car accident because a car was speeding at 70-80 mph from the rear and the vehicle changed lanes in front of the speeding car nearly causing an accident. The autonomous cabin driver detection sensor does continuously give false positive warning messages to the driver to "Pay attention to the road" when I am wearing my glasses, so I have to drive without my glasses. 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
#11581256April 4, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY
Automatic Trunk (Lift Gate) Guillotine Problem: The convenience of the trunk (lift gate) is a helpful feature to the driver and/or passengers of the vehicle, but this feature can be deadly at the wrong place and wrong time, for example: The driver/passenger presses the open/close trunk (lift gate) and a child’s hand, head, and/or body part is against/leaning/underneath/over that opening while the child is blocking/obstructing the opening/closing which can cause injury and/or death. That child’s body part can be crushed/trapped in between the closing/opening between the truck (lift gate) vehicle frame, for example: While a young child spontaneously darts in/around the vehicle during the opening/closing of the trunk (lift gate) and looks/sees/wants an item and instinctively runs to and grabs the item not knowing or forgetting about the opening/closing of the trunk (lift gate) and at that moment the trunk (lift gate) strikes and/or traps the child’s extremities causing injury, amputation, and/or death. * There should be an audible noise and sensors notifying the vehicle occupants about the opening/closing of the trunk/door/lift gate and 2 detection sensors. Audible Noise - A beeping noise or gentle soft song during the opening/closing of the trunk (lift gate). * Trunk (lift Gate) Opening/Closing Motor and Motion Detection Sensor. Trunk (lift Gate) motion motor freeze and stop - If there is an opening/closing abnormality the trunk (lift gate) would immediately freeze operation until the button is pressed to open/close. * Trunk (lift Gate) Opening/Closing Sensor. Trunk (lift Gate) that would make sure the trunk (lift gate) is completely open and/or completely closed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581250April 4, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Problem: As the vehicle is driven and the Adaptive Cruise Control, AutoSteer, FSD, …. is activated. As the system detects an unexpected outside event, the vehicle would slow down for a few seconds, then it would continue driving and re-accelerate to about the same speed that it was before and/or to the maximum set speed. Opinion: This is can be dangerous if the driver is not observant, alert, and does not control the vehicle which can be dangerous and cause death, destruction, and/or damage to the driver, passengers, pedestrians, vehicle, surrounding vehicles, fixed objects, etc. Possible Solution: As the vehicle is driven and the Adaptive Cruise Control, AutoSteer, FSD, …. is activated. Once the system detects an unexpected outside event the system should: * Temporarily Disable Adaptive Cruise Control, AutoSteer, FSD, …. * Interior Cabin LCD would flash Yellow/Orange and beep quickly 3 times in a row - Showing a message on the screen “For the safety of you and others _____ (Adaptive Cruise Control, AutoSteer, FSD, …. ) has been temporarily disabled due to an unexpected outside event. Please re-enable ____ (Adaptive Cruise Control, AutoSteer, FSD, …. ) when it is safe.” Possible Solution Reason: * Temporarily Disabling Adaptive Cruise Control, AutoSteer, FSD, …. disables the drivers dependence on the system, slows the vehicle, and forces the driver to take control of the vehicle, situation, and avoid the unexpected outside event. * Alerting/notifying the driver alerts the driver to a dangerous unexpected outside event that the driver needs to assess and know the best course of action.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581110April 4, 2024
LANE DEPARTURE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated the Self-driving feature automatically turned on without the contact's engagement. The vehicle attempted to make unexpectedly appropriate lane changes due to traffic several times before the contact noticed it was in self-driving mode. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer/manufacturer was made aware of the issue and stated they sent an email with instructions regarding the self-driving mode prior to the activation of the self-driving feature. However, the contact had not seen the email and was not aware the feature was activated. The contact stated a notification was not sent to the car screen allowing the contact to read the instructions and activate the feature
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581044April 3, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
On or around March 31, 2024 Tesla delivered a software update to my vehicle that changed the way adaptive cruise control is engaged, as well as the behavior of the vehicle when the setting is activated. In the few days since the change, I twice inadvertently engaged the adaptive cruise control, once while attempting to park on a congested residential street where it was very dangerous to have the vehicle accelerate without my taking action. I panicked and was able to shut it off quickly, but I didn’t know why it had been enabled. Today I was driving and had intentionally engaged the adaptive cruise control when the car attempted to signal and change lanes. This was wholly unexpected, and I was not prepared to monitor the vehicle taking other actions besides maintaining its lane and speed in traffic. I reviewed the settings for the feature and discovered the adaptive cruise control with lane guidance, termed “Autosteer” in the Tesla vehicle, had been replaced by “Self-Driving (Supervised).” The activation of the feature was changed from a double pull on the shift lever to a single pull. This explained my twice inadvertently activating the feature, and the car propelling itself forward unexpectedly, on those two other occasions. It is extremely dangerous for the car manufacturer to suddenly and without warning change the way the vehicle is operated. I believe I was fortunate to avoid an accident on two occasions while the vehicle unexpectedly took control over driving. Had I not reacted within one second to disable the feature, I might not have avoided a collision.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581038April 3, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Hi Tesla installed a new software update yesterday. Today when I began driving my car and I turned on the adaptive cruise control I found that the car was completely in autopilot and it was extremely to take control over the car again as I was initially unable to steer and it took a few seconds for it to discontinue the autopilot. This is very concerning because the car was set in the preferences (see attached photo) to autopilot (Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" in the preferences) even though I have never used it and has it set to adaptive cruise control ("Traffic-Aware Cruise Control" in the preferences). I am concerned that Tesla switched the preference to autopilot just after offering a free 30 day trial which I did not accept. I understand that full self-driving has never been approved and yet Tesla is flaunting the law and forcing drivers to use it without notifying us or requesting our permission. Tesla needs to be immediately held accountable for this reckless and dangerous behavior which put myself and likely many other driver's lives at risk. Thank you, [XXX] [XXX] [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
#11580882April 3, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The car phantom brakes constantly (at least every 10 miles) when using cruise control. You will be driving highway speed and the car will slam on the brakes for no reason,, making the cruise control dangerous and unusable
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11580748April 2, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am writing to express my frustration with the excessive nagging prompts I've been experiencing while using Tesla's Autopilot feature. While I appreciate the safety measures required by the NHTSA, the frequency and intrusiveness of the alerts have become disruptive and distracting, ultimately compromising the driving experience.The Autopilot system's constant reminders to keep my hands on the steering wheel, despite maintaining proper supervision, interrupts my focus and undermines the entire principle by forcing drivers to focus on the nag rather than the road. The frequency of these alerts feels excessive and unnecessary, especially on familiar routes where the system performs reliably. Requiring Tesla to nag the driver more often is an unreasonable measure that ultimately does little for driver attention.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11580447April 1, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, STEERING
When using FSD beta, vehicle would fail to stop for red lights. Vehicle also attempted to merge me both into a tractor trailer traveling the opposite direction and a jersey barrier. This is a very dangerous and unsafe system that will lead to many fatalities
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11580382April 1, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Tesla updated my vehicle last night, this morning with out any clear warning my cruise control activation actually activated the "full self driving" I did NOT realize this until my car turned the blinker on and tried to change lanes!!! I had no idea what it was doing! I took back control and tried to activate cruise control again but had self driving activate instead. So I just drove to work manually. When I got to work I looked up how to activate cruise control and realized that there is a setting to change how it is activated that I could change to get it back to "normal" for me. Then I was checking my email and Tesla had "Gifted" me a trial month of full self driving, they changed how my car functions without telling me and it literally started driving itself much to my surprise all as a PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN. Frankly I am pissed, this is unacceptable! They radically changed how my car behaves, what my controls actually do, without telling me, to make more money.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11579796March 27, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The car went forward when in reverse mode. After going to other modes (drive/neutral/park) and back to reverse, the car kept going forward. Reset the system and the issue persisted. Finally resolved after third restart. The car bumped up against the driveway gate because it wouldn’t reverse despite the dashboard clearly indicating being in reverse. Contacted Tesla, who examined the system remotely and said no issue was identified. This was the second time this issue occurred, and Tesla offered no fix.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11579208March 25, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Automatic wipers are unreliable and vehicle does not accurately detect amount of rain. This led to obstructed view of the road during heavy rain. Only option was to choose manual speed wipers but had to keep choosing different speeds through my 3.5 hour drive due to constantly changing rain amount. Having to focus on constantly changing wiper speed takes focus off the road each time which increases risk. Tesla has many complaints against the auto wiper function not working across various models and hopefully this will be addressed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11579099March 24, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Vehicle charging level changing automatically based on the new v11.1 software. Some of us need to have our cars at 90%-100% for daily use otherwise we will not have enough charge and can be stranded. The new update keeps reducing the max charge to 80%. Had I not caught this I could have been stuck somewhere on the road possibly blocking traffic and risking being in a dangerous situation in a bricked car. (Especially with driving to remote locations). This is a dangerous automatic change that needs an off button. I’m lucky I caught this. I shouldn’t have to be resetting my charge to 90-100% every damn day just to have enough to drive and use my car as needed during my daily use.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11578778March 21, 2024
LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Tesla autopilot drifted over two lanes and into the side of a semi-truck on the freeway. It was night time but with plenty of light, no rain, and clearly marked lines separating the lanes. Not only did autopilot fail, but the features to help avoid drifting out of a lane even when not using autopilot, also failed. Those features are supposed to auto-steer back into the lane and beep to alert the driver. None of this occurred. 1. Yes vehicle is available for inspection upon request 2. Could have easily led to extensive damage, injuries or fatalities. Everyone got lucky 3. Problem has not been reproduced by dealer, but I have video of the event 4. Vehicle has not been inspected by any 3rd parties
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11578677March 21, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
After a recent update to the "Full Self-Driving" software stack (new version2023.44.30.25; FSD Beta v12.3), we drove from Charleston to Atlanta and back, with much of the trip on Interstate Highways [XXX] and [XXX]. A very troubling new phenomenon was noted: every time we passed a "Minimal Speed" sign, the car would drop the Speed Limit setting on the control panel to 40 MPH. In many of the iterations of this problem, the speed of the car dropped precipitously, creating a potentially dangerous situation. I had the software set to Auto speed limit offset, which in some circumstances maintained the speed around 70 MPH because it was keying on surrounding traffic, but in some instances the speed did not reset until we passed another "Speed Limit 70 MPH" sign. Often, I had to react by manually raising the Max Speed setting to the speed limit. This happened repeatedly (essentially every time we passed a Minimum Speed sign, unless the sign was obstructed from camera view by a semi). Please address this with Tesla and ask for an immediate bug fix and recall (software update). It is potentially very dangerous. 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
#11577466March 14, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Unintended acceleration after I tried to park take off before I can parked it violently crash into the wall.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11577455March 14, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:THROTTLE
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly accelerated independently. The contact lost control of the vehicle, coming to a complete stop after crashing into two poles and veering into a brick wall, where the vehicle briefly continued to accelerate. The air bags did not deploy. A Police report was filed. There were no injuries were reported. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: DP23002 (Speed Control). The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11576904March 12, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
My wife driving our Tesla Model 3. From her report, the car was accelerating on its own and would not stop despite her pressing on the brake pedal. She was unable to stop at the traffic light and crashed into another car at an intersection.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11576482March 10, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While driving [XXX] on [XXX] in Texas, the Tesla autopilot abruptly and forcibly applied the brakes while I was driving approximately 77 mph. I was almost rear ended by a semi truck due to this issue. This happened again about 20 miles down the road and I disengaged the cruise control and autopilot altogether at that point. This is a continuous problem that needs to be addressed. 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

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