2023 Tesla Model 3 complaints

I was driving my daughter to school on the freeway when we heard a loud bang toward the back of the vehicle and the vehicle alarms started going off. It said the car was powering down and would not restart. The car immediately reduced speed from 65 to 35 mph and I had to maneuver across 4 lanes of rush hour traffic to safely park on the side of the freeway. Thankfully this did not cause a collision but we were lucky. Even though the car was charged at 55% within 10 minutes the car was completely dead and powered off. I was able to take a picture of some of the error messages on the screen quickly before it died. VCFRONT a191 Electrical system power reduced vehicle shutting down, VCFRONT 192 Electrical System is unable to support all features switching off features to conserve energy, BMSa 059 Vehicle May not restart, BMS a170 acceleration and top speed reduced, HVP w028 Vehicle May not restart. There was no visible damage to the outside or undercarriage of the car. At the dealership when I had the car towed there I was specifically asked if I had washed the car or gotten it wet, which I had not. It has been a week and I have not had a response from Tesla as to the cause of this terrifying event. I have only been told that it has been escalated to the “higher ups” and they are still diagnosing the problem and will not tell me what defect they have found in the car or any date as to when they might have answers. The life and safety of myself and my child were put in danger due

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds and making a turn, the vehicle suddenly accelerated unintendedly. Then the vehicle resumed driving normally. While her husband was driving at unknown speeds and approaching a stop, he crashed into an unknown Tesla. There were no reported injuries. A police report was not filed. There was no fire or air bag deployment. The vehicle was taken to a collision center. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, where an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,048.

Once the main battery dies the 12 volt dies within 15 minutes. I ran out of charge on a dark highway. Put on my flashers and within 15 minutes the 12 volt died and so did my emergency flashers. Reason being is Tesla uses the 12 volt for the main battery temperature mgmt which draws a lot of power. So in turn once your main battery dies your emergency flashers only have 10-15 minutes of use This is very dangerous especially being disabled on the side of the road

Repeated "phantom braking". With cruise control engaged and zero traffic in front of the vehicle, false readings on the collision detection system will cause strong, sudden, and unpredictable braking. Highly unsafe particularly in conditions where there is traffic behind the vehicle. In my first 900 miles of driving the vehicle there have been 20-25 of such incidents. When triggered, breaking force is strong and deceleration is sudden.

The Occupant Classification System (OCS) in the passenger front seat has displayed an error multiple times and airbag turns on even when a toddler sits in seat. I’ve taken it to Tesla twice going a third time this week and have owned the car for three months.

The car lost power steering while driving

Driving down the highway on a clear day with nothing in front of me, with adaptive cruise control turned on, the car suddenly started braking as if it was in full regen braking. I had to hit the accelerator pedal to override the braking.

Car at low mileage started having suspension issues and felt out of alignment. Took car to Goodyear where they found car was out of alignment as of car was not set up correctly at factory when made. Goodyear spend a few hours fixing alignment and tire setup. Car is having issues again

The contact rented a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50-60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The Engine Lost Power message was displayed, instructing the contact to pull over immediately; unable to drive, exiting and re-entering the vehicle may restore operation. Following the directions, the contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive to the destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 39,500.

I was rear ended and pushed into the car in front of me. My car was totaled and no airbags went off.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated after leaving the dealer for a previous issue with a locked steering wheel, the contact was driving 50 mph on an entrance ramp as he accelerated to merge onto the highway, the steering wheel seized to the right in non-autopilot mode causing the contact to crash into the guardrail on the right side. The contact injured his neck and received medical attention. The emergency respondent was not called, but the contact obtained a police report. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but remains unrepaired, and needed engineers' diagnosis and legal investigation by Tesla. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V838000 (Electrical System). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,798.

I was pulling the car in to a parking lot in a mall. I was driving very slow to bring the car to a halt. All of a sudden the car just accelerated and went and hit a pillar right in front of the parking lot. I don't know what caused the vehicle to suddenly accelerate. I am pretty sure I did not step of the gas pedal. I checked the dashcam for recordings but couldn't find any. We have experienced this sudden unintended acceleration before on the road as well. I think I must have engaged auto-pilot or auto-steer by mistake which caused this.

Recent recall update makes auto pilot more dangerous and distracting. I am getting alerts while my hands are on the steering wheel and paying attention to the road, which then causes me to take my eyes off the road to see the alert. Which I then get kicked out of autopilot. Was using autopilot and got an alert the max speed was reduced due to road conditions and when I looked at the alert got another alert to pay attention to the road, then was immediately kicked out of autopilot. This is extremely dangerous especially if road conditions are deteriorating and to have to constantly be looking at all the new and frequent alert. The recent recall has made me constantly have to take my eyes off the road. I can even check my side view mirrors without getting a pay attention alert.

So thanks to YOUR interference my Autopilot on my Tesla is broken... You guys THINK you are making our cars safer by getting your controlling poorly educated stupid hands into Tesla systems that are DESIGNED TO BE MORE SAFE. On paper Tesla Autopilot is factually proven to be more safe than a human driver, these reports are publicly available perhaps your team was too lazy to read them. My car disengaged Autopilot randomly while driving with 2 cars behind me and freaked out and told me I was not paying enough attention to the road just because I reached to unlock my phone screen...not even pick it up off the wireless charging pad...just unlocked the screen. So thanks to YOUR agencies interference and forcing Tesla to levy this bogus "recall fix" on us I almost got rear-ended...in the car I work so hard to pay for, the car that I love because it keeps me and my family safe because guess what we are humans and not robots. Just as YOU do and everyone in your agency we ALL have to look at our phones briefly while driving because we live lives where we have to make sure those we love are ok or make sure our phone is charged for when we reach our destination. You are going to do exactly the opposite of your agencies supposed mission of keeping us safe. You will kill people with this stupid "recall". Get your crap together and tell Tesla to reverse Autopilot back to its normal safe operating parameters and STOP BANNING PEOPLE FROM AUTOPILOT otherwise there are going to be a lot more

The most current "safety" recall software 2023.44.30 which made the autopilot more alert to the driver has made the car less safe. Before the update, autopilot would work as intended and kept the car safe in the lane. Now, even when doing everything correctly, I get nothing but alerts which takes my attention away from the road. The car was safer before the mandatory government update. Honestly not surprised that NHTSA made the car less safe. Let Tesla do what's best for their cars, they had it working great before you got involved. Thanks.

Subject: Concerns Over NHTSA-Forced Changes to Tesla Model 3 Autopilot I am a Tesla Model 3 owner writing to express concerns about recent autopilot updates, seemingly implemented following NHTSA directives. These updates have significantly altered the system's operation, leading to potential safety risks. Previously, the autopilot required minimal, intuitive steering interaction. However, the new update, presumably in response to NHTSA's safety requirements, demands frequent and forceful steering inputs. This has caused abrupt and frequent accidental autopilot disengagements, a stark contrast to my earlier, safer experiences. It is extremely dangerous when it is not clear to the driver that the system has been disengaged and the nags from the system frequently cause accidental disengagements that don't always get noticed by the driver who is more focused on paying attention to the road than the screen. The heightened sensitivity of the system is not only inconvenient but hazardous. The need for constant, sometimes aggressive adjustments is distracting and can result in unpredictable vehicle behavior. Ironically, a system designed for safety is now a source of danger and stress. In heavy traffic or on highways, the risk of sudden autopilot disengagement has increased, diverting my attention from driving conditions to maintaining system engagement. This is contrary to the autopilot's intended purpose. I urge the NHTSA to reevaluate these changes. It appears the effort to enhan

Subject: Safety Concerns Regarding Recent Model 3 Autopilot Update To Whom It May Concern at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), I am writing to urgently express my concerns about the latest software update for the Tesla Model 3’s autopilot system, which, in my view, significantly compromises safety. As a Model 3 owner, I have generally found the vehicle and its features to be reliable and safe. However, the recent update has introduced an overly stringent hands-on-wheel detection mechanism that is not only inconvenient but also potentially hazardous. The new update requires frequent and often forceful interaction with the steering wheel to assure the system of driver presence. This change is drastically different from my previous experience, where I received only one hands-on-wheel violation in two years. The current sensitivity of the system disrupts the smooth operation of the autopilot, leading to frequent and abrupt disengagements. I have found myself struggling to maintain the system’s activation, inadvertently causing the vehicle to exit autopilot mode multiple times. This issue goes beyond mere inconvenience; it actively detracts from driving safety. The need for constant and sometimes aggressive adjustments to satisfy the system’s requirements is distracting and can lead to erratic vehicle behavior. The irony is stark: a system designed to enhance driving safety and ease is now a source of potential danger and stress. The unpredictability and

After Tesla upgraded their insurance driving behavior to raise rate when the driver side seat belt is not engaged; the car doesn’t warn the driver through visual or audio alert about driver side seat belt not engaged. The car clearly indicates if any of the passenger seat is not engaged; but not for driver side. I had driven for many miles until I realized seat belt was not engaged and car never alerted me. I have already created a service request with Tesla but I feel this is just not an isolated incident.

Autopilot now requires so much force to confirm you have your hands on the wheel it’s disengages causing rapid deceleration and steering into the other lane or shoulder. Also requires confirmation at times when the driver should be looking at mirrors when passing etc instead of watching the display.

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the recent rear drive unit internal part failure in my new Tesla Model 3. The incident has left me fearful that this issue may occur again, and I am genuinely worried for my safety. I implore you and all the employees at Tesla to be honest and transparent about this defect or failure. The gravity of the situation became apparent when I realized how fortunate I was that the car did not come to a halt on the train tracks. The potential consequences could have been catastrophic, not only for myself but also for the passengers on the train. It is alarming to think that such a dangerous situation could arise in a vehicle that is merely five months old. This level of negligence is unacceptable. The rear drive unit failed and the car stopped. I was instructed to reset. I did it twice but still not working. I am lucky it happened on a not busy street and was able to steer the car to the side of the road before it became disabled.

Ever since I purchased my 2023 Tesla model 3 I have periodically experienced a phenomenon widely referred to on the web as "phantom braking". Google it (though you probably already know about it). When it makes the biggest impression on me is when I am driving at over 50 MPH on an open highway and the car suddenly slows down, to the extent that it feels like someone is applying the brakes. Every time it happened in recent memory there were no cars in front of me for hundreds if not thousands of feet, which is why it's surprising because there has never been an apparent reason for the sudden deceleration. Instinctively, I look in the rear view mirror to see if anyone is behind me because if someone were relatively close behind me such a sudden slow down could, IMO, cause an accident - or at least alarm the other driver enough to slam on their brakes. Having read about phantom braking I believe that Tesla removed the traditional LIDAR (or equivalent) technology used by other car makers for adaptive speed control or a similar feature, and instead relies solely on cameras to make judgements. This decision, IMO, has led to a dangerous weakness in the reliability of Tesla's cruise control.

Autosteer was engaged while approaching Weatherford, OK on I40 - Sporadically, the vehicle slammed on the brakes, even though nothing was in front of me, and nothing was behind. The vehicle dropped in speed by almost 20 mph.

Summary: FSD malfunctioned, failed to disengage, causing loss of steering control, thus causing car to steer into wrong lane and resulting in an accident. Tesla Service Center refused to inspect unless car is fixed. Car was sent to Crash Champions ( autobody shop) and was quoted $35k to fix. Car was deemed as totaled by Tesla insurance. No response from [email protected] I suspect that the latest FSD software update has caused my car to lose control. Time of incident: 19:28 pm Location : [XXX] , [XXX] Entering from [XXX] . Weather condition: Clear night, well lit. Low traffic. What happened: My car has been driving in FSD on Lawrence Expressway and it was doing everything correctly. Approaching that upcoming tight bend, the FSD slowed down the car, and I took over by steering the steering wheel to the right to deactivate FSD and taking the tight turn, right before the white rows of triangles on the street. At this moment, the steering wheel forcibly turned to the opposite direction (i.e. left). I tried to correct the steering wheel by turning right even more, but the steering wheel wasn’t responding to my input for a split second. At this moment, my car is now on the wrong lane of Wildwood Ave and my car finally responded to my steering input. I had to swerve in the opposite direction to avoid the incoming traffic and ended up brushing against an SUV, followed by an impact on the curb, before finally slowing down. Seeing that there was incoming traffic from the back, I drove

Found wheel with 8000 miles with no damage form potholes or anything of the shorts to have a crack.

On 12-2-23, I started to feel my steering wheel getting stiff while driving.The car started to feel unsafe to drive as it was very difficult to steer to the point that I ended up being unable to turn and hit a curb on two occasions. On 12-3-23, I started getting alerts in my vehicle about traction control being disabled, automatic emergency braking unavailable, stability control disabled and that I needed to schedule a service center appointment. I dropped my vehicle off at a Tesla service center as I felt that the car was unsafe to drive because turning was very difficult. The service center diagnosed my car and indicated that my steering rack needed replacing along with a wheel alignment. It was not covered by my warranty as the service center believed that the issue was due to impact because of the curbs that I hit. However, these issues occurred prior to the impact and the curb hits were a result of the failing steering rack. I purchased my vehicle on 6-17-23, and it was manufactured at the end of 05-23. My vehicle had 10k miles on it before the steering rack needed replacing.

When using Cruise control the car will brake suddenly even when there is no obstacle in front. This happens often. The phantom braking can be dangerous if someone is following at freeway speeds and not expecting the car ahead to brake. Also, when using cruise control the windshield wipers are automatically placed on auto. The windshield wipers will then go on and off as the sunlight changes, when no precipitation is evident. We often have to pause cruise control because the windshield wipers will not stop.

When I was trying to park my Tesla Model 3 car it suddenly accelerated and hit a parked car in front of me. I took the car to the repair shop and told them the situation. My reason for the accident didn’t make sense to them so I stated that I may have pressed accelerator instead of brakes but I know that I didn’t press the accelerator. My car has been at the repair shop since 10/14/2023. So, far no one from the Tesla Motors, Inc. came to investigate the claim. Even if they repair the car, I don’t feel comfortable driving the car due to the fact that unintended acceleration may repeat itself.

Vehicle will repeatedly aggressively brake while using “Enhanced Autopilot”, posing a danger to any cars behind. Complaints given to Tesla have been unresolved.

I have front passenger Service Alerts for the code SRS system and it happened many times. Tesla does service center can not fix the problem and keep telling me monitor the problem if it happens again. The code is RCM2_a636_ocsFaulted. Tesla service center tested the SRS system, updated software calibration and lastly today Tesla technician send me the software update and I updated it. The code shows up right away when I drove the car to the local super market. What can I do about this problem Sir.

Adaptive cruise control falsely decelerated on dozens of occasions during a single 500 mile road trip. Sudden braking in the vicinity of other vehicles may cause a crash. Tesla's service technician stated "no hardware related faults were found" and "potential incorrect object detections leading to slowdowns may occur".

I was driving my 2023 Tesla 3 on the street last night and it suddenly slowed down and stopped. The error code DI_a137 appeared on my dash screen. I was able to pull to the side but my rear was at the edge of an intersection. My niece and I could have been hit as my car is black and it was dark. I was able to shut down and restart the car by and exiting and entering my car. I am scared to drive my car on the freeway or on busy streets. I could be rear ended if my Tesla 3 decides to slow and stop suddenly again.

Bought a 2023 Tesla model 3 performance that vibrates from the day I bought it. After 12 service visits, new wheels tires and even a new brake rotor the car is still vibrating. Tesla seems to say it’s normal and that all teslas drive like this but no other vehicle manufacturer has ever produced a car that vibrates. It’s unsafe and scary to drive this car the way it is. They tried fixing it at first hence why so many parts got replaced but since they don’t know how to fix it they wanna just push the “it’s normal and within spec” speech to me. Please get a recall going to address the ongoing steering wheel vibration problem faced by numerous owners as shown on numerous threads and forums. This is unacceptable.

Vehicle started displaying warning messages as I pulled out of garage - "steering assist reduced" and "lane departure avoidance features unavailable." Afterwards, I noticed vibration and clicking sensation while turning steering wheel and driving at low speeds. I performed a software reset but messages were still there. Then I performed controls, safety, power off procedure. Messages disappeared, but steering still felt jerky. This happened when the vehicle had approximately 2,300 miles on it. A few days later, when exiting the garage, steering wheel was initially locked. It then "popped" when I applied gentle pressure to turn the wheel and the warning messages returned. Steering felt stuttery afterwards. I scheduled service appointment with Tesla. They replaced steering rack. I have had no problems since. Currently at 3,700 miles.

Vehicle auto stopped in the middle of the parkway

Random phantom breaking when using cruise control at high speeds. Goes from 70-40 mph and always worried someone is going to rear end me when my car automatically rapidly slows down for no reason. Huge hazard and risk!

The Tesla model 3 rear bumper came off completely while driving in rain when I drove into a very light puddle. Having a rear bumper detaching completely off could be a serious hazard for someone that driving a motorcycle on the road it could result in a deadly accident. this problem has been addressed to Tesla and they do not have a service bulletin or a recall for 2023 model only 2018 model through 2021 models. The vehicle has been inspected by Tesla. No warning signs where indicated when the rear bumper detached completely while driving

Driving North/East on Highway 87 at 1215pm, kind of into the sun (Sun was to the right of us), the car would not maintain cruise control without constantly applying the brakes forcefully. No cars in the immediate vicinity during the event, though there were other cars on the highway at the time. Returning south on the same road, about an hour later, no issues whatsoever.

I was reducing my speed as I approached a stoplight, and my vehicle rapidly and aggressively increased in speed. It made a revving sound and lurched forward, causing me to rear-end a truck. There is no possible way that this was human error and it was terrifying. The person who I rear ended mentioned that the impact felt like a double impact, as if I was continuing to accelerate after he was hit. I have requested the data from the accident time period from Tesla. An insurance representative is organizing an inspection. This was the second incident where the vehicle lurched forward on it's own. The first one happened about six months prior when I was at a complete stop. It did not cause an accident but it did frighten me into an audible scream. I did not report it because after some basic information gathering, I decided that it somehow must have been human error. Every claim I've seen has had the outcome of user issue. During both lurching incidents, a revving sound was made and it felt like and electrical surge of some sort. I am extremely clear on the fact that I did not cause the vehicle to dramatically crash and I feel helpless to know that it will likely be ignored by Tesla. What if I had been in front of a cross walk when the vehicle surged and lurched forward and a life had been seriously injured or even taken? Something must be done to expose this issue and get to the bottom of it. I am happy to provide any additional information in order to prevent this from creating

As part of transitioning from radar to a camera based system (this affects model years '22 onward), Tesla, has "temporarily" disabled key features such as lane departure, blind spot alerts and emergency braking. Though disabled, these features are still selectable (not greyed out) when the user chooses safety options. These features, which are available on most modern cars, have been disabled for many months with no committed date to restore functionality ... this poses a major safety risk. This should impact Tesla's NHTSA safety rating which will pressure the company to re-enable these basic safety features ASAP. Thank you.

Phantom Breaking when in adoptive cruise control

On July 5, 2023 my front passenger seat assembly was replaced due to a passenger safety restraint system fault. Two days ago I discovered two black self tapping bolts sitting behind the front passenger seat on the floor mat. The front passenger seat assembly was only connected to the car chassis by the two front mounting bolts. It was possible to tip the seat forward by pushing on the headrest. I am now able to screw these two bolts almost completely back into the chassis using fingertip pressure only. Either these bolts were never installed during seat replacement or they simply rattled loose and fell out. This attachment hardware needs to be designed for repeated installation removal cycles over the life of the vehicle and should require considerable torque for installation and removal. Something is seriously wrong!

Model 3 steering assistance just stopped working. The car was immobilized and towed

The car lost all adaptive driving features and power steering.

The car suddenly braked while using autopilot drivers assist while at highway speeds. There were no cars in front of me when it occurred. I had to take control of the car and accelerate to avoid causing a crash.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was diagnosed by a mobile application where it was diagnosed that the firmware needed to be updated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.

Steering Issue Will be calling Tesla Service about this problem. Put the vehicle in Reverse to back out of a driveway and a message stating “Steering Assist Reduced” appeared on the display. Did not back up; could not turn the steering wheel. Put vehicle in Park and exited. After ten minutes put the vehicle in Reverse, no message, and was able to steer again.

Will Randomly slam on the brakes saying that there is something in front of cars on the highway. This has caused me to almost get into a few accidents suddenly slamming on the breaks at 75 mph. It has happened numerous times and the car feels unsafe to drive. One example it slammed on the brakes in front of an 18 wheeler causing it to almost hit me but I had to slam on the gas very rapidly. There is usually a warning light on about parking break not working when these happen.

On 2 separate occasions, the cruise control set to 80 and suddenly decelerates. Very scary. Term being used in Tesla chat rooms is 'phantom breaking'.

Going down secondary road with cruise control on at 42 mph ; no auto steer just plain cruise control. The car all the sudden slams on the brakes for no reason causing the car behind to slam on brakes and almost causing a accident. This needs to be addressed or the cruise control disabled until they fix the issue.

1. Power steering diminished as I was driving. As the steering wheel was turned their was a "clicking feel" , more than a vibration. I drove slowly and safely returned home. The message on the screen was "steering assist reduced" steering may require increased effort. 2. I did fear for my safety and the safety of others on the road because I did not have full normal control of the steering wheel. I slowed speed to 20mph and carefully made my way home. 3. Yes, they determined my steering rack needed to be replaced. 4. Tesla service inspected the steering rack and determined it needed to be replaced. 5. The message displayed on my Tesla screen was "Steering assist reduced, steering may require increased effort".