Tesla Model 3 Complaints

2,178 consumer complaints on file.

#11461179April 18, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving southbound on Interstate 5 in California mid-morning on Friday, April 15th. Adaptive Cruise Control (Tesla "Autopilot") was set somewhere near 75mph. There was no other traffic anywhere near our vehicle (at least 1/2 mile clear both ahead and behind). There was no debris of any kind on the road or on the side of the road. The car suddenly and unexpectedly began heavy deceleration. It felt as if the vehicle was performing an emergency braking procedure to avoid a front collision. Fortunately there were no vehicles around, so other than startling me, there was no other incident caused. Had this occurred with a vehicle behind, it very likely would have caused a rear-end collision.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11461025April 16, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On traveling to San Diego on 4/13/2022 we had three Phantom braking events one severe enough that if a car was following a accident could have happened. Two on the return trip all with no indication of any vehicle or obstacle nothing but open road clear road ahead this is going to hurt some one at some point and time we need help this is my Fourth report of this problem to NHTSA I know better than to follow a Tesla to close but the public doesn't Thank you please help [XXX] Note VIN [XXX] 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
#11460567April 12, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Since taking delivery of my new car on 2/8/2022, I have experienced at least 3 instances of phantom emergency braking, all while cruise control was in use. The vehicle suddenly brakes hard for 1-2 seconds. In two of these cases, a vehicle or person was visible off to the side, but not in my lane, and not where I would have had to brake. I am concerned that cars behind me could be unprepared for this sudden slow-down. While the car's software does allow for turning off the emergency braking capability, that action must be taken each time the car is started if you plan to use cruise control. For this reason, cruise control becomes a danger to use.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11460286April 9, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY, VISIBILITY/WIPER
Tesla model 3 2022 rear side windows shattered all of a sudden with no other accidents. My 6 year old girl was sitting in the car next to it and we are all in a shock . We are trying to find the right way to report to Tesla . We checked online and saw more blog posts with same issue . Please help.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11460183April 8, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while her son was driving 70 MPH on autopilot, the vehicle independently decelerated to 45 MPH. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to his destination. 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 8,900.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11460103April 8, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I275 southbound in Terra Ceia, FL. 11PM. Road surface damp. Speed 80 mph with adaptive cruise control engaged. No other vehicles within view. While on cruise control, the vehicle suddenly engaged the brakes slowing from 80mph to 65mph in a violent manner in a fraction of a second. Wheels broke traction slightly. This has occurred on a number of occasions to me since owned on 12/10/21. It's extremely dangerous to the point I rarely use cruise control on wet or slippery roads for fear of departing the roadway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11460084April 7, 2022
POWER TRAIN
While driving, a small warning appeared on the screen, directing us to pull over. Roughly 10-15 seconds later, the car died in the middle of the road. The car was towed to a Tesla service center. The rear motor power inverter was replaced. Incidentally, I saw this news story today: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-recall-for-127785-model-3s-in-china-due-to-rear-motor-inverter-defect-185844.html The way the car failed was very dangerous. My other complaint was that the user experience telling us to pull over was not sufficient. If the problem was that dire, we need much more dramatic audible and visible alerts, as well as an indication of how long we have to go. We could have pulled off into a safer spot if we knew we only had a few seconds.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459987April 7, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-70 MPH with the adaptive cruise control engaged, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The contact then accelerated and continued driving. The contact was unsure whether there was a warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving alongside other vehicles. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 900.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459656April 5, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While driving, typically on two lane roads with oncoming traffic, the vehicle will suddenly break hard for no visible reason. Often it is the case that the vehicle breaks so hard that things in the car fly forward and the seatbelts lock up causing people to grunt at the force and scream. This happens while using full self driving or just regular cruise control. There is no warning and people behind my vehicle have a high likelihood a rear ending me since there is no visible or obvious cars for my breaking. Also it would appear that I am brake checking the person behind me, causing them to become angry with me through no fault of my own, but it is understandable based on the reaction of my vehicle. When this happens I typically report the issue directly to Tesla using their voice feature to report issues. The command is typically “bug report phantom braking.”
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459483April 4, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Experienced the "phantom braking" phenomena traveling southbound on I-75/85 just south of Atlanta approaching an HOV exit on the left. The car was traveling with "AutoPilot" engaged, not FSD, at ~70 mph, and the brakes were applied hard as the exit to the flyover approached on the left. I did not lose control and simply stepped on the accelerator to resume the correct speed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459480April 4, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I have had this car for exactly one month, and on three separate occasions, while using cruise control, the car suddenly braked although there was no obstacle visible in front of the car. On one instance I was driving on a four-lane highway, and there was another vehicle rather close behind me, who was quite surprised by the sudden braking. On the two other occasions, I was driving on a two-lane road with no-one behind me. I don't think there was oncoming traffic in the opposite lane, but I can't be sure. I have searched on the web and found that there are other reports of "phantom braking" in the Tesla 3. Otherwise the car is fine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459140March 31, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at 5 MPH, the front driver's seat continuously changed positions independently and her foot could no longer reach the one-pedal driving. The contact veered to the side of the road and parked the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with a feature that allowed both her husband and her to save their front driver's seat profile on the center display, based on their physical characteristics. The contact stated that her husband was 6 ft. 2 inches tall and she was 5 ft. 5 inches tall. The contact stated that the failure occurred as the front driver's seat moved from her seat profile to her husband's seat profile. Additionally, the contact stated that the center display was displaying a message stating it was looking for a charging station while the vehicle was fully charged. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 2,100. The consumer stated Tesla diagnosed the problem as phantom touchscreen issue and replaced the screen on April 29, 2022.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459066March 31, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
For no reason at all the brakes stopped me in the middle of the road. I was nearly hit from behind because it was so sudden only driving about 20 mph and slowing up for a light but did not hit the brakes Happened approximately three times
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458925March 30, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Have only had the vehicle on 2, 2 hour trips and have had the adaptive cruise control hard brake with no one around me or in front of me multiple times. It goes from 65 down to 50 or less in a second. Incredibly dangerous. Especially if I had vehicles behind me. Would've caused an accident no doubt. I hear about many teslas having this issue as well. Just give me dumb regular cruise control.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458669March 28, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I was using traffic aware cruise control (TACC) on a two lane highway to maintain my speed. There was a car behind me and no cars in front of me. My car suddenly reduced it speed (braked) for no reason. I turned off the TACC at this point because its erratic speed control did not seem safe, especially with a car following me. Later, when no one was following me, I again tried enabling cruise control (TACC) on the two lane highway, and multiple times it would unnecessarily and abruptly slow down the vehicle for no good reason (apparently becoming confused by oncoming traffic safely in the other lane, when approaching a hill, when approaching barriers on the side of the road, and sometimes for no discernible reason). I will say that TACC works well on multi lane freeways, but in my experience was non-functional and borderline dangerous on simple two lane highways. I contacted Tesla and inquired about turning off TACC and turning on standard (dumb) cruise control when driving on two lane highways. They stated that there is no option for standard cruise control, only TACC. So the options are to completely disable cruise control on two lane highways (inconvenient, but probably the best option), or use traffic aware cruise control and just deal with its erratic behavior on two lane roads (not safe in my opinion).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458500March 27, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My Tesla has continued from the time of purchase has Fantom braked when no vehicles are even around. Putting it on basic Cruise control or adaptive control makes no difference. Slamming on the brakes at any time is not safe with all the tailgaters that drive today. Who’s liability is it when your car brakes for no reason a you are rear ended ?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458424March 26, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The cars cruise control system is unusable due to random and unpredictable Phantom breaking. This is a safety risk due to the potential collisions it can cause as a result of slamming on the brakes. We have had multiple close calls with this system. It specifically has issues on two lane highways.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458417March 26, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving on the interstate and state highways using cruise control the car braked suddenly for no reason.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458385March 25, 2022
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
Was in a tight parking space. The mirrors auto-folded in. The cameras seemed laggy when backing up to a significant degree. (Many, many others on the web report the same. Any search for "Tesla backup camera delayed" or similar should work.) In my case, my vehicle collided with a pole. Very concerned about this as a safety hazard.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458342March 25, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Brakes were automatically engaged and speed dramatically reduced on an otherwise deserted, two-line highway. Speed was reduced from 68mph to 30mph in a few seconds multiple times in the span of two hours. Adaptive cruise control was active at the time. This would put myself and any vehicles behind me in danger, so I disabled the feature for the remainder of the drive. The behavior has been reproduced multiple times since then, in various conditions. No warning lamps or other messages appeared at the time. I reported the problem to the manufacturer and schedule a service appointment. The manufacturer canceled this appointment, stating, "Our technicians will be unable to change this behavior."
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Tesla Model 3