Tesla Model 3 Complaints (2021)

674 consumer complaints on file.

#11457545March 20, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
This vehicle's basic "autopilot" and adaptive cruise control is dangerous. The vehicle is unable to pass a truck on the highway while either system is active without slamming on the brakes. This is major safety hazard on the highway as following cars do not expect any vehicle to slam on the brakes at highway speeds. Further, using the cruise control on two lane road is also dangerous. Any large vehicle in the opposite oncoming lane will cause the vehicle to slam on its brakes. These systems are essentially unusable and are very dangerous to use.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457425March 19, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
No specific incident, but potentially dangerous. Several of the font sizes used on the Touchscreen, but especially the ones displaying the time, the temperature, and the miles remaining on the charge, are very difficult, if not impossible, to read if you need reading glasses. This is especially true for seniors. In order to get that information, you need to either pull out and put on your reading glasses or move your face to the right and closer to the screen, both potentially dangerous if you’re moving, especially at high speeds. This problem has been complained about repeatedly online for several years, but so far no response from Tesla. I don’t think it would be difficult or expensive either to give owners the option to increase font size or to make a one time increase of, say, 30% or 60%. The change would make driving a lot safer for those of us are on the wrong end of 60.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457424March 19, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving on interstate 8 from Tucson to San Diego. In a matter of 2 hours my Tesla activated the brakes on its own 5 times, sometimes in a rapid series of 2 to 3 times, causing me to lurch while going 75 mph so I immediately disengaged the adaptive cruise control. I was on a 2 lane divided highway with no cars in front of me, see picture attached. Since taking possession of my new 2021 model 3 in November 2021, it has happened about 11 times. I just had my wife research it. I will not be using this feature. A semi truck behind me almost swerved off the road because of my braking. This is unacceptable that Elon Musk is not recalling vehicles. His arrogance is going to kill people for this clear safety issue. Please take over and do the recall. They sold me this car knowing this was an hazard since June 2021.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457418March 19, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Was driving and automatic braking system engaged when there was no impeding incident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457385March 19, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Phantom braking occurs often when using traffic aware cruise control. I have not been able to determine a pattern, as the malfunction is not consistent. It can occur on a 2-lane road (with lines) as well as on a 6-line divided highway. I can tell the difference between phantom braking and the vehicle adjusting speed for an upcoming curve, as normal adjustment occurs in the same spot each time. Phantom braking is unpredictable, and may not occur in a location that it previously had. There are days it never happens, or sometimes once a day, or has occurred 5 times in an approx 6 mile trip. During a phantom braking event, the car unexpectedly applies the brakes hard. I react by pressing the accelerator, which usually results in a speed greater than the speed limit. I use the bug report feature each time it occurs, so Tesla would be able to view each event. As I'm sure you can tell from the VIN, this is a camera-only Tesla system. I do not have full self driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457314March 18, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
on 3/9, the car lost heat (no heat at all, blowing cold air) and it was giving error message that the climate was unavailable. It created a driving hassle since the windshield was frosted. I took the car in to the Tesla service center on 3/10. They returned the car to me on 3/16, mentioning they replace the heat pump. on 3/17, the car starts giving error message saying the climate control is unavailable. I told the car in back to the same Tesla service center in Springfield NJ.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457255March 18, 2022
TIRES
Pirelli PZero 235/35/R20 tires on the entire car, was driving when front left tire blew out after 4500 miles, had the car towed back to Tesla dealer and tire replaced. Now after 2 months, rear left tire has bubble on the sidewall after only 5400 miles with no indication of previous damage. I believe this to be a defective tire and an immense safety hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457067March 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
We just took our first road trip from Minneapolis to Denver in our 2021 Model 3 and experienced about 14 phantom braking events in about 900 miles. Two happened at night and the rest in broad daylight with perfect visibility on the Interstate. There was nothing I saw in or by the road that would explain any camera confusion. In all but two events, there were no other cars within 100 yards. In the first 200 miles we had 2 minor braking events and one severe one (hard breaking that required steady accelerator pressure to regain and maintain speed). There were no events in the next 300 miles. Then we had a moderate event which I immediately corrected. The next event was the most severe -- rapid deceleration followed by acceleration then deceleration, then a few seconds of speed fluctuation before I took full control (I purposely allowed this event to play out without intervention since there was no one around us and I wanted to see if it would correct itself--it didn't). Unfortunately, my wife hurt her neck in this one which resulted in neck pain and headaches for the rest of the day. Our dogs were in the back seat and were tossed around but OK. I then pulled over and rebooted the car. Within 5 minutes we had another moderate event. I pulled over again, cleaned the windshield, and reset/recalibrated the cameras. We understood this might take up to 100 miles, but in our case it only took about 5 miles. We tried the autopilot again and had a minor event within minutes and another minor event a few minutes later, and then a third a few minutes after that. I thought maybe the cameras didn't properly recalibrate since the process was so fast, so I pulled over and recalibrated again. As before, recal was done in a few miles. At this point my foot was hovering over the accelerator so I was able to intervene quickly to mitigate the severity. Over the next 20 miles there were 5 more events--a mixture of minor and moderate. We gave up and drove the last 100 miles manually.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457054March 16, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I have a lot of unexpected braking problems for no reason
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457053March 16, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Phantom braking, the vehicle will stop unexpectedly while using adaptive cruise control even if there are no vehicles or objects on the road for miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456862March 15, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
When The auto pilot is activated I have experienced many times that the car randomly stops. This happened when I was on the highway and I was almost rear ended
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456729March 15, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
When driving using either the "traffic aware cruise control" or "autopilot" (I do not have full self driving), the care frequently slams the brakes when there is no instance of an obstacle in-front of the vehicle. This has happened consistently and frequently causing instances with cars having to go to the shoulder to not rear end me. Most commonly this has occurred on rural 2 lane roads when a vehicle is coming from the other direction. As the vehicle from the other direction approaches the Tesla will suddenly emergency brake unexpectedly. This issue is even further exacerbated at night when this can happen with almost every passing vehicle. This issue has occurred enough times with either near rear end incidents or catching me so off guard I struggle to maintain my composure I often do not use the feature and am looking at getting rid of it due to being unusable even with the basic cruise feature. The date and speed below are the most recent but this has occurred many times in 2500 miles (easily 50 or more).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456689March 14, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, he attempted to honk the horn to warn a vehicle that abruptly moved in front of his vehicle however, the horn failed to respond. The contact stated that the horn only responded when he applied more pressure to it. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the Tesla Service Center where the horn switch was adjusted; however, the failure reoccurred. A Tesla mobile technician arrived at the contact's residence and diagnosed that the steering wheel was not seated properly, and the steering wheel switch was securely adjusted; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a second Tesla service center, Tesla (4180 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306) where it was diagnosed that the horn retaining clip needed to be adjusted. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 900.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456435March 12, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The automatic emergency brakes would go off while driving on autopilot at highway speed, when there is nothing in front of the car. The brakes are very unexpected and aggressive, potentially putting the car at risk of being rare ended. Tesla states that I should press on the accelerator to override the brakes, but most times the braking is so aggressive that the override isn’t affective. Moreover, my car would give false forward collision warning if the car in front of me slows down even a little bit, even when there is at least a 5 car distance from me to the car in front of me, and we are no where near colliding. Tesla would use these false forward collision warnings to drive down my “safety score” and raise the premium of the insurance they offer me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456090March 10, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was on I-470 east of I-25 going east. I was traveling at 83 MPH, therefore the car was not in Autopilot, only had cruise control on. I signaled a lane change, made the lane change, and then the car applied brakes hard, going from 83 MPH down to 66 MPH. This happened in front of a late-model full-size pickup truck. The driver of the truck was not happy and tailgated for about 2 miles. I reported this problem to Tesla. They first don't want to even allow a service visit on the issue. Second, they want to charge me over $80 for a service visit on a car that is under warranty. When we had FSD beta in January 2022, we didn't face these issues except once or twice. Tesla advisor even admitted to me that cars with FSD beta and cars with Autopilot have different navigation software. Therefore, Tesla has a fix for this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455995March 10, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
We were traveling at about 75 mph on Intestate 94 in Wisconsin (same speed as the other cars around us) using adaptive cruise control when our car suddenly hit the brakes, the display showed the speed limit sign of 70 MPH, but the display where it would have shown the max speed we set, instead showed maximum speed of 40 mph. I used the accelerator pedal to return the speed to that of the surrounding traffic without problems. During other parts of the journey cars came up close behind us as they wanted to go faster and had this happened then we would have been the lead car in a severe rear end collision. This happened several other times during the same two day road trip, including once about a minute before the incident described above, but none were this severe, perhaps "lightly" tapping the brakes even though there would not have been a need to.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455991March 10, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Drivers side camera not working making cruise control (adaptive & regular) unavailable also left turn blind spot visualization not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455959March 10, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While using autopilot or cruise control on the highway, the vehicle frequently brakes for no reason and without warning. This occurs repeatedly throughout the drive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455882March 9, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the vehicle would independently slow down without warning as vehicles on the opposite side of traffic would pass by his vehicle. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455724March 8, 2022
WHEELS
The tire fell off the car while driving. The lateral link bolts have come unfastened and cause the link to come out of place and consequently damage several suspension components. As the bolts unfastened, the wheel was separated from the car and fell off, causing the car to be undrivable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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