2018 TESLA MODEL 3 Complaints

Phantom braking is extremely dangerous and a cause for disaster! While in Autopilot, it will unexpectedly brake while driving on the freeway. This causes a jerk to the human body and cause a possible rear end accident. This is quite frequent.

Newer software disables existing radar in the car; this "Tesla Vision" is objectively worse at providing automatic braking response correctly, often scared literally of it's own shadown Newer cars don't even include the rdar, an ill-advised cost saving initiated by Tesla

regularly when autopilot or cruise control are engaged, the emergency braking will abruptly slow the vehicle when no object is on the road, highway, or interstate. This creates an unsafe environment when vehicles behind you are not following at a safe distance. We have had several instances a month where the vehicle will slow from 75 to 30 in a few seconds and require human intervention to speed up. This issue has been ongoing since we received the vehicle almost 30,000 miles ago.

Driving down the freeway with Autopilot engaged and the autopilot started hard braking in the middle of the road going 70mph. No accidents occurred but it was a very dangerous situation

I've heard a loud crack while driving, in a curve. The car felt strange when steering, with noises and strange feeling while driving. I was close to home, so decided to just as park and notify Tesla. While I was parking, I've noticed the wheel touched the car on a sharp curve. I've decided to no longer drive it, scheduled a Tesla service center appointment (3 weeks later). We didn't drive the car any longer. On the day of service, I've called a tow truck. As the tow driver was pulling my car into the tow, a large bolt felt from under my car; and steering at this point was impossible (tire would touch the car). The service center replaced both sides LATERAL LINK and bolts. I've looked up this part, and found the recall 21V83500, SB-21-31-003 - which stated a situation very close to mine. My car was 2018, which was out of the recall range; but it is very likely the same issue.

While driving my vehicle, no matter if I am on the interstate, country roads, side roads the vehicle will brake for unknown reasons. It will go from 65mph to 35mph, or 55mph to 45mph, etc. This happens whether in cruise control, auto drive or manual drive. It also will brake behind trash trucks with their flashing lights on, intersection flashing lights or warning flashing lights on the side of the road. It has also done it at night with oncoming vehicles. This is a daily occurrence. I have contacted Tesla service center on a few occasions and I am always told it is a computer issue, there is nothing that can be done. This is an extreme SAFETY issue and can cause a rear-end accident or another type of accident. I can not believe this issue has been going on for years and Tesla can not come up with a solution.

Vehicle developed a loud squeak coming from driver’s side front wheel well that sounded like a something vibrating or rubbing a spring at ~54300 miles. Reported issue to Tesla via the Tesla app. Tesla’s recommended solution is to replace both the right and left Upper Control Arm. Further research found that this is a widespread problem reported by Tesla owners on the web. Indeed when I was at the Tesla Service Center the women in line in front of me was bring in her vehicle for the same problem. The upper control arms include a ball joint that needs to be lubricated. This vehicle’s upper control arms DO NOT have a built in means to lubricate that joint like a Zerk fitting. The vehicle is available for inspection. The safety issue here is a defective and/or poorly designed part which if left un-lubricated would likely experience water intrusion, corrosion and possible catastrophic failure – maybe breaking at speed. Our vehicle has lost lubricant at the ball joint given the noise and is likely susceptible to/experiencing water intrusion. Also found “SB-20-31-006 Service Bulletin Reseal Front Upper Control Arm Ball Joints”, but this curiously does not include our vehicles VIN. My suspicion is our Upper Control Arm has a different part number than the Upper Control Arm in SB-20-31-006 but is likely a very similar part. My concern is part number whack-a-mole is taking place. Tesla did not even have to inspect the car to know what the problem was. No other parties have inspected the part and no warnings, alerts, messages or other symptoms have occurred except for the horrible noise.

In 2021 the vehicle reported – “Front passenger safety restraint system fault/Contact Tesla Service”. Tesla performed OCS rework installing an Occupant Classification System (OCS) Filter Module (part SERVICE KIT – OCS REWORK (1479982-00-C)). In 2022 the vehicle reported “RCM_a056 Front passenger safety restraint system fault service required”. Tesla’s proposed correction is to replace seat (part 1ST ROW SEAT ASSEMBLY – RIGHT HAND – PUR BLACK (7654324-91-C)). The safety risk may be serious and alert RCM_a056 is being reported by other owners on the web so the problem is not isolated. My understanding is the Occupant Classification System (OCS) Filter Module is part of the airbag system and weighs occupants in the front seat. The OCS Filter is used to determine if the front seat is occupied and possibly classify occupants by weight to determine if and/or by how much airbags should be deployed. The safety of a person in the front passenger seat maybe at risk because of this faulty OCS which could result in airbags failing or deploying dangerously based on erroneous OCS inputs. The problem was identified by two faults reported by the vehicle, the first OCS failure was confirmed by a Tesla Mobile Technician and the component was replaced (part SERVICE KIT – OCS REWORK (1479982-00-C)). The Tech said the seat heater was causing interference with the OCS’s unshielded wires. The second fault the vehicle reported was also confirmed by a Mobile Service Technician who said the replacement OCS filter module “can’t be calibrated”. Please note that this is the second failure of the same component. Tesla has the OCS Module replaced in March of 2021. No other parties have inspected any of the OCS Filter Modules. I will make an effort to retain the seat being replaced. Only two fault with “RCM_a056” code and “Front passenger safety restraint system fault” text were reported by the vehicle. There were no other symptoms related to this faulty module.

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while reversing, the Back Over Prevention camera became inoperable nearly causing the vehicle to crash into the garage. The dealer and the manufacturer were contacted and stated that the contact had to pay for the diagnostic test even if the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention. The failure mileage was 90,000.

2018 Tesla Model 3 LR RWD with approximately 56,000 miles. A loud squeaking/creaking noise started on front driver side when turning at low speeds. This progressed to higher speeds. I inspected the car and found that the noise is coming from the upper control arm ball joint. It seems this is a common issue for this vehicle according to online research. This is a potential safety issue as this seems to be a premature failure of the part. Basic vehicle warranty recently ended. Tesla plans on replacing the upper control arm and charging me full price for parts and labor.