Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11489213October 13, 2022
SEATS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE
Seat sensor fail and was able to drive in the middle of the intersection to make a left turn. Since the sensor fail if vechicle is driven less the 5 mph the car will go in park- very scary when in the middle trying to turn left
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489209October 13, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On numerous occasions since I bought the Tesla in March 2021, the car will phantom brake when using cruise control and sometimes on it's own. This happens randomly with no warning and is very dangerous as it risks my car getting rear ended. This is an ongoing problem as you know but Tesla did nothing when I reported it and is still not doing anything. NOT GOOD.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488884October 12, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The car slammed on the brakes while we were using auto pilot on the freeway, even though there was no one braking in front of us. This was the 2nd time this has happened. The ac and radio shut off for the rest of the ride and the ac has been working intermittently since. We have a baby and she was not in the car but she is in the car with us often. We have submitted a service request for this week.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488403October 7, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Constantly issues with the car braking hard without reason - also the car NOT braking when needed, and poor estimation of distance to the vehicle directly in front. When the car Phantom Brake, it causes traffic behind the vehicle to become in danger of a forward collision. When the car incorrectly estimates the distance to the next vehicle, it causes the car to apply maximum braking force to rectify the miscalculation. The "Autopilot" and "Cruise Control" are dangerous and hazardous to use in normal vehicle operation. The vehicle/component and behavior is repeatedly certified as "within spec" and no issues found with the vehicle or components.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488358October 7, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Everyday I drive on highway i-10 I get severe Phantom Breaking, when I have auto pilot on or just my cruise control. Sometimes it’s as hard as you can brake. 30+ mph before I can push the gas and stop it, with absolutely nothing around me, and all my software updates are up to date. Extremely unsafe and needs to be corrected.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488278October 6, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Since owning this car in January 2022, there have been issues of phantom braking during cruise control or autopilot. However, today 10/6/22 during an hour and a half time frame my car has had phantom braking episodes at least 5 times in the middle of the highway where it's speed suddenly drops by 20mph.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488249October 6, 2022
STEERING
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, there was a message displayed that stated, “Pull Over and Exit the Vehicle”. The contact stated that the vehicle then lost power steering and power brakes. The contact was able to park on the side of the road. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the front steering alignment control arm to be adjusted. The vehicle was repaired but experienced the failure two days later. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer but the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,300.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488113October 5, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
With Tesla Auto Pilot engaged, I was driving on I-10 in Florida with no other automobiles in front, to the side or behind my car. I was driving the 70 MPH speed limit when suddenly my car applied full braking (Phantom Braking) upon which I took control and applied the accelerator to regain proper velocity disabling Tesla Auto Pilot. This was the only time I experienced this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488081October 5, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Cruise control set @70 to 74mph on open highway with no vehicles in front or behind. Midday, sunny, clear, and dry. The vehicle suddenly applies brakes. This could have easily lead to being rear-ended if another vehicle were following too closely. This happened numerous time this last weekend. Contacted the manufacturer and they stated this is normal and no hardware faults were detected in the vehicle when diagnosed remotely.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488020October 5, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I was using the adaptive cruise control and experienced phantom braking.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488013October 5, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While using auto throttle (cruise control) on a recent trip I had several instances of uncommanded slow downs. These ranged from slowdowns from the activation of regenerative braking to actual hard breaking. It occurred on both two lane highways and interstates. More often on two lanes. Often it occurred on topping a hill and some thing in the distance was misinterpreted as a hazard. At other times I could not determine what set it off. It ranged from a slight slow down to hard breaking. It could easily have led to a rear end collision had someone been close to me. I finally had to stop using the auto throttle as it seemed unsafe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487953October 5, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Driving with cruise control on following another vehicle 150 yards in front of me. I'm not even using Auto-Pilot because on how dangerous and unpredictable it is. I'm using Normal Cruise Control, which is also a disaster. A car built in 80s can perform cruise control without any hassle. It phantom braked and the vehicle behind me had to take corrective action. This has to be addressed to be fixed. Ditching radar for "vision" was a huge mistake that puts mine and many other lives in danger. A simple cruise control feature that every car is equipped with shouldn't be a death sentence waiting to happen.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487744October 3, 2022
AIR BAGS
The passenger air bag light remains illuminated and the car indicates a passenger restraint system fault. Tesla service indicates it is a faulty sensor. I am concerned the system error will impact passenger safety in the event of a crash if the seatbelt tensioner and airbag fail to perform due to the sensor. Tesla has not resolved the problem to date and keeps rescheduling the repair weeks into the future. They deserve a strong reprimand for the safety risk this issue imposes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487532October 2, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
i was driving through an intersection in san francisco on a green light and the car suddenly braked hard with no object in front of me to brake for. fortunately the car behind me managed to brake without rear-ending me. this was totally without warning and completely unneccesary. this was a "safety feature" that engaged to make me and the pedestrians and cars around me less safe! if the automatic emergency braking doesn't work (and is more dangerous to human life and property when activated as opposed to not), it should be able to be disabled for safety's sake. i can disable it for a trip, but then i have to remember to disable it every time i drive the car or it could put my life in danger! this is dangerous! the control panel informed me that the automatic emergency system was to blame for the dangerous stop. there was no warning before this happened. the vehicle has not been specifically inspected for this issue, but this appears to be a known issue for this model of car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487494October 2, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
We have experienced numerous occasions of phantom braking, or sudden breaking while using the adaptive cruise control. The dealer could not find and mechanical or software problem although the issue persists. This is unsafe because the vehicles breaks suddenly and aggressively from speed without warning and when no breaking action is needed. I fear being rear ended by a following vehicle and have been reluctant to use cruise control. Warnings appear intermittently regarding camera visibility and needing cleaning the cameras have been clear when this warning appeared.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487033September 29, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Have owned this car for one month now and have put approximately 2,500 miles on since its purchase (2 miles on odometer at pickup). When using Adaptive Cruise Control or Autopilot the vehicle will apply hard braking without reason and seemingly random. No oncoming cars, no cars in front or to the side, road is paved and well painted. Speed would be suddenly reduced from 70mph to 30-35mph. This is a safety risk due to possibility of rear end collision by following vehicle. This event happened multiple (10+ times) on the 10 and 40 freeways in California and Arizona and on the 95 highway in Nevada as well as on other roadways. I have subsequently disabled Autopilot on my car and now avoid using Cruise Control as it is simply too frightening to use. I reported this to Tesla Service who advise that hardware-wise there is nothing wrong with the car and future software updates will improve the function. They advise that both Autopilot and Cruise Control are 'Beta' software. I could understand with their Full Self Driving and Autopilot that these advanced features may need further development but I consider Cruise Control to be a well understood and long-established vehicle function. They could at least offer both old fashioned 'fixed speed' Cruise Control along with their Beta Adaptive Cruise Control, but they provide only the Beta version. Beta software which is simply too scary to use!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487015September 29, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I drove from Denver to Amarillo using the cruise control. About 25 times the car braked hard for no apparent reason. Most incidents were a sharp 5-6 mile per hour drop. Three were a 15 mile per hour drop. I believe that roughly 15 of the incidents were the car responding to the optical illusion of shimmering water. This happened on the afternoon of September 28. It was a clear, sunny day with only occasional clouds. After sundown the hard braking on cruise control continued at a lower rate with 5-6 incidents between Amarillo and Vernon TX. If someone had been following too closely in any of the incidents it's likely they would have struck my car from behind. This cruise control is unsafe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486875September 28, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Phantom braking in cruise control with or without autopilot. Sometimes braking is extremely hard. No apparent cause. Totally random This has happened several times since March 1, when we received the vehicle. Most recent events (more than 5 on September 23, 2023
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486736September 27, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Phantom breaking while driving down interstate.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486386September 26, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while her husband was driving 50 mph on cruise control, the vehicle began to decelerate independently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated they continue to experience the failure five to ten times on the first trip. The contact stated she also experienced the failure on 9/23/2022, while driving 80 mph on cruise control, the vehicle began to decelerate independently to 70 mph and deactivated the cruise control independently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the force of the deceleration caused the seat belt to retract and caused her to have whiplash and headache left side of her head. The contact did not sought medical attention. The contact continued to experience the failure while driving to her destination. The contact stated she experience the failure for a second time on 9/25/2022. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0

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