Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11546138September 23, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The cruise control was set at 70 MPH. The car braked itself and tried to stop itself even though I had no cars or objects in front of me. I had to apply the accelerator to get it to out of stopping itself. It happened twice in a short amount of time on that morning. The car is available for inspection. This is a safety issue as it could have caused an accident if I had someone too close behind me while driving on freeway I-75. I have not had the car inspected as this just happened yesterday 09/22/2023 and today is 09/23/2023. There was no warning prior to this happening and no issues with the car. Again this happened on 09/22/2023 for the first time. Thank You.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11546105September 22, 2023
STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
Power steering stopped working when the car starts up, Cannot steer the wheel at all in PDNR. Basically cannot steer the car at all and it is not drivable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11546093September 22, 2023
SEAT BELTS
The rear middle seatbelt has permanently locked and is unusable. It occurred after having the rear seats folded down and was observed when replacing the seat-backs to their normal position. Tesla has refused to repair due to vehicle being out of warranty despite the vehicle not having been involved in any collision.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545854September 21, 2023
STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving out of a parking space, the steering wheel seized. The message "Front Motor Disabled. Continue Driving" was displayed. The manufacturer was contacted and provided remote assistance, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle regained power steering functionality after an hour. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving out of a parking space on another occasion. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla Service Center however, the failure could not be duplicated; however, the circuit board was replaced. The contact stated that the failure recurred while pulling out of a parking space on a third occasion. The vehicle was towed to a second Tesla service center, Tesla Sales (750 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087) who informed the contact that an unknown software update was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545791September 21, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The wipers come on for no reason and there is no way to turn them off. Since the wiper blades are running on a dry windshield the visibility decreases considerably after it runs for some time
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545702September 20, 2023
STEERING
The power steering failed while I was backing out of a parking space. I was unable to turn the wheel and almost ran into another car. I was able to use all my strength to turn the wheel and took it to the dealership Tesla said "there was a fault within the steering rack that caused the power steering to go out, therefore we had to replace this part" There was no warning messages about the problem before, during or after the steering went out. If this were to happen to anyone that did not have significant strength, it could have caused a major accident. If it went out while I was driving on any other road, I would have been in an accident for sure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545587September 20, 2023
STEERING
I received an error message while driving that the steering assist was turned off, and I was unable to the car. This has happened twice in the last week.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545439September 19, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When I purchased this automobile the dealer told me it had to be built, so it was my thought I was getting a brand-new car. I was not anticipating the problems I would have in the same year I leased this vehicle. I leased the automobile for 3 years with an agreement to drive 12,000 miles or less a year. Later after agreeing to the mileage set in the original contract, I learned through my own research that I could leased this automobile agreeing to drive up to 20,000 miles. My contract was not explained or expressed to me in detail, even after conveying to them that the automobile would be used as a vehicle for my business in transportation. They did not go over every possible option. Secondly, just a few months into having this vehicle, I took the automobile in for service April 6, 2023 Feb 23, 2023 Jan 3, 2023 Nov 7 of 2022 and Oct 6 of 2022, for the same issue, breaks making noise in the reverse position and while driving. Each time I had to pay a service fee. I had one agent to convey to me that I needed a brand new break system because they were not able to fix the problem that was causing the vehicle to squeak. After researching this specific problem and talking to other Tesla owners, I have learned that this is a common issue with Tesla manufacturer. I believe that this was not due to neglect or error on my part. Before this recurring issue with both my Model 3, I was very pleased with my Tesla and in a few years I will need to upgrade to a larger one as I grow, but not I hesitate to choose one. A few of my clients and family members also one Tesla, that are functioning perfectly, and they aren't so sure that they will stick with the brand after watching my experiences.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545400September 19, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Cruise control set to 82mph on interstate with no cars nearby. Car slams on brakes on multiple different cruise control sessions. Dangerous for other cars that could be driving behind me and could cause me to lose control of the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545244September 18, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My car was purchased Aug 2022. In Nov. 2022 we took a short trip. I believe 5 or 6 times the car braked for no reason. I believe it is called phantom braking. One or two times it was a hard brake that I believe could cause an accident if someone was behind me, or the wrong person driving. It was sudden and hard in those two situations. I took the car in and after they drove it two miles they told me there were no issues. Then in June 2023 we went on a long trip. I do not use autopilot, this is only cruise control. On this trip probably between 35 to 45 times we experienced the same issues. At least 5 times they were hard brakes and could cause an accident. I again opened a service visit to Tesla. Again, they drove the car 5 miles and claimed there is nothing wrong. I did not accept this answer and asked for the GM. Finally after demanding this for 20 or so minutes a man came and said he was the manager. He also argued in the beginning but when I told him I have found accidents caused by this he finally admitted that it was something called "phantom braking" and that that it should be fixed very soon with an update. So then again, in August my wife and I went on another trip. It still is happening and probably 6 or 7 times this occurred. It seems to mostly be on smaller 2 lane highways and occurs usually when there are no cars, trucks, or anything nearby. But all it would take is a tailgater to cause a wreck. In August when we returned I made another warranty appointment her in Las Vegas and immediately they cancelled the visit on my app. They are lying about what is occurring and telling me that it is usually when I am following too close or some garbage like that, which is absolutely not true. I just made another appt today but I am sure they will cancel it. What do I do. I really want to go through Nevada Lemon law at this point. My name is [XXX] and my phone is [XXX] . Below I am putting in the most recent incident and mileage then. Happens many time INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545213September 18, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving on I-35 from Kansas City to Des Moines on 9-11-23, and three times the car experienced phantom braking (i.e. the car suddenly braked for no apparent reason) while the adaptive cruise control was activated. During these instances the car would suddenly brake and slow down and on one occasion I had to accelerate immediately to avoid possibly being rear ended. On all occasions there were no obstacles on the road or cars within 1/4 of a mile ahead of me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545162September 18, 2023
STEERING
I was driving my car on the highway I275 approximatley 5 miles North of St Petersburg Florida. When without reason the car spun to the left very quickly, I did not have any steering control at that moment. If the car had hyro plained it would not have spun out of control so quickly. The road was slightly wet as there was a drizzle but not to any extent to allow the car to spin out of control due to heavy water. My vehicle hit the highway guard rail and was badly damaged.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11545050September 17, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, STEERING, SERVICE BRAKES
On 09/11/2023 at approx. 6AM CST, my wife went to a nearby Walmart store for groceries. As she was parking the car in the parking space, the car started to accelerate by itself and went around the parking lot in random directions. She couldn't control the steering and brake despite the continuous tries. It was such a traumatic experience, and the car went on to hit couple of other parked cars and the cart return stations in the parking lot. After few seconds of random self-drive in multiple directions of parking lot, it finally came to a halt as it got on a curb that flattened the tires. By God's grace, the car stopped right before entering the main busy road due to flat tires and also no pedestrians at that time. Otherwise, the situation could have been worse as the car was going in an uncontrollable manner. The incident was reported to 911 and they got the car towed to a towing garage. We got the incident report from the police department. They also have the CCTV footage of this incident. We also have the dashcam videos recorded by TESLA and pictures taken after the incident. I will provide any supporting documentation you might need to understand this incident and address the issue. We are trying to come out of the trauma from this incident and would like to bring this issue to the attention of all concerned parties for next steps.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544927September 16, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
It happened in a parking lot around 8:20 pm on 09.13.23. When I slowly moved to parking space car suddenly accelerated, jumped over raised pavement for pedestrian walking, hit parked car on the other side of walking path, continue going with uncontrollable high speed across the parking, then car slowed down and I finally parked. Woman who witnessed accident and called the police told the police officer that she saw brake lights of my car were on. Two women from the car I hit showed me the markings from my tires on pavement. My husband who arrived to the place of accident by this time took pictures of these marks and next morning we return back to take another pictures and video. My car's odometer reading was less than 100 miles. We are having problem of uploading our pictures. We can supply to you our pictures and video if you need them.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544828September 15, 2023
STEERING
Steering wheel froze while attempting to turn across opposing traffic into shopping center nearly resulting in an accident. Was able to forcefully turn into a parking lot and turn off the car. Steering notification came on. After ten minutes car seemed to resume back to normal. This caused insurmountable anxiety and I was unable to return to work. Car was towed to service center and estimated repair will take 2-3 days. This was a brand new car I bought for safety yet the safety of me and my children were jeopardized!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544757September 15, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving late at night at highway speeds (interstate Hwy), the car applied the brakes suddenly and without cause, with no cars in the proximity of my vehicle. The car was set in cruise control mode (adaptive.) It appeared that the vehicle may have picked up a reflection from the highway striping. This occurred two times during a single trip of approximately 200 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544619September 14, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I was in the carpool lane when traffic came to a complete stop. I pressed on the brakes but they were heavy as if I was not able to press it down all the way. There was no information prior to the accident from the Tesla trying to warn me about an incoming collision. It wasn’t until after the accident the Tesla acknowledged that there was damage done to the car. Prior to the accident there was a service required for the front passenger safety restraints. This accident could have been much worse as I tried to swerve out of the way to avoid traffic but wasn’t able to make it back in time.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11544569September 14, 2023
STEERING
Power steering is intermittently and unpredictably failing. The issue has occurred approximately 10 times in total and has occurred both while exiting parking spots and while driving on the road. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request and has been given to Tesla Service Center for review. The service representative was not able to reproduce the issue and the vehicle was returned. Especially while driving, loss of power steering could force me into an accident, as I'm not able to control the vehicle in a reliable manner. When the issue occurs, I receive an error that says "steering assist reduced, steering may require increased effort."
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544531September 14, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On 09/08/2023 while the vehicle was engaged in Autopilot/Traffic Aware Cruise Control and at highway speeds, the vehicle suddenly braked with no visible / reasonable cue from the surroundings. Minutes later, it suddenly braked again suddenly and without any visible cause but with more force. After this, I stopped using this feature of the vehicle for the remainder of our trip. A similar event occurred around Apil 2023 and when I reported this to the Tesla Service Center they replaced both the right side and left side repeater cameras (faulty). The first incident of this nature occurred around a week after taking ownership in late October: Again at highway speeds, the vehicle suddenly and abruptly braked without cause. The Service Center was notified but they found no issue with the car. This type of behavior places myself and my family at risk of being rear ended with the abrupt nature of this kind of braking (sudden, abrupt and with no cause). It also places the vehicles that happen to be following me at risk with this sudden braking behavior - the braking is not gradual. After I reported the most recent incident, the service center did not find any faults with the hardware and said that "these behaviors are a limitation of software in the system."
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544391September 13, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The car does phantom braking on the highway when using cruise control. It is usually caused by a truck in the neighboring lane applying it's brakes, but not entering my lane.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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