Tesla Model 3 Complaints (2023)

417 consumer complaints on file.

#11541231August 28, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I was coming to a stop due to a train passing by. As I got closer to the other vehicles that were waiting for the train, I let go of the acceleration and then the vehicle on its own launched forward rear ending the car in front of me.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11540889August 26, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I was on a road trip in South Dakota through I-90 and the vehicle stopped in middle of the road caused by phantom braking while running by its autopilot (7 times total). In multiple instances, there were vehicles not far behind. This is really scary as in any moment we could have been in a fatal accident on the 80mph road. Tesla needs to fix this ASAP. Not acceptable at all from a vehicle that costs this much.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11540483August 24, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While driving westbound on US Rt 50 in Nevada with AutoSteer Beta engaged, car repeatedly decelerated rapidly with no audible or visual warning presented. This "phantom braking" could easily put vehicles traveling behind mine at risk of a collision. I have been able to reliable reproduce this in certain conditions - when a mirage is present on the roadway ahead and there are no cars immediately in front, the visual object detection system is apparently thrown off by the refraction of light and incorrectly detects cars, pedestrians, or motorcycles where none exist. As I see it, there are two major problems in play here - one is that the camera-based object detection system is easily confused by the presence of mirages on the road surface ahead and there are no other sensors in other portions of the EM spectrum (IR LIDAR or RADAR) to confirm the presence of visually detected objects. The second is the lack of audible driver warning before deceleration takes place. The only indication that occurs is the energy use indicator (a thin line at the top left of the screen) shows energy use transition to regeneration. Together, these constitute a serious safety hazard for anyone operating these vehicles and those following behind them.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11540339August 23, 2023
STEERING
Steering wheel locked up while operating not allowing me to turn the wheel. Loss of power steering and control. Screen displaying error "Steering assist reduced" when in reality was completely unable to steer. Vehicle still powered and accelerated however no control over steering.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11540124August 22, 2023
STEERING
Car lost power steering without warning
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11540086August 22, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While using cruise control on a highway traveling between 65 and 75 MPH the brakes slammed on when there was absolutely no traffic in front of or beside us, no overhead obstructions, no upcoming corners, nothing at all but straight road ahead. If anyone had been behind us we could easily have been rear-ended. The car had only 1500 miles on it the first time it happened. There were 4 such events in our short 400 mile road trip. Took it directly to Tesla service and have been told there is nothing wrong with the car!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11540002August 22, 2023
STEERING
Steering wheel got jammed while driving on highway. Stopped vehicle on rode side and called for Tesla road side assistance. Tesla towed my vehicle and replaced steering rack. Invoice attached for details
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539692August 21, 2023
STEERING
While driving yesterday night, I lost steering control. I stopped the car in the middle of the street and tried again but the steering wheel was very stiff. It took so much effort to change the lane and find a safe place to park. It was a scary moment for myself and my 2 kids. I was about to crash into other cars. A message appeared “ui_a020 - steering assist reduced”.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539670August 20, 2023
STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
I was driving and the power steering stopped functioning. The car had just over 1000 miles and both the lane departure avoidance and steering assistance cut out. Restarting the start would bring it back on temporarily but it would cut out again after a minute or two.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539601August 19, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Turn signals shut off after three blinks with no lane change or steering wheel movement. Lane departure / assistance fails to function. Blind spot monitor / alert fails to function. Adaptive cruise control / braking fail to function. Problem first reported to Tesla on 7/6/2023. Telsa installed software update to resolve remotely. Problem recurred 8/6/2023, towed to Tesla 8/7, Tesla replaced side camera assembly. Problem recurred 8/132023, software update installed & resolved. Problem recurred 8/19/2023. Vehicle to be towed to Tesla for further diagnosis / repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539255August 17, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My daughter was driving on a freeway at 70MPH and her 2023 Model 3 Tesla that was a week old with 450 miles just stopped on the highway. She was lucky that highway patrol passed by shortly and stopped behind her to push her vehicle fully into the emergency lane. Vehicle also difficult to push because of brake locking system. I can't emphasis enough that the vehicle just stopped on the freeway!!!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539205August 17, 2023
STEERING
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized, and excessive force was required to steer the vehicle to the left. The "Steering Assist Reduced - Steering Require Increased Effort” message was displayed on the contact's smart phone, but not on the radio home screen. The contact sent a message to Tesla through the app; however, the contact had not yet received a response. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 4,369.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11538889August 16, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The contact stated that there were no objects or other vehicles nearby when the failure occurred. The vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality, but the failure recurred a second time. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 7,200.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11538758August 15, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The vehicle will randomly brake when cruise control is being used. No obstructions, good weather conditions and flat road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11538756August 15, 2023
STEERING
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a right turn, the steering wheel became firm with the message “Automatic Steering Unavailable” displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and provided towing service to tow the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 1,859.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11538565August 15, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Car accelerated forward unexpectedly while making a turn and hit a telephone pole. Brakes did not engage nor did the forward collision warning sound or engage. Was manually driving. Car is non-driveable and repairs from Tesla are backlogged so we waiting 8+ weeks to get our car back.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11538527August 14, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I enabled the tesla adapter cruise control during my trip in interstate 15. All of sudden, the car stopped to a slow speed for no reason. There was nothing in front of my car at that time. I was able to step on the brake to disable the cruise control and step on the accelerate pedal to resume the speed. Luckily there was no vehicle behind us, otherwise it might have been a rear end collision.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11538425August 14, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
During my first highway trip from Dallas to my home in Alpine, TX, I experienced numerous instances where the car would suddenly decelerate as if I had applied the brakes. At first I thought it was because there was a lot of road glare because I was driving late in the day into the west sun, but the next day it happened early in the morning when the sun was behind me and the road was straight, relatively clean with clear markings. The ultimate instance was when I was driving on a newly reopened dark asphalt road with new markings, straight, no glare, sun behind me. Clearly there is a problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11538329August 14, 2023
STEERING
After charging my car at a charging center, the steering assist reduced message appeared on the screen. Then the power steering gave out and i couldn't turn the steering wheel. I had to get the car towed to a service center.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537656August 10, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, STEERING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While traveling on a busy interstate highway, my Tesla 3 presented four errors on the control screen: Automatic Emergency Braking disabled, Power reduced, Vehicle shutting down and Unable to drive. The left hand side of the screen flashed red and instructed me to pull over safely. The car was immediately slowing down, and as I was in heavy traffic, I was unable to pull over to the shoulder safely. I turned on my hazard lights and performed a soft reset of the car - which caused my hazard lights to turn off, all while cars were honking and whizzing around me. After the car reset, I was able to drive a short distance, with enough speed, to cross several lanes of traffic and come to a stop on the shoulder emergency lane of an exit ramp. The car is only 6 months old, with 4000 miles, but had to be towed to the Tesla service center. The problem has been diagnosed as a problem with the rear drive unit inverter and will be replaced under warranty. While I appreciate the resolution and that it will be fixed, it could have been a very serious situation and caused an accident. Thankfully, I was able to get to safety and wait to be towed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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