Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11584169April 19, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Design defect that caused the cooling system to fail and potentially not cooling the battery system. Per Tesla service center, leaves and debris which are common in everyday use got on top of the radiator, the fan on the back of the radiator sucked the debris and caused the damage to the radiator to leak. the radiator’s design may be inadequate, leading to the issue and caused potential damage to the battery pack or computer as a result of overheating which might leads to fatal accidents.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11583618April 17, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS
See attached document for complaint
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11583129April 15, 2024
WHEELS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
At 7:50 this morning I had my first drive with Tesla FSD 12.3.4. It had been going very close to curbs on the passenger side on 12.3.3, but this is the first time it hit the curb and damages the tire rim. The current version of the software puts the car much too close to the curb, something not present in prior versions.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11583050April 15, 2024
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The rear tail light on the driver side of the vehicle is filling with water. Additionally, the brake light is occasionally not working, presenting a potentially serious safety issue. The vehicle is brand new. Tesla has a history of this issue with previous generations of this vehicle, but the problem persists in the new model. I have been waiting for a new tail light to come in for two weeks. A quick internet search reveals other drivers with the same problem. Tesla is doing nothing to expedite the parts needed for the repair, but they sure continue to sell new cars. They should not be selling any cars until they figure out how to successfully seal the light and keep standing water out of the unit.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582925April 14, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
When using cruise control, auto lane assist and auto pilot, the vehicle will brake or slow down without apparent reason. This can happen suddenly and dramatically. This can happen when there are other cars nearby, but also when there is no other traffic on the road. It is distressing enough when there are no other cars nearby, but can be a hazard when there is other traffic behind me and they have no warning this is happening.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582914April 14, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER
While driving in rain, the windshield wipers will randomly stop. This will happen both in AUTO and in MANUAL modes, especially at night in poor visibility. I contacted Tesla and they came and replaced the wiper motor assembly but the problem was not resolved. I believe it is a software issue. I nearly had a crash as this happened to me first at night in a very busy and complex highway intersection and resulted in me being stuck in the middle and blocking traffic until I could navigate the touch screen and find the wiper option to get it restarted.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582880April 14, 2024
STEERING
Car was in the garage and showed alerts for Steering assist reduced, Traction control disabled,
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582795April 13, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
This car, like many Teslas, is experiencing what has been come to be known as phantom braking. When in the autopilot or full self driving, this car will occasionally to frequently, depending on the day, suddenly break where it will decelerate from say 65 mph to 45 or 50 in a very short period of time. This can happen in very busy traffic conditions. It seems to happen when I'm going faster rather than slower. For example, I haven't experienced it so much on City Street. It seems much more prominent on highways. This is an issue that has many YouTube videos about. It has been reported by many Tesla owners as well as the media.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582701April 12, 2024
STEERING
The contact owned a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and merging right, the contact lost control of the vehicle and the vehicle stalled after crashing into the center median. The vehicle was totaled. No injuries were sustained. Medical attention was not sought. The contact stated that a Police report was not filed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582681April 12, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Automatic wipers are very erratic. Sometimes it works like crazy. Sometimes it never cleans the windshield even though it is soaking limiting visibility. Using it in manual mode is also very difficult as all adjustments are done on the screen forcing you to take your eyes off the road. There are no levers to adjust it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582590April 12, 2024
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
Using the Tesla "Autopark", the car backed right into a pole in back of the parking space. When the car hit the pole, it kept trying to back up rather than disengaging. It was a clear day, there was no traffic and there was no car in the adjacent parking space. This is using the latest version of Tesla's self-driving software, 12.3.3.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582521April 12, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Car will randomly jam on the breaks while going down the interstate.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582505April 12, 2024
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Tesla officially confirmed as I brought my car in a THIRD time that the repeated turn signal failure I was/am experiencing is now a known software issue. They looked at the timestamps and video I shared and saw that I had indeed applied pressure to the turn signal buttons to no avail/effect. Out of the three times I took the car in and shared timestamps for when this issue occurred this is the only time they identified the issue in the logs, which leads me to believe they never even looked at the logs the previous two times I had brought the car in and they failed to ID the issue or a fix. They have been unable to reproduce in person, as the issue occurs at random while the vehicle is in motion. I brought it in a third time after multiple instances in one day of the turn signal not working and putting me in highly precarious situations on the highway. There is still NO FIX currently and the technicians even acknowledged/admitted it is a serious safety issue, yet they are returning the car to me unfixed. This feels like an extremely dangerous problem to not address urgently via a software fix. There is no message or warning displayed related to the issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582274April 11, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, STEERING
Constant lane change while driving has gotten out of control. A couple of instance the vehicle has changed lanes without manual manipulation. This is getting out of hand and has certainly put risks on my family while operating vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11582246April 10, 2024
ENGINE
The contact owned a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and merging into the right direction of the highway, the vehicle lost control, swerved from left to right, and spun. As a result, the contact crashed into the concrete divider where the vehicle came to a stop. No warning lights were illuminated at the time of the failure. No injuries were sustained. The police were at the scene however a police report was not filed. The vehicle was totaled by the insurance company. The contact mentioned an unknown recall being related to the safety failure experienced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581833April 9, 2024
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On March 31st, Tesla alerted me that I had been "granted a 30-day complimentary trial of Full Self-Driving" capabilities. They didn't make it clear that the service was automatically enabled (vs. allowing me to opt-in) and did not provide any information about how it operates. Because I have no interest in the service, I didn't click the "Learn More" button in the email. Since the service was turned on, the car has unexpectedly "grabbed" my steering wheel twice while I was driving. I now understand that it's possible that I turned it on without knowing it but, again, I wasn't given any instructions. I was terrified. When I pulled over and tried to find an "off" button, I discovered there is none. When I spoke to Tesla today, I was told that there is no "off" for the service and that all I can do set it to the least invasive setting and "live with it" until the trial period expires on April 30th. I can still feel the car self-adjusting my speed and steering. I remain terrified that it's going to cause an accident. The bottom line: because I've had the car for two years and did not purchase AutoPilot, I KNOW there's a way to disable it entirely. Tesla is simply refusing to do it and using me as a lab rat with no regard for my safety.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581524April 6, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Latest update changed the cruise control to force inclusion of autopilot. Cruise control function is now unavailable with without this autonomous feature. It's not only distracting, but aggravating. What's worse, is there's no online ability to inform or complain directly to Tesla. This isn't the first safety-related software glitch. Please get them to fix these issues.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581507April 6, 2024
SEATS, SERVICE BRAKES
Driver's seat weight sensor not working properly. Causes car to slam on the brakes when seatbelt is not on (for example in a driveway or automated carwash, potentially causing a crash) and can potentially leave car running indefinitely (draining the battery). Since sometimes it gets stuck in the occupied or unoccupied state.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581476April 6, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My vehicle is 3 years old and has roughly 52000 on it. After a recent software update (within the past month or so) all of the automatic safety features such as automatic braking, blind spot monitoring, cruise control stopped working on the vehicle. I brought it to Tesla and they confirmed the issue and said the entire ECU needs to be replaced, a $2700 expense on a 3 year old car. There is a warning message every time I start the car that says the automatic breaking is not working.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581335April 5, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, STRUCTURE:BODY
I was driving in the street at 10 miles, I turned to the right and I push the break but the car didn't break and I crashed with the car in front of me.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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