2021 TESLA MODEL 3 Complaints

While driving from Austin to Nashville, during the last, dark part of our drive, we hit rain. The Auto windshield wiper setting did not work, so I had my passenger help with selecting wiper speeds as the wiper speed control is difficult and distracting to use while driving. We tried the Auto setting a couple more times to see if there was any change, and noticed that the wipers would turn on when we drove under a light, then off again when the there was no light. We tested this a few more times and it appears that the Auto wiper setting only works in well-lit settings (i.e. when it's not raining), and does not work in the dark. It is possible to click a button on the left stalk to trigger a single wipe, but this is ineffective in anything beyond light rain. Due to the inaccessibility of the wiper controls and insufficiency of the single-wipe button, this presents a safety risk while driving the car in the rain.

During the use of the Autopilot feature in Tesla, the car suddenly starts braking with no obstacles. This can cause a safety incident on the road when there are vehicles behind and the Tesla suddenly stops for no apparent reason.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH with the Forward Collision Adaptive cruise control engaged, the driver was approaching a railroad overpass and the vehicle stopped independently. The cruise control was disengaged and the vehicle operated as designed. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that the Adaptive Cruise Control signal recognition was not functioning as designed. The contact reached out to the manufacturer and provided an online form describing the failure. The manufacturer confirmed that the issue was a known failure and that a fix was in the process. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50.

During use of the autopilot system on my trip from wilmington DE to GA and vice versa, at nurmeous times the car would automatic hard break dropping the speed by 20mph+ stating there are emergency vehicles while there wasn't any or any vehicle in front on the highway, and at various other time during the drive it would auto slow down 1-2 mph for no reason both causing unsafe driving conditions. Each day this happened over 10+ times

On 2/17/22 at appx. 8:08am with adaptive cruise control engaged the collision warning alarm chimed and the car beaked quickly for 50mph to 30 mph. There was an SUV in the oncoming traffic lane. This has happened several times. The system sometimes does not recognize that approaching vehicles are in a correct lane. This happens with larger approaching vehicles such as large SUVs and trucks. Additionally we have been getting many (dozens) of dashboard error warnings that one or more of the cameras are blocked or blinded. As Tesla has chosen to delete lidar and depend solely on cameras as safety system detectors this affects Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Blind spot warning, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assistance, and cross traffic alert.

I've owned this vehicle since October of 2021, and wish to provide examples of my own issues concerning phantom braking while using the Autopilot/Traffic Aware Cruise Control Feature on my Model 3 Standard Range Plus. Having now put roughly 6,000 miles on the vehicle in the conditions found in western Maryland/south-central Pennsylvania, I've been able to find these consistencies concerning phantom braking: On an undivided 2-lane highway: 1. When it's a dashed line that allows for passing on long straight stretches, more phantom braking incidents occur than when the center line is double-solid. Those are usually 5-15mph braking events until the opposing vehicle has passed without incident. 2. When going down/up a gently sloping hill and the car is unable to see the lines far enough ahead because of a turn. If a vehicle is coming the opposite direction, the car appears to believe that the opposing vehicle is in your lane and coming right at your vehicle. These are usually the hardest phantom braking events. 3. When vehicles are parked parallel along the side of an undivided road, and especially at night, the car appears to think these are threats to its/my safety. I say that they appear worse at night, as when my headlights cause the rear taillights/reflectors to visually brighten, the incidents are more frequent. These vary wildly, from having no braking events to hard braking events. On a divided highway: The most consistent issues in my case happen when going up/down mountains. A highway turns into 3 lanes, with the rightmost lane for large, heavy trucks that are going slower than the rest of traffic. If you are in the middle lane, and that slow truck is using it's 4-way blinkers, Autopilot/TACC appears to see it as an emergency vehicle, and heavily brakes. I've gotten in the habit of always using the leftmost lane to avoid this issue. The trucks are clearly in another lane, well out of mine, and are moving, even if slower than the rest of traffic.

When the vehicle is in cruise control mode, the brakes will engage for no apparent reason. It has happened three times. The brakes will engage then release causing the car to quickly decelerate and disengage the cruise control. It has only happened on the freeway when driving, no other cars are in front or braking in front of the car. There is no apparent reason for the braking other then cruise control mistake.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at various highway speeds with the adaptive cruise control activated the braking system would erroneously activate causing the vehicle speed to suddenly be reduced. The contact indicated that the failure had occurred on multiple occasions and speed reduction was significant. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 1,400.

On multiple occassions, while using the adaptive cruise feature, (but not the auto steer feature) the vehicle will suddenly slow down to the speed limit, without any warning or notification that anything has changed. This happens in multiple occasions on the Long Island Expressway between exits 48 adn 32. The vehicle slows by itself for no reason at all. fb

I owned this 2021 Tesla Model 3 for six months. On many occasions, while using the adaptive cruise control mainly on two-lane roads at various speeds between 35-55 MPH, the car would unexpectedly rapidly apply the brakes when there was no hazard present. This almost got me in a road rage situation, as the following vehicle thought that I intentionally brake-checked them. I discontinued using the system. I no longer on this vehicle, but can provide new owner’s information if needed.