2021 TESLA MODEL 3 Complaints

View complaints related to 2021 TESLA MODEL 3. The complaints found here are submitted by actual consumers with first hand experience. There are more than 640 complaints submitted for the 2021 TESLA MODEL 3. You can submit your own complaint to the NHTSA or call the Hotline, Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm at (888) 327-4236, TTY: (800) 424-9153.

  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Miami, FL

    When performing a u-turn, at low speed, the steering wheel locked in position, only allowing the car to go straight. I was able to regain the ability to steer, after approximately 5 seconds. I didn't notice any alerts or warnings, as it was happening. It was in the middle of a busy intersection and I was fortunate I managed to regain control of the vehicle, in time. I have scheduled a service appointment with Tesla. the earliest available appointment is the 20th, in my area. I have since driven the vehicle, approximately 40 to 50 miles, without incident, but I am concerned that this might happen, again.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Surprise, AZ

    Just completed a 2week trip and the car attempted to stop on its own over 37 times (stopped counting) on the highway. 2times I had a semi within a block of my rear of the car. Since this occurrence is not anticipated it worries me that it's going to cause an accident. Reported to Tesla and it's days the feature is beta, I don't believe that for a second . This my 3td car with adaptive cruise control. I was not using the auto guidence feature.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Los Angeles, CA

    When cruise control is activated at highways speeds, vehicle sometimes brakes abruptly for no reason whatsoever. Issue is phantom braking. No other cars in sight, no changes in speed limits. Happened repeatedly on CA Hwy 46 between Interstate 5 and US 101 on 7/31/23 and 8/2/23. Similar instances observed on other highways, too.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Lake Oswego, OR

    My 2021 Tesla Model 3 is having MORE occurrences of phantom braking than ever before when I drive with the Tesla Autopilot/Full Self Driving system activated. I paid extra for Full Self Drive (FSD) and engage it mostly on highway driving. A recent software update from Tesla pops up a message on my screen any time I DIS-engage the FSD asking me "What Happened?" and offers me the chance to record a 10-second voice message regarding why I turned off the FSD. Yesterday, on 07/31/2023 between 12pm PST and 2pm PST I must have made at least five such recordings, each time for phantom braking suddenly jerking my car slower while I drove on major highways. In each case I was on a 55 mph highway (or faster). In all the cases, my lane was wide open with NO cars even remotely close to me. Sometimes there was oncoming traffic in the approaching lane of traffic, but not always. It certainly should not be braking due to oncoming cars in THEIR CORRECT LANE. Yet the car slowed down suddenly over and over again. This is a repeated problem, but I haven't had so many instances in one long drive. Yesterday I got fed up and resorted to driving without Autopilot for a large portion of my 150 mile trip home. Sudden braking - for no reason - substantially increases the risk of getting rear-ended by the car behind and frankly causes near-panic with people in the car itself.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - SAN CLEMENTE, CA

    My car has a Homelink that will automatically open the garage door when approaching the door. Unfortunately, if the garage door is already open, this will unexpectedly close the door with no warning. This has resulted in damage to the trunk lid of another can that was parked in the garage with the trunk open. It is a dangerous situation for the door to close when others near the door are not warned or something in the path of the closing door. The Homelink does show the status of the door (open or closed) so it would be easy to not close the door if it was already open. When the Homelink is used to remotely close the door, it has a delay and will flash the lights before the door is closed to warn people who are in the way. This is an easy fix and I hope something can be done. Other Tesla owners have had the same problem.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Sacramento , CA

    “Phantom Braking”. Driving on the interstate approximately 75 mph using cruise control, auto steer, not auto pilot. Within a span of three hours today we experienced at least six episodes of the car emergency braking for apparently no reason. Immediately going from 75 to 40 mph. Thankfully no one was close behind us. We finally stopped using the cruise control. Now afraid to use it at all.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Virginia Beach, VA

    The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while using a self-driving mode at 50 mph, it would not stay in the lane and drive slowly into the next lane. The contact stated on April 9, 2023, while using a self-driving mode at 15 mph, a pedestrian walked into the lane and the vehicle did not detect the person and hit the pedestrian. No air bags deployed. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The pedestrian sustained an unknown fractured leg and a fractured arm and sought medical attention for his injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla collision shop and had the front windshield replaced. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer but was informed no failure was detected. The vehicle was not repaired and continued to experience the failure. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,570.

    Source: HOTLINE VEHICLE OWNERS QUESTIONNAIRE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - San Francisco, CA

    This is a report of the accident I was in on July 15, 2023 at 3:00 PM. I was going south on two lane Hwy 160 a couple south miles of Hwy 12 when I pulled out onto a wide, long pullout. When I decided to get back on the highway, I looked back to see a long line of cars coming. My Tesla’s Full Self Driving has Auto Lane Change which switches lanes for you when safe. I figured I would use Auto Lane Change to merge onto the road when safe. I already had the Tesla Navigation on. I turned on the Full Self Drive and my blinker, thinking that it would be a while before the Tesla decided it was safe to merge onto the road. However, the car started moving toward the road almost immediately. I realized that there couldn’t have been a break in traffic already. I turned in disbelief. Just then the left side of the was smashed. I looked ahead to see a SUV swerving back and forth down the road trying to regain control. Then the blur of another car. The SUV was sailing through the air, then it was sliding on its roof. I rushed to the SUV feeling like there was a good chance that people were really hurt or dead. I couldn’t see inside because of the airbags.The driver’s door wouldn’t open. I rushed around the back of the car and saw a dog getting out of the front passenger door followed by a man. The man helped his wife out. Thankfully, they were not hurt. While waiting for the tow truck, one of the fishermen who were hanging around for some reason asked me for my ID. I asked why. He said his car was in the accident and pointed across the highway to over a 15 foot embankment and to about 500 hundred yards away where I saw his car. He said that his car had been parked and was hit by the SUV. With the stress and adrenaline of the accident and because there was only my car and the SUV on the side of the road, I realized that this was the car I had seen in a blur during the whirlwind accident.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - MIDLAND, TX

    My car is braking hard while I'm on the highway. It's happened on this trip 7 times already. In one of braking, My wife almost got rear ended

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Winter Garden, FL

    Electrical system rebooted in the middle of driving: screen went off couldn't signal i swayed to the side and waited till the screen came back on after 3 minutes.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE