Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11492655November 7, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was on a road trip on rural highways in Texas and New Mexico. The adaptive cruise control/autopilot system repeatedly hit the brakes when driving at highway speeds for no apparent reason. This would happen even though there were no cars in front of me or other obstructions in the roadway. If there had been another car behind me there would have been risk of a rear end collision because the car would unexpectedly significantly reduce speed. A few times when this happened, the car made warning sounds, but most of the time it would not provide any warning at all. I have tried making a service request with the manufacturer, but they claim that there are no hardware problems with the car and I have to wait for a firmware update.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492586November 7, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Regardless of which cruise control function you are operating in the system will suddenly brake for no reason, sometimes slowing down by only a few miles an hour and sometimes by as much as 30 or 40 miles per hour. This can potentially lead to a rear end accident. System has far fewer failures at night than during the day and far fewer if there is traffic in front of the car than if there is an open road in front. This cruise control is almost unusable during the day on an open road. This has happened within 45 miles of owning the car to present 5000 miles + and has happened at every speed we have used it at This has been an on-going issue since the day we bought it and not something the Dealership tells you about in advance
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492520November 6, 2022
WHEELS
The TPMS alerted me that the front driver tire was low at 36 psi. Pulled into gas station within a mile from initial alert and when I unscrewed the valve cap the valve stem broke and shot out of the tire and the tire deflated. The components were found and are available for inspection. The car has not been repaired yet and is currently at the Tesla Service Center in Agoura Hills at 28721 Bldg A Canwood Street Agoura Hills, CA. I drive two children under 5 and am lucky this did not occur at high speeds or while the vehicle was in operation at any speed. There is no reason this should have happened. There was no prior damage to the wheel or tire.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492343November 4, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
owner/I can not program tire monitor sensor by themself/myself due to no option to reset, I have to go to their service center, and they are rip off , it is unsafe to have tire monitor
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492101November 3, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Experiencing phantom braking at high speeds when there is nothing there. This has happen 5-6 times during a recent road trip of 1000 miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491611October 31, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
since ownership phantom braking has occurred while the adaptive cruise control, autosteer and/or autopilot have been engaged. IT is completely random and occurs at both high speeds and during local street speeds. It doesnt matter the terrain either. It has happened while on a straight and even road as well as curvy and rolling hills. It also doesnt matter if its daytime or night. The applications will also disengage (turn off) if the rolling hills are frequent.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491432October 29, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While driving back from San Antonio TX, I engaged autopilot on the hwy. Multiple times my vehicle would experience phantom braking with no other cars on the road and would slow down drastically from 75mph to 20mph. This sudden braking for no reason could have caused an accident if there was another vehicle behind me. This phantom braking has also negatively affected my safety score for my insurance.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491423October 29, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
During a road trip from Oklahoma to California and back my Model 3 suddenly and abruptly braked coming almost to a stop on up highway while cruise control was engaged. The braking was such that it caused occupants to lunge forward and seatbelts pretension. This aggressive braking is a common occurrence with Tesla and has been called “phantom braking”. This is not the first time this has happened to me. This is a recurring issue
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491384October 28, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My brand new model 3 stopped in the far left lane of the highway in Camp Pendleton this October 7th. There was 139 miles in range left (40% battery), and it clearly was not out of charge. It was towed to Tesla Santa Monica service center, and the battery slowly drained in the 5 days before it was looked at. Once the Tesla service center looked at the car for the first time on the night of October 11th, the battery had dropped to 5%, and the service center tried to give it back to me after a simple charge. They would not listen to me when I told them it was charged when it stopped on the highway, and something else was wrong. They closed the case and told me to pick up the car. I refused to pick up the car and left it in their service lot. I made a few social media videos on October 13th about this. Tesla saw the videos, and re-looked at my car and found the rear drive unit had to be replaced. If I had not made this video, Tesla never would have found the faulty rear drive unit, and I would have been forced to take back my lemon car. In summary, Tesla tried to give me back an UNSAFE car after accusing me of causing the breakdown by not charging it. But the rear drive inverter needed to be replaced.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491180October 27, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Multiple times traveling on Interstate 70 at 75 mph the car would brake itself without warning while the “Autopilot” (driver assist) was engaged. This probably happened 4 times over the course of 1 hour. I recalibrated the cameras after the 3rd event, but it did not help. This was very dangerous and unsettling. I verified no-one was close behind when engaging the autopilot in case the system “decided” to brake unexpectedly. If someone was behind me traveling at interstate speeds, they would have hit me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491089October 27, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My car is brand new. When in Autopilot mode (not full FSD), the vehicle does u expected braking apparently randomly. There are no road obstructions or potential road obstructions visible at all to me as driver. Yet, the vehicle will brake suddenly. It does this so frequently that I no longer use Autopilot unless I know the road has no other vehicle driving behind me and is very clear ahead of me. I never, ever use it on the highway. In one incident, I was using my Autopilot and a motorcycle was traveling at a much too close distance behind me on a curve on a busy roadway, with a large RV driving in the lane next to me. As all three of our vehicles approached the curve in this cluster, my vehicle suddenly braked and the motorcycle behind me almost crashed into my vehicle’s rear end. It was terrifying. After that incident, I severely limited my use of Autopilot and take pains to ensure my foot is resting on the accelerator in case I need to apply a little pressure to counteract the unexpected braking while in Autopilot mode.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491000October 26, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: DYNAMIC BRAKE SUPPORT/BRAKE ASSIST
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH up a hill, the vehicle made a sudden stop without any warning, causing the contact and his wife go forward in their seats. The contact accelerated and the vehicle continued to operate normally. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the computer needed to be checked. The failure mileage was 4,100.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490847October 25, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
In vehicle speaker system occasionally resets, keeping speakers from making noise during a 5-10 second window. This keeps in-vehicle chimes and collision warnings from sounding at appropriate volumes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490612October 24, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Several times, while using the cruise control, the car automatically braked at highway speed. The car is available for inspection. My safety and my wife's safety were put at risk by the car suddenly slowing down on the interstate without my control. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center - I have not had the car serviced. It has not been inspected. There were no warning lamps or messages.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490548October 24, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Even with all automated safety options turned off, autopilot (cruise control) continues to implement sudden periodic "hard braking." This is occurring (a) when a vehicle crosses in front of my path *far* ahead of me, is not remotely close to causing an accident, and the way will be clear with plenty of room to spare by the time my car reaches that spot, and (b) sometimes for no reason I can detect: there's nothing in front of my car at all but open road. The second example above tends to happen at least once every trip in which I've engaged cruise control. This second case is especially startling and dangerous, because it seems to come out of nowhere.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489956October 19, 2022
STRUCTURE
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 10-15 MPH through standing water, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that upon parking the vehicle, he noticed that the rear bumper had separated from the frame. The contact found the rear bumper on the ground a block away from his residence. The vehicle was taken to a Tesla Service Center who informed the contact that the failure was caused by water damage. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The manufacturer advised the contact to take the vehicle to an auto collision repair shop where the vehicle could be repaired by his insurance provider. The failure mileage was approximately 59,800.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489889October 18, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The adaptive cruise control. is subject to sudden phantom braking. On several occasions when the cruise control is engaged the vehicle will brake for no reason. On one occasion the sudden braking caused a semi-truck behind me to swerve just barely avoiding an accident. On another occasion the vehicle braked so hard that we skidded. There is no warning when the phantom braking will occur. The adaptive cruise control is useless on two lane highways and streets, because it sees cars in the oncoming lane and brakes. I have called the company to have the vehicle check on at least two occasions. Every time I schedule a service the company calls back and tells me they know about the problem and that they are working on the issue. I asked if they could do an update to turn off the adaptive cruise control and revert back the standard cruise control that does not brake or slow down. They said that is not an option. This is a real safety concern, and I will not use the adaptive cruise control except in stop and go traffic. It has been my experience that there has been no phantom braking in stop and go traffic.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489850October 18, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated to 20 MPH and experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489375October 15, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Traveling between Colorado and Missouri, multiple instances of "phantom braking" where, without warning, the car would brake suddenly and very sharply, such that the tires would squeal and items in the back seat slid onto the floor. There were no obstacles, the weather was clear and there was no reason for it to do so. We were only using the cruise control and not the self driving program. Our safety was put at risk because had a car or truck been behind us, a severe rear end collision could have occurred. We were traveling at highway speeds at the time this occurred. We requested a service appointment but Tesla told us this could not be addressed in a service appointment. Tesla said this would be addressed in future updates. We told Tesla this was unsatisfactory and dangerous. We wanted the car inspected and the problem addressed but Tesla said the service appointment could not do anything. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms before the failure. In fact the braking did not even disengage the cruise control, which normally is the case when the brake is applied. This had occurred previously and Tesla said it would be fixed with a computer update in July 2022. Obviously it has not been fixed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489364October 15, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driver side window fails to lock completely upon locking the car manually and/or using auto walk away function. This leaves the car very much unsecure and open to being vandalized. Additionally, the driver sides window fails to close fully when auto close button is pressed. The driver side window button has to be fiddled with few times to get a complete window seel.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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