Tesla Model 3 Complaints
2,178 consumer complaints on file.
- #11450327February 4, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
This vehicle has frequent issues with phantom braking whenever cruise control is engaged. The brakes are suddenly applied automatically and sometimes severely. This occurs dozens of times on long drives and I purchased the car new 6 weeks ago. I have reported it to Tesla and was told this is a “known software characteristic”. I brought it in for service and provided date and time stamps for dozens of occurrences. The service manager confirmed with me that this is a known issue that Tesla is looking into and that even her own Tesla has this problem regularly. This is clearly a safety issue and makes me feel unsafe to drive this car, which is especially concerning since one of the biggest selling points for me was its rating as the safest car on the road.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450319February 3, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
While traveling on a two lane highway while using Traffic Assist Cruise Control I have had several collision alarms and emergency braking situations that were severe enough to cause my unprepared wife to say that she could have gotten whiplash. Luckily there was no one following us closely enough to cause a rear end collision. I have notified Tesla and they said that since it is actually in beta that the system is working properly. With the software capabilities that Tesla has I feel that they should provide a workable basic cruise control that can be used.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450317February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
When vehicle is in full self drive mode, sometimes it mistakenly detects an obstacle on the highway and applies brakes. This event presents risk of getting rear ended at high speed on highways.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450310February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Issue is consistent on 2 way lane roads but sometimes occurs on Highway roads going in the same direction. Whenever I travel with autopilot or cruise control if there is a semi-truck on the opposite lane driving towards me the car will slam on the brakes for no reason. This has also happened a few times on the highway when passing a semi-truck on the same flow of traffic as myself. This has not only terrified myself but also my family and other passengers. It makes this feature almost unusable.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450308February 3, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Phantom braking for no apparent reason. Worst occurrence was this morning driving home from work on cruise control, max speed cruise 73mph, suddenly my car braked on its own down to 59mph in 2 seconds. Very scary. My wrist hurts from that incident & my forehead almost hit the steering. Nothing in front & thank God no tailgating car behind me. This is not safe. It happens to me all the time but this was the scariest of all.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450303February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Driving on the interstate in autopilot with nobody in front of me but there was somebody riding my rear. And the vehicle decided to phantom break which almost caused the guy to rear end me while going 75 mph it could have been lethal.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450290February 3, 2022SERVICE BRAKES
Phantom braking is real. The car slams on brakes randomly while in cruise control. So much so that I will not use cruise control when another car is behind me.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450270February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
1st incident Driving on a 2 lane road @ 55MPH with no oncoming traffic emergency braking occurred (with all the warning lights and sounds) with no obstacles in my path. 2nd incident driving on a 8 lane highway @65 MPH (I-71) with very little traffic (and no oncoming obstacles) emergency braking occurred (with all the warning lights and sounds) no obstacles in my path. 3rd incident driving on a different 2 lane road @ 45 MPH emergency braking occurred (with all the warning lights and sounds) no obstacles in my path. I have only owned the vehicle 2.5 months and less the 1300 miles on the odometer.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450259February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I received my 2022 Tesla Dec. 3, 2021. I have experienced approx. 100 phantom braking incidents in roughy 3,000 mi. Driving. The system causes a loud alert and extreme braking which is extremely concerning while driving. This has happened in all conditions (daytime sunny, cloudy, night, etc.). Several camera warnings though I have cleaned them and alerts still happen. It happens on 2-lane roads more often than multi-lane highway. Happens at residential and highway speeds. The extreme braking could easily cause rear end collisions if traffic were close. As a driver the abrupt alerts and braking could cause driver errors. This is a “safety” feature which is extremely disruptive to drivers is in fact a safety issue in my opinion. The data below is the most recent incident and it happened 3-5 times in a 300 mile drive. Tesla Service cancelled an appointment to look at my car. In a chat exchange they deflected it as environmental, driver error, dirty cameras, etc.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450253February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Since my ownership, I have experienced multiple phantom braking incidents with my 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range. I would estimate that I experience 3 to 5 severe phantom braking incidents per week. It is nearly a daily occurrence during my daily commute to work. Sometimes there are multiple incidents during one leg of my commute. I have filed several requests for service with Tesla through their application and every time the technical support says the system is working properly. I have given them explicit details and information about the incidents which have helped them to identify the time and location but they have never fixed/changed/remedied the phantom braking issue. I have filed these requests for service to protect myself if I'm ever involved in a serious accident due to these phantom braking incidents.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450247February 3, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While using the autopilot feature on my Tesla, there have been several instances where the car will brake suddenly for no apparent reason. This has happened at high speeds and at slow speeds under various conditions. The braking is so severe that if a car was following behind they would have to react quickly to avoid an accident. Multiple instances over the last year.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450238February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
System: Traffic Aware Cruise Control Safety Risk: Full regenerative breaking in the fast lane on a highway with a car following behind. Car behind had to initiate emergency braking. Reproduced by Dealer: Did not contact dealer Inspected by Manufacturer: Did not contact manufacturer Warnings: No, braking automatically initiated System: Lane Departure Warning Safety Risk: Misreading a parking garage and initiating lane departure warning chime Reproduced by Dealer: Did not contact dealer Inspected by Manufacturer: Did not contact manufacturer Warnings: Yes, warning chime initiated and warning message.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450237February 3, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Vehicle applies 100% braking sporadically when traveling at highway speeds on cruise control, causing loss of control and risk to vehicles behind it. It seems that the vehicle’s forward sensors mistakenly interpret an imminent collision and apply full braking force, without any potential collision risk present. This happens in all scenarios, single to multiple lane highways, dense traffic to no traffic. This is commonly referred to as “phantom braking”.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450232February 3, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Our Tesla is experiencing a Phantom Braking that appears to be a known issue. We drove the car from eastern KS to western CO and experienced multiple occurrences (more that 10) of unexpected braking while using either the adaptive cruise control or the auto pilot feature. The car would dramatically slow from 75 to perhaps 65 and then accelerate back to 75. My wife also takes the car to work on a 20 mile commute and she has also experienced this. I have not discussed this with Tesla Service yet, but have read many posts about this and that we should report. So....here it is!
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450231February 3, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On February 2, 2022 at approximately 8:00 a.m., MST, I was driving north at 50 mph on a stretch of two-lane highway with moderate traffic. Adaptive cruise control was engaged. A large truck was approaching, traveling in the opposite direction. Suddenly, and without warning, my vehicle’s brakes were applied, without my involvement, slowing my vehicle to approximately 20 mph and causing the driver of a vehicle traveling behind me to slam on its brakes to avoid a rear-end collision. No collision occurred and no one was injured. It could have been a lot worse, but this problem needs to be identified and fixed.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450229February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The TACC (traffic aware cruise control) applies sudden, hard braking especially on two lane roads and almost always when meeting a large truck (semi-tractor trailer). This is commonly referred to as “Phantom Braking“. Drivers should be allowed to disable automatic braking while using cruise control on two lane roads. It is very dangerous in that it may cause a rear end collision. The cruise control as currently implemented in Teslas is unusable and without a doubt a safety hazard. I have experienced phantom braking events every time I have used cruise control on a two lane road. It will hard brake 9 out of 10 times it meets a large truck and sometimes when meeting small cars.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450227February 3, 2022SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving in cruise control, my Tesla 3 braked for no reason. No accident occurred because no one was behind me. It has happened about 10 times. It has not been confirmed by a dealer because I do not live near a dealer. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance representatives. No warning lights or messages appeared to warn me.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450212February 3, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Driving on cruise control only. Autopilot was not engaged. I was cruising at 50mph when it "phantom" braked out of nowhere. It was clear as day in front of me and luckily the car behind me was a hundred yards or so. It abruptly decreased speed to 35mph before I could get back up to speed by manually using the accelerator to override cruise control. This has happened many times and I'm afraid to use such features moving forward.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450199February 3, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
When driving in several locations near my home, with cruise control engaged (not full driving, just cruise control), the car will suddenly slow to ~20mph and stay at that speed for a few moments, and then accelerate back up to the legal speed limit of 55mph, 60mph, etc. There are no objects on or near the road, no other cars, and it appears to be a problem with the software that identifies if there is an object in the road to automatically reduce speed or slow down. There are no warning chimes, no feedback to the driver of the reason to slow down, no posted speed limit signs, etc. I can duplicate this every time I traverse these roadways. One of the most significant reasons I purchased this vehicle was it's advertised safety features like emergency braking and such. However, with this problem, I either have to disable the auto-braking feature, or not use the driving assist features (like cruise control). This is a significant issue for me, and I have no doubt going from a 60mph roadway to 20mph for no reason will result in me getting rear-ended or at the very least cause problems for drivers behind me.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11450172February 3, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Traffic aware cruise control is dangerous to use. Automatically slams on brakes on 2 lane roads with large vehicles in oncoming lane. Brakes at the top of any sort of hill, brakes for shadows of overpasses on the highway. System is dangerous and has caused several situations where I would have been rear ended on 2 lane roads and larger highways. Recent road trip had almost a dozen phantom braking events on a one hour drive on a straight 2 lane road during the day.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0