2019 Tesla Model 3 Complaint Log

The car on multiple occasions while driving on the highway with either the cruise control or autopilot engaged, drastically brakes and slows down for no reason. These slowdowns are drastic and have occurred when there are no other cars or conditions to cause the response. The braking is so dramatic that it is unlikely that I could have intervened in time to prevent a trailing vehicle from potentially rear ending my car. The speed change was so drastic that a trailing driver also may not have been able to react in time. This is a serious issue that must be corrected without delay. This typically issue occurs within 15 minutes of engaging the cruise control or autopilot and has happened multiple times. The date below is the most recent occurrence.

The contact owned a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving with the autopilot feature enabled, the vehicle slid across the road and crashed into a concrete barrier. The contact stated that it was raining at the failure occurred. No Police or Fire reports were filed. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss. The contact stated after researching, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V838000 (Electrical System). In addition, the vehicle was not inspected by Tesla to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

The front control arm fails just 58k mile mark this known issue on car. Multiple time brought to there attention no action was taken

the PTC heater fails on a lot of the older cars leaving them stranded. The % of cars effected is alarming. This should be recalled to prevent people from being stranded in the cold.

On Feb. 18, 2023 when the Tesla model 3 was being driven on I-66E in a regular lane (55mph speed limit) parallel to an I-66 express lane (posted limit of 70 mph) going in the same direction, the car display showed the higher posted speed limit of the express lane. As a result, in assisted cruise control mode, the car would speed up more than 15 mph faster than the permitted speed for the non-express lane. Using assisted cruise control in such a circumstance is a serious hazard, but it has been observed many times on different highways since the vehicle was purchased in 2019. The problem puts the occupants of the car and other vehicles on the road at risk. The problem was initially experienced on I-395 and reported to Tesla in 2019 soon after purchase, but no action or follow-up was made. Recently, the problem has been consistently detected multiple times in similar circumstances.

A couple things that concern me. One- My vehicle is showing an open recall since I purchased it. I reached out to Tesla and they advised it most like has been addressed by the software updates. I would prefer a more direct answer versus stating it “most likely” has been addressed. Two- My Model 3 was advertised on Tesla’s website with a range of 310. I get an equivalent of 120 miles of range. This is less than half. I have reached out to Tesla within days of purchasing the car and was told they completed an over the air diagnosis and nothing is wrong with my battery. They advised the cold weather can play a major role. Which I totally understand, however I can’t imagine losing over 50% of range. This has also not been completely addressed.

I am writing to report a serious issue that occurred while my wife and two of my children were driving my Tesla Model 3 with VIN number [XXX] on Highway 99 North on February 14, 2023, at approximately 6pm. While driving on the highway, the Model 3 suddenly shut down and died. The vehicle completely lost power and they were unable to restart it. Despite trying all the resets given by Tesla roadside assistance, the car would not move. Even the Tesla team wasn't able to move the car and it was California Highway Patrol who moved it to a safer location. My wife and children were extremely frightened by this incident, which was an incredibly dangerous situation as they were driving on a busy highway, and they were lucky that no accidents occurred as a result. I wanted to update you that the Tesla team in Stockton, CA is now handling this issue and they have informed me that the battery fuse blew. However, this incident has left me with grave concerns regarding the safety of my Tesla Model 3 for myself and my children. I believe that the car has become extremely unsafe to drive, and I am very worried that a similar situation could happen again. I must also note that this incident has created a panic within me, that even if and when the issue is resolved, every time I drive my Model 3, I will have a flashback of the incident and the fear that it might happen again. I believe this is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, there was an abnormal creaking sound. The failure occurred at various speeds and occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed and determined that the creaking sound was coming from the front upper control arm while turning the vehicle and the front lower control arm while in reverse. The dealer also diagnosed that the latter link was torn. The contact was informed that the control arms and suspension nuts and bolts needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,000.

I have six recorded incidents over three different trips where I was traveling at highway speeds on I-84. While utilizing cruise control, weather was clear and roads were dry with no vehicles in front of, behind or to the side of me. The vehicle slammed on it's brakes unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. 5 out of the 6 times, it stopped so fast, nearly coming to a complete stop that it caused the vehicle to swerve almost out of control. Luckily there were no vehicles close behind me, otherwise I would have certainly been rear ended and possibly even killed at the speeds we were traveling. I have spoken to Tesla and they admit it is a known problem, but they don't have an immediate fix. The recommend not using cruise control in their vehicles. I think they should buy the vehicles back if you cannot use something as basic as cruise control. This problem is wide spread and extremely dangerous if not deadly under certain conditions. The date below is the 2nd to last time it happened. Last time was on 2/13/23. There were 4 similar incidents prior to 2/12/23

Passenger safety restraint system fault warning keeps alerting on the display screen. I contacted Tesla about the situation and they want to charge me for the fix. This is a safety issue and not a mechanical issue

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving the cruise control or auto pilot activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking with a beeping sound coming from the vehicle with a manual control warning message appearing on the infotainment screen. Neither the Service Center nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

I've been experiencing "phantom braking" where the car will decrease it's speed, sometimes up to 50% while it's in self-driving mode.

Tesla knowingly disabled the hardware sensor suite in a recent update of the software in their push toward "Tesla Vision". Unfortunately the disabling of the hardware sensor suite has made the car more dangerous to drive in certain conditions such as dark roads and inclement weather where the camera cannot detect a danger situation in advance the way it could with a hardware sensor suite. The disabling of this sensor is costing me $6000 in damage due to Tesla Vision not seeing a large, dead deer in the middle of the highway causing me to drive over it and damage critical components. Tesla's decision to use a plastic shield instead of a metal shield to protect the components lead to the piercing of the battery coolant line and damage to other components.

Vehicle came to abrupt stop so hard the seatbelt locked and my head hit the seat rest once fully stopped in highway traffic. I was traveling in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway at night, with clear skies, and dry road. There nearest car ahead of me was about 40 feet, and I was traveling with the flow of traffic at around 20 mph. “Autopilot” was enabled and set to 35mph. I believe the ADAS camera system of my vehicle momentarily determined a nearby car in the left or right lane had suddenly moved into my lane when in reality none had crossed the white line and the road ahead was clear.

This morning, I was driving using FSD beta and the car swerved and veered almost directly into the curb, head-on. I was able to capture the data using the car's built-in dashcam and saved it, though I can't upload it to this site. I was able to slam on the brakes at the last minute and luckily no one else was around as it could have easily injured someone else and/or damaged my vehicle.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at 3 MPH and slowing the vehicle into his residence driveway, as he took his foot off the accelerator the vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed forward. The vehicle crashed into the residence and entered the house. The contact stated he did not notice any warning lights. The contact was rendered unconscious and was transported by ambulance to an ER. The contact stated that the air bags did not deploy. The contact had sustained a broken back and had fractured his sternum. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

I was utilizing Tesla's self-driving feature and while traveling at about 75mph, the vehicle slammed on the braked on three different occasions for no reason. Fortunately, on all occasions, no vehicles were anywhere near me. There were no warning signs and this is the first occurrence. I have not utilized cruise control or the self-driving function, since.

The car has repeatedly slammed on the brakes while using Tesla's Full Self-Driving functionality and made the car unusable at times. I've gotten into many near accidents, with the most recent happening on 1/8/23 where the vehicle slammed on the brakes on the freeway in front of a big rig, almost causing it to rear end me while me, my wife and two children were in the car. At the same time, the vehicle has also almost hit pedestrians while using the FSD beta, which I managed to avoid on 1/8/23 because I was paying attention. Had I not, I'm sure we would've struck a pedestrian walking across the street.

Since disabling the radar, the car very frequently brake checks on the highway when there are no cars in front of it, due to the reflection off the surface of highways that are very flat. This happens at least every hour or 2 when driving.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the Front Passenger Restraint System Fault message was displayed. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the front passenger’s side seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

12/24 between 7:54am and 8:55am driving on the 10 west from Arizona to California while on auto drive within one hour experienced 4 times the car engaged the brake while traveling 80 mph on the highway. All 4 times there was nothing in front or side of the vehicle. The vehicle did not alarm a sensor that something was in the way. Fortunately we reacted quickly and continued with the accelerator so we didn’t stop abruptly on the Highway. 2 out of the 4 times it was a very hard brake the other two times it was hard but not nearly as forceful. Again nothing in the road, sun behind us, no indicators of obstructed cameras. We haven’t been on a long trip with the car in a long time, however my son drove from Orange County , CA to Los Angeles one evening about 6 weeks ago and he said the same thing occurred 3 times while on the trip and on the highway. I did Google the situation and it sounds like I am not the only one who has experienced the phantom braking situation. We have disengaged the auto drive and auto pilot the remainder of the trip.

Phantom braking is occurring regularly on a road trip from CA to LA. It has happened on clear roads with sunny conditions and no obstructions as well as in shadowy or dark conditions. It only occurs with cruise control on.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Modal 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH with the autopilot activated, the cruise control suddenly deactivated and the braking system erroneously activated causing the vehicle to abruptly decelerate. The contact immediately depressed the accelerator pedal to avoid being rear-ended by a second vehicle. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,291.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while his partner was driving at approximately 60 MPH in inclement weather, the lane departure feature malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to hydroplane and crash into the median. No air bags were deployed. The contact's partner sustained a sore neck and back; however, medical attention was not received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

Poor LED headlight/headlight seal caused severe condensation (water dripping) inside headlight housing, which led to the headlight and turn signal to not function. No warning/notification received from the car. The car is 3 years old, past 50,000-mile warranty. Headlight inspected by Tesla service center and had to be replaced at owner’s expense due to out of warranty. Condition led to poor visibility and danger/risk to other drivers/pedestrians on the road especially at night. Attempting to obtain old headlight from service center, but have pictures on hand.

I started to having "Faulty Restrain system fault" around 49k miles on Tesla Model 3. Error pop up "service needed". Consult Tesla for repair. First they ask for $384 for repair harness wires attach for driver front seat. Upon checking warranty on Tesla.com, it provides 60000 miles and 5 years warranty for Restrain System coverage so tesla agrees to fix error for "$0". Upon taking car for repair, I was informed I had rodent cause damage (chewed) wires and it's not cover. I had to pay $180 for repair. I live in Phoenix city and where I live we don't have any problem with rodents. It's very shocking to learn that rodent get access to underneath of Tesla and can chewed on wires. Why wires are not covered with better material rather than cheap plastic tapes. Those wires play significant role in vehicle safety as far as restrain system is concern. Question is why Model 3 is so inferiors in quality and design that rodent get access to the wiring. Error cause many driving problems with air bags not working and causing speeding errors. I have read on Tesla Motor Club blog and many customers are experiencing same problem. Is there anything Tesla needs to do to make their car more safer on road? If you need more information please email me at [XXX] I can provide pictures of damage due to rodent provided by Tesla. Thank You,[XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Two lane highway I was in the left lane with the cruise control on not Full Self Driving. In the right lane was a semi which I came up along side off on the left , I was driving 70mph. (Speed limit) The car suddenly hard braked on it’s own. The car behind me had to brake to avoid an accident and went into the dirt. After that on this same drive, there were at least 6 more instances of phantom braking when traveling over a “wash bridge “ going under a highway sign, driving along side another semi and once without anyone near and an open road. This also happened 3 months ago and when I reported it to Tesla they said when I received the FULL self driving down load which I got the next day, the problem should be corrected. I also reported the previous problem to you, the case # 11488958.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the front suspension lateral link was fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V235000 (Suspension)however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

The high beams frequently don’t work. It has to be off auto. They only work sometimes I have to pull the left stalk forward to have them on. They should over ride the system if I push the stalk forward so I can see the road. I have allot of deer in my area and I’m afraid to drive often because the system isn’t working right. They want to charge me $1,363 to look at it.

Battery system is malfunction with power conversion system. I notice it is only charging 32/48A. After talking to Tesla, they said it is the power conversion system failure and it wouldn’t be cover under the battery warranty. I know there is a lot of other Tesla owner with this issue as well. Please investigate this incident to see if Tesla should recall the system. Thank you.

Was using autopilot feature on the vehicle on thanksgiving. Was going about 75 miles per hour when suddenly autopilot failed and the car lost control. I had to quickly regain control of the vehicle before I crashed. I took photos of the error messages and reported the incident to tesla via the tesla app. Typically autopilot fails gracefully and provides notifications. I’ve never seen it fail with no warning and loss of control of the vehicle.

At night, both left and right side turn signal cameras (repeater cameras) become heavily obscured with glare when using turn signals. This interferes with lane keep assist, blind spot/collision warning, autopilot functions, and the ability for a driver to safely discern the presence of a vehicle in the vehicle’s blind spot. In November 2022 Tesla stated “It is a characteristic of the product… that has been design enhanced in newer vehicle production.” The issue is caused by 3 small holes located on the repeater camera’s printed circuit board (PCB) that allow internal light from the turn signal repeater to shine through the PCB to the camera sensor side, directly obscuring most of the camer sensor. The new “design enhanced” version covers these 3 holes with tape, eliminating the problem. Tesla does not view this as a concern and does not cover this safety issue under warranty. A very large number of owners have filed complaints with Tesla. Some owners had the parts replaced under “good will” while most have been charged for the replacement of the side repeaters as Tesla doesn’t classify this as a defect in “materials or workmanship”. Despite this, Tesla felt compelled to “enhance the design” by eliminating this problem. It’s absurd that Tesla knows about the issue and went as far as correcting it to prevent further problems, but won’t issue a TSB for vehicles effected by this “characteristic” that poses a major safety concern.

While freeway driving with autopilot (adaptive cruise control) engaged the car will suddenly break VERY hard when there is no reason to. This is SUPER dangerous when traveling at 70 mph and someone is behind me. This is a known issue (phantom breaking) that has been a problem for years and not resolved.

Major side impact. Vehicle struck 30-35mph perpendicular to direction of travel. Vehicle did a 180 and suffered significant damage. Side Airbags did not deploy and shattered glass projectiles were flung to the head area of rear occupant, as evidenced by glass shards caught in car seat head area.

A recall was issued on Dec 21, 2021 regarding a potential camera issue due to a cable wearing out. It states that a remedy is unavailable. However, it has been almost a year since this recall and I believe this is not a reasonable time frame at this point. My camera has become glitchy and sometimes shows a green screen rather than the actual camera view

"Full Self Driving" (FSD) 10.69.3.1 disconnect events lock out driver after five 'strikes.' This makes it impossible to diagnose repeatable faults until a future version unlocks FSD. My testing suggests there are problems with controlled intersections making a left turn. However, the lockout prevents documenting the problem(s). Locking out the software also makes it impossible for NHTSA, IIHS, and even the National Transportation Safety Board to identify and document failures with FSD. It also impacts car reviewers as well as this owner.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at high speeds with the auto pilot feature activated, the vehicle experienced intermittent phantom braking. The contact stated that no warning light appeared on the instrument panel prior to the failure. The contact attempted to notify the service center of the failure but was informed that he could only report the failure soon after the failure. The service center offered no further assistance. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the Autonomous Self Driving or Adaptive Cruise Control feature activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking, causing the vehicle to abruptly stop in the middle of the roadway. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions without any other vehicles or objects nearby. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 28,000.

My Handicap Son, Devdutt Srivastava, on Cushing Parkway and Fremont Boulevard. Fremont, CA, on US October 24 Evening with no Auto Pilot or FUSD engaged. At threshold the light had turned Orange and my son proceeded with same pace as usual, without accelerating. A cross car with an Autistic Kid, most likely as my son is a Special Ed Masters and trained to spot one, rammed into the Tesla 3 which was fully wrecked. The Auto Collision Emergency Detection and Braking should have worked as it was Stop and Go Traffic at Peak Evening Hours between 3:50 and 4:30 pm. I have seen Toyota Prius Auto Collison Braking Work. Someone needs to stop Elon Musk and Tesla charging premium on false promises and taking toll on lives of innocent people trusting their marketing false propoganda and constant spinning on Auto Pilot and FUD with new additional confusion creating packages and options and moving features too and fro. This complicates the software and causes more bugs.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH with adaptive cruise control mode and passing a semi-truck, the vehicle experienced phantom braking and pulled hard to the left on three occasions. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to provide a two minute time frame of the next occurrence of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 27,019.

While the vehicle has adaptive cruise control engaged, there are times it applies braking (sometimes aggressive braking) for no reason (commonly referred to as phantom braking). It’s almost as if the vehicle thinks there is an object in front of it and is applying emergency braking, however there is nothing on the road. In my experiences, it happens mostly on the Highway at speeds 60-80mph. This happens on clear days, with no weather concerns. This is a severe issue that will cause accidents (if people are following closely behind me, there is a concern of them hitting me). It is scary and concerning ; this needs to be immediately addressed and corrected.

Squeaking while turning left, right, and under load while braking in a straight line. Problem is upper and lower control arms. Also at time is sound like metal grinding in a circular fashion like a break pad on a rotor, or like an inner bearing going out.

On a recent cross-country trip in our Tesla, we experienced "phantom braking" a number of times when we had the adaptive cruise control engaged. We were not using more advanced features on any of these occasions.

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 12 MPH, there was a rattling and grinding noise coming from the front passenger’s side tire. The contact pulled over and noticed that the front brake caliper bolts had detached and the rear brake caliper bolts appeared loosened. Additionally, there was damage to the front passenger’s side tire and rim. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer and the contact was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V387000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The brake caliper bolts were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, a case was not opened. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.

I was traveling approximately 70 mph in passing lane when I engaged (standard) autopilot, as I approached to pass a vehicle with another vehicle following me in the same lane as I was traveling. My vehicle (phantom) braked hard to which the wheels began to squeal slightly and the vehicle behind me had to brake hard to avoid hitting my vehicle. I almost immediately applied pressure to the accelerator pedal to avoid a complete stopping of the vehicle and to which the vehicle responded to accelerate. And I disengaged the autopilot immediately by applying an upward motion on the gear stock.

Front upper control arm is failing, making an awful noise and can be felt grinding inside the car while driving. Reported to Tesla service and they denied the repair. It is a known issue, they need to recall all effected vehicles for repair.

It has happened twice already today 9/21/22 was the second time that happened i was driving in the highway and the tesla suddenly hard brake with no cars near me if this problem continues it could lead to future accidents if someone is following to close…

I experienced more than 10 incidents of “phantom braking” while on Interstate highways (I90 and I29) on a round trip from Solon Iowa to western South Dakota. ( late Sep 2022). There were no apparent obstructions, nearby vehicles, or other dangers. In several incidents I was traveling at the speed limit (80 mph) and the car braked so suddenly and hard it jolted wife and terrified her. If a car or truck was behind me I would have almost certainly had a serious accident. This behavior seems to have gotten much worse in the past few months, although I have seen it occasionally over the 3 years (48000 miles) I have owned the car. I have noticed it happens most often near the crest of hills.

2019 TESLA MODEL 3. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRUNK HARNESS SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED INFORMATION REGARDING WHEN THE HARNESS MAY BE AVAILABLE.

Tesla software update 2022.24.6 is an update that forces the vehicle to use Tesla Vision for Autopilot adaptive cruise control. The driver does not have the option to disable auto high beam features and the software is not accurate enough to prevent flashing and high beaming of other drivers. This hazard has occurred at least 5 times within two days of receiving the update. A hazard is created in two different ways: - blinding approaching vehicles, including turning on high beams when approaching vehicle is in direct area of glare - flashing high beams when following other vehicles at a close distance, distracting and blinding the lead vehicle While this problem has not been verified by a dealer, auto high beams while using Autopilot cannot be disabled and many other drivers are reporting similar issues in online forums. There is no warning or way to adjust the feature. This will likely lead to a collision because approaching drivers cannot see through glare.