Tesla Model 3 Complaints (2023)

417 consumer complaints on file.

#11589169May 16, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, STEERING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
when I was driving my Tesla Model 3 with FSD exiting [XXX] , the FSD directed me to a wrong routing. I corrected the direction by taking over the FSD, the car then lost its full braking system. I was not aware of it until my car slipped backward at a stop and hit a car behind me. The other driver is good enough to let me go, but my Tesla back bumper was damaged. When I got home and read the message on the screen, I was told that the braking hold was disabled, autopilot was disabled, braking charge was disabled, and wheel alignment was disabled, and more. I contacted Tesla and make an appointment half a month later. I was also told that the Tesla recommends to have alignment adjusted every 6000 miles or every 6 months- while I was not aware of this, I thought Tesla is maintenance free. This was what I told Tesla representative then: If this disfunction is safety related, it should be mandatory, not recommended! I feel I was lucky that I only have a small accident, it could be worse. I just dropped my car to Tesla for repair yesterday, the estimated costs was originally $275, then it went up to ~$1500, then ~$1800, When I was talking to a representative, the costs increased to $2167 in a few minutes! I asked why the prices go up, they said the previous prices are mistakes, and if I don't want to pay, I can drive my car home! I believe this happens to many other Tesla users as well, it needs to be addressed before more accidents and damages. The fragile safety operation and the way Tesla treat its customer are not acceptable, at least to my case. Thanks for your attention, if you need more information about my report, or have any question, please feel free to contact me. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] 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
#11588864May 15, 2024
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
1. My 90 year-old mother-in law got trapped inside the car in very bad weather because my phone key wouldn't open the door after I got out and walked her elderly friend to the door of her house about 20 feet away, and then walked back to the Tesla. I've been able to reproduce the problem repeatedly, of course without my mother-in-law in the car. 2. Several near-misses because, unlike most other cars, the Tesla's blind-spot warning system, and many other basic control functions such as adjusting the windshield wipers, opening the glove compartment, etc, require you to take your eyes off the road. For example changing lanes requires you to look away from the lane you're about to move into to check the blind spot display on the touch screen. 3. Several near misses because easing up on the accelerator slows down the car forcefully 98% of the time, but does nothing 2% of the time. Specifically, accidentally flicking down on the right-hand control stick, which turns on the windshield wipers in most cars, activates cruise control and gives minimal feedback to the driver that cruise control has indeed been activated. In this circumstance, easing up on the accelerator pedal doesn't slow down the car at all. This is very frightening and unexpected and could easily cause an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11587341May 6, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
When using cruise control, my 2023 Tesla Model 3 will aggressively brake without warning or apparent cause. The braking is near maximal - as though the vehicle is attempting to prevent an imminent collision. This defect poses a hazard to occupants of vehicles behind mine as well as myself and my passengers as sudden braking could cause a rear-end collision and cascading loss of control. Inclement weather would have exacerbated the problem. This problem is documented. From my brief research it appears Phantom Braking has been the subject of a NHTSA investigation previously but for prior model years. The issue persists. When I questioned Tesla Service regarding this life and limb threatening problem their staff was aware and well versed at requesting the customer report the issue as though it were a minor software glitch. This is a significantly more serious problem necessitating an appropriate response.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11586958May 4, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I was driving behind someone when a suv came over from left lane into the right lane in front of the cars that were in Front of me and made a sudden turn into a business. I was already applying the brake and was the 3 second rule behind the car in front of me, however the car did not stop as I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could. There have been other times that the car will automatically slammed brakes on because it feels that it need to…when it’s not necessary at all. But the other day when I needed the brakes to help me stop abruptly…they failed to do so. I hit the car in front of me and was cited as well. If I had been going faster..this could have been way worse. This definitely needs to be evaluated on Teslas. I have a dahcam video that I’m unable to upload.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11586892May 3, 2024
SEAT BELTS
my model 3 is less than one year old, the both rear seatbelt buckles won’t latch
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11585444April 26, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The adaptive cruise control of the Tesla Model 3, like other Tesla models, rely on the cameras for determining speed. While driving on the freeway the Tesla Model 3 began to abruptly break almost causing a car to rear-end me. This has occurred multiple times since the full self driving was released to everyone. I discovered that the software reads the freeway's "Minimum Speed Limit" signs as the maximum speed limit. I reached out to Tesla and was told that there would be a firmware up-date but one has not come out since.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11584975April 24, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While the car was on the full self-driving it hit a metal block on the road. After the accident there was leakage behind the left front wheel of blue liquid and was suspected to be battery coolant. The car was not drivable due to safety concern. The car functions were degraded and air conditioning was not working. Sensors were on and off. The self-driving could not identify block and did not slow down. The self-driving system has major defect which is not safe to use at all.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11584169April 19, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Design defect that caused the cooling system to fail and potentially not cooling the battery system. Per Tesla service center, leaves and debris which are common in everyday use got on top of the radiator, the fan on the back of the radiator sucked the debris and caused the damage to the radiator to leak. the radiator’s design may be inadequate, leading to the issue and caused potential damage to the battery pack or computer as a result of overheating which might leads to fatal accidents.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582914April 14, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER
While driving in rain, the windshield wipers will randomly stop. This will happen both in AUTO and in MANUAL modes, especially at night in poor visibility. I contacted Tesla and they came and replaced the wiper motor assembly but the problem was not resolved. I believe it is a software issue. I nearly had a crash as this happened to me first at night in a very busy and complex highway intersection and resulted in me being stuck in the middle and blocking traffic until I could navigate the touch screen and find the wiper option to get it restarted.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582701April 12, 2024
STEERING
The contact owned a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and merging right, the contact lost control of the vehicle and the vehicle stalled after crashing into the center median. The vehicle was totaled. No injuries were sustained. Medical attention was not sought. The contact stated that a Police report was not filed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582681April 12, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Automatic wipers are very erratic. Sometimes it works like crazy. Sometimes it never cleans the windshield even though it is soaking limiting visibility. Using it in manual mode is also very difficult as all adjustments are done on the screen forcing you to take your eyes off the road. There are no levers to adjust it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582590April 12, 2024
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
Using the Tesla "Autopark", the car backed right into a pole in back of the parking space. When the car hit the pole, it kept trying to back up rather than disengaging. It was a clear day, there was no traffic and there was no car in the adjacent parking space. This is using the latest version of Tesla's self-driving software, 12.3.3.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582274April 11, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, STEERING
Constant lane change while driving has gotten out of control. A couple of instance the vehicle has changed lanes without manual manipulation. This is getting out of hand and has certainly put risks on my family while operating vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#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
#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
#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
#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
#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

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