Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11441906November 29, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Driving normally, with cruise control (not auto steering) engaged vehicle will spontaneously and dangerously apply emergency breaking. This happens regularly to the point I won’t use it. It’s going to cause accidents, especially when slippery conditions exist.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441880November 28, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Vehicle will randomly have phantom braking and braking events when using adaptive cruise control. It happens more often when a vehicle has recently passed and it 150+ feet in front of the vehicle. This poses a safety risk for vehicles behind as the car will randomly slow down. The adaptive function becomes unusable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441879November 28, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
ADAS systems detect oncoming traffic from the opposing lane on single lane roads and sounds forward collision alarm. If using adaptive cruise control or Autopilot, vehicle will rapidly decelerate. This poses a risk to the occupants and vehicles behind from unexpected changes in speed, which could cause a rear-end accident. The issue can be repeated in the scenario described above. Forward Collision Warning alarm goes off when it sees a oncoming vehicle far off in the distance.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441827November 27, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Tesla cars are having an issue with phantom breaking which is causing the car to slow down or even slam on the brakes for zero reason. Since I have zero control of how close someone follows me, this is a huge safety issue and makes me fear for my life every time it happens. I drove 60 miles today on two lane roads and this happened at least 6 times. Seems to happen more on two lane roads that aren't flat, but I've had it happen other times too.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441777November 26, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My new Tesla 3 deployed automatic emergency braking seven (7) times in a 5 hour period. The Tesla Autopilot was turned off due to reports of phantom braking like this from many other drivers in a Tesla online forum. Regardless, the car slammed on the brakes when there were no obstructions or cars in front of me. I almost suffered a rear end collision during one of these phantom emergency braking events, where the car suddenly braked from 70MPH to less than 40MPH. The malfunctioning component is likely the Tesla software that works with the forward-facing cameras which are installed as part of the Full Self Driving feature. While I did not pay the $10,000 for FSD, this system still operates for automated braking and lane departure. I have requested Tesla inspect the car, which has 482 miles on it, but am filing with you anyway due to the similarity between this experience today and the dozens of other complaints I have read about on the Tesla Owners forum called TOO.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441689November 25, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Terrible phantom braking. On a road trip, flat straight open roads, little to no traffic in front of me, and consistent full on hard braking from 75mph down to 35mph in a split second. Multiple times and so consistent I had to stop using the cruise control completely. This never happened like this in my day to day city driving. But as is, the cruise control is nerve wracking and dangerous. Thankfully no cars behind me because it could very easily cause a serious and deadly accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441522November 23, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Recurrent, frequent, and unpredictable sudden braking while vehicle is being driven in TACC (Traffic Aware Cruise Control). These event, or "phantom brakes", occur when there is no visible obstruction ahead of the car (i.e. crossing vehicle or object), nor any environmental explanation (sun glare, heavy rain, etc.). Events occur in all conditions, including daytime, clear sky, with or without traffic. Frequently the collision warning will sound during these events. Given the episodes occur during highway driving, the unexpected hard braking is a set-up for being rear ended by cars behind me. These events are most common on 2 lane divided highways, and can occur as frequently as every 2-5 minutes. Brought in for evaluation at Tesla service center, and they refused to acknowledge any problem, stating the car is "operating as designed." This was based on the fact that they did not reproduce symptoms on their test drive. Although I had logged >20 of these events for them to review on the automated records, it was not clear this was done.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441457November 23, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On a recent trip, we started experiencing extreme issues with our car's cruise control and autopilot features. Specifically, when in cruise control or auto pilot, the car would randomly disengage the cruise control or auto pilot and start braking. Taking the car out of cruise control or auto pilot, restarting the car, etc did not fix the problem. We noticed the problem was much worse at night and when we were traveling on a two lane highway. We would be in cruise control/auto pilot and often when another vehicle would approach us from the opposite direction the vehicle would suddenly brake. While this happened more often at night, it continued to happen at any point during the day and when we were on many different roads/interstates. This seems extremely unsafe to have our vehicle hard braking randomly when we are traveling at high speeds (60mph+). We scheduled a service appointment with Tesla and were told that this is a software issue and we would have to wait for an update.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441400November 22, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Whenever TACC (cruise control) is engaged and the car is on a two lane highway with no divider, it will aggressively brake and trigger the collision warning system when a semi-truck passes going the opposite direction.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441161November 20, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While using autopilot feature on interstate highway the vehicle independently applied braking while traveling at 70 mph although no other vehicle nor any other physical object was observed. Also while using the same feature and traveling on a two lane highway at 55 mph the car independently applied braking when an large truck approached in the opposite on-coming lane. This exact event happened a second time when another large truck while traveling the same two lane highway. Autopilot was no longer used.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440892November 18, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
The “traffic aware cruise control” feature is flawed to the point of being unusable add dangerous. My Model 3 (leased in late September 2021) exhibits very frequent “phantom braking” problems when TACC is active. Some are mild, the car applying the brakes and slowing down despite the absence of nearby cars or hazards. Some are dramatic, the car slamming on its brakes and sounding an alarm — again, with no hazards. I have a service appointment scheduled for Dec 3 but I’m not optimistic.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440857November 17, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
TRAFFIC AWARE CRUISE CONTROL WHILE CRUISE CONTROL IS OPERATING, DRIVING AT 70 MPH OR HIGHER, FOR NO APPARENT REASON, NO VEHICLES AHEAD OF ME, THE CAR BRAKES SUDDENLY. THIS HAPPENED AT LEAST SIX TIMES ON A 1000 MILE TRIP. IF A CAR HAD BEEN FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY, MY SUDDEN BRAKING COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. I HAVE NOT FIGURED OUT HOW TO CONTACT TESLA ABOUT THIS. NO ONE HAS INSPECTED MY CAR. THERE WERE NO WARNING SIGNS. AFTER I GOT HOME, I GOOGLED THE PROBLEM AND SAW THAT OTHERS HAD EXPERIENCED IT TOO. I'M WRITING IN THE HOPE THAT YOU WILL TELL TESLA TO FIX THE PROBLEM, OR AT LEAST TO OFFER THEIR CUSTOMERS PLAIN CRUISE CONTROL WITHOUT THE TRAFFIC AWARE FEATURE. THIS HAPPENED EVERY TIME I WAS ON THE INTERSTATE FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE HOURS, MOST RECENTLY ON OCTOBER 31, 2021.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440818November 17, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
For the past week, my car phantom braked with no obvious danger from a parked car. It just happens on a city road, not a freeway. Ithappened about 4 times
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440687November 16, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While driving on C-470 westbound going 70 MPH with the car on Autopilot, the car braked hard dropping the speed to 40 MPH. If a car would have been behind me, they would have hit the back of my car. This issue is happening frequently, from neighborhood side streets, city streets, and on the interstate highway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440638November 16, 2021
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
"Traffic Aware Cruise Control" (aka Autopilot) applied full braking and sounded collision warning when no collision was imminent. Had traffic been following closely, a rear-end collision could have occurred. Several other similar "ghost braking" incidents have occurred but this was the worst and most dangerous. Vehicle has not yet been taken to a repair facility. Vehicle has not needed inspection by law enforcement nor insurance company.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440611November 16, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Traffic Aware Cruise Control in the 2021 Model 3 is down right dangerous. Constant random braking for no reason at all. Happens multiple times if I use TACC on 2 lane roads. Happens nearly every time I use TACC on a 4 lane road. If I have traffic behind me I cannot use TACC at all for fear I would be rear ended.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440581November 15, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was using auto pilot. The road was pretty empty single lane road. There was no car in front of me or coming in opposite direction. The car automatically slammed the brake pretty hard. We were lucky enough no one rear ended us. Looks like a software bug in Tesla. Please investigate. I will never ever again use this [XXX] auto pilot and risk my family life. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440580November 15, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I have been experiencing very frequent adaptive cruise control breaking for no reason. It is getting worse with every software update. It seems like the car is very scared of oncoming traffic and will hit the breaks or slow down for no reason. Sometimes there will be no traffic at all and it happens. If a car is following closely I’m afraid I will be hit. I wish I could turn off adaptive cruise control but there is no option. This is a serious safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440516November 15, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Starting in June 2021, Tesla removed the radar sensing on their vehicles and switched to a vision-only (camera) system for adaptive cruise control and "auto pilot" operation. On my 2021 Model 3 Performance, I can not use either system without constant "phantom braking" events. Sometimes it will only gently pulse the brake pedal, but often it is very hard braking along with a beep and message on-screen saying I need to take immediate control of the car. This happens daily and is not hard to reproduce. If there is a car behind you, it can be quite dangerous. Even if they don't rear end you, often it will cause them to think you're doing a "brake check" and can lead to road rage incidents. My previous car (a 2018 Model 3 RWD) had a radar sensor and experienced mild (not hard) phantom braking roughly 2~3 times over an 18 month period. I still have access to that car and recently tested it for comparison. Even on the same software revisions, the old car drove flawlessly on ACC and Autopilot modes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440473November 15, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in full auto-drive mode approximately 10-15 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,300. The VIN was unavailable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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