Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11447875January 18, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Multiple phantom braking incidents on regular cruise control (not autopilot).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447867January 18, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle displayed "no capable drive units" error at 106 miles on 10/08/2021. System shut down and stranded me in downtown Tampa traffic less than a mile from my home and fewer than five minutes after I started the car. All propulsion was lost and I did not have sufficient warning or time to process the situation and safely handle the vehicle. Tesla Tampa Service Center diagnosed a failed drive unit and took approximately 27 days to repair the vehicle. The service center invoice described the drive unit replacement as a goodwill repair and not a warranty failure. This seemed odd to me as goodwill repairs are generally special accommodations to satisfy customers. I was told there were parts delays. Tesla seems to be managing its supply chain to get these cars turned around to avoid lemon law exposure (my wait was just under one month) and to suppress the number of warranty failures by calling them goodwill repairs. All at the expense of customers. The service center was generally arrogant and noncommunicative in resolving the issue. Happy to gather records and discuss further.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447676January 16, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Driving on the beltway around Washington DC the weather conditions were variable and the revised user interface in version 11 of the Model 3 software made changing the defroster settings dangerous while in traffic. Previously, it was a single icon on the control screen. Now it requires a push of an icon and a search for the correct controls and adjustments.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447509January 14, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Tesla removed the ability to hang up a phone call via the steering wheel buttons which poses a massive safety issue. Currently the only ways to end a phone call are: 1- Having the person on the other end of the call end the call 2- Press the "end" button on the touchscreen (more details below) 3- Press the "end" button on the phone itself (note: physically interacting with a phone while driving is illegal in Georgia so this is not a viable option) The touchscreen generally has the phone call status on the bottom-left of the screen when a call is active. However there are times when this goes away which causes the driver to be required to navigate through a non-intuitive menu to get the phone call to reappear on the screen. Those times are: 1- a text message comes in while a call is in progress. That text message covers the phone call status 2- the windshield wipers are manually activated while a call is in progress. The windshield wiper status covers the phone call status 3- software bugs often cause the phone call status to disappear entirely, requiring a driver to swipe through the screen until the phone call status reappears Ending a phone call with a physical button was previously an option on the Model 3, as well as other Tesla models. Removing that option is a danger to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians as distracted driving is a huge factor in automobile accidents.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447475January 14, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
While driving in cruise control the car will break suddenly for no reason. I had a close call to where I was worried that the car behind me would hit me. The sudden breaking has happened many times. It's terrifying. I had to quit using auto pilot and cruise control when someone is following me for that reason. When I contacted Tesla about the concern they replied saying that they completed a hardware diagnostic on the vehicle and determined that there is no hardware failure. I provided them with the timestamps for the dashcam for several incidents. This is a HUGE safety concern. The cruise control system is dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447397January 13, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
@ 1:36pm, while driving on US State Route 50, in IL, I had adaptative cruise control engaged, but autosteer unengaged. While a semi-truck was passing in the opposite incoming lane, the forward collision warning system falsely activated with warning chimes, and applied full braking. There is another vehicle that was following me, which had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid an accident. This was reported to Tesla Motors for which they responded that the vehicle log shows no hardware errors, and a software bug report need to be created when this happens. This happens daily, more than six to eight times a day, and is very dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447292January 13, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The car repeatedly applies the brakes when the cruise control is engaged when there is no imminent safety issue. It will do this on the highway when vehicles are following putting me at risk for a rear end collision. When I use the cruise on secondary roads (to stay under the speed limit) the behavior is similar. The car will apply brakes for passing shadows, again putting me at risk for a rear end collision. I no longer use the cruise function because the braking operation is unpredictable and it is, in my opinion, generally hazardous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447214January 12, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VISIBILITY/WIPER
The heat stops working at cold conditions. Many other users have reported this problem, after going into service I was told there is a sensor that is out in the open behind the bumper that when exposed to snow and rain can freeze and causes heat to stop working. I have experienced this myself when going on a trip back home from upstate NY to NC , I had no heat with temps outside being at 3 degrees F , not only was the car extremely cold causing me and my wife to get sick , but you can not use the defrost because there is no heat. So there is absolutely no visibility since there’s frost on all windows that you cant do anything about.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447208January 12, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
As widely reported by Tesla owners, I have also experienced issues with the TACC - traffic aware cruise control - feature of this vehicle. I have owned it for almost 2 weeks and in that time on both highways and city streets the 'cruise control' feature has initiated braking for no reason. The system is supposed to be 'traffic' aware however in these instances there was no vehicle in front of me in any position to cause a braking event. This type of erratic behavior could easily cause an accident (being rear ended). This is happening when the 'autopilot' feature is not engaged, but rather just using the only available cruise control feature the vehicle provides: TACC. It seems as though the software is interpreting shadows, changes in painted line/lane markings, or other environmental stimuli as 'traffic' and reacting, but that's just a guess. All I know is that it is very annoying at a minimum and potentially quite dangerous!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447184January 12, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The heating system gave out on my 2022 TESLA Model 3 on the coldest day we've had here so far. -5F - Gave an error code on the screen VCFRONT_a447 - with message - Cabin climate control system requires service cabin heating / cooling limited or unavailable. - The problem has occurred to many people who have complained online in the facebook owners groups that I am a member of. Surprisingly the system is working again after it had some time to thaw out. It appears to be a design flaw with this heat pump system which should include a recall of sorts so that TESLA can retrofit some sort of heating or thawing element onto the valves that are icing over and preventing the HVAC system from working properly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446758January 9, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Traffic-aware cruise control unexpectedly decelerated and/or activated collision warnings and automatic braking approximately 20 times during a 300 mile, 5 hour drive. All incidents occurred on undivided highways and state roads. This unexpected braking reduces speed by 10 to 30 miles per hour on 60 mile per hour roads. This braking issue greatly increases risk of accident, specifically if another vehicle was following too closely. Braking events occur sporadically, usually attributed to large vehicles driving well within the opposite lane. Some events happened for no reason. Occurrence of unexpected braking is higher at night. This vehicle has been inspected by Tesla in the past due to this same issue and the cruise control and autopilot system was confirmed by technicians to by working properly. The ability to disable adaptive cruise control to standard “dumb” cruise control may solve this issue. This issue instills no confidence in Tesla’s so-called “full self-driving computer” and has me avoiding using these features for my safety, as well as other drivers’ safety. This vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Dashcam video is available on request.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446459January 6, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
The cruise control and 'autopilot' features will panic brake when oncoming traffic passes car. It is more common on two lane highways. There are no overrides and the issue occurs in all modes of cruise control. Through research on forums, this is an issue with all Tesla vehicles model year 2017+ The car brakes hard, enough to lock passenger seatbelts. Sudden hard braking with no reason can cause a rear end collision or loss of traction in inclement weather. I have notified the manufacturer of the issue, their suggestion is to recalibrate the cameras and reset the on board computer. Neither has solved the issue No warning lamps, no symptoms.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446403January 5, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
VERY AGGRESSIVE phantom braking on two lane highways and at night with oncoming headlights. Car will reduce speed by 30mph or more in seconds. This is a new car, a month old. Tesla says cruise is part of autopilot, but we turn autopilot off and just use cruise and it still does it very often. It is extremely unsafe. The internet is full of similar complaints. We need NHSTB to pressure Tesla to fix this. It is a major safety hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446402January 5, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Driving on a two lane road with no other cars in front of or behind me the car would randomly brake at different levels and in the most recent incidence slammed on the brakes. This issue is noted by many other drives online as Phantom Braking and Tesla will not repair it as they claim it is a software related issue but not deemed as dangerous or a real issue to be concerned with. Tesla will not service the vehicle and closed my tickets without further response.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446231January 4, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Multiple random automatic braking occurred during Freeway cruising
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446146January 4, 2022
LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
On 1/3/21, approximately 2pm. Driving south on I-77 in the city of Broadview Heights. In center lane of highway with Autopilot (speed and steering only) on. A Hummer in my left lane drifts into my lane and hits my car (I have video). No alarms or alerts went off to warn me. No automatic steering occurred. My car continued in lane and at speed (about 64mph), until my driver mirror broke off and adjusted my position to the left. Broadview Height police report # [XXX]. I have a service request into Tesla. I am awaiting the at-fault party insurance to contact me to begin repair process. To above questions: -I am suspicious about the ultrasonic sensors and/or camera and it failure to warn me I was about to be hit. -I was hit on my driver's side by a car that was not detected by my Tesla -I have a service request made to Tesla, awaiting response -No inspections or diagnostics have been performed yet by Tesla -No warning occurred. I am very familiar with the warning my car can produce: things like drifting out of my lane; someone in front of me braking hard; or Autopilot applying brakes when it thinks a car is in front of me (when it's actually on a curved road). 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
#11445740December 31, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Three incidents within 5 minutes of what Tesla owners call "phantom braking" whenever the car has cruise control on. For no predictable reason and no warning the car brakes suddenly and forcefully - could be shadows, reflected lights, oncoming traffic, who knows. It is a scary phenomenon and caused me to get in very dangerous situations - almost got rear ended at 60 mph. This is after owning the car for only 10 days. Called Tesla and they had no answer except to say that the car "will learn."
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445716December 31, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Using the cruise control frequently results in the autopilot system abruptly applying the brakes, risking a rear-end collision. This happens even when no car is in the lane in front of me. The cruise control is integrated with the autopilot system, which apparently is mistaking oncoming traffic with a car in my lane. The cruise control is integrated with autopilot and its traffic-awareness feature. The cruise control cannot be disconnected from autopilot, and the following distance feature cannot be turned off as with other makes of cars. I reported the issue to Tesla service and was told other drivers have reported the issue, yet the issue has not been brought to the attention of all Model 3 owners.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445323December 28, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Car brakes randomly when using traffic aware cruise control. Dozens of events every hour of driving, some of which caused the car to brake to the point of losing traction.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445298December 28, 2021
VISIBILITY/WIPER, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Tesla in the December 2021 V11 software update as made the car's common control user interface unsafe. Critical controls, such as defrost and climate control, as well as many others (like trip, tire pressure, heated seats, windshield wipers) , are now only accessible by hunting through menus - - all which require the driver to turn their eyes off the road for longer periods of time than the previous user interface. Font sizes have also been made much smaller which will cause readability issues. This is a road hazard and needs to be addressed, and there is no option available to downgrade to the safer user interface. Please require Tesla to perform an over the air recall for this UI to correct these safety issues.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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