Tesla Model 3 - Problems, Statistics, and Analysis

Tesla Model 3 owners have reported a total of 6,449 problems for their cars built in the 10 model years listed in the chart below. The chart shows the number of problems reported across all service years for each given model year of the Tesla Model 3. The 2018 Tesla Model 3 cars have the most problems reported (1,529 problems).

Table 1. Total number of problems by model year for Tesla Model 3

Model Year Number of Problems
  2026 Model 3
7
  2025 Model 3
164
  2024 Model 3
273
  2023 Model 3
627
  2022 Model 3
1,199
  2021 Model 3
1,009
  2020 Model 3
665
  2019 Model 3
928
  2018 Model 3
1,529
  2017 Model 3
48

🔍 Common problems of Tesla Model 3

The following chart shows the 29 most common problems for Tesla Model 3 cars. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's forward collision avoidance (1,697 problems). The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's equipment (656 problems).

📉 Compare Reliability Across Model Years Using PPMY Index

It would not be fair to compare the Tesla Model 3 of an older model year to newer model years since older vehicles have been in service longer and thus are expected to have more problems. In order to compare the reliability across Model 3 model years, we use the PPMY index which is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. A smaller PPMY index indicates greater reliability of the given model year cars.

    PPMY = P / S / Y * 1000,

where P = total problems reported during the life of a Tesla Model 3 model year; S = total units sold of the model year; Y = years since the debut of the model year (the age of the vehicle).

The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Use PPMY Index to Compare Reliability Across Model 3 Model Years

Model 3
Model Year
Problems Sales [1] Vehicle
Age
PPMY Index
  2020 665104,8096    
1.06
  2019 928103,3407    
1.28

📊 Number of Problems Reported During the First Year

Another way to measure the reliability across the model years of the Tesla Model 3 is to use the total number of problems reported during the vehicle's first year in service, as shown in the Table 4.

Table 4. Number of problems in vehicle's; first service year

Model YearProblems Reported
  2026 Model 3
7
  2025 Model 3
142
  2024 Model 3
147
  2023 Model 3
330
  2022 Model 3
716
  2021 Model 3
210
  2020 Model 3
70
  2019 Model 3
78
  2018 Model 3
54


Model 3 Service Bulletins
Model 3 Defect Investigations
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