2022 Tesla Model 3 Complaint Log

While using Tesla adaptive cruise control on the Ohio Turnpike on a sunny day, the brakes engaged , causing the vehicle to slow quickly. There were no obvious obstructions, other vehicles, road conditions, or formations that should have caused the system to brake. There was a large green and white reflective road sign along the right side of the road. I was able to press the accelerator and return to speed. If I hadn't been able to return the car to speed quickly, a large truck behind me would have had to brake hard to avoid a collision.

When seat is wet or damp (from a wet water bottle or sweat), passenger restraint light comes on and system is confirmed to not work properly when that happens.

While driving 2022 Tesla Model 3 with cruise control, the car phantom braked with nothing around vehicle. This happened approximately 20-30 times while driving for about 8 hours. The phantom braking occurred while cruise control was set a 75 mph and and went to around 65 mph. This has occurred at varying speeds. It also occurred while using the auto-pilot feature. This happened the next day numerous times. It also braked on a two lane highway after a vehicle passed our car. There was no warning or indicators before, during or after. I am really concerned that this will occur with a vehicle behind my car and cause a rear end collision. Need to see Tesla dealership when return from current trip. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I was driving in our new 2022 Tesla doing 55 mph using the adaptive cruise control, not on auto pilot. We were on a divided highway, a few cars coming from the opposite lane, nothing in front of us when without warning the car heavily braked. It frightened us and I pressed the accelerator and the car continued without any further incident, but the episode was scary because earlier in the day we were driving on a heavily traveled interstate where such an episode could easily have caused a collision

Phantom breaking system continuously is stopping out of no where. Happens when vehicle is on autopilot and also happens when vehicle is on cruise control. It slams the brakes and lowers speed approximately 20 MPH’s in a matter of a second. Seriously increasing the chance of being rear ended. It’s enough braking power to send you forward in your seat. On my current trip driving through Nevada to Idaho it happened approximately 5 times within 20 miles before I gave up and turned it off. I have also experienced problems before where the car merges lanes on the freeway but does not take into consideration the car in the lane that it’s merging into. Accident waiting to happen.

On a recent round trip between Reno and Salt Lake City on I-80 over the July 4th weekend I experienced several incidents (3 incidents driving from Reno to SLC and 5 incidents on the return trip) while using Tesla Autopilot where the car suddenly slowed from the posted speed limit of 75 or 80 mph to approximately 45-50 mph for no apparent reason. Both legs of the trip occurred in clear weather with light to no traffic and there was no type of warning preceding each of the events. I have used Autopilot for limited periods around the Bay Area without incident prior to this trip and this was the first extended road trip I have taken with the car.

Just completed road-trip from Florida to New England and back. Experienced 4/5 phantom braking events while using cruise control at highway speeds. When traveling in traffic at highway speed, this abrupt braking came very close to causing a collision.

Driving on I8 between San Diego and Phoenix with no obstacles or vehicles around with cruise control on, vehicle was brake hard for no apparent reason. This happened multiple times. Disabled it as we were concerned we would get rear ended.

Since purchasing this vehicle new, I have experienced no less than 40 different incidents of Phantom Braking where, while using Tesla's adaptive cruise control (and ONLY adaptive cruise control), my car has suddenly and violently applied the brakes while traveling at highway speeds (between 65-75 mph) on interstate highways where there were no obstructions or other vehicles that posed any risk. I have extensive experience driving other (non-Tesla) vehicles with adaptive cruise control, so I understand some of the potential limits regarding when radar/cameras might mistake an obstruction or a gap in observations for something that would require braking, but that is not what is happening with my current Tesla. Instead, on wide-open interstates, with no other cars for hundreds of yards around me, the vehicle with suddenly violently apply brakes, forcing me to have to take protective and corrective actions to avoid swerving or becoming a hazard to other vehicles, all of which are also driving at highway speeds. I have NOT had a crash due to this, but the sudden braking and deceleration has forced other cars around me to have to suddenly brake and swerve.This has happened about 10 times on EACH of the following dates, each of which was a one-day leg of a drive anywhere from 500-800 miles: (5/26/2022, 5/30/2022, 7/1/2022, and 7/5/2022). I am just going to add one of these dates below, but I am happy to be contacted to provide more details.

I engaged cruise control on my 2022 Tesla model 3 at 70 mph while traveling on flat level terrain, and after about 1 to 2 miles in cruise, braking automatically occurred slowing my speed down to 50 mph in less than 2 seconds. I've read that this is considered phantom braking which is considered common on the newer 2022 Tesla model 3. There were no warning signals and no visible objects on the road, and the time of day was about 4:30 pm. I took the vehicle to the dealership for another issue, but they didn't have time to take it for a test drive. I was thrown forward in my seat when the incident occurred, and fortunately there were no other drivers immediately behind me.

On several occasions while my Model 3 was under cruise control the vehicle brakes for no reason. From 65 mph to 25 mph in moderate to heavy traffic nearly causing a rear end collision each time.

When driving using cruise control on highway, car suddenly applied brakes with no other vehicles or obstructions present ahead or beside us. Car went from 80mph to 60mph. Had there been a car behind us, there may have been a rear-end accident

We experienced the following phantom braking (vehicle braked without warning with no obstacles present) incidents while using cruise control: July 1 2:14 & 2:15 pm: from 74 to 55 mph 2:21 pm: 74 mph to 69 mph 2:34 pm: 74 mph to 60 mph 2:40pm: 74 mph to 60 mph July 2 11:08 am: 74mph to 63mph. A car had pulled up close behind us to prepare to pass on a heavily trafficked, two lane interstate highway . Our vehicle braked. The car behind almost rear-ended us. If I had not moved to the right onto the shoulder and the trailing vehicle had not swerved into the left lane (which was fortunately empty), it would have hit us. We reported these incidents to the Tesla service center on July 8 when we dropped off the car for another service issue. When we picked the car up they told us that they had adjusted the car's cameras. We have not tried using cruise control since then.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, an object struck the windshield. The contact became aware of little holes on the front windshield. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the failure was impact related and she had to pay out-of-pocket for the repair. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 200.

While driving on a two lane road, I was utilizing Tesla Autopilot to maintain speed and keep the vehicle centered in the lane at 60mph when the vehicle slammed on the brakes for no apparent reason. No error messages, beeps or chimes went off to indicate to me why it was slowing down very quickly. I have had this happen several times in my first 3 months of owning this vehicle and there have been times that the car has slammed on the brakes when another vehicle was following closely which could have resulted in me getting rear-ended. Tesla Autopilot can be extremely helpful, but at the same time it is not reliable and may result in an accident at some point.

My Tesla model 3 has detected imaginary object while using auto pilot feature and applied FULL brake pressure to stop the car, which puts us in danger of being rear ended.

I love my Tesla but I hate the computer. It is dangerous! More accurate to say I hate the UNFRIENDLY user interface. I am surprised NHTSA OKed this computer interface. It needs a GOOGLE quality voice activation feature. The current one is deaf to most words normally used to drive a car. E.G., to turn the lights on while driving on a road where “LIGHTS ON” is required. I must hit a button to see all controls. Then I must hit the “LIGHTS” button. Then I must hit the “LIGHTS ON”. All this while having trouble reading the small print on the screen. The reading is difficult. All this while taking my eyes off the road to even see the screen. This is just one of very many examples. The actual use of the computer is VERY OFTEN more user UNfriendly and UNSAFE than the “LIGHTS” button. Dangerous, DANGEROUS. I almost killed another driver when my car was new because I was WORKING the computer and I ran a red light. Fortunately my car stopped because I hit the breaks or because the car was, in fact, SMART??????? I am surprised NHTSA OKed this computer interface. The computer is smart but using the interface is dangerous.

Numerous times, my Tesla Model 3 has randomly slammed on the brakes or rapidly reduced its speed while on Autopilot. This has happened several times even when driving on flat level ground and no vehicles around me nor was there any debris in the road. It has also happened numerous times within several minutes while on the same flat road. The car also has a tendency to brake or turn off Autopilot when coming up to a hill that it seems to interpret as a car or object in the road. This can be very jolting and scary and if you aren’t ready on the accelerator pedal to speed back up there is a very real chance to get rear-ended.

Recently, while traveling on the freeway with light traffic conditions (no cars near me to the front, sides or rear -- possibly no cars even visible) the car automatically applied the brakes causing the speed to drop by more than 30 miles an hour. This happened three times over the course of two minutes, with one of the incidences being particularly severe (throwing me forward in my seat as the brakes were applied). Had a car been behind me, I'm sure I would have been rear-ended. At the time, the weather was clear, and the time was near noon, putting the sun nearly overhead. I did not detect any shadows or unusual road patterns at the time of the incidences, nor was I near any overpasses. At the time of the incidents, the car had its "traffic aware" cruise control engaged with the lane following feature active. Later that same day I experienced a similar incident with heavy, unexpected braking (same freeway, now heading in the opposite direction, about one hour from sunset), with traffic aware cruise control engaged but without lane following engaged. I have experienced milder versions of unnecessary automatic braking about 6 times. They were annoying, but not a safety issue. In at least one of the incidences described above, the braking was so severe, I do think it could have gotten me killed if a vehicle had been close behind me. I'm now afraid to use the feature in moderate traffic, which is a shame, because it is in under exactly that circumstance that the feature is most useful.

We are on a trip from California to Indiana and have had 9 instances so far of the car suddenly stopping while the cruise control is on. The last incident we are doing 75 mph and car stopped suddenly and car following us almost hit us and driver was pissed to the extent of road rage. This needs to be addressed!!

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that the vehicle inadvertently activated the brakes independently after an image appeared on the display screen. The contact stated that the brake failure warning light was illuminated. The contact related the screen detection failure with a sensor failure, causing the brakes to independently apply. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 728.

At least 6 times on a trip today the traffic aware cruise control cut out and slowed the vehicle dramatically for absolutely no reason. If there was a vehicle close behind me, there would likely have been a collision. The weather was clear with no vehicles remotely close to me. About 1/2 the incidents were on a two lane road in the California desert. Other dramatic events were on interstate highway when my vehicle had just passed an off-ramp, I was in the right hand lane. Tesla has been notified via a bug report each time it happened. Tesla is aware of the problem and says we don't need to take the vehicle to a service center.

Taking two 300+ mile trips, last Friday (June 24)and yesterday Monday (June 27), while on Auto Pilot with the cruise at either 80 or 85, the car had multiple phantom braking issues. The car would decelerate between 10-20 miles instantly with no obstacles or other cars around. This happened at least 10 times total with both trips. So much so that I have no confidence in using this feature again. It's horrifying when it happens.

Phantom braking at interstate speeds when vehicle was in autosteer. On a recent 600+ mile day trip I experienced 5 separate instances of instant phantom braking when the car was travelling between 70 and 75mph with autosteer on. The car would brake violently from 70mph to around 50mph in milliseconds without any observable obstacles and no visual or audible warnings from the car. The driver notification log does not show any instance of the event.

Hello, I purchased a Tesla Model 3 in March 2022. The car will randomly brake while on cruise control and the auto pilot on the highway , there is nothing on the road in front of me when this happens. I am very concerned that I may get into a car accident or cause others behind me to brake abruptly in response to my car resulting in potent accidents.I feel this is quite unsafe. The phantom breaking has happened multiple times. I am driving from Texas to NC where the cruise control is crucial but am worried about the braking problems. I have not had the opportunity to take it to the dealer yet about this problem. It’s unknown to me if the manufacturer inspected this component. There were no warning signs of any type prior to the phantom braking happen. Any insight or guidance you can provide would be appreciated. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Autopilot navigation and cruise control, yes it is available for inspection upon request How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Vehicles behind have to brake every time the phantom breaking happens putting everyone at unnecessary risk to avoid a crash. Again, there is no need for the sudden breaking when it occurs. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No.

When driving down a 2 lane, desert highway in California at about 60 mph, the cruise control cut out for no reason. There were no vehicles near me. This happened 3 or 4 times within an hour of driving time. When the cruise control cuts out and/or emergency braking occurs, my vehicle slows dramatically. There is a significant risk of a collision if there was a vehicle behind me due to my sudden, and unnecessary dramatic change in speed. Tesla has been notified via a bug report. Tesla says this is a known condition and may occur. I feel this is a safety issue and must be solved or have the traffic aware cruise control changed to a standard cruise control that requires driver action to be disengaged.

Cruise control was set to 70 mph on main turnpike. Shortly thereafter the car slammed on the brakes without any traffic around bringing the car almost instantly down to 45 mph. Had to override brakes by stepping on accelerator.

while driving from Arlington, VA to Haymarket, VA on Interstate 66, i was using Tesla Autopilot (adaptive cruise control) and experienced several instances of sudden braking for no obvious reason. Depending on the location, the car braked suddenly, without any warning, from 65 MPH to 42 MPH, again from 65 to 45, 65 to 38, and 65 to 49. In each case, I was driving in the right lane (of 4 lanes). In these cases, the cars in front of me were a long distance away, perhaps a quarter of a mile. There were no cars in the lane adjacent to me. The braking was sudden and severe, dropping form 65 to 42 in one second. This was both scary and dangerous. Twice there was a car behind me, following at a safe distance that had to swerve out of the right lane to avoid an accident. During this same drive, there were 2 other instances of braking that appeared to be correct: once while driving under an overpass and once in an area of construction where the extreme right part of my lane has a raised section that caused the car to tilt significantly. These 2 instances were what I would have expected.

I was driving on the Interstate in Montana I-90 at 75 MPH using the adaptive cruise control when suddenly the car began full braking nearly resulting in my loss of control of the vehicle. I noticed no warning sounds or lights. Fortunately, there was no one immediately behind me or the car would have been rear-ended. It happened when the road was curving to the left and there was a tractor-trailer parked in the right breakdown lane. I suspect the car’s adaptive program assumed the parked truck was stopped on the road in front of me and applied the brakes.

My car continues to slam on the brakes completely at random while using cruise control. This is unsafe because it could easily cause a collision from the vehicle behind me. It also causes road rage because people think I am brake-checking them. Someone waved a gun at me after my car braked randomly in front of them on interstate 10 in Phoenix. Tesla service center says this is currently normal behavior for Teslas without radar and nothing can be done. They offered troubleshooting options which I tried, but there has been no change. My car has no warning lights present.

I was on auto pilot and cruising at 75 mph and car breaks automatically without any car in front of it(Phantom Breaking)

I’ve only had my car for 2 days and have had 6-7 phantom braking issues. First day I was driving home from KC, MO after picking up my new car. 4 random stops with the brakes. Some as we approach a (under) bridge, some the top of a hill. Is it falsely detecting radiant heat as an object? Second day same thing, but on new software update (6-25-22). Shorter trip, so fewer incidents. I recall one where no cars were in from of us and there was some asphalt patches on concrete highway. This triggered emergency brakes again.

Three times in 15 minutes during my road trip, while driving in autopilot my car braked for no reason with no obstruction. Fortunately, no one was hurt or injured but it could have caused major issues if there was more traffic.

Phantom braking when cruise control activated and truck approaches on two-lane roads. Braking can be so hard that it can be dangerous and unanticipated. It happened virtually every time a truck (e.g., log truck, 18 wheeler) approached as I drove on Highway 99E from Corvallis to Monroe, OR on 22 June 2022. My remedies: Turn off cruise control, definitely keep hands on the wheel, and remain very aware.

In good weather, ample light, and with empty road ahead my new Tesla has braked hard while the adaptive cruise control (auto pilot) was on. This has happened on 3 lane highway and two lane (one lane each direction) roads 3+ times over the 750 miles I’ve put on the car.

While backing out of my garage the car accelerated uncontrollably and climbed the curb of my driveway. I tried braking without any success. A message saying, to the best of my recollection, "Automatic Braking Disabled" appeared on the dashboard. After climbing the curb the vehicle came to a stop and "Hazard Lights" came on. There were less than 50 miles on the odometer at this time. After waiting for a few minutes I gently pulled the car off the curb and slowly drove it back into the garage. I discovered broken lug nut and what appeared to be its casing lying in the driveway. Tesla Service Center sent tow-truck to tow the vehicle away to its service center. I handed over the broken lug nut and and its casing to the Tesla Tow-Truck Person. While towing my car suffered even more damage as the passenger side front wheel became almost horizontal and it considerably damaged the front bumper. The photos of all these are uploaded with this incident report.

The adaptive cruise control. is subject to sudden phantom braking. On several occasions when the cruise control is engaged the vehicle will brake for no reason. On one occasion the sudden braking caused a semi-truck behind me to swerve just barely avoiding an accident. On another occasion the vehicle braked so hard that we skidded. There is no warning when the phantom braking will occur. The adaptive cruise control is useless on two lane highways and streets, because it sees cars in the oncoming lane and brakes. I have called the company to have the vehicle check on at least two occasions. Every time I schedule a service the company calls back and tells me they know about the problem and that they are working on the issue. I asked if they could do an update to turn off the adaptive cruise control and revert back the standard cruise control that does not brake or slow down. They said that is not an option. This is a real safety concern, and I will not use the adaptive cruise control except in stop and go traffic. It has been my experience that there has been no phantom braking in stop and go traffic.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 75-80 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,900. The VIN was unavailable.

Sudden and unexpected deceleration while using cruise control or autopilot. E.G. - cruise control set at 65mi/hr then the car randomly applies the brakes and slows down to under 40mi/hr. It happens several times during a trip, every trip, when cruise control or autopilot is used.

I was hit by a woman driving a Tesla with autopilot turned on. The system did not detect the red light, and she hit the right front quarter panel of my vehicle, totally my vehicle. The autopilot system malfunctioned and should have detected both the red light and the collision which was likely to occur. To my knowledge, the vehicle is in the control of either the driver's insurance company or the Police.

Brand New Model 3 Tesla stopped running on a highway, I 15. The car was purchased less than two weeks ago and has under 500 miles on it. SERIOUS danger to me and to others. No warnings. Just suddenly the speed started dropping quickly on the highway. The car would not start after this. This all happened very suddenly. There was no notification of a problem. Cops were called then the vehicle was towed. Lucky to be alive!!!

It would make sudden braking while driving and no obstacles around. While it was on adaptive cruise control or autopilot in both modes.

On the freeway on 6.19.2022, while in auto pilot, car displayed an extreme case of phantom braking. Potentially could have caused an accident

"Phantom braking" occurred on multiple (30 or more) occasions while the adaptive cruise control was engaged. These phantom events happened during a long road trip across west Texas. These events seemed to occur whenever there were few or no cars visible in front of my vehicle and as I was cresting over small rises in the highway, meaning the brakes would engage just after the car reached the high point and started to descend slightly, perhaps because the cameras briefly lost visibility of the road and could not register any oncoming traffic. ALL of these events happened during daylight hours and, on more than one occasion, there were drivers traveling behind my car. Also, there is no way to engage the cruise control without also engaging the "adaptive" feature that uses the cameras to brake in case of emergency. This is a very dangerous flaw in the technology. It causes the passengers within the car to be lunged forward unexpectedly and is very unpredictable for drivers who are traveling behind the car. These phantom braking events most often occurred when the road was completely clear and visibility was at or close to 100%. Tesla needs to do better.

While making a trip to Vegas with the family, I experienced 4 different phantom braking events. 1 was so bad that I almost was rear ended. I saw no common theme between all the events, but they all seemed to happen when there were no cars in front of me at all. All happened in a highway setting.

While using traffic aware cruise control, either the cruise control cut out or emergency braking was initiated causing the vehicle to rapidly slow down. This happened once on a two-lane road and multiple times on a four-lane, divided highway. My vehicle slowed very rapidly from about 70 mph to about 50 mph. If another vehicle had been close behind me, they might have hit me due to the sudden, unexpected decrease in my speed. There was no hazard, vehicle or otherwise, in front of me at those times. Tesla has been notified through a software bug report. Tesla says this is a known possibility, but has not fixed the safety-related defect. This happened on highway 14 in the California desert well away from any town or city in daylight and in good weather.

My Tesla Model 3 was on cruise control (not autopilot) and braked suddenly. I was driving 75 MPH and the car braked to 50 MPH in a matter of one or two seconds. It was a perfectly clear day and there were no cars in front or behind me within a mile distance. There were no objects on the road and absolutely no reason to brake so suddenly. The vehicle was only in cruise control. Lane keep assist (autopilot) was not enabled. Again, there was absolutely no reason to brake. Had a car been behind me, it would have been very dangerous and could have caused an accident. The car braked on its own quick enough that someone behind may not have had time to brake. Cruise control stayed on throughout the entire incident. I turned off the cruise control and took manual control and was able to drive without any issues. This is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed by Tesla. I feel unsafe using any of the ADAS systems. Also, the car has 1K miles on it and this has occurred three times. The other two times when it occurred the car was in autopilot. All three time the car was driving on the highway in Texas and Oklahoma.

Driving at 70 mph on interstate with little surrounding traffic. Twice within one hour while using TACC the car suddenly braked. Luckily no one was behind me. The first time there was an overpass in the distance. The second time may have been related to bright sunlight on the highway ahead that glared and looked like black ice from a distance. Tesla was notified and acknowledged that this could be scary, but the car was checked out as having no issues. They said you just have to be careful. There was no warning of either episode. The car is brand new and the two episodes occurred within the first few hours of using TACC.

This concerns the "Phantom Braking" problem occurring to many Tesla owners recently. I took delivery of my new Tesla model 3 on May 3, 2022. I was very cautious about enabling the advanced features of the car such as Autopilot, and I did not experience the Phantom Braking (PB) problems that some of my friends described with their Tesla. I bought the Full Self-Driving (FSD) package but I have not asked for it to be enabled. Then I left my house on June 9th for a 12 day, 2500 mile round trip to Seattle and back. During the trip I cautiously began to use autopilot functions, and found them to be very useful, particularly the TACC cruise control feature. As the trip progressed, I began to use the TACC more and more because I was beginning to conclude it might be safer than my own driving in specific situations). On the 6th day I began to return home and increased my use of both autopilot functions (TACC and auto-steer). The further I drove, the more certain I became what was happening, but not why. But first you have to understand the constraints. TACC controls the accelerator and the brake pedal and therefore also controls the regenerative braking capability. The other half of autopilot is the auto-steering capability, which controls only the steering wheel. But the important part is -- you can operate the car with only TACC engaged but you can't engage auto-steer unless you activate TACC first, or at the same time. During my trip I experienced some degree of PB something like 25 times. The 3-5 worst were similar to stepping on the brake pedal firmly. On one occasion I had no traffic near me so I didn't immediately override the stop, to see what it would do. The car continued to rapidly brake from about 75 mph down to about 25 when I stepped on the accelerator to break the PB episode. My conclusions -- PB is a TACC problem. Auto-steer does not change the behavior and PB doesn't happen unless TACC is engaged.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving with the Adaptive Cruise control activated or while using the Autonomous Self-Driving feature, the vehicle experienced phantom braking in some areas with a posted Speed Limit. The dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the failure and opened a case. The contact was instructed to reboot the vehicle. The contact performed the reboot several times however, the failure persisted. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.