2023 Tesla Model 3 complaints

I was driving and the power steering stopped functioning. The car had just over 1000 miles and both the lane departure avoidance and steering assistance cut out. Restarting the start would bring it back on temporarily but it would cut out again after a minute or two.

Turn signals shut off after three blinks with no lane change or steering wheel movement. Lane departure / assistance fails to function. Blind spot monitor / alert fails to function. Adaptive cruise control / braking fail to function. Problem first reported to Tesla on 7/6/2023. Telsa installed software update to resolve remotely. Problem recurred 8/6/2023, towed to Tesla 8/7, Tesla replaced side camera assembly. Problem recurred 8/132023, software update installed & resolved. Problem recurred 8/19/2023. Vehicle to be towed to Tesla for further diagnosis / repair.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized, and excessive force was required to steer the vehicle to the left. The "Steering Assist Reduced - Steering Require Increased Effort” message was displayed on the contact's smart phone, but not on the radio home screen. The contact sent a message to Tesla through the app; however, the contact had not yet received a response. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 4,369.

My daughter was driving on a freeway at 70MPH and her 2023 Model 3 Tesla that was a week old with 450 miles just stopped on the highway. She was lucky that highway patrol passed by shortly and stopped behind her to push her vehicle fully into the emergency lane. Vehicle also difficult to push because of brake locking system. I can't emphasis enough that the vehicle just stopped on the freeway!!!!

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The contact stated that there were no objects or other vehicles nearby when the failure occurred. The vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality, but the failure recurred a second time. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 7,200.

Car accelerated forward unexpectedly while making a turn and hit a telephone pole. Brakes did not engage nor did the forward collision warning sound or engage. Was manually driving. Car is non-driveable and repairs from Tesla are backlogged so we waiting 8+ weeks to get our car back.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a right turn, the steering wheel became firm with the message “Automatic Steering Unavailable” displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and provided towing service to tow the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 1,859.

The vehicle will randomly brake when cruise control is being used. No obstructions, good weather conditions and flat road.

After charging my car at a charging center, the steering assist reduced message appeared on the screen. Then the power steering gave out and i couldn't turn the steering wheel. I had to get the car towed to a service center.

During my first highway trip from Dallas to my home in Alpine, TX, I experienced numerous instances where the car would suddenly decelerate as if I had applied the brakes. At first I thought it was because there was a lot of road glare because I was driving late in the day into the west sun, but the next day it happened early in the morning when the sun was behind me and the road was straight, relatively clean with clear markings. The ultimate instance was when I was driving on a newly reopened dark asphalt road with new markings, straight, no glare, sun behind me. Clearly there is a problem.

I enabled the tesla adapter cruise control during my trip in interstate 15. All of sudden, the car stopped to a slow speed for no reason. There was nothing in front of my car at that time. I was able to step on the brake to disable the cruise control and step on the accelerate pedal to resume the speed. Luckily there was no vehicle behind us, otherwise it might have been a rear end collision.

While traveling on a busy interstate highway, my Tesla 3 presented four errors on the control screen: Automatic Emergency Braking disabled, Power reduced, Vehicle shutting down and Unable to drive. The left hand side of the screen flashed red and instructed me to pull over safely. The car was immediately slowing down, and as I was in heavy traffic, I was unable to pull over to the shoulder safely. I turned on my hazard lights and performed a soft reset of the car - which caused my hazard lights to turn off, all while cars were honking and whizzing around me. After the car reset, I was able to drive a short distance, with enough speed, to cross several lanes of traffic and come to a stop on the shoulder emergency lane of an exit ramp. The car is only 6 months old, with 4000 miles, but had to be towed to the Tesla service center. The problem has been diagnosed as a problem with the rear drive unit inverter and will be replaced under warranty. While I appreciate the resolution and that it will be fixed, it could have been a very serious situation and caused an accident. Thankfully, I was able to get to safety and wait to be towed.

I was driving on a rural, two-lane highway with no other cars around and with cruise control engaged. Without warning, the car decelerated suddenly and rapidly from about 60 MPH and continued to decelerate until I pressed on the accelerator pedal (at about 40 to 45 MPH) to stop the deceleration. It happened at least 5 times during a drive from Spring Grove, IL to Champaign, IL on July 7, 2023, between 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM. If there had been a car following close behind me it would have been very dangerous. I had the Basic Autopilot engaged with Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (but not Autosteer). Weather conditions were bright sunlight with a few clouds. The problem has occurred several times (at least 4 times) since then. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. I have not had the vehicle inspected by anyone. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failures.

I took delivery of a Tesla Model 3 on July 7. On July 18, I received a digital message indicating that the software needed to be updated, and I complied. Later, when I got into the car to drive it, I got two error messages -- one indicating that the driver-assist steering might not work and the other relating to warning of approaching vehicles. I drove the car about 50 feet before realizing that I had no power steering and would not be able to control the car. Using all my weight to turn the steering wheel, I managed to pull over to the righthand shoulder of my street, where I left the car. A few hours later, I tried to drive the car again, and the problem had resolved itself. But I was nervous about driving it without an assurance from Tesla that it would not happen again, especially wile driving it, so I reported it to Tesla. Tesla's "remote team" did an analysis and reported six days later: "After reviewing your concern we have concluded that it can be chalked down to a known firmware issue that appears during the first start after completing the most recent update and goes away after leaving the vehicle and coming back. We are seeing no further issues with the steering assist, and no repair is needed at this time." Meanwhile, I had not driven my new car for six days out of concern that the steering wheel could freeze up while driving. When I search online, I found many, many reports from drivers about this problem, some of whom said they'd had to have their whole steering

On May 22, 2023 I had an annual physical exam at the doctor's office at 9:00 am. Upon completion of the visit, I drove my model 3 from the parking spot (3rd level) towards the ground floor. At the final turn, at the ground floor, I felt that the car had an unusual resistance when I tried to navigate the turn. The steering wheel felt as if it were locked. As a result of not being able to turn the steering wheel, I hit seven cars that were parked at the ground floor and incurred substantial damage. The car is totaled unfortunately. I am hoping that the NHTSA may have a way to analyze the true cause of this accident before they send the car to the salvage market.

2023 Tesla Model 3 with 3,000 miles. No accidents or impact with potholes or curbs. Started vehicle, put in drive, pressed accelerator, car went forward but would not turn. Steering wheel was stuck in straight position. I stopped the vehicle and put it in park, same symptom of stuck steering wheel. My wife (passenger) and I did not notice any error lights or messages. I exited the vehicle walked away to trigger automatic locking. Returned to the vehicle, started it , and tested steering. Steering was free. Took approximately 5 mile test drive. Steering was erratic, making small movements to the left and right. At times it felt the car would veer offroad or into oncoming traffic. Contacted support. Dealer dispached tow truck to return vehicle for inspection. Was informed by dealer that no loaner vehicles are available, they only offered Uber credits.

On August 5, 2023, my car charge got too low for me to make it to a charging station in Lafayette Louisiana. I had the vehicle towed on a flat bed. I put the car in Tow Transportation mode. While we were towing the car, I opened the car to check the battery level and somehow the frunk was activated (perhaps I accidentally hit it, I'm not sure). The frunk opened while we were going about 60 mph down the highway, the wind lifted the trunk up and it crushed my front windshield and the frunk and opening mechanics were damaged. Had we not immediately pulled over the frunk hood could have been ripped off the car by the wind and caused a major accident. This seems to be a flaw in the Tesla electronics/app system - you should not be able to open the Frunk once it is put into Tow Transportation mode.

Emergency braking applied when no other vehicles were in sight. Braking was hard enough to spill coffee. Seems to occur when adaptive cruise control is on. Happened about 10 times on recent road trip. Lucky no one was behind us! Felt very unsafe.

The vehicle applied sudden and strong braking in clear road for no reason. It has done it on many occasions in the 2000 miles we have had the vehicle.

Steering wheel stuck in straight position, unable to turn. Also, A/C line supermanifold defect present, needed to be replaced. Steering rack and harness both needed to be replaced. Tesla model 3, only had 40 miles before needing to be towed.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while decelerating to make a right turn, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver as the lane shift avoidance reduced, and power steering assist reduced warning messages displayed. The contact stated that she pulled into a parking lot and parked the vehicle and after 20 minutes restarted the vehicle and resumed to normal functions. The manufacturer Tesla was contacted and advised her to reboot the computer as well as make an appointment with the Tesla service center. The computer was rebooted however several days later while making a left turn the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver with no warning messages displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the power steering rack was replaced. The failure reoccurred for a third time on July 7th while she was making a right turn with the message displayed steering assist reduced. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer where they replaced the steering rack and updated firmware however the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer they diagnosed the failure as a power steering harness that was replaced. The contact was relating the failure to a NHTSA Action Number: PE23014 (Steering) The failure mileage was 480.

My vehicle constantly slows down and occasionally even slams on the brakes to slow down for nonexistent obstacles. I believe this is a serious safety concern if there is a vehicle behind mine, as the driver of that vehicle would not expect mine to rapidly slow down. The root cause seems to be that the camera vision system frequently mistakes certain signs and dark cars reflected in mirages as pedestrians.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while attempting to make a left turn, the vehicle experienced gradual loss of power steering assist. The contact veered to the side of the road and contacted roadside assistance. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the steering wheel responded as needed; however, the contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 834.

Car started pulling to the right after leaving the parking lot and vehicle warning stating Steering assist reduced. I pulled over to see the left wheel was turned in while the right wheel was straight ahead. Towed to nearest Tesla service center where they stated the steering rack failed and would require a complete replacement. I was told this was not a warranty issue and I must have hit something. I protested stating there was nothing abnormal about the drive. Took to the nearest certified bodyshop where the steering rack and front control arm were replaced.

The ADAS regularly brakes suddenly for no apparent reason. There does not seem to be a consistent reason. Yesterday, during a 90 mile drive EB on the interstate in the afternoon it braked (scaring us) suddenly so often that it made cruise control more of a hazard than a help. This morning between 9-11 am, westbound on the same interstate it braked suddenly 20-30 times. This sudden braking is dangerous as unexpected behavior could cause an accident with any vehicle behind us.

I was stopped before turning left into a parking space. I was driving slowly. The car stopped but I did not engage the brake as a Tesla will stop once the foot is removed from the accelerator. At that point the car leaped forward at full speed hitting parts of a building and a fence. I did NOT step on the accelerator. No one was injured. The airbags did not deploy even though there was $17,000 damage to the front of the car. There were no warning signals. The person inside the building was waiting for me and saw the car come to a stop.

The car has a tendency when I’m on rural highways to suddenly emergency brake when I have the auto pilot on

On 7/21/2023, I received an alert saying “steering assist reduced”. I could not turn the steering wheel. Luckily I was parked and trying to back out of my spot. The steering assist came back after getting in and out of the vehicle. Contacted Tesla about this and they told me to monitor the situation. I took delivery of my vehicle 7/20/2023 around 3pm EST. So I had the car less than 24hrs.

Steering rack failed. Not able to steer vehicle The consumer stated that the vehicle was repaired.

I just read an article on Yahoo Finance detailing steering issues with a few Tesla Model 3 and Model Y's. This issue involves loss of steering completely or loss of power steering. Additionally the screen says "power steering is reduced or disabled". Well, I had this exact thing happen to me. I bought the car on May 6, 2023. Two weeks later, May 20th, I went to leave the house and my Model 3 had no steering. I literally could not turn the steering wheel and the screen said "power steering is reduced or disabled". I tried everything to fix the issue. I even did a complete "reboot", but to no avail. I submitted a service claim to Tesla and told them they would have to come pick up my car as there was no way the car could be driven to Atlanta for service. Later that day, I remembered my screen also said "charging error", along with "power steering is reduced or disabled". So, I decided to charge the car to 100%. Well, that seemed to fix the problem. Since then the steering has worked fine. (I am thankful the car was parked at home when it lost steering.) Just an FYI - I have a screen shot of my service request filed with Tesla back on May 20th should you need that.

I was driving to work in the morning and there was a sudden jolt and then the steering wheel became very heavy and I had to pull over and stop the car, when I did do it showed me power steering failure and the steering was very hard to control and could not drive straight and kept sway from side to side. The steering wheel was very heavy and unreliable. Tesla had to come and tow my car to service center and provided me with loaner car

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel stiffened and became difficult to maneuver. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle and the steering assist reduced warning light illuminated and a message displayed “Steering – Increased Effort Required”. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.

On July 18th around, 7:00PM, the location is 1688 Hostetter Road Pacific, Rim Lane, San Jose, CA 95131. when I parked my car, and the car almost stop, the car suddenly unintended accelerated and hit another car. the car I used Creep mode, not Hold mode. I definitely sure my foot on the break.

The battery range is showing on the computer and tesla website as 272 miles but real driving range is 150-160 miles. The car is in service right now for that issue. Service probably will say it depends on driving conditions, there is no problem with the batteries but it does not explain 50% lose of usage. This is the biggest scam of human history. I am very disappointed due to 50% lower range then what it is supposed to be. There are thousands of people complaining with this issue. This is basically a scam that tesla is doing. If i knew that the actual drivimg range is around at most 200 miles i would not buy the car. I am scammed by tesla.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while parking, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb, and crashed into a building. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. The passenger's front seat occupant sustained injuries to her hand. The passenger rear seat occupant sustained injuries to her neck, and medical attention was provided. The air bags deployed. There were no reported fires. A police report was filed. A person in the building sustained unknown injuries, The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company.

G on the cars computer screen came up with this message ( STEERING SYSTEM ERRR DETECTED ). Contact service if error persists!! Service was contacted on 7-11-2023. service was schedulad 1st for 7-13-2023 then rescheduled for 7-24-2023. Both time have been informed that the part has nt coime in. The vehicle has lost its POWER STEERING. At times its like turning with 2 people at the steering wheel ( 90% ). and the other times ( 10% ) with a certain ammount of jerking. NO INFORMATION AS TO PART ARRIVAL [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Battery Range incorrect, quickly dropped from 50% to 18% after 3 uses an estimated less then 10 miles caused the range to drop

While traveling on the interstate using cruise control, my vehicle abruptly started to break which caused the vehicle behind me to brake as well. I did not touch the brake, accelerator, or the cruise control itself during this incident. And there were no cars in front of me or to the right of my position (I was in the far left lane).

On Adaptive cruise control mode about a set speed of 70-75mph on I-5 , the car was suddenly decelerating or braking on Freeway for no reason. I.e. No vehicle or obstacles was there which required braking during approx 3 occurrences happened on a same day of 200+ miles drive. It was deadly dangerous and increases risk for a nasty rear-end crash.

The rear door jammed shut. It would not open and we discovered there is no mechanical way for a passenger to open the back doors of a Tesla model 3. The car’s electrical system has to be on and functioning properly in order to exit from the back. This is terrifying.

Since purchasing this vehicle in May 2023 I have had four (4) instances of the vehicle automatically braking (phantom braking) while traveling at a higher speed on the interstate using cruise control (Autopilot). This has occurred during both daylight and nighttime driving. At the time it occurred, only once was there a vehicle in front of me, but far enough away that the auto braking should not have activated.

While driving, both while using Adaptive Cruise Control and while using "Autopilot" (automatic lane centering), the car has severely emergency braked with no input from me. The conditions were bright sunlight, with mirages on the roadway in front of the car. I believe the car cannot tell the difference between these mirages and actual obstacles. The emergency braking is severe enough to potentially cause an accident, with speed rapidly dropping from 70 mph to 45mph. This is a serious defect that needs addressed ASAP.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stopped suddenly without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 5,000.

While I was driving along a freeway using autopilot cruise control, the car suddenly slammed its brakes even if there was no cars in front of us. I thought it was just a fluke but it happened at least twice if not thrice during that trip. There was at least an approximate of 3 miles gap between us and the car in front, so practically no cars in front. Had there any vehicles behind us, it would for sure rear ended us.

My Tesla Model 3 has had 3 phantom braking episodes since I bought the car new in June 2023. All 3 episodes were when the cruise control was on. Without any warning, the car will violently slow from 70mph to about 25mph in a very short time. My guess, less than 2 seconds. The tires loose grip on the road surface and the car will come to a stop. In all 3 instances, I needed to apply the accelerator to get the car moving again. During all 3 phantom braking episodes, there were no vehicles behind me that could of rear ended me. If so, the vehicle(s) behind me would have no doubt rear ended me. All 3 instances occurred on clear warm days close to Yermo CA on Interstate 15. I reported this phantom brake issue with the local Tesla location and they reviewed my cars software and said nothing was wrong. The system is working as intended. Once my Tesla Model 3 phantom breaking started, I have researched the issue online and noted a tremendous amount of complaints and reports to your agency. This phantom braking needs to be fixed and until then disclosed when a customer buys a Model 3.

I have had this car for 6 months. Three times within the past month sudden braking (phantom braking) occurred while driving on the high way with cruise control engaged. The car slowed from 70miles/hour to 35-40 miles/hour without warning on a clear day on a clear road. Then the car picked up speed. The cars in the front and the rear were far away to cause any incident. This happens in a random fashion and cannot be reproduced.

When driving in highway using autopilot, the car suddenly slammed on the brakes. This made no sense at all as there were no cars in front of it.

Scenario 1: Driving mid day in hot weather in desert highway with rolling hills and cruise control activated. Upon cresting a ridge with mirages the car slams on the brakes until the mirage dissipates. Also as another car approaches and its reflection is bounced back from the mirage in the road surface the car slams on the brake until the reflection shifts or the mirage dissipates. Scenario two: Driving on freeway mid day in warm weather and brightly illuminated freeway and approaching dark shadows under an overpass. The car slams on the brakes until closer to the overpass. 20-40 mph deceleration noted. The specific freeway section had a slight descending roadway leading into the shadow and then ascended on the other side so that a continuing road surface was not immediately visible beyond the shadow.

Phantom braking occurred 3 times over the span of several minutes while driving at highway speeds. The first two incidents occurred while utilizing Autosteer. The third time occurred while only using cruise control.

Rear Drive Unit Inverter failed and left me stranded on a busy highway on the shoulder. Waited an hour for tow truck to arrive. Car had about 3000 miles on it. Car was fixed under warranty but shouldn't be having an issue with a car that is relatively new. Searching through forums, I have encountered a lot of people having the same issue.