Tesla Model 3 Complaints (2023)

417 consumer complaints on file.

#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
#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
#11544368September 13, 2023
STEERING
Loss of power steering. Car started normally, but with no warning from the car, the steering wheel could be turned only with extreme effort. I tried to make a circle around the house, but barely avoided hitting other parked cars and called Tesla service.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544288September 13, 2023
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model-3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently drifted into the left and right lanes. The contact then stated that while attempting to make a left or right turn, there was a clicking sound in the steering wheel. The contact also stated that the steering wheel failed to align with the front wheels. As a result, the vehicle failed to drive straightforward. the contact was concerned for his safety while operating the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack failed and need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,387.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11543982September 12, 2023
SEATS
I just purchased this new 2023 Tesla Model 3. I am not reporting a failed or malfunctioning component but I have a safety concern. After taking delivery I noticed that there are no emergency door latch releases on the rear seats like there are on the front seats. This could make exiting the back seats very difficult or even impossible in the event of an emergency with loss of power to the vehicle. I cannot believe that this feature was omitted. I worry that people will die because they will not be able to escape a burning vehicle quickly enough. This seems like the door could be easily modified to correct this issue and make this vehicle much safer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11543949September 11, 2023
STEERING
I picked up a new Tesla Model 3 on July 29, 2023. On July 31, I received a steering reduced alert as I was backing out of my driveway and could not move the steering wheel. After I did a hard power off, the alert went away. I called Tesla service, and was told that this was not a typical issue but to schedule a service appointment and cancel if the issue did not recur before the next available date (Aug. 23). Two days later, on Aug. 3, I saw news articles about an NHTSA investigation into the same steering issue in 2023 Model 3s. I called Tesla service again, and now was told that they could not say that my car was safe to drive, and that there was no "official" response from the Company. I was directed to emergency assistance, which told me that the car was safe to drive at least to the Milford, CT service center, and noted that had I waited until Aug. 23, the alert would have been deleted from the system. I brought the car to the service center on Aug. 4. I was told that my steering rack needed to be replaced, and they gave me a loaner because the repair would take a few days. Soon after I drove back home (which is 30 min. away), I received notice saying that the service was complete. The service center did not give a coherent explanation for why they did not replace the steering rack and the correction codes did not line up. I told Tesla that I wanted to return the car, including bc it seemed like Tesla was trying not to perform an expensive repair they had listed themselves in their own documents with NHTSA scrutiny on this issue. I received no response, but was told by TD Bank that Tesla had agreed to a flat cancellation on my auto loan as of Aug. 9, with title to be reverted back to the dealership, and to discuss next steps with Tesla. I then contacted Tesla to return the car and obtain my deposit, and received no response. Then TD told me that Tesla reapplied for the loan on Aug. 22, without my consent. This whole ordeal has been a nightmare.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11543824September 11, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while their spouse was parking the vehicle and pressing the parking button, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle jumped the curb, crashing into two different vehicles to eventually be stopped after crashing into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. There was damage to the other vehicles and to the tree. The driver received injuries to their neck and back. Medical attention was not needed. A police report was filed. The vehicle had been towed. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who had not diagnosed or repaired the vehicle as of yet. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 500.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11543738September 10, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
1. When vehicle is on autopilot mode. Vehicle will all a sudden brake by itself with no reason as to why, no cars in front of me intermitly. Mostly happens when driving at highway speeds and when approaching a overpass. 2. Could be crash from the rear. 3. Have not notified Tesla. 4. No inspections have been performed 5. No warnings and no beeping either just brakes by itself intermitly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11543323September 8, 2023
STEERING
Lots of power steering. Unable to move vehicle…extremely unsafe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11543030September 6, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The vehicle slowed down at a very rapid rate when in cruise control for no reason. There were no other vehicles or obstructions anywhere near the vehicle. This happened 3 times. I reported these events to Tesla and they said it was a known issue called ghosting and there was nothing to repair. A rapid deceleration of the vehicle for no reason and with no warning is a safety issue that should be addressed immediately. Iv'e used cruise control on many other vehicles and have never had a problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542837September 6, 2023
STEERING
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to drive straight. While releasing the steering wheel, the vehicle would either veer to the left or the right. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer five times, where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was out of specification. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was concerned about a possible crash due to the failure. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided for over thirty days. The failure mileage was approximately 12.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542543September 4, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
We were driving on cruise control on 7/24/23 between the hours of 6AM - 8AM on a completely open highway with no cars near and no objects in the road. Our car braked on its own when we were driving 74-77MPH bringing the car to an almost complete stop. The same thing occurred on 7/22/23 between the hours of 9AM - 2PM. It was extremely scary and an obvious malfunction/ defect of the car. We both have back pain now from the sudden stop.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542223September 2, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The steering feels extremely stiff and jerky
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542213September 1, 2023
STEERING
Steering wheel could not turn after after parked and tried to drive again. Car could only go straight forward or backward. Also tried to restart the whole car computer, problem still persisted. The car screen displayed error message UI_a020 Steering assist reduced, Steering may require increased effort.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542208September 1, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The car makes unintended braking when there is no vehicle in front. The car made a sudden brake from 75 mph to near 0 mph such that the driver felt that the vehicle almost flipped.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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