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
    - Falls Church, VA

    The car, driving on cruise control at 75mph did an expected and very sharp braking and slowed down to 55 mph. There were no upcoming alerts or indicators of this to happen. The braking was sudden and definitely not expected by drivers behind. This incident was reported to Tesla service team.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Covington, KY

    The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while her son was driving 70 MPH on autopilot, the vehicle independently decelerated to 45 MPH. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to continue driving to his destination. 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 8,900.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Seattle, WA

    While driving, a small warning appeared on the screen, directing us to pull over. Roughly 10-15 seconds later, the car died in the middle of the road. The car was towed to a Tesla service center. The rear motor power inverter was replaced. Incidentally, I saw this news story today: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-recall-for-127785-model-3s-in-china-due-to-rear-motor-inverter-defect-185844.html The way the car failed was very dangerous. My other complaint was that the user experience telling us to pull over was not sufficient. If the problem was that dire, we need much more dramatic audible and visible alerts, as well as an indication of how long we have to go. We could have pulled off into a safer spot if we knew we only had a few seconds.

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

    The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-70 MPH with the adaptive cruise control engaged, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The contact then accelerated and continued driving. The contact was unsure whether there was a warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving alongside other vehicles. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 900.

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

    While driving, typically on two lane roads with oncoming traffic, the vehicle will suddenly break hard for no visible reason. Often it is the case that the vehicle breaks so hard that things in the car fly forward and the seatbelts lock up causing people to grunt at the force and scream. This happens while using full self driving or just regular cruise control. There is no warning and people behind my vehicle have a high likelihood a rear ending me since there is no visible or obvious cars for my breaking. Also it would appear that I am brake checking the person behind me, causing them to become angry with me through no fault of my own, but it is understandable based on the reaction of my vehicle. When this happens I typically report the issue directly to Tesla using their voice feature to report issues. The command is typically “bug report phantom braking.”

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

    The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at 5 MPH, the front driver's seat continuously changed positions independently and her foot could no longer reach the one-pedal driving. The contact veered to the side of the road and parked the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with a feature that allowed both her husband and her to save their front driver's seat profile on the center display, based on their physical characteristics. The contact stated that her husband was 6 ft. 2 inches tall and she was 5 ft. 5 inches tall. The contact stated that the failure occurred as the front driver's seat moved from her seat profile to her husband's seat profile. Additionally, the contact stated that the center display was displaying a message stating it was looking for a charging station while the vehicle was fully charged. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 2,100. The consumer stated Tesla diagnosed the problem as phantom touchscreen issue and replaced the screen on April 29, 2022.

    Source: HOTLINE VEHICLE OWNERS QUESTIONNAIRE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Hickman, NE

    My Tesla has continued from the time of purchase has Fantom braked when no vehicles are even around. Putting it on basic Cruise control or adaptive control makes no difference. Slamming on the brakes at any time is not safe with all the tailgaters that drive today. Who’s liability is it when your car brakes for no reason a you are rear ended ?

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Gardnerville, NV

    The cars cruise control system is unusable due to random and unpredictable Phantom breaking. This is a safety risk due to the potential collisions it can cause as a result of slamming on the brakes. We have had multiple close calls with this system. It specifically has issues on two lane highways.

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Louisville, CO

    Brakes were automatically engaged and speed dramatically reduced on an otherwise deserted, two-line highway. Speed was reduced from 68mph to 30mph in a few seconds multiple times in the span of two hours. Adaptive cruise control was active at the time. This would put myself and any vehicles behind me in danger, so I disabled the feature for the remainder of the drive. The behavior has been reproduced multiple times since then, in various conditions. No warning lamps or other messages appeared at the time. I reported the problem to the manufacturer and schedule a service appointment. The manufacturer canceled this appointment, stating, "Our technicians will be unable to change this behavior."

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE
  • 2021 TESLA MODEL 3
    - Seattle, WA

    While driving on the highway or freeway, the vehicle suddenly slowed dramatically as if the brakes had been heavily applied. It did this three times over the course of two days, always while the car was set on cruise control (not auto pilot).

    Source: NHTSA WEB SITE