2022 Tesla Model 3 complaints

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.

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.

Got in vehicle in driveway and upon turning on there was a large thump in rear of vehicle, proceeded by a message to pull over safety indicating rear drive unit failure. Tesla replaced the rear inverter unit. Vehicle only had 3k miles. Similar experience have been documented globally see attached article https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-recall-for-127785-model-3s-in-china-due-to-rear-motor-inverter-defect-185844.html

Vehicle suddenly braked randomly while using cruise control. This happened many times driving from Colorado Springs to Albuquerque on I25. No identifiable cause or roadside hazard. It would brake slow down in a dangerous rapid manner. Cars behind had to avoid hitting us. It became so bad I had to stop using cruise control for the majority of the trip. It is unsafe and scary.

The car has been phantom braking when in cruise control and auto pilot for no reason. This has happened multiple times where it throws the driver into the dash, and it brakes hard. This can cause an accident on the roadways and also the driver if throwing the driver into the dash. This has been going on since we have gotten the brand new car earlier this year. There have been multiple updates to the car but none of the updates have not resolved the issue.

Was traveling on auto-pilot on an uncrowded 2-lane highway, 1 lane in either direction, about 65-70 mph. Car suddenly braked quite drastically for no apparent reason except that perhaps there was a truck in the distance. However, the car had "seen" plenty of trucks before and after and didn't respond in this way. Note that this happened 3 times, possibly 4, on 2 separate days, and only on AUTOPILOT. Note also that the autopilot was functioning as a cruise control because I had 2 hands on the wheel and was not really allowing autopilot to steer. I stopped using autopilot after that.

Using Tesla Autopilot April 13 and April 15 on CA 395 between Los Angeles and Mammoth Lakes the car repeatedly had "phantom braking" incidents with no cars or obstacles in sight.

Phantom Braking. Both in Cruise Control and Auto Pilot (I do not have self driving). The car brakes suddenly for no apparent reason. Often it is to a full complete stop very quickly, occasionally it is a half stop. I have documented occurrences, honked so that the vehicle has a computer recording and I have taken it to the dealership in Las Vegas Nevada where I purchased it. They worked on it for several hours (2/7/22) and said it is nothing physical, must be a computer issue, they will let me know when they have a fix for it. They gave me a number to text to see if there are updates. I texted regularly, only got one response, and it said "that's the way the car is designed to work". No. It feels like it is only a matter of time before someone rear ends me. So no using cruise control, which I paid for and they won't fix. It has happens since the day we brought it home, and at all speeds

While driving at approx 80 MPH along a major highway at approximately 11:30 PM, and while utilizing cruise control, my Tesla Model 3 applied brakes when no vehicle or object was around. My hands were on the wheel and I was focused on driving but the force of the braking caused passengers to move abruptly forward in their seat belts and startled me as the driver. The speed abruptly went from approx 80 down to below 60 MpH. This has happened multiple times. I contacted Tesla support and was told that this is a known issue called “phantom braking.” Since I have NOT used this feature and was told that there is currently not a fix or estimated software release.

Driving on freeway, very little traffic, no cars near me. Speed 73 mph. Sudden loss of power, coasting to stop making a lane change and seeking shoulder space. At about 30 mph power was regained. Sudden loss of power. ( electric motor, motor controller, battery or software failure ) Difficult rapid maneuver to get to side of road. Dealer has made an appointment. Nor warning lamps or warning sounds. There was another incident 2 days earlier when the cruise control would not engage. Two trips no cruise control. yellow warning symbol with "Cruise control unavailable" Made an appointment with Tesla, they cancelled saying that the car did not do that, and my appointment cancelled. Tesla or vehicle software lies.

Two separate times today the car automatically braked hard when there was nothing in front, nor around us, when we were using cruise control.

I purchased and received my Tesla Model 3 earlier this year. On 6 occasions, while using Cruise Control, the car automatically and unexpectedly braked when there was not a car within a 100 meters in front of me in my car lane. The unnecessary and sudden automatic braking surprised the vehicles behind us which increased risk for a crash and also minor whiplash to the passengers in the car. The Tesla's incorrect breaking seemed to be tied to when the car mistakenly through there was a vehicle immediately in front of me. One example was when the Tesla automatically started breaking when the shadow of a big rig was in the same lane as me. To be clear, the big rig was in the lane to the right of me, but it's shadow was in my lane. Another example is when there was a darker spot on the road in front of me. Overall, this is a significant safety issue and must be fixed by Tesla. Thank you.

When driving on the interstate this morning our Tesla suddenly and aggressively applied the brakes. This happened many times. There was absolutely nothing near us. These were empty stretches of highway, These incidents were jarring, both emotionally and physically. We were fortunate that there were no cars near us, especially behind us. This has happened before driving around town but it was less dramatic because our speed was slower than on the highway, We thought maybe we had to get used to the car, This is our first highway trip. We’ve been on the road for 3-4 hours and it has occurred 8 or 9 times. We called Tesla to report it. They said they rarely hear this complaint, upon researching it we see that this is a known issue with our year and model but nothing is being done. The research says you are “investigating”. Tesla owners need to be told that this issue is under investigation. I’m Sure it is hugely underreported. Will it take personal injuries to get some action? At the very least Tesla owners need to told to be aware and to report any incidences of this random extremely dangerous breaking out of the blue. I am requesting a personal reply to this concern and compliant: [XXX]@yahoo.com and [XXX]@gmail.com. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”

I reported "phantom braking" to Tesla that occurred approximately 12 times on a 637 trip on June 4, I requested a service and Tesla responded on June 10 that it "performed remote diagnostic routines to check for any faults ..and found no faults. ...Phantom braking is a known characteristic of current firmware that Tesla is aware of and actively working to improve." The service technician sent me the following additional message: "I understand your frustration at the situation, I've personally owned a model 3 that experienced phantom braking as well. Our technicians in service cannot improve your situation for you at this time, this is a software issue that our engineers are actively working on improving. We are waiting for software updates to help mitigate this issue. These will be automatically sent to your vehicle when they are available." I maintain that it is a defect that affects the safety of the car whenever cruise control is used and that this defect was not disclosed to me at the time of purchase nor subsequently except after I requested service. The car hits the brakes without warning at highway speeds of 70-80 mph, this cannot be safe yet Tesla's Service message reply is "If the vehicle begins applying the brakes when you do not wish you may simply press the accelerator pedal to override the vehicle." I cannot understand why Tesla hasn't disabled this feature and communicated the issue and risk to the owners of these cars until it fixes its software so the car does

On more than a dozen occasions, our Tesla model 3 while using traffic aware cruise control dramatically slowed down when no vehicles were around. This was mostly on two lane roads in the California desert. Some of the incidents were on 4 lane divided highway with no other vehicles around. Since the car slows so dramatically when the cruise control cuts out it is a very serious hazard if a vehicle was behind me. I have reported the problem to Tesla with no resolution. All I would like to have done is to give me the option to have a standard (non-traffic aware) option for the cruise control.

My concern first started with the cruise control suddenly shuts off. My biggest concern when the cruise control suddenly shut off and braked. When this happened we were traveling on Interstate 80. 4 lane highway 2 lanes each direction. Cruise control set at 80 mph. Approaching an 18 wheel truck moved to the fast lane. Half way past the 18 wheel truck cruise control suddenly shuts off and the car brakes. Traffic was light so lucky I wasn't rear ended. Notified Tesla they sent me a over the air software update. Not satisfied made appointment to bring into their service department. Was told their system doesn't go back to the incident and it happens again file a bug report. Not feeling safe with a car suddenly brakes.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced phantom braking while driving at various speeds with the cruise control activated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 4,235.

Driving like normal, using autopilot on the highway when I got an alert ‘Automatic Emergency Braking is disabled’, and the autopilot stopped working. Made a service appointment with tesla, but it’s scheduled for June 20, so thought this might help…

Vehicle brakes hard when there is no reason too do so while using traffic aware cruise control or Autopilot. Issue known as "phantom braking" to the general public. Brakes applied hard enough to lock tires and nearly lose control of the vehicle. Tesla needs to fix the issue and they need to implement a non aware cruise control option for when the system fails due to covered cameras or issues like this.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 76 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 400.

We were driving on I35 in Missouri traveling north and only had the adaptive cruise control on, and the car slowed down for no reason multiple times when no cars were in frown of us, or on either side of us. A few times, the car slowed from 70 to 60 or 65, but there was one occurence the car was attempting to slow all the way down to maybe full stop. We took control in each instance and avoided any further issues

The car unexpectedly brakes (without driver applying brakes) while in "traffic aware cruise control." This happens 2 to 5 times per 30 miles every time we drive the car on a highway, and has been happening regularly since we bought it about six months ago. Sometimes it's a brief stutter, but many other times it makes a hard brake, short of a full stop, but enough of a sudden deceleration that it poses a safety hazard for vehicles following the car. Sometimes the braking seems to be due to an oncoming large truck in the next lane, but other times it happens when there is no oncoming traffic. The braking is especially bad at night. We live in a rural area with only two-lane highways. The highways are not especially curvy. Sometimes it seems to brake for land formations such as distant mesas. Tesla service checked the vehicle's cameras remotely 2/2/22 but found nothing wrong. They recommended a reboot, which I did, but the problem continues to this day.

On 4 June 2022, at 5:03pm (CDT), while traveling northbound on Hwy 175 in Dallas, Texas and approximately 1-mile from the I-45 interchange I was traveling in the left lane with the Tesla Autopilot ON and speed set to 70 mph with a posted speed limit of 65 mph. There was very light traffic. When unexpectedly and suddenly the car began braking for no apparent reason. Since traffic was light I momentarily allowed the car to continue to brake arbitrarily in order to observe what it would do since I had also experienced this same phenomenon in our other Tesla that we own. The car continued its braking action unabated and within seconds had slowed to approximately 55mph and was continuing to brake on the highway for no apparent reason. Since traffic was now approaching me from behind at a high-rate of speed in order to avoid an accident I took over the accelerator and accelerated back to the appropriate highway speed.

On an interstate highway trip of approximately 200 miles, travelling at 70 mph with cruise control engaged, I encountered 5 episodes of phantom braking. With no obstacles or other vehicles in front of me, the car abruptly and without warning slowed down until I pressed the accelerator, at which time it resumed speed. In one instance I was being followed by a semi-trailer truck which had to change lanes as an avoidance maneuver. I should point out that there was one other episode of sudden braking, but this time there was in fact an obstacle, a large wheeled container of some kind, in my lane, which I was able to avoid. In this case I was very happy to have the emergency braking feature. I have not as yet found a way to report this directly to Tesla. They are notoriously difficult to communicate with. A brief online search reveals that this has been a common problem for some time which the NHTSA is currently investigating.

Over the course of 2 days on a road trip, the vehicle automatically engaged braking on its own 4 times. The first time was while using autopilot and traveling around 70 miles per hour. The brakes engaged so hard that the tires started to slights squeal before I was able to disengage. There were no cars behind us or we would most likely have caused an accident. Nearly the same thing happened then next day except I was using adaptive cruise control. This time there was a truck about 100 yards behind me that had been only a few car lengths behind me a bit earlier. If they were closer again, they most likely would have hit us. I know I was using cruise control one more that that happened, but I am not sure if I was using Cruise control or adaptive braking on the other time.

I purchased my Tesla Model 3 six months ago and I have experienced the phantom braking event while on autopilot four times that I can recall. The most recent occurrence was this past Saturday afternoon, May 28th, 2022 southbound on I-35W around 2pm . I was driving on a clear sunny day and there was no traffic in front of me. There was a white pickup truck behind me about 5-10 car lengths. While traveling on auto-pilot at 70mph the car suddenly slammed on the brakes and created a situation where the truck behind me could have rear ended my vehicle if I had not disengaged the autopilot quickly. The forward collision warning sensor did not activate indicating any type of potential collision risk. The vehicle simply slammed on the brakes and decelerated from 70 to about 35mph before I could get the autopilot disengaged by tapping the brakes and taking manual control of the vehicle. This was by far the most startling incident but it has occurred on more than one occasion.

While driving at high speed on a freeway the car started braking without driver touching the brake pedal. Adaptive cruise control and lane departure were on. Fortunately no one was following close or it could have cause a serious accident. This happened twice on one day.

Phantom braking occurred multiple times while driving on hot days in the Desert. Traveling at around 70 mph, the car would apply the brakes hard and slow down until the driver takes over and disengages autopilot.

Was driving at highway speeds with adaptive cruise control on. The speed was set around 75mph. Came around a turn and was going downhill when all of a sudden the car slammed on the brakes to 55mph or less. My husband began to manually hit the gas pedal to bring the car back up to the proper speed but there was no response from the vehicle. The car all of a sudden corrected itself back to the proper highway speed. Luckily there was no one behind or in front of us.

My car while in auto pilot will sometimes randomly on highways at highway speed, slam on the brakes. It’s dangerous because you will be doing 75+ mph and the car will just slam on the brakes and you have to take over control quickly to keep up speed. It has happened to me on I-25 in Colorado and I worry sometimes that I could get rear ended. It doesn’t happen all the time just randomly.

Driving on interstate with autopilot on. I was cresting a bridge overpass when the car suddenly braked on its own even though no other cars or obstacles were in either lane.

When using Adaptive Cruise Control, my vehicle has experienced phantom breaking when cars are approaching from the opposite direction. It is so disconcerting, that I don't want to use the cruise control ever again. There is definitely a problem.

While driving on the highway and using the tesla version of cruise control, the car abruptly brakes with no obstacles in the area and the car is within the lane. The braking so abrupt that I think the car is about to cause an accident. This happens consistently in both the cruise control and the autosteer function engaged. Today I had the car set to 75mph with autosteer and no other car on the highway (4 lanes wide) and me traveling in the hov lane. Suddenly the car slowed to 65mph in less than a couple seconds before I was able to deactivate the cruise control. The feature is not stable and frightening to use.

When driving down the highway with autopilot active the car will randomly slam on the brakes. This seems to happen especially when going under or driving on overpasses with the autopilot feature enabled. When this happens the display indicates the max speed available for autopilot is 25 or sometimes 50mph which causes the car to slowdown rapidly from cruising speeds of 70-75mph. I understand there are limitations with the new vision only autopilot system but in these situations this rapid braking could cause someone to rear-end me or cause other drivers to think I'm brake checking them which could result in a road rage incident.

I have a 2022 Tesla Model 3, VIN # 5YJ3E1EBXNF115096, and anytime I use adaptive cruise control or auto pilot on a 2 lane road, I run into issues with phantom breaking. It also happens on 4 lane divided highways, but not as consistent. I’ve submitted “bug reports” via the voice commands every time it happens, but have not gotten a response. This is extremely dangerous as it can cause my car to be rear ended, or cause me to react incorrectly to the phantom breaking.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 80 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,200.

Multiple Phantom Braking incidences Nearly rear ended Have reported to Tesla on several occasions. First time reported Tesla replied back that the problem has be remotely solved. Not at all. Have experienced Phantom Braking many time since. Manufacturer has repeatedly replied with “our engineers are working on it”. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. Been happening for several months

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Autopilot; yes. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? On several occasions while using "Autopilot", the vehicle attempted to come to a complete and sudden stop on the highway while driving at highway speed. On each occasion I've either had to quickly intervene by disabling "Autopilot" and accelerating or overriding the system by utilizing the accelerator pedal to keep moving then disabling "Autopilot" to avoid being rear-ended by the vehicles behind me. 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 using the cruise control or assisted cruise control, the car will brake suddenly and without warning as if there’s an obstacle in front of the car. In every case (more than 20 times) no obstacle is present yet it brakes regardless. In one recent case we were being closely followed and the trailing car had to suddenly maneuver around us into the oncoming lane. Thankfully there was no oncoming traffic. When I reached out to Tesla they acted like it was not common yet now I’m reading that it’s becoming extremely common.

We are on a cross country trip departed Rancho Mirage Ca on May 25th) for Hobart Indiana We have experienced phantom braking using cruise control at least 4-10x a day) On return trip while in ColorDo on I 86 June 1st @ 2pm the most serious and dangerous phantom braking occurred I had cruise control set att 75 ( speed limit) Road well marked, flat with no car ahead of us within a mile. The car had been experiencing phantom braking for last hour bringing speed down to 69-70 for no apparent reason A car was traveling immediately behind us when my Tesla suddenly braked to 58 mph. The car traveling behind us had to make a sudden and violent swerve around us, barely missing our car The other car quickly passed us as we stayed slow at 58 mph for a few seconds after the other car passed us This car needs to be recalled and use of cruise control suspended until recall remedies problem If this was my gasoline Escalade exhibiting such repeated cruise control malfunction , it would be taken off the road I am not new to owning a Tesla. This is our 3rd Tesla but we never had this problem with our Tesla S and only a few times with our X. This issue is a major safety problem and I am notifying media and newspapers of this problem, to ensure the NTSB addresses this serious problem. All data should be in cars computer system for verification

Frequent incidents of phantom braking when autopilot is engaged at highway speeds. Usually occurs on 2 lane roads, but has also happened on divided highway as well.

Hello. My name is [XXX] and I need to speak to someone from Tesla or somewhere about the horrible customer service and service that I have received by the Tesla dealership in Littleton Colorado who the supervisor is [XXX]. I refuse to pick up my car because I am very concerned about the consistent safety issues that I have been experiencing that have not been addressed after four times bringing my car in and Dwayne told me that this will not go past him in refused to give me anybody else’s number who is in charge of him or the dealership or the district or the region or anything. Can somebody who is in charge of either the dealership or higher up than the manager at the dealership in Littleton please give me a call Or anyone who deals with safety concerns with vehicles that are not being addressed by the dealership. I am currently using a loaner right now and feel unsafe to bring that back in until I get a phone call from someone higher up in this company. I have never been more disappointed in a car company ever in the service that I have received. I have plenty of documentation as well to show that they refused to fix anything and consistently blame me for all of the issues that are going on with this car. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - Touchscreen goes black while driving. It can be inspected, but Tesla has not fixed the issue in the last 2 months. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Can't tell what speed I am going and can't hear turn signal active sound since screen is black and I have to wait 2-5 minutes after doing the steering wheel reset to see what speed I am going and if turn signals are on/off. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - Had two appointments so far for the issue and the issue is confirmed by me but cannot be reproduced by the service center after two separate appointments even with detailed accounts of when the issue appeared. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? - Yes, the result was that a software update is required and after two updates the issue keeps happening more frequently. This is with the active recall fix update and one more update after that. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? - Only warning sign that sometimes happens is when playing music through the bluetooth audio, there would be 1-5 second period of a "buzzing" sound before the screen would shut off. Other than that, the screen would shut off randomly with no warning at all.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at 40-60 MPH and making a turn using the self-driving mode, the brake pedal was depressed. However, the vehicle accelerated inadvertently at a higher speed. The contact depressed the brake pedal several times but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle crashed into the front passenger's side door of another occupied vehicle. The air bags deployed. The contact briefly lost consciousness. The contact sustained soreness on the nose, the throat, the upper back shoulders, and increasingly on the back. Additionally, the contact sustained emotional trauma. The contact stated that she was in the process of seeking medical assistance. The two passengers occupying the front driver's seat and the front passenger's seat of the other vehicle sought medical assistance. There was no further information provided. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 3,500.

The vehicle while in adaptive cruise control or autopilot will brake hard at high speeds on wide open highway. It has always done this from day one but while on a Kansas open highway it almost caused a major accident 3 times in a short period of time. After the third incident I discontinued any driver assistance. The speed limit was 75mph, the autopilot was set at 75mph, in under 2 seconds we were at 35mph for no reason 3 times in row. I contacted Tesla after a few days after purchase and they said they know about it and it will get fixed in the future but its been 4 months. I had my 4 year old in the car and this is a very concerning issue.

Driving at 80 mph down divided highway, with emergency braking disabled on system and using only adaptive cruise control, when car slams on brakes so hard speed goes from 80 mph to 65 mph, causing the tires to screech from breaking so hard, and nothing in the road ahead of me, and nothing on the sides of the road.

When in cruise control and no obstacles in site, about every 10 minutes the brakes come on in varying degrees, sometimes a very hard brake. Once a vehicle was behind me and it nearly ran into me. It does not happen when anything is in front of me, such as following behind another vehicle, which I found I need to do to stop this from happening.

Vehicle brakes randomly when in autopilot or cruise control. It happens at least every 15 miles. There seems to be no cause or current emergency which would cause this to happen. Vehicle brakes hard, which is dangerous to myself and all traffic behind me. Was reported to manufacturer as a warranty item. Was told that this is not a defect or broken component, and could not be fixed.

Tesla alpha numeric data & instrument function icons are fearfully too small on giant screen. Returning Saturday nite on unlit Merritt parkway in CT suddenly began to rain. My eyes glued on dark winding highway, unable to look away to Tesla screen. My wife in front of screen could NOT find dimly lit 3/8” windshield wiper icon too small, dimly lit, arrayed along bottom with five other tiny icons. Was forced to exit hiway barely able to see road. AT full stop searched bottom to find & press icon. Luckily not hit or crashed. Tesla is only computer screen does not provide user to customize font or icon size! One cannot reach any responsible person by phone, email or Tesla service app to appeal this needed software upgrade. Many driver complaints online Tesla chat rooms pleading for improvement. Tesla instrument control icons worst visual presentation of any car. A significant safety hazard for driver in all conditions but magnified terribly at nite in rain storm. Please report & seek correction.

In the past month, I've experience at least four sudden breaking experiences: 1. About a month ago I experience a sudden dramatic deceleration on Interstate 70 driving 67 mph. No vehicles in close proximity. 2. 5/8/22 on Hwy 7 driving 65 mph when car suddenly hard breaked. There were no vehicles near by. 3. A few miles later a red car driving 75-80 mph, at least, pasted me and as as soon as the car was ahead of me, the Tesla breaked. This was not as hard as (2) 4. A few minutes later a white car passed much like (3) above. Again a sudden break as (3) Other info: Mid nineties, bright sun, strong headwind and dry pavement.