2020 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
Tesla is putting passengers at risk by how much they are changing their user interface. They are moving critical safety around which makes the car more un-usable and drivers more confused and distracted. Here are some of the features they changed in their software update that creates danger to drivers: 1. Front seat heater settings are no longer on the home screen 2. Front/rear window defog buttons are no longer on the home screen 3. User profiles are no longer on the home screen. This controls the seat, mirrors, and temperature. Instead they have made non-safety features forefront: 1. Theater mode 2. Arcade Please view this forum of hundreds/thousands of people complaining about how their safety is put at risk by this update: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/v11-software-update-sucks.251711/
This is a general complaint: The new control panel user interface V11 is unsafe. It now promotes/requires distracted driving to use. The previous version was a bit busy, but most all needed controls were on the screen or one touch away. With V11, one must now navigate menus to get to hidden controls that were on the home screen requiring too much attention to the screen while driving. This is what I am finding. I fear accidents will result.
On July 19th, 2021 at around 2:38PM I was using Tesla's Smart Summon feature to summon my car to me. The car was unoccupied at the time of the incident. The car was in a covered parking space approximately 40 feet South of my location. The app said the car would "Come To Me" and displayed a blue line which was the path the car should take to get to me. The blue line showed that the car would turn right (North) and come to me. I then pressed the "Come To Me" button to begin the summon. This is when the car immediately turned left (South), which is the opposite direction of me, and ran into a pole. The user does not have the ability to steer the car and the car acts erratic when using Smart summon. It's path is unpredictable and unsafe.
Drive away door lock feature does not lock the doors. After driving several minutes a rear seat passenger attempted to roll down the window but hit the door open button instead. The door opened. Warning message received. Testing again after driving several minutes the lock icon shows locked but front seat passenger able to open the door. The door lock icon changes to unlock. Passenger closed door I hit lock icon to lock, NOW passenger cannot open the door.
WE ARE AN CAR MEDIA IN CHINA. WE LEASED A 2020 TESLA MODEL 3 STANDARD RANGE PLUS ON MARCH 15, 2021, FOR PROGRAM SHOOTING. ON MARCH 18, WHEN A TEAM MEMBER TRYING TO CLOSE THE STORAGE COMPARTMENT COVER IN FRONT OF THE CENTRAL ARMREST BOX WHILE OPERATING, THE COVER DID NOT CLOSE SUCCESSFULLY AND POPPED UP UNINTENTIONALLY. A CORNER OF THE COVER SCRATCHED THE OUTER SIDE OF HIS RIGHT THUMB. FOLLOWING IS HIS NARRATIVE IN REGARD OF THIS INCIDENT: WHEN I WAS DRIVING THE TESLA MODEL 3 ON MARCH 18, 2021, AND PULLED OVER THE VEHICLE, I OPENED THE INTERIOR COVER TO STORE ITEMS. AFTER DRIVING FORWARD FOR A SHORT DISTANCE, I ATTEMPTED TO CLOSE THE COVER WITH MY RIGHT HAND. I TRIED TO PUSH THE COVER DOWN AND CLOSED, AND THEN MADE A U TURN. HOWEVER, THE COVER DID NOT CLOSE SUCCESSFULLY, AND INSTEAD IT ACTUALLY RAISED AGAIN. AT THIS TIME, BECAUSE THE RIGHT HAND DID NOT MOVE OUT OF THE PATH OF MOTION OF THE COVER, THE RIGHT CORNER OF THE COVER SCRATCHED MY RIGHT HAND. THE SHARP CORNERS CAUSED A WOUND OF ABOUT 9MM*3MM AND KEPT BLEEDING FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES. AFTER REFERRING TO THE 2019 IMPORTED VERSION OF THE TESLA MODEL 3, WHICH IS PRODUCED IN THE CALIFORNIA FACTORY, THE INTERIOR COVER DESIGN AND WORKMANSHIP ARE THE SAME AS THOSE OF THE 2020 MODEL 3 PRODUCED IN THE SHANGHAI FACTORY. THEREFORE, WE BELIEVE THAT IN THE U.S. MARKET BEFORE THE 2020 MODEL MODEL 3 ALSO HAS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE EDGE OF THE INTERIOR COVER IS TOO SHARP AND MAY SCRATCH THE USERS. THEREFORE, WE HAVE DECIDED TO REPORT THIS SITUATION TO NHTSA TO INFORM MORE CONSUMERS THIS POTENTIAL DANGER.
CAR PARKED ON THE STREET FOUND OUT NEXT DAY THAT THE CAR WAS BACKED INTO. SENTRY MODE DIDN'T WORK. CAR ALARM DIDN'T GO OFF NO NOTIFICATION ON MY APP. TESLA SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGES BECAUSE IT WAS THE PROGRAMS THAT DIDN'T WORK PROPERLY
THIS CAR FORCES THE DRIVER TO LOOK AWAY FROM THE ROAD FOR A FEW SECONDS(AT LEAST 10 SECONDS OR MORE) TO ADJUST COMMON THINGS LIKE ADJUSTING MIRRORS, CHANGING AC FUNCTIONS,SETTING WIPER SPEED. AS WEATHER CONDITIONS CHANGE FROM LOCATION TO LOCATION ON A LONG DRIVE, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE , CONVENIENT OR SAFE FOR THE DRIVER TO PULL ASIDE THE VEHICLE TO ADJUST HEAT SETTINGS OR WIPER SPEED OR MIRRORS.THIS IS DANGEROUS THAN TEXTING AND DRIVING. I REQUEST NHTSA TO RECALL ALL THE TESLA MODEL 3 AND HAVE THE ISSUE FIXED BY PROVIDING A PHYSICAL WAY TO ADJUST MANY THINGS IN THE CAR. THIS PROBLEM OCCURS IRRESPECTIVE OF THE VEHICLE MOTION STATUS.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2020 Tesla Model 3 has 32 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. 2 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.