37 complaints reported

2018 Tesla Model 3 Seat Belts

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
37
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2023

I have been receiving an error message that there is a safety restraint system failure. I reached out for service and have been advised it will cost $195 minimum just for them to tell me if my safety is at risk. I don’t understand how if there is a safety issue regardless of being out of warranty why I should be responsible for their systems failing in a 5 year old car

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2023
Sep 2023

The issue I am having is already documented in this TSB: [XXX] I feel this should be a recall, not just a TSB as it is a safety issue which can cause the seatbelt pre-tensioners to fail. If may fail at the time of a collision with no previous notice and cause the pre-tensioner to not work in the event of a collision. This should be repaired free of cost by Tesla. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2023
Aug 2023

The middle rear passenger seatbelt became loose and unhinged at the hip. We notified the repair team and was quietly fixed and they told us it is a common thing they have been fixing. If this is true, the bolt could come loose during an accident and cause the seatbelt to not restrain a passenger if not fixed. The file attached says they inspected the seatbelt but “no correction required” even though the technician did in fact reattach the seatbelt.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2023
Jul 2023

Tesla is charging me to replace the defective second-row center seatbelt buckle. My car has 47,600 miles today (7/13/23). I've owned several other cars and never had to replace a seatbelt buckle before.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2023
Jun 2023

The rear seatbelt mechanism needed to be replaced due to a computer seatbelt restraint error.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2023
May 2023

Driver seat belt is not locking when I pulled suddenly. It looks that the driver side (front left) seat belt impact locking system is malfunction. Car is only 4 years and 4 months old with 57,000 miles. It is life danger to driver if he hits with an accident. A message came up. Making appointment with Tesla, but I believe that it should be a recall item like rear harness. I have never seen even in 20 years old car the seat belt impact locking system malfunction. It is a poor workmanship of the impact locking system. I would appreciate if you begin an investigation into this and urge Tesla to issue a recall notice to safe drivers and others around.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: May 2023
Jan 2023

Rear passenger side seat belt, when used for the first time since new car purchase in 2019, had an issue where it kept getting stuck and the retractor made a clicking noise majority of the time. This seatbelt is unable to be used as expected due to it getting stuck and not retracting fully and making noise. Reported this issue to Tesla Santa Monica Service center in October 2022, where the service advisor simply showed me how to use seat belt properly and come back later if issue kept happening and "resolved" the issue via "remote education," thus not offering a proper fix.. Issue has persisted, and I have reported it once again to Tesla Santa Monica Service center who tells me they're under new management and will decide whether I will be required to pay out of pocket after a test drive but are otherwise quoting me a diagnostic fee now. A test drive is not needed for this though since it's a seat belt malfunction issue. Reporting this to NHTSA because other Teslas have faced seatbelt recalls too.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2022
Nov 2022

I HAD THIS REAR SEAT SAFETY HARNESS WARNING ON MY SCREEN. THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL CHANGES IN THE EQUIPMENT, BUT I HAD TO REPLACE IT AT MY OWN COST. SEAT BELT SYSTEM WOULD NEED TO BE A SAFETY RECALL RATHER THAN REPLACED AT OWNERS COST.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2022
Oct 2022

For the past year, I have been receiving "Safety restraint system fault" message from Tesla screen in my vehicle. The message does not stay on the screen. It sometimes goes off and then comes back. I have not been able to identify its pattern of occurrence and disappearance. I have informed Tesla service support numerous times since Dec 2021 until now. They did not charge me for the inspection and repair for roughly 3 inspections. Up until around April 2022, their fixes still could not resolve issue, so asked me to go into one of their repair shops. Repair shop charged me $161.45 to fix the problem. Everything seemed okay for couple months. But just last month in Sept 2022, the same warning message started appearing again. I have informed Tesla and Tesla wants to charge me $2200 this time. Would this resolve the issue? I am not sure. And why am I responsible for a safety warning system fault that was not caused by my normal usage of the vehicle? I asked Tesla to give me a reason why they are charging me and any action from owners that has caused this issue to come up again and again. They have not responded. I'm not sure how the law works, but isn't it manufacturer's responsibility to make sure the vehicle is safe to drive on the road? With this warning message coming on and off periodically, and apparently Tesla cannot identify the reason either. How am I supposed to know if and when there is indeed a problem with my safety restraint belt?

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2022
Sep 2022

Car displayed a vehicle passenger harness safety fault that requested I contact Tesla service for an appointment. Received a repair estimate from Tesla identifying that they need to "install Occupant Classification (OCS) Filter Module" requiring part "Service Kit- OCS Rework (1479982-00-C) and saying the cost to me is $151.25. This isn't listed as a recall item but I don't believe this should be a owner issue to resolve.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2022
May 2021

I hadn't used the middle seat belt for a couple years. When I had a visitor I tried to use the middle belt, and it pulled right out if the seat. Upon further inspection I found that the back seat (drivers side) latch was also not connected to the vehicle and was only being held in place by the seat cushion. This was only apparent if you lifted up the rear seat cushion. My 5 year old daughter had been riding in this seat for tens of thousands of miles, and had we been in an accident she would have had no protection. I cannot be sure if the belt was never installed at the factory, or was removed during service and not reinstalled by a negligent technician, but a quick Google search showed that I wasn't the only person with this issue. Consumer stated vehicle has been repaired.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2021
Nov 2019

RIGHT BEFORE THE CAR HIT THE 50,000 MILES FULL WARRANTY, I CALLED TESLA AND REPORTED 2 SAFETY ISSUES. THE FIRST WAS THE HORN NOT WORKING AND THE SECOND WAS A SEAT BELT SAFETY WARNING. TESLA MOVED THE APPOINTMENT AND WHEN I GOT THEIR, I HAVE EXCEEDED THE 50,000 MILES. THE TECHNICIAN AT TESLA'S FACILITY UNDERSTOOD THAT I CALLED BEFORE THE 50,000 AND THAT IT IS TESLA'S FAULT I DID NOT GET THE SERVICE ON TIME. THEY WERE ABLE TO FIX THE LOW PITCH PART OF THE HORN BUT DID NOT HAVE PARTS FOR THE SEAT BELT AND THE HIGH PITCH PART OF THE HORN. THEY PROMISED TO SEND A TECHNICIAN HOME. WHEN THE TECHNICIAN CAME HOME, HE HAD THE WRONG PART FOR THE HORN AND DID NOT HAVE THE PART OF THE SEAT BELT. HE WAS ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THAT IT IS THE BACK MIDDLE PASSENGER BUCKLE CAUSING THE ERROR (WHICH THE FACILITY DID NOT DO). HE PROMISED TO COME BACK WITH THE RIGHT PARTS. I GOT A CALL FROM TESLA FOR THE OTHER APPOINTMENT TIME, BUT THE TECHNICIAN NEVER SHOWED UP AND MY CALLS TO TESLA WAS NOT ANSWERED. I AM NOT WORRIED MUCH ABOUT THE HIGH PITCH HORN ALTHOUGH IT NEED TO BE FIXED. I AM WORRIED MORE ABOUT A SEAT BELT BUCKLE ERROR. I AM ALSO NOT HAPPY WITH THE LEVEL OF SERVICE FROM TESLA ESPECIALLY FOR SAFETY ISSUES NOT BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2019

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2018 Tesla Model 3 has 37 Seat Belts complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.