There are 13 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2018 Tesla Model 3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Many states like Florida have a law that headlights need to be on when it is raining, My Tesla has automatic wipers that come on when it senses rain, when this happens, it should also turn on headlights for safety reasons but it does not, they need to be turned on manually, the car does also have automatic headlights, but the automatic headlights on the car only work when it gets dark in the evening. This is a simple programming change that Tesla could do, my repeated requests to Tesla to address this in the app has done nothing, that’s why I’m requesting you force Tesla to do this. Makes sense right?
The passenger-side daytime-running headlight (aka, "signature light" or "accent headlight") failed at approximately 66,000 miles and four years. This makes the daytime-running headlight ineffective. I have since noticed many Tesla Model 3's with the same issue. To fix this problem requires replacement of the entire headlight assembly. This was a very expensive repair (~$1200) and will likely be ignored by owners of Teslas no longer covered under warranty. This creates a common safety issue with these automobiles.
Vehicle center screen freezing multiple times per drive. Speedometer, turn signals, autopilot, battery percentage, backup camera, blind spot monitor, parking sensors, HVAC and garage door opener all repeatedly inoperative. Audio chimes also freeze up and previously-engaged “navigate on autopilot” functions continue to operate without any visual or auditory alerts.
Daylight running lights are not operating, a warning in the instrument cluster of not operating lights is not give. So the driver is not aware of the issue! Repair is not possible the entire light unit needs to be replaced ! This is a come issue with the Manufacture Tesla as I found a lot of complains on the internet with this specific issues
Automatic Headlights fail to illuminate when wipers are active. This has been reported to Tesla in 3/2022.
The steering system failed. I'm not sure about the availability for inspection. My safety was put at risk when my car collided with another car. I had just pulled out of my driveway and turned to go down the street a short distance from a stop sign where I would turn left. From a video taken by one of the car's cameras, the car went to the left side of the street and started toward the intersection where the car hit another vehicle. I have driven to the intersection numerous times. There is no way that I would have pulled toward the left side of the street. I believe that something in the steering system malfunctioned. This put me and other drivers on the road at risk. I don't know if the the problem has reproduced. There was a policeman at the site, but he would not inspect the vehicle for a malfunction. My insurance company must have inspected the car as they called today to inform me that the car is totaled. The failure happened so quickly, that I had no warning.
In a heavy Florida rain this afternoon about 3:30pm EDT I noticed my automatic headlight with windshield wiper function was inop. The lights normally go on with windshield wipers in the past. Upon investigation Tesla has removed this function at least on Model 3 and Y cars for some regulatory reason. It is unsafe to have to go to the touch screen to turn on headlights in this situation. Owners are complaining on forums but i think more drastic action is required.
THERE IS A BUILDUP OF WATER AND CONDENSATION IN THE REAR TAIL LIGHTS OF MY VEHICLE. THE ISSUE IS KNOWN BY TESLA AS THEY REPLACED THE SAME PROBLEM BEFORE, HOWEVER, NOW THEY ARE NOT COVERING IT UNDER WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM AMONG MODEL 3 OWNERS.
FRONT FOG LIGHTS AND REAR TAIL LIGHTS FOGGING AND FILLING WITH CONDENSATION THAT COULD LEAD TO ELECTRICAL ISSUES. SERVICE CENTER SAID THIS IS 'NORMAL'.
PROBLEM: REAR TAIL LIGHTS WERE NOT ILLUMINATED, EVEN THOUGH THE STANDARDIZED HEADLIGHT SYMBOL/INDICATOR WAS DEPICTED ON THE VEHICLE INSTRUMENT SCREEN. THIS SYMBOL IS UNIVERSALLY UNDERSTOOD TO INDICATE BOTH HEADLIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS. INCIDENT: WHILE DRIVING ON A DARK AND UNLIT ROAD, I ENCOUNTERED DEBRIS BLOCKING THE ROAD. IN ORDER TO PASS THROUGH, I EXITED THE VEHICLE WITHOUT TURNING IT OFF AND LEFT THE DRIVER'S DOOR UNLATCHED TO ENSURE THE VEHICLE DID NOT INADVERTENTLY POWER DOWN. I EXPECTED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS WOULD REMAIN ILLUMINTED TO, BOTH, LIGHT THE ROAD AHEAD AS WELL AS ILLUMINATE THE REAR FOR SAFETY AND VISIBILITY. AFTER MOVING THE DEBRIS FROM THE ROAD, I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE WAS COMPLETELY DARK AND NOT VISIBLE FROM THE REAR. HOWEVER, THE INTERIOR INSTRUMENT PANEL SIMULTANEOUSLY DEPICTED THE STANDARDIZED HEADLIGHT SYMBOL, WITH NO WARNING THAT THE REAR LIGHTS WERE INDEPENDENTLY TURNED OFF. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD, AS THE DRIVER/OWNER HAS NO INDICATION THAT THE REAR TAIL LIGHTS TURN OFF. ASIDE FROM MANUALLY GOING INTO HEADLIGHT SETTINGS IN THE VEHICLE CONFIGURATION MENU, THERE IS NO EASILY ACCESSIBLE WAY TO KEEP ALL LIGHTING ACTIVE WHILE THE DRIVER IS NOT IN THE VEHICLE.
THESE VEHICLES ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH FRONT SIDE AMBER REFLEX REFLECTORS AS REQUIRED UNDR FMVSS 205 REQUIREMENTS
HELLO, I OFTEN FOLLOW TESLA MODEL 3 CARS IN DENSE TRAFFIC, AND STOP BEHIND THEM AT RED LIGHTS. I HAVE TO SAY, THEIR TAIL LIGHTS (MORE EXACTLY, BRAKE LIGHTS IN THE CENTER OF TAIL LIGHT) ARE EXTREMELY BRIGHT WHILE BEING VERY SMALL. THEY ARE ALMOST AS BRIGHT AS LASERS. WHEN IT'S DARK, LOOKING AT THEM EVEN WITH PERIPHERAL VISION IS PAINFUL, I HAVE TO LOOK TO THE SIDE TO AVOID BEING BLINDED. I AM SURE LOOKING AT THESE LIGHTS IS DANGEROUS TO MY VISION. INSTEAD OF THESE VERY SMALL AND VERY BRIGHT LIGHTS, TESLA SHOULD HAVE USED BIGGER LIGHTS WITH SMALLER INTENSITY (EMITTED POWER PER SQUARE INCH). I AM ATTACHING A STOCK PICTURE OF MODEL 3'S TAIL LIGHTS. UNFORTUNATELY, A CAMERA COULD NOT CAPTURE THE VERY HIGH INTENSITY OF THE LIGHT.
I WAS AT THE SUPERCHARGING STATION IN DUBLIN ( CALIFORNIA) . WHEN I WANTED TO TAKE REVERSE AND PARK MY CAR FOR SUPERCHARGING.MY CAR SHOWED THE OPTION OF AUTOPARK. SINCE THERE WAS AN OPEN SPOT AVAILABLE FOR PARKING MY CAR (WHERE MY CAR FITS PROPERLY - AS PER TESLA GUIDELINES) .I STARTED AUTO PARKING ,IN AUTOPARK FEATURE USUALLY THE CAR COMES CLOSE TO THE OTHER CAR AND THEN TAKES NECESSARY TURN. BUT IN MY CASE THE CAR CAME VERY CLOSE TO THE OTHER CAR AND INSTEAD OF STOPPING IT SPEEDED UP AND DASHED TO THE OTHER CAR IN THE PARKING SPOT. MY CAR HAS COLLISION PREVENTION PLUS IT PROVIDES ACCURATE DISTANCE IF THERE IS SOME OBJECT BEHIND MY CAR, BUT IN THIS CAR NEITHER OF THE SYSTEMS ALERTED ME AND LED TO A CRASH.I RAISED A COMPLAINT TO TESLA ABOUT THE AUTO PARK FEATURES PROBLEM BUT HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY ANY WORD FROM THEM. I HAVE ATTACHED THE IMAGES OF THE CAR.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026