Tesla Model 3 Complaints (2023)

429 consumer complaints on file.

#11667905June 19, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On June 4th I was in a hurry to get to work, pushed open my car door and started to slide in at which point the door unexpectedly to me swung back shut, clamping my head behind my ear pressing it against the top of the door frame. Everything stuck for about 1 second and then the door released my head. I am concerned that the door shouldn’t close so forcefully and should not bounce back closed when pushed open; that perhaps this contributed to the dangerous situation? There were other factors such as my car parking pad is slightly sloped. It seems this is an issue with the design of the car as opposed to a defect as there are no warning lights or recalls. I am still trying to figure out the effects of this injury. I have been to two doctors- not immediately because at first there were no immediate effects except for the discomfort of the pressure at the time. But less than 24 hours following the incident I developed a puffed up patch behind the ear where the door clamped, and now have developed a very swollen painless lymph node behind my other ear as well as headaches and some soreness that comes and goes. I have not contacted Tesla about the problem yet but am extremely cautious when I use the door and I don’t drive people in the car. I have included some photos but also just took some videos illustrating how the door swings back shut pretty forcefully when pushed open.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11667354June 17, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was traveling at highway speeds on a highway with no vehicles or other obstacles in front of me. I had adaptive cruise control on. Then, the emergency brakes deployed for no reason (so called “phantom braking”), decelerating the car quickly. I turned off adaptive cruise control as fast as I could and nothing bad happened. But the situation was dangerous, as if a car was close behind me it could have rear ended my vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667324June 17, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Curvature Assist feature agressively brakes while driving at highway speeds. This is supposed to slow down for curves, but frequently intervenes for straight, clearly marked lanes. Feature cannot be turned off. Drivers behind me have gotten agitated several times for the sudden, harsh braking, and I do not feel comfortable driving this car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666742June 13, 2025
STEERING, WHEELS, SUSPENSION
Incident Summary: On [XXX], I was in an accident and dropped my Tesla Model 3 at Tesla’s North Phoenix Collision Center in Nov 2024. I received the car back in Dec/Jan. Immediately, I noticed dangerous swaying, bouncing, and veering when hitting dips—especially on the freeway. The car was unstable and unsafe to drive at high speeds. In Feb/Mar, Tanner (assistant manager at the collision center) drove the vehicle with me in the passenger seat. After hitting a dip on the freeway, he panicked, exited, and agreed something was wrong. I was later told they did a wheel alignment, but the issue remained. This was the second time they returned the vehicle in an unsafe condition. I nearly crashed due to how unstable it felt. In May 2025, I brought the car back again. Tanner suspected the steering column but said no diagnosis was done. He gave me a loaner vehicle, which had a flat tire. I had to drive my own unsafe car for nearly a month while waiting for another loaner and parts—no resolution during that time. On 6/13/2025, I contacted the Tesla Glendale Service Center. The advisor expressed frustration, saying this collision center often offloads unresolved issues. I also contacted Tesla Support (877-798-3752), who advised me to file this NHTSA complaint. As of June 2025, the issue is still unresolved. My car continues to sway and veer dangerously on the freeway, and Tesla North Phoenix Collision has failed to properly diagnose or fix it despite multiple returns. This vehicle is unsafe to drive, and I’ve been given excuses for over 7 months. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664745June 4, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Documenting a sudden unintended acceleration experience. Today while driving and trying to stop for a red light, I lightly applied pressure on my brake pedal to brake for the red light. Midway through the braking, my car lunged forward for about half a second. Went through the dash cam footage, and I noticed that the footage skipped half a second as well. Seems like something electrical that caused the car to lunge. This is a huge safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664126May 31, 2025
SEAT BELTS
Front driver seatbelt will not latch or lock. Car less than 3 years old.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11662611May 22, 2025
SEATS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My pant leg got caught on the plastic seat trim under the seat. Kept my leg trapped so I fell out of the car on the ground in the parking lot. Happened again the same day, but I caught myself before I fell. The incident caused a hole and rip in my clothing, but the rest of my body went to the ground leaving my knee and other leg caught until the end. Had a different outfit on today and it caught again! I did not fall this time either. The time I did fall I hyperextended my wrist and landed on my hip and leg, creating bruising and a sore pelvis, knee and back. Went to massage therapist soon after. Currently, following up with doctor
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11661976May 19, 2025
SUSPENSION
Front upper control arms replaced. Vehicle Only has 24,000 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659830May 8, 2025
STEERING
The volume control buttons and vehicle setting buttons on my car’s steering wheel are made of metal. In high atmospheric temperatures the interior of the car heats up. The buttons also heat up and can cause burns if touching the button for an extended (more than 30 seconds) amount of time. This is very distracting while driving while also causing a mild burn.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11658337May 2, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
RCM2_a636 Front passenger safety restraint system fault (service is required) This causes an issue where the airbags won’t deploy due to it not thinking there is someone sitting there or not
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11651166March 27, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY:TRUNK LID, STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:SUPPORT DEVICE/STRUT
Trunk struts snap/come off. Causing trunk to slam shut. Damaging body. Tesla states vehicle is safe to operate, however vehicle trunk does not latch down anymore and opens every time I hit a bump. The trunk allignment is also well off. The vibration of the trunk causes several electrical issues including Automatic Emergency Braking. Original problem occured september 15th 2023. Issue was fixed and persists. Current issue has been going on since february 18th 2025. Issue is not yet resolved or fixed. Tesla is not taking any action to repair issue at all. Vehicle is unsafe to operate.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650902March 26, 2025
STEERING
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Steering Wheel. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Single vehicle accident. Driver suffered injury. No other person or vehicle was involved. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Don't Know. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? In progress. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No indications were visible.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11648326March 14, 2025
STEERING, SERVICE BRAKES
My dad was driving to work in the morning in the Tesla in the left lane of the freeway. Then the car started swerving on its own. He tried to regain control with the steering wheel but he couldn’t control it. The car wouldn’t turn when using the steering wheel and he was not using autopilot or lane assistance. He said it felt like the steering wheel and the car were not talking to each other. And the brakes weren’t stopping the car at all and because he couldn’t control the car it turned left into the divider and hit the divider and the car turn again to the right and automatically stopped in the middle of the second lane. The airbags deployed for the driver side. Thankfully there weren’t any other cars on the road at the time so there aren’t any injuries. But this crash could’ve caused serious injuries to him or other people. There were no warning signs, alerts, or noises before this happened. He has filed a claim with the insurance company. And a crash report was filed by the police.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648233March 13, 2025
SEAT BELTS
Seatbelt of drivers side won’t latch into compartment, putting myself and others at risk
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647943March 12, 2025
STEERING, SERVICE BRAKES, AIR BAGS
I was involved in an accident due to what I believe was a malfunction in my Tesla’s steering system. While driving, the car unexpectedly turned the wheel to the left on its own and collided with a parked car. Despite my efforts to regain control by turning the wheel to the right and applying the brakes, the vehicle did not respond, and I was unable to prevent the crash. Given the lack of control and failure of the braking system, I strongly believe there was a serious issue with the car that led to the accident.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11647910March 12, 2025
SEAT BELTS, AIR BAGS
FRONT LEFTSAFTEY RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAULT/SERVICE IS REQUIRED TESLA WANT TO CHARGE $351 TO START FOR THE SERVICE
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11643742February 19, 2025
AIR BAGS
UNKNOWN Moving collision resulted in insurance company describing damage as a total loss. It was inspected by an auto collision expert; his description, photos and estimate were forwarded to a claims specialist at the insurance company. The side of my head hit the window on the driver's side, but no airbags inflated. I feel this was a risk to my overall safety. There were no warning messages.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11640269February 3, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
The full self driving is very dangerous. I had several events that put me in danger. Like, going to the wrong lane. Going to the wrong way. Changing lanes that almost hit a car good thing I took over right away. It made the other car upset and honk at me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11638856January 27, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I charged a 2021 Apple Macbook Pro with factory charging cable from the front USB-C charging port in a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The laptop charged up to around 70% but ended prematurely due to a melted charging cable and usb-c port (the connections from the usb-c port that the cable plugs into, and the part of the cable itself (male end) was melted and so hot that it burned my finger. I brought it to Tesla Service and they said it's not covered under warranty and are charging $377 + tax to replace it. The manual does not state any limitations as to what can/cannot be connected to the usb-c port. This issue has also been reported on Reddit: [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
#11634754January 7, 2025
AIR BAGS, SERVICE BRAKES, STEERING
during a hydroplaning incident on a ramp, the tesla refused to budge or give any steer. Major issue was no air bags deployed during collision.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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