Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11451626February 12, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While driving on the interstate with the adaptive cruise control engaged I’ve now had four incidents where I’ve had to over-ride the system because the car mysteriously slammed on the brakes attempting to stop the car when no threats were apparent. These were frightening and dangerous events. I’ve had several cars with adaptive cruise and never experienced this type of un-provoked emergency braking. The for situations were as follows: 1) The road gently curving to the right while I was in the second to far left lane and there was a concrete barrier left of the far left lane divining the opposing lanes. The car apparently mistook the barrier as a threat because it slammed on the brakes without warning. I override the system to avoid a collision from behind. 2) Driving down a three lane road in the center lane when a car entered the road into the right lane and was still going much slower than the center lane. My car slammed on the brakes despite the other car never coming close to entering my path or lane. 3) two instances of the car emergency braking on a two lane road because it apparently mistook oncoming traffic in the opposing lane as a threat. Again had to override to avoid being rear ended. This adaptive cruise system is too dangerous to use as I cannot trust it to not brake hard and unexpectedly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451595February 11, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Phantom braking. The Tesla brakes without warning or provocation when on cruise control. On two lane roads brakes deploy forcefully every time a semi truck is traveling in the on coming lane. It does not have to be on a curve. It is every time a large truck is in the opposing lane. On 4 lane divided highways, it will forcefully brake (from 75 mph down to 40 mph in seconds) climbing small hills, patches of tar on the roads, shadows, off ramps, side roads and for no apparent reason. I have almost been rear ended when a car is following closely and it happens. I have recorded these incidents , reported to Tesla, taken the vehicle for diagnostics and they have no answer and imply that occasionally it may happen however, it should not be an issue. IT IS A DANGEROUS PROBLEM and an accident waiting to cause serious injury. I drive daily with my job and it happens every day.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451586February 11, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The automatic braking system performs pretty well on interstate highways. However, on two lane highways and secondary roads, heavy braking occurs for no apparent reason and with no warning resulting in several near misses for rear end collisions. I can solve the problem by not using cruise control; but, cruise control prevents me from unintentionally speeding. Either this unintentional heavy braking needs to be technologically resolved and/or I need to be provided with the option to switch to conventional cruise control in which I set the speed and determine when the cruise control is deactivated. THIS ISSUE HAS OCURRED DOZENS OF TIMES DURING MY 5 MONTHS AND ~10,000 MILE OWNERSHIP.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451517February 11, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I received delivery of a Tesla Model 3 Long Range vehicle on Oct 25, 2021. On nearly every occasion that I use the “autopilot” cruise control feature, one or more phantom braking events occur. When this happens, my vehicle decelerates rapidly and without warning with enough force to thrust my head and upper torso forward. In all cases, there is nothing in the road and no perceivable road condition to warrant this behavior. Fortunately, no one has been close behind me yet when this has occurred since it would surely result in a rear end collision. There appears to be no consistent pattern: it happens on sunny and cloudy days; day and night; highway and surface streets. I have gotten into the habit of leaving my foot resting gently on the accelerator when in autopilot mode in order to react quickly to these events and hopefully avoid a collision. On Dec 17, 2021 I mentioned this issue during a service appointment at my local Tesla dealership. The response was that this was a common and known problem with Model 3’s and would be hopefully worked out in future software updates as the system “learns”. Four software updates later, the problem has not been resolved and in fact seems to be occurring more frequently. I believe this phantom braking problem is a serious safety issue that Tesla should immediately address.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451463February 11, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I was driving down the freeway at highway speeds. A motorcycle passed me in the left lane. My car sudden slammed on the brakes at freeway speeds and if a car was following me closely I would have been hit. The motorcycle did not cross my path and I was in no danger of hitting it. I was using cruise control at the time. This has happened more than once. Usually it is when a motorcycle is around. I have stopped using cruise control if I see a motorcycle on the road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451459February 10, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING
On trip from Grand Island NE to Pueblo CO on Colorado state Hwy 76 when driving at highway speeds the auto steer function repeatedly (at least 8 occurrences) invoked emergency braking for no apparent reason. This occurred during daylight hours, in brilliant sunshine, on clear and dry road conditions with no other vehicles in the vicinity, in both the right and left lane. In some cases the car would brake upon cresting a slight rise where the horizon is not visible until the vehicle is at the top of the rise. In another case there was highly reflective silver steel guard rails on both sides of the road. Also experienced phantom braking when there was identical signage on both sides of the road at about head height of a person. We also experienced occurrences on flat sections of road with no signage. The braking is unpredictable and severe enough to cause a rear end collision If a vehicle had been behind us during any of the events we experienced.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451442February 10, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
This is my third report for the same phantom braking issue I drove approximately 250 miles today and had three episodes one while passing a 18 wheeler he was on the right and fully in his own lane it braked forcefully. And two episodes with no objects or any explanations why it applied the brakes hard while traveling at 78 mph once with a car following witch caused me great concern. Side note I gave up using it on two lane undivided roads any oncoming large truck or RV triggers braking.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451422February 10, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Car randomly auto braked at night while on cruise control (45 mph). Car turning across traffic was roughly 200 feet away and well out of potential collision range. Also, car won't auto break when there is an actual obstacle in front. Could drive the car into a wall (believe me, I've verified this).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451409February 10, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My mother was driving my brand new 2022 M3P from Garfield, AR, to S. Coffeyville, KS, on a two lane highway when we experienced a major AEB event while in cruise control (if not w/ autosteer engaged). On the way there and back to Garfield, we must have experienced 5-10 AEB events where the traffic aware cruise control thought that the hard shadows from trucks were actually objects in our lane. This is a horrible and dangerous design flaw. Why are we not allowed to go back to dumb cruise control like we used to have where it doesn't cause an accident risk due to the possibility of a rear impact from another vehicle? In one of these events there was a truck behind us, and my 70-year-old mother had no clue how to protect us from being rear ended. We desperately need an option to disable TACC at the very least. I don't care about what laws may be in place for these systems, until it is perfect, we should be allowed to have full control over our vehicle without unpredictable events occurring. Trying to teach a 70-year-old how to drive differently isn't a proper solution when they've driven vehicles their entire lives that let them do what they want. Demand that Tesla allow permanent disablement of these systems, not just turning off AEB every time you get in the car! And I'm not convinced that AEB is even related to TACC braking. Regardless, fix it!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451297February 9, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I have experienced multiple situations where my 2022 Tesla Model 3 has issues with the automatic emergency braking feature, which causes the car to slam on the brakes unnecessarily while operating in the autopilot mode. Generally, I've seen this the most on 2 lane roads, especially when large vehicles (semi trucks, etc) are in the opposing lane. In some cases, the car will brake when there are no cars in the opposing lane. My concern is that the cars traveling behind me may not have the reaction time to brake, due to not expecting my car to brake in front of them.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451270February 9, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
A warning displayed on the screen of the car alerted me to the vehicle having low coolant, recommending that I drive the car to a service center despite being unsafe to do so as the container that recycled the closed loop coolant system was completely empty. The warning caused me to check underneath the vehicle housed in my garage, which displayed a puddle of bluish liquid with a foul smell. There was a leak that was caused by an impact unknown to me to the aero shield protecting the high voltage battery pack. The impact ruptured the coolant line and fitting that connected the battery with the line. The manufacturer's service center recommended replacing the entire battery as they do not repair this part on the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451247February 9, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking system failed/malfunctioned. The car is in a Tesla authorized body shop for inspection. The airbag deployed and prevented any injury but the accident did put my life and others at risk. The car was inspected by Tesla's authorized body shop. There was no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The car was brand new, and I believe a possible explanation is Tesla taking out the radar and replacing it with Tesla vision. I tried to contact Tesla for an investigation but no response. I received a 30k bill to fix the car, and Tesla did not take any responsibility. Here is the footage: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sat1w5i0gl6bwsr/2021-12-20_10-56-45-front.mp4?dl=0
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451173February 9, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While on autopilot I experience regular abrupt phantom breaking around semi trucks. This has nearly caused several accidents. I will be going from 60 mph to nearly full stop. This is incredibly unsafe and I no longer feel comfortable using this feature around semi trucks.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451141February 9, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Cruise control will slow abruptly without notification or apparent reason. Driving in the middle of the desert on an interstate with cruise control activated and the vehicle will suddenly apply emergency braking for no apparent reason. No other vehicles in close proximity. No crossroads, overpasses or entry/exit ramps in close proximity. Braking event occurs every time cruise control is initiated and occurs several times in one session. This is a critical safety hazard and needs to be addressed immediately. If a large truck was following close behind, they would not be able to slow in time which could have deadly consequences. Tesla shows no concern to fix this critical flaw in an expeditious manner. This needs to be investigated and corrected immediately before someone has to pay the ultimate price.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451118February 9, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
On my daily commute to work on the interstate while in cruise control the car will slam on the brakes fro no apparent reason. This abruptly takes my car from 70 mph to 40. Happens multiple times in cruise control every day.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451079February 8, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Tesla is phantom breaking for no reason. It could cause me to be rear ended by another car. This is happening more and more to me. Tesla purchased in Oct.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451049February 8, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
This has happened on a couple of different occasions but the one thing that has been the same is it has happened while utilizing the adaptive cruise control system. These incidents come out of nowhere and can be dangerous and cause an accident luckily we have not had that misfortune. While driving on the highway with adaptive cruise control enabled, the vehicle has suddenly and without warning activated the emergency braking. The first time this occurred the assumption was that it must have picked up something on the road because it only lasted for a brief moment, it slowed down the vehicle by 10-15 mph. Throughout this trip, adaptive cruise control was used and it didn't occur in that manner again. What is more alarming are the next couple of incidents which abruptly slowed the vehicle down by 30-35 mph this was very unsettling, luckily no one was behind the vehicle at the time of these incidents. The adaptive cruise control has not been utilized since the last incident which occurred the third weekend of January 2022. The severity and abruptness that the vehicle slowed and I must mention without warning can potentially cause a fatal car accident, especially while driving on the highway. The vehicle has not been inspected or serviced since the incidents and as long as adaptive cruise control is not used there have been no further incidents of this nature.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451046February 8, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
When pressing the horn in the center of my steering wheel, it only activates when certain regions are pressed. When pressing certain regions of the wheel, such as the bottom half of the wheel, a switch is heard clicking, but the horn does not activate. This issue has been reported elsewhere on forums with videos e.g. in one case where the left portion of the wheel's center area did not activate the car's horn. I have discussed this issue with my local Tesla service center on four occasions and demonstrated it to the technician. But the issue is never addressed and I have now been told that bringing up the defect will incur fees from the service center. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/model-3-horn-issue-check-the-left-side.137767/ ^Here, there are at least 47 reports of the issue occuring, based on the thread's poll. I wouldn't mind this issue terribly much, except there has now been 3-4 separate incidents where I have had to use the horn in an emergency situation (e.g., when another car is changing lanes without noticing my car next to it). During these incidents, I was either unable to activate the horn, or only able to activate the horn in a delayed manner as I worked to activate the horn by pressing it in a specific manner to enable it. My own video of the issue: https://imgur.com/a/dpXv7sT
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451012February 8, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Phantom braking occurs intermittently since vehicle purchase while operating autopilot cruise control. My Tesla suddenly brakes without any vehicle ahead to warrant this action. Cars following me could easily slam into the rear of my car. Luckily that has not yet occurred. I have not noted any associated warning lights or alarms. I am awaiting replacement of the car computer (prompted by needing to reboot computer repeatedly), but this has been delayed several months due to parts unavailable. Consumer was unable to use cruise control because of the numerous times car brake mysteriously while driving on a freeway. Consumer reported the issue to Tesla and Tesla stated it was a bug immediately when it occurs.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11450990February 8, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Sudden/phantom braking of Tesla Model 3 with no apparent obstacles in sight while on adaptive cruise control both with and without auto steering. First noticed on a trip from SF Bay Area to San Diego in August 2021 at mileage about 2,000 miles. On a longer trip from the Bay Area to Colorado in October 2021 with mileage about 5000 miles, we further tested it on desolate stretches of highways with speed limits from 65 to 85 MPH. Over the course of the trip, the problem occurred over 20 times. We turned off all the automatic driving functions and have not used them since October. We prepared a detailed spreadsheet of all the incidents. See attached. In November, we reported the sudden braking problem to Tesla, along with the spreadsheet. They could not use the data I provided and asked me for more recent timestamp of the braking problem. I refused to test the car on busy Bay Area freeways because it was simply too dangerous. After much back and forth, they decided to test drive for themselves. I informed them that the problem was sporadic and would need to test drive for at least 2 to3 hours. On the first service appointment, they drove for about 15 miles and determined that they could not replicate the problem but would recalibrate the cameras. On the second appointment, instead of recalibrating the cameras as promised, they did another test drive. Again, they only drove for 15 miles and determined that they could not replicate the problem and asked that I contact them if the problem occurred again. I believe this problem is extremely dangerous and have not turned on the autopilot features since October. During my interactions with Tesla service employees, they seem to act as though this is the first time they heard of the problem. I don’t believe Tesla is treating this problem seriously enough to take immediate action and needs the attention of NHTSA.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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