Tesla Model 3 Complaints
2,178 consumer complaints on file.
- #11464870May 16, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Tesla alpha numeric data & instrument function icons are fearfully too small on giant screen. Returning Saturday nite on unlit Merritt parkway in CT suddenly began to rain. My eyes glued on dark winding highway, unable to look away to Tesla screen. My wife in front of screen could NOT find dimly lit 3/8” windshield wiper icon too small, dimly lit, arrayed along bottom with five other tiny icons. Was forced to exit hiway barely able to see road. AT full stop searched bottom to find & press icon. Luckily not hit or crashed. Tesla is only computer screen does not provide user to customize font or icon size! One cannot reach any responsible person by phone, email or Tesla service app to appeal this needed software upgrade. Many driver complaints online Tesla chat rooms pleading for improvement. Tesla instrument control icons worst visual presentation of any car. A significant safety hazard for driver in all conditions but magnified terribly at nite in rain storm. Please report & seek correction.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11464369May 12, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
When my wife was driving the vehicle this morning by herself, she heard a noise behind her. It was the driver's side rear door unlocked itself and popped opened. The vehicle immediately made a warning sound that a door was opened while the vehicle was in motion. She pulled over and noticed that the driver's side rear door can be opened without touching the door handle. The door was opened, not locked or partially locked. It would be extremely dangerous if there was a passenger next to the door.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11464349May 12, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Pedestrian Warning System not available under 15 mph during forward. Service representative claimed sound only operating in reverse direction. I disagreed because a pedestrian walk in front of the tesla when pulling in to the street parking driving forward. Since the design of the system removed the option not to engage this safety feature, this should be fix, and to be meet or go beyond the standard of the industry around world.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11464342May 12, 2022BACK OVER PREVENTION, EQUIPMENT
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH in reverse, the Back Over Prevention camera lost connectivity and became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V296000 (Back Over Prevention, Equipment) for which the VIN was included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,724.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11464303May 12, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
In the past month, I've experience at least four sudden breaking experiences: 1. About a month ago I experience a sudden dramatic deceleration on Interstate 70 driving 67 mph. No vehicles in close proximity. 2. 5/8/22 on Hwy 7 driving 65 mph when car suddenly hard breaked. There were no vehicles near by. 3. A few miles later a red car driving 75-80 mph, at least, pasted me and as as soon as the car was ahead of me, the Tesla breaked. This was not as hard as (2) 4. A few minutes later a white car passed much like (3) above. Again a sudden break as (3) Other info: Mid nineties, bright sun, strong headwind and dry pavement.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11464282May 11, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Driving down Highway 54, a divided highway in southern New Mexico with adaptive cruise control set at 85 miles an hour, speed limit 75, with automatic emergency braking disabled, my car slammed on the brakes so hard, that the tires were screeching, with multiple vehicles traveling similar speeds to me approaching from behind. I had to press the gas pedal immediately to resume speed. When I looked at my speedometer, it showed a decrease in speed instantly of approximately 7 to 10 mph. While using adaptive cruise control, this frequently happens, despite automatic emergency braking being disabled. There was nothing in the road ahead of me to cause this breaking to occur, to include no animals, no humans, no items in the road, no other vehicles in front of me For at least half a mile in front of me, And the other car was not even in my lane, and not crossing the center markings. I have made a report through my in car system, however Tesla refuses to address the situation at this time directly with my vehicle. I called to schedule an appointment so they could download the data from my car to see what happened in the event, and they refused to provide service, nor an explanation.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11464232May 11, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My Model 3 rear glass has stress fractures. This can be a safety issue being it can block rear visibility. There is no warning when this can happen. Most likely due from sitting out in the sun then while driving the stress on the structural rear glass causes it to crack.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11463866May 9, 2022SERVICE BRAKES
2022 TESLA MODEL 3. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO DEFECTIVE BRAKING SYSTEM. THE CONSUMER STATED WHILE IN CRUISE CONTROL, THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES. THE CONSUMER REFERRED TO THE FAILURE AS "PHANTOM BRAKING".
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11463657May 6, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Tesla Autopilot will disengage and brake when driving under a bridge or a freeway sign. Tesla detects the overhead object as an object on the road and logs a forward collision warning. This issue has been reported to Tesla and after multiple service appointments, tesla has failed to fix the issue. Tesla logs forward collision warnings and determines safety score for insurance price, having multiple false forward collision warning reduced the score and increases the premium which in return benefits tesla financially. I have video evidence for an instance that I have provided to tesla to look into and the issue is still not fixed.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11463643May 6, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING
The contact owns a Tesla Unavailable. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH in the parking lot he notice an unexpected increase in the amount of acceleration. The contact pulled over in the parking lot and turned the vehicle off then restarted and safely drove off. There was no warning light. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer or an independent mechanic. the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The mileage was 36,000
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11463450May 5, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was using Tesla's Traffic Aware Cruise Control. I was traveling at approximately 75mph on a highway. There was a car approximately 6 car lengths ahead of me traveling at approximately the same speed. There may have been cars next to me on both sides. For no apparent reason, the Tesla braked and the speed was reduced from 75mph to approximately 35mph. I disengaged the Traffic Aware Cruise Control and accelerated back to approximately 70mph. My safety was put at risk because the car behind me had to slam on their brakes and I assume the car behind them had to do the same. This was dangerous for my safety and the safety of the people in the car(s) behind me. The vehicle has not been inspected. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the issue.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11463362May 4, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
It has happened before, but on a 4 hour highway trip yesterday, the vehicle engaged in 3 incidents of sudden phantom braking. Twice the road was completely empty with no other vehicles around me. The third time the shadow of a truck in another lane may have triggered the event. Each time we were traveling over 65 miles per hour. For the last hour+ of the trip, I disengaged the autopilot (adaptive cruise control) feature and drove completely manually.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11463195May 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I experienced phantom braking on multiple occasions when using either the cruise control or the autopilot. I experience various levels of braking force, and am unable to discern any pattern. The vehicle exhibits this unexpected braking most days that I engage those functions. Yesterday, on an approximately 350 mile cross country trip, the vehicle phantom braked on probably 10 different occasions. Two of those were what I would consider maximum braking effort. If another vehicle was following closely at those times it is very likely I may have been rear ended.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11462823April 30, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
We were driving on the freeway at 69 mph and suddenly with no warning the center console main screen froze. All electronic functions of the car stopped and the car was stuck at 69 mph. Speedometer And turn signals did not work. We managed to get to the side of the road (mechanical brakes and steering were unaffected). The car could not be put in Park so a manual reboot was not possible. The car rebooted itself (screen went black and then came back online) after about 10 minutes or so and then the car functioned normally.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11462334April 26, 2022LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving on the highway with standard autopilot engaged and speed set, multiple times the car would apply brakes suddenly without warning. This typically would happen while cresting a hill. This is dangerous and could cause an accident if cars are following too closely behind. Also with standard autopilot engaged and while in the rightmost lane on the highway any time a road merged on the right side of the vehicle it thinks the lane got wider and will swerve to the right then left to try and maintain the center of the lane. This unnecessary turning could cause an accident or confuse other nearby drivers. During both of these events no warnings are displayed or heard in the vehicle. Both these issues are well known and discussed on Facebook, reddit and teslamotorclub forums.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11461994April 25, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The car, driving on cruise control at 75mph did an expected and very sharp braking and slowed down to 55 mph. There were no upcoming alerts or indicators of this to happen. The braking was sudden and definitely not expected by drivers behind. This incident was reported to Tesla service team.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11461991April 25, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I also shared this on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaLounge/comments/ubcbuc/phantom_brake_occurence/ My brand new, (February-2022), Model 3 Performance Phantom Braked hard yesterday and almost killed me and my daughter. We were on a road-trip driving from Arizona to California, on the 8 freeway westbound. It was running Tesla software version. 2022.12.3.1. Conditions were ideal. Clear sky, open road, no opposing traffic since the opposing lanes were across about 200 feet of desert. No cars in front of us for any visible distance, road was straight for miles, no shadows, no reflections, just open road. I had the cruise control on and locked at 75 MPH. I wasn't using Auto Pilot, just cruise control, (single press down on the drive stalk). After cruise control had been on for a few minutes suddenly, the car hard braked, throwing myself and my kid forward. Decelerated from 75 to 30 MPH in about 2 seconds. Scared the shit out of both of us. We were just sorting out the confusion when we hear honking horns, cars would be on us soon. I slammed the accelerator to move. I later checked the outside of the car wondering if maybe a camera had become obstructed but nope, all the cameras had perfectly clean surfaces. This phantom braking issue is going to kill someone.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11461751April 22, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I have taken 3 road trips in my car since taking ownership, and on every single one of them, I have had multiple instances of severe phantom braking. They are quite alarming as the vehicle will drop 10-20mph on the freeway in an instant. These were always on large divided interstates (OH and PA turnpikes), and almost every time, there were ZERO cars around. I don't feel that I can even use the autopilot system at this point, for fear of getting rear-ended at 70 mph.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11461668April 21, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The car suddenly breaks while in the highway apparently for no reason. It happened multiple times in the last two months. It may cause accident by a following car.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11461338April 19, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving on the highway at 70 MPH, with the cruise control activated, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,900.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0