63 complaints reported

2019 Tesla Model 3 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

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

Reports
63
Crashes
5
Fires
0
Injuries
1

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Sep 2025 Crash

Vehicle: 2019 Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor VIN: [XXX] Mileage: ~84,041 Software: v12 (2025.32.6 e575ed98d527), FSD Supervised v12.6.4 Date/Time: [XXX], ~[XXX] Location: [XXX] Incident Description: While operating Autopilot, I was stopped at a stop sign preparing to turn right. I lightly pressed the accelerator to prompt the turn. At that moment, the vehicle would not respond to steering or braking input. Despite applying full force on the steering wheel and brake pedal, the car continued straight ahead and struck a street sign. This represents a loss of manual override — I was completely locked out of steering and braking. Prior Behavior at Same Location: On prior occasions using Autopilot at this same intersection, the vehicle would attempt to make the turn but then immediately steer itself into the breakdown lane. I had learned to expect this and was prepared to take over. However, in this most recent incident, the vehicle did not allow me to take over at all, which created a far more serious hazard. Result: •Vehicle damage (front bumper, sensors) •Significant safety risk if pedestrians or cross traffic had been present •Demonstrates that Autopilot can both mis-execute turns and, critically, fail to relinquish control when the driver intervenes Action Taken: •Scheduled Tesla Service (Cherry Hill, NJ – Oct 7, 2025) •Requested Tesla to preserve all telemetry, camera footage, and Autopilot logs •Reported to my insurance carrier as a suspected manufacturer defect Request: I am reporting this as a serious safety defect. A system that prevents manual override of steering and braking is unsafe and could cause severe injury or death. Please investigate Tesla Autopilot’s behavior at this location and in similar right-turn scenarios. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2025
Aug 2025

* The AEB engaged when it shouldn't have. Yes. * Yes * No. * Yes, Tesla remotely told me that the error codes in my service menu had nothing to do with the AEB engaging when it wasn't supposed to. The problem has been reported to Tesla. * None. On [XXX] a car stopped suddenly in front of me and my AEB engaged when it shouldn't have. My car is a Model 3 Performance and it can stop much faster than most cars. The car behind me came inches from hitting me and my dog and myself were thrown violently forward. This is a *MAJOR* safety hazard and could have caused an accident and has caused accidents in other cases. [XXX] This thread has videos of the incident. There was around 20 feet between my car and the car in front of me when the AEB stopped my car. My foot was already on the brake and I was in the process of stopping at a reasonable rate when the AEB suddenly engaged. I could feel the ABS engaging. This happened another time about a month ago. A white box van two cars in front of me slowed down and turned right and the AEB engaged even though there was no need for it. Tesla has the ability to turn off the AEB but you have to do it each time you drive. Please require Tesla to make the AEB on/off choice sticky so you don't have to turn it off each time you drive. Also please make Tesla fix their software or disable AEB on their cars. Recent accident where AEB caused an accident. [XXX] Other incidents where AEB engaged almost causing an accident or caused an accident: [XXX] [XXX] Please do Google searches to find the rest. Thanks! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: May 2025
May 2025

For the last few weeks while driving, my car will automatically put itself into FSD with out me authorization. Mean I will we driving and the car will just put itself into FSD. This has happened about 15-20 times over the last 2-3 weeks. Tesla wants to clean the front camera? Which makes no sense and charge me for it. If the front camera was obstructed, like in the case of fog. The car would alert me that it could not due to being obstructed, which isnt the case.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: May 2025
Jan 2025 Crash Injury

Vehicle in front stopped suddenly. The car gave NO alert AND did NOT stop whatsoever. The tesla collided with the vehicle in front. **I have dashcam footage of the incident

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2025
Nov 2024 Crash

Driving on Hwy 8 (Houston Beltway), going west, dog came out from left side, Tesla auto pilot was engaged and did not detect collision with the dog. Car did not stop, did not alarm, dog was hit, my front bumper was damaged, and car kept on going.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2024
Feb 2024

FORCED DISCONNET: Autopilot and Full Self Driving suddenly decelerated to 15 mph with no sign or road work signs. The curve onto Old Madison Pike means following traffic can not see the car suddenly creeping in the turn lane. The problem is reproducible. The problem has been reported to Tesla using their voice reporting system. There were no warnings. It has been going on since August 2022.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc. Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 9999 TBD TBD, Manufacturer: ODI Demo Co
Incident: Feb 2024
Jan 2024

Since nhtsa recommended changes, the assist driver require more input to confirm I am paying attention and is distracting me from paying attention to surroundings. For example proir to the vehicle being "safer" I was able to focus my attention on immediate risk but possible risk that were greater than 12 seconds ahead of me. The vehicle was safer prior to the recall.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2023
Dec 2023

In autopilot or cruise control, this vehicle will brake unexpectedly with no vehicle or obstacle in front of it. This has happened primarily on highways, and it has happened between 10 and 15 times, such that now the driver cannot trust either autopilot or cruise control because if someone is following close behind, it could cause a wreck. We reported it to the dealer in Wexford PA prior to a service appointment, and they have not been forthcoming with a solution. We do not believe they inspected the system. There was no warning that this failure was about to occur. Below I report the date of the last 3 occurrences.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2023
Oct 2023

Vehicle experienced phantom breaking previously documented for Teslas. The vehicle suddenly decelerated by 22mph from 75 to 58 mph in approximately 2 to 4 seconds while cresting a hill on an interstate and navigating on autopilot. There were no vehicles or objects ahead of the vehicle. There was one vehicle behind at an indeterminate distance at the start of the phantom breaking event. The driver had their hand on the wheel before the initiation of the phantom breaking and the autopilot system alarmed and prompted the driver to take control at the onset of the phantom breaking.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2023
Oct 2023

Manufacturer refuses to address outstanding FSD recall from February 2023 despite multiple service appointments and available remedies. This impedes ability to import vehicle to Canada.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2023
Oct 2023

Driving on a clear, sunny day in Arizona on interstate 8 at highway speed with the Tesla AutoPilot engaged. There were no vehicles in front of me and no obstructions in the road when the car did heavy braking (aka phantom braking) for no known reason. I immediately had to override the braking with pressing on the accelerator. This occurred multiple times on the same road. If a vehicle had been traveling behind me when this happened, it would be highly likely that a collision would occur because of the random nature of the extreme braking. I did not use the adaptive cruise feature the rest of the trip in fear that a collision would occur. No warning messages were/are present. The Model 3 I drive is equipped with sensors on the front bumper that (I believe) Tesla has deactivated to use vision-only instead. I drove for years using the non-vision (sensor) method without experiencing phantom braking, so this experience is new to me.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2023
Oct 2023

The car has repeatedly slammed on the brakes while using Tesla's Full Self-Driving functionality and made the car unusable at times. I've gotten into many near accidents, with the most recent happening on 1/8/23 where the vehicle slammed on the brakes on the freeway in front of a big rig, almost causing it to rear end me while me, my wife and two children were in the car. At the same time, the vehicle has also almost hit pedestrians while using the FSD beta, which I managed to avoid on 1/8/23 because I was paying attention. Had I not, I'm sure we would've struck a pedestrian walking across the street.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2023
Sep 2023

I own this Tesla model 3 for approximately 4 years. I was driving this car on US interstate highway 10 east, on July 8, 2023. Cruise control and Navigation on Auto pilot was on. A very serious Phantom breaking took place at around 10:52 am, about couple of miles before exit number 400 on I-10. It was clear a day, there was no car in front of me or on my left lane. I was on right lane. auto pilot suddenly reduced my speed from 72 miles per hours to 39 miles per hour in about 2 to 3 seconds. Due to this, a 16-wheel truck behind my car has to swerve to avoid hitting my car from behind and running over me. My wife was in passenger seat. If the 16 wheeler driver would not have taken evasive action, we will have at least two potential deaths.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2023
Sep 2023

At 2401-2499 AL-36, Hartselle, AL 35640, 34.447019, -86.811335, traveling West, the car suddenly slows to 25 mph from the normal 55-60 mph. This sudden slow down startles the driver, passengers, and following traffic which rapidly approaches the rear. The problem is reproducible. Yes, the vehicle has been reported to Tesla using their voice reporting system. There are no warnings prior to the failure. It has happened ever since the road work replacing a bridge completed two years ago. BTW, Google Map Pro still shows the construction barriers at that location.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2023
Aug 2023

While driving in Cruise Control at the Speed Limit at 65 mph with both hands on the wheel and my foot near the brake (on the 395 Freeway in CA on 5/5/23) and no vehicles in front of me, the car suddenly braked hard (the brake pedal fell to the floor under my foot without my foot making any contact with the pedal) and stopped, thus causing the driver/passenger and all contents to shift forward violently. Luckily, there was no one behind the car, no loss of control of the car, no collisions, and no injuries of the driver/passenger as we were both wearing our seat belts. There was a large 16-wheel truck approaching from about 100 feet away on the other side of the road that passed by without any adverse events. It was the second time that this phantom braking had happened on that same road this year. That other time was in Feb 2023.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: May 2023
Jul 2023

Traveling west in I8 between Gila Bend and San Diego I experienced over 20 automatic hard braking events while using TACC. The road was clear, there were no vehicles in front of me within 400 yards. It appeared to be correlated with heat mirages on the road surface ahead though some may have been caused by differences in asphalt color in sections. The hard braking occurred at highway speeds of 70-75mph and dropped my speed rapidly, if a car or truck had been following me closely it could have result in an accident. The remedy is to press the accelerator to resume speed. Training drivers to hit the accelerator in response to phantom braking events is also dangerous as the automatic braking might be overridden automatically by a driver when there really is an event that calls for emergency braking. When the false positives out number to true positives by 100's to 1 it trains drivers to automatically respond to hard emergency braking by mashing the accelerator.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2023
Jun 2023

My vehicle, a 2019 Tesla Model 3, which is equipped with Tesla's Full Self-Driving Beta software, often fails to detect pedestrians and other objects in its path and react appropriately to them. It is highly concerning that this software is being trialled on public roads and pedestrians put at risk. I recently saw a video showing pedestrians being put at risk by someone testing FSD, which even put children in harms way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9JGviyMkzM&feature=youtu.be This software is highly dangerous and needs to be banned and people experimenting on public roads should not be allowed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2023
Jun 2023

I recently updated my 2019 Tesla Model 3's software to version 2023.7.15. Ever since I did so I have been getting random, unexplained, and unnecessary decelerations in both adaptive cruise control mode and while driving using the vehicle's autopilot (not FSD). While this is annoying at least it is also unsafe as I could easily be rear-ended for no reason when this happens. It has happened every time I drive the vehicle and usually more than once per drive.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2023
May 2023

There is one spot on HWY 29 near me in Lake County CA where the car while driving on autopilot always sees an obstacle ahead and warns of an immediate collision. There is however, nothing in the road it is just the road dips down (a bit like a helter skelter) and the car does not recognize it. It is replicable and happens every time that highway is driven.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: May 2023
May 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while utilizing the ADAS features including the Adaptive Cruise Control, the vehicle unexpectedly braked. The contact stated that on another occasion while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. Due to the failure, the vehicle abruptly stopped and caused the contacts wife’s seat belt to retract very tight. The contact stated that he disengaged the features including the Adaptive Cruise Control to operate the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it remained. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: May 2023
May 2023

The contact's girlfriend owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 73 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: May 2023
May 2023

My car restarted itself and wiped out the entirety of my saved settings. I’m very upset because I had to set up everything all over again. Additionally, the full self driving brakes randomly while driving and causing my body to slam and pushed back from the seat belt. The autopilot feature also failed to recognize yellow lights where it will cross it, which had to be disengaged by the driver in order to avoid accident. The fsd also failed to recognize merging lane when merging onto the freeway.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2023
Apr 2023

While driving, the AEB randomly and repeatedly activates while there are no obstacles in my path. It will slow on the interstate from 70 mph to 30 mph.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2023
Apr 2023

I experience frequent "phantom" braking while driving north or south on highway I-75. Many times this happens near state route 70 traveling north, but I have had this phenomenon happening driving south or headed north on 275. Cruise control is on, autopilot may or may not be on (I have had it happen in both modes). It's a frightening and very dangerous problem. Speeds decelerate from 75 or so to about 35 or 40. It's sudden and scary and potentially life threatening. I have immediately hit the gas in the multiple times this has happened.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2023
Mar 2023

On several occasions the autopilot mode braked unnecessarily. In one instance causing the big rig behind me to honk. Recently it braked hard when there were no cars around on the freeway. On a third time it braked as a car in a neighboring lane was close to crossing the lane but did not.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2019 TESLA MODEL 3, Manufacturer: Tesla, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2023

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2019 Tesla Model 3 has 63 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE complaints on file. 5 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.