2018 Tesla Model 3 UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
While driving on the 5 freeway, using autopilot, my car suddenly decelerated and came to a complete stop. Fortunately, we were not struck from behind, and I was able to get the car to accelerate again after approximately 10 seconds.
The rear doors do not have a manual release. If power is lost, you cannot open the rear doors. This is a severe safety concern. With 2 child seats in the rear seats, with a power failure, you cannot get the children out. Newer Model 3 vehicles, have a manual safety release. My 2018 does not.
The car's horn only works sometimes and often not at all when steering wheel horn areas are pressed, hard or soft!! Tesla said they couldn't fix it!!
Mold, mildew and smelly odors are coming through the on-cabin ventilation system. This is the 3rd time since 2020, I had to purchase & replace the two air filters and spray the poorly designed duct & condensation accumulation. I inspected the self-installed air filters and there were no signs of moisture, mildew, mold or stains on the filters, which makes me think the problem was /is from the HVAC condenser or coil area. Tesla had issued a 2019 software update to “run” the ventilation system longer after the vehicle was in “Park” but the software update has NOT solved the mildew and bacteria odors that are vented into the cabin, and subsequently changed the HVAC design in post 2021Tesla models that corrected this problem with many pre-2021 Model 3s. Tesla Service Centers are still charging for the coil spray cleaning and not covering this mold & bacteria-creating HVAC design problem of their earlier year vehicles ca as I had to pay Tesla for a pair of air filters change and now they want me to pay for a separate fee for spraying the condenser coils.
AC Power Control System Failure - I didn't know about this problem until two weeks ago I went to Tesla service center. I was facing this problem since 2020, when car was under 4 years warranty but never complain thought home power source charge that much only.
The rear-passenger door handle decorative chrome came detached in a strip from the middle of the underlying stronger material. It was *SHARP* and cut my wife's hand. Web searches showed others with the same issue, even one reporting being cut by it. Tesla said it was not a warranty item and cars break but did say it was odd to see it break in the way it did.
I am reporting a safety concern with my Tesla Model 3. The vehicle is equipped with both a high and low horn, and the low horn in my car has failed. After discussing with other early production Model 3 owners, I’ve found that this is a widespread issue affecting many vehicles. A failing horn is highly unusual in modern vehicles, and I believe this issue should be addressed through a recall due to its frequency among Model 3 owners. Tesla has quoted $400 to repair the horn, which seems unreasonable for a critical safety feature. It's important to note that some owners may not report the problem if only one horn (either high or low) is affected. However, the failure of either horn poses a significant safety risk, as the reduced sound output may not be sufficient to alert other drivers in emergency situations. I believe this defect requires further investigation and should be considered for a recall. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Tesla has completely changed the user interface on a few occasions. It is now dangerous for me to try to change the danged radio station if the car is in motion because of the amount of attention to the display needed to locate and select something, even stations I regularly listen to. In a prior version the ones I regularly used easily popped up in a small area. It takes multiple touches just to navigate through to the station I last listened to. This is the worst they've done, but they regularly change the User Interface for no particularly good reason/benefit. Cars should be easy to use.
Tesla is unable to remediate recall 23V-838; TC2023-657, the over-the-air software update will not install on my car and is asking me to pay at least $200 to diagnosis the issue and then potentially $1000 to fix failed hardware.
I engaged the vehicle's automatic parking function when prompted by the car. The process initiated as expected, and the car began to back into an open spot. In the process of parking, the automated system steered into a curb, damaging the left front wheel in the process. As an aside, the list of "Problem Parts" above should include "autonomous driving system".
Front passenger safety restraint system fault. This is the second time this has happened.
Horn stopped working. I see other people have this problem with Model 3. Tesla does not cover this after warranty period.
The rear camera often fails. Does this mean it is recording or not when driving. I think Tesla should have fixed this rear camera harness recall. I have been waiting over two years for this fix. It has been too long. Safety issues backing up or driving without the rear camera working properly.
My Tesla Model 3 Made an Accident on [XXX] on [XXX] exit at [XXX] . The Tesla Model 3 is driving under Full Auto Drive. The Model 3 was waiting at traffic light at [XXX] exit at [XXX] . There is an other car stopped in the middle of cross road waiting on traffic. The light goes green, my tesla start to move trying to make left turn. But the other car still block the way. My car first stop and about 1 second the car suddenly run into the car and driver side mirror and door hit the other car’s tails light and rear bumper. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The NHTSA recently forced Tesla to perform a "recall" including an over the air update that made changes to the Tesla Full Self Driving features. Before the recall I felt very safe driving my Tesla on FSD mode. After the update my car feels much less safe with an almost exponential increase in the number of on screen warnings that distract me and do not increase the safety of the vehicle. We do not need these unnecessary notifications that cause constant distraction from the driver's ability to pay attention to the road. These need to be immediately removed as I feel they will directly cause me to become distracted enough to lose control of my vehicle. We need less distractions so we can maintain focus on the road. Any on screen warnings forces the driver to look away from the road to look at the warning, then we get an additional warning for looking at the previous warning. This causes an endless loop of micro distractions that on long drives lead to increasing frustration and increased sensitivity to them. This is a serious safety concern that that was implemented without Tesla vehicle owner feedback and needs to be immediately rescinded. We actually need to force Tesla to provide less on screen warnings and distractions instead of more to increase safety and driver attention to the road. Thank you for reading my concerns.
Me and my wife cut the finger on vehicle door handle. The thin chrome covering the handles has peeled off cousin hazard. Can you fix your website, I’m unable to upload photos.
I tried to open the back door (the rear drivers side.) I could not get the handle to pop out as it normally does when I push in. I hand to push it very hard to get the handle out and once I grasped the handle I cut my hand on the handle. It seems the chrome wrap on the handle had started to come off some how, which is what was preventing the handle from opening in the first place. This must be a defect as there is no way a person could possibly damage this chrome wrap, as the handles are always tucked away.
Car swerved into my lane and horn failed to work to notify them that they were serving. The large push area at the bottom of the horn on my model 3 does not work. Service told me this was the design in the older models, and has been corrected only in newer models. So that means all older model 3's have a horn that does not work properly.
Charging port door won’t open and ports won’t unlock when the button to unlock the charging port door is pressed on the app. Previously, the charge port door would open automatically when the unlock charge port door button is pressed on the app and touch screen. Now, I have to open the charging port door manually. However, the charging ports will unlock after I repeatedly press the button to unlock charge port door on the touchscreen. The ports have to unlock in order for the charger to be inserted to charge the car. I have requested service and cancel service when I was informed of the price to replace the charging port door. Recently, I requested service then a pop-up message appeared stating that several Tesla 3 users have been experiencing problems with the charging port door. If that is the case, there should be a recall And Tesla should replace the charging port doors/charging port apparatus for Tesla 3 owners that are experiencing the problem.
Charge port door won’t open and charging ports will not unlock when the “unlock charge port” button is pressed on the app. I have to open the charge port door manually. However, the charging ports will unlock when I press the “unlock charge port” button on the touchscreen repeatedly. Previously, the charge port door and charging ports will open and unlock when the “unlock charge port” button is pressed on the app. I have previously requested service, then canceled service once I was informed of the price to replace the charge port door. Recently, I requested service through the app. Before I scheduled a service appointment, there was a pop-up message educating how to open the charge port door. I believe Tesla created the pop up because other users are experiencing the same issue. If that is the case, Tesla should issue a recall to replace the charge port door/charge port apparatus for the Tesla 3 vehicles that are experiencing the problem.
I was notified by Tesla in early 2022 of recall 21V-00D for a safety issue. I have asked several times to have it fixed. As of August 18, 2023 it is still not fixed and Tesla is still claiming that the parts are not available.
PCS failure right when warranty expired. This should have been covered under battery warranty since it is component of charging system. But, Tesla refused to consider this under battery warranty
Computer failure. The car became unsafe to drive because the screen went completely black and could not be reset. The rear view mirrors would not unfold, the car’s cooling system wouldn’t work, there was no way to see the speedometer or the amount of charge the vehicle had and the vehicle would not charge.
Cabin noise is over the normal threshold creating distraction and discomfort for concentration. Submitted multiple complaints and repair request through car app for diagnostic and possible repair, but nothing has been addressed. I bought a sound level meter to measure the distracted noise and the sound level was measured at 87 dB. Asked Tesla repair center if they can measure the sound level to confirm my complaint, but they are not will to do so. All the complaints were submitted during manufacture warranty period, but nothing has been done and now my car is out of warranty and Tesla wants ti charge me $265 per hour for the diagnostic. What is Tesla’s published or acceptable cabin sound level? The high sound level is now causing my ear to occasionally have ringing and discomfortable feeling.
OEM Chrome on door handles is a thick metallic wrap over plastic. Over time the chrome wrap delaminated on 3 out 4 handles. This results in very sharp metal edge that presents a laceration hazard. Just wanted to share this in case others have this issue. It's not a serious issue but it definitely is unsafe and it might be good to warn others.
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Quick Summary
The 2018 Tesla Model 3 has 82 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. 7 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.