2022 TESLA MODEL 3 Complaints

We took our first long-disance trip (Albuquerque NM to Arlington TX, round trip) in our 2022 Tesla Model 3 and experienced multiple (4-5) phantom braking episodes to and from Arlington when engaging adaptive cruise control or autopilot. The car had been driven 5,760 miles before the trip. There were no warnings before the braking. The car was travelling at 70-77 mph on interstate highways and suddenly the brakes would engage slowing the car to 40 or 50 mph before we pressed pressed the accelerator. It was a clear day with temperatures in the 90-100 range. One time the phantom brake episode occurred while passing. Fortunately, there no cars travelling close behind us or there could have been a serious multi-car accident. We contacted Tesla service and they told us the car had no discernable problems (attached message).

I had car seat professionals attempt to install my car seat into the Model 3. Upon reviewing the car’s user manual, it was clear that all the car seat instructions contradicted itself. 1. The instructions from the car manual instruct you to pull the single back tether from a forward facing car seat through the head rest, but the headrest is sewed into the seat so there is no option to lift the head seat and slide the tether through. 2. The instructions also include photos with instructions that directly contradict what is in the photo. For example, the manual says to run the single tether on the outside-facing side of the head rest but in the photo the tether is being run on the inside-facing tether. 3. Some instructions also encourage you to use the seat belt rather than the restraint clips on the side back seats but there is a warning at the beginning of the car seat section of the car manual that says you should only use the seat belt when the car seat is in the middle position. When I called Tesla they told me not to worry about it and that they were sure my car seat was safe. They refuse to clarify any of their user manual instructions.

The contact stated that while renting a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the steering wheel suddenly turned left while accelerating. The contact attempted to gain control however the steering wheel seized. The vehicle ended up crashing in the middle of the highway on the left side of the vehicle and front-end mostly. The air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed however it had not been determined if the vehicle was totaled as of yet. The display of the front left safety restraint system fault message was displayed on the main control display. The contact received injuries to their arms, knees, neck, shoulder, and back. Medical attention was needed. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

On multiple occasions, I have had phantom braking issues with the car. Most notably, I have experienced this on Highway 80 between Fernley, NV, and Winnemucca. Originally, I was using the car's autopilot feature and I had multiple phantom braking events. I had the speed set for the speed limit of 80 MPH and the car randomly slammed on the brakes. By the time I was able to hit the gas pedal, I slowed down to about 60 MPH. Fearing I was going to cause a traffic incident, I stopped using autopilot and used the adaptive cruise control. I suffered over 50 phantom braking incidents with the adaptive cruise control. I kept using the feature so I could log a case with Tesla. Once I got home, I logged a case with Tesla and they said the cameras were dirty and that was the issue. On a second trip, taking the same route, I cleaned the cameras and had the exact same results. I have noticed taking the same route, I only have issues when it is sunny out. When it is dark, with less glare, the car operates okay. Autopilot and Tesla's adaptive cruise control are incredibly dangerous. I requested to have a standard cruise control, which Tesla said was impossible to get. I had a previous Tesla with standard cruise control and don't understand why we can't have that feature. Please investigate this and make Tesla offer a standard cruise control option so we do not have to risk our lives with their dangerous autopilot.

While driving at 55 MPM on Interstate 66 West near Reston, I was using Tesla Autopilot and experienced a very sudden heavy braking, braking to about 35 MPH in a second or less. The braking was so sever it lifted me off the back o f the driver's seat. The closest vehicle in my lane (rightmost lane) was easily more than a quarter mile ahead. There were no vehicles on the 2 lanes to my left. I was not near an exit nor was there an overpass ahead. This occurs frequently while trying to use Tesla Autopilot in a variety of conditions. In each case there is no obvious reason for the sudden braking while using autopilot. This is quite scary and clearly dangerous. My frequent passengers all ask me not to use Tesla autopilot while they are in the car. As a comment, I would be quite happy if Tesla provided an option to only use autopilot for keeping the speed without anything else.

On 8/3/23 on two occasions the vehicle suddenly applied brakes while in cruise/autopilot mode when there was no vehicle in close proximity in front of my vehicle. There was however a large commercial truck behind me on one occasion, which may have been effected by the application of brakes for no apparent reason. On 8/5/23, with the vehicle in the same mode, the system applied brakes.....there were no vehicles within a 1/4 mile front or rear. Tesla was contacted and reviewed the logs, stating that the vehicle braked for another vehicle..... As a 35 year police officers, my professional opinion is that this vehicle is dangerous when operated in this mode. I explained this to Tesla and their response was that sometimes you get false activations because the car perceived something that wasn't there and that's Ok. It's not Ok to unexpectedly step on the brakes at 70 or 80 miles per hour on a major highway! Had it been my daughter or my wife driving, I'm not sure they would have reacted as fast nor in the correct manner as it is confusing when it first happens.

On Friday, August 11th. My wife and I were traveling on I-70 Eastbound from Colorado to Kansas. On several occasions during the trip, we experienced phantom braking while using the adaptive cruise control. The car would immediately brake at highway speeds, slowing rapidly when nothing was on the road. Luckily every time this happened there were no cars immediately behind us as it could have easily caused a crash. This happened both while I was driving [XXX] ) and while my wife was driving [XXX] ). At one point in the trip, we turned off the emergency braking feature and the phantom braking still occurred while using the adaptive cruise control. In all this happened around 10 times or so during the trip. I reported the event to Tesla on Monday, August 14 as neither of us felt safe using the adaptive cruise control after that event. Response from Tesla attached below. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I believe the autopilot and cruise control systems are affected. On 6-8 occasions, the cameras have picked up a non- existent hazard along the road causing the cruise control to disengage, rapidly slowing the car approximately 20 MPH in about 3 seconds. This has occurred on highways and freeways at speeds of 65-75 MPH. If there had been another vehicle traveling close behind, an accident would likely have occurred. I’ve taken the car to the dealer and they are aware of this problem. After the dealer adjusted the cameras the problem persisted. When this problem has occurred, there was no prior warning.

I was at a stop light. The car was stopped. The car suddenly lurched forward. I put my foot on the break but then it lurched forward again, and rear-ended the car in front of me. It appears that the car accelerated by itself. This caused an accident. The accident happened tonight. I have filed a police report and received a traffic citation for following to close. I have saved the dash cam footage of the incident to a computer and have requested that Tesla send me the EDR data. Looking at the car's logs in service mode I can see that the car was throwing several errors from before the accident with codes of "VCFRONT_a059_inputResistanceHigh," and "DIF_a018_hwLVSupplyUV" relating to the front vehicle controller and drive interface. I am attaching this plus photos of the damage.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 75-78 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,300.