general problems of the 2018 Tesla Model 3 - part 1

The center display (vehicle pad) on my 2018 Tesla Model 3 went completely blank while driving. This eliminated access to all vital driving information including the speedometer, gear selection, and safety indicators. Safety concern: without visible speed data and wipers the vehicle cannot be operated safely or legally. I attempted to reboot the system and power cycle the vehicle but the screen still failed.

Repeatedly and randomly, with cruise control (not fsd) engaged, the car would brake, sometimes aggressively. The last time, it braked so hard the tires or brakes squealed and the car swerved slightly before I was able to regain control. This was on the freeway (in colorado, if I remember correctly) while I was cruising at 70 or 75 mph. I decided that that was the last time I would use cruise control; it was just not safe. I had an appointment on October 22 to take the car in for service. But then a friend told me this was called "phantom braking" and that there was no fix. A friend suggested that I contact the NHTSA.

I am reporting a major safety defect that began immediately after Tesla installed the full self-driving (fsd) hardware upgrade on my vehicle. After paying $2,000 for fsd and receiving the hardware retrofit, the car now instantly veers left toward oncoming traffic whenever fsd is engaged. This began immediately after Tesla’s installation. Before this service, my vehicle operated safely. I have contacted Tesla cherry hill service center in new jersey multiple times. The advisors there repeatedly told me to “just recalibrate the cameras from the touchscreen. ” I’ve done this numerous times, following every instruction carefully, but the issue persists. When I called the service center, I was told that “everything looks fine remotely,” even though the problem continues and is clearly dangerous. I was also told they could take it for a test drive, but that if they couldn’t find anything, I would have to “wait for a future update” to make fsd usable. This is unacceptable and unsafe. Tesla delivered this car to me in a dangerous condition that could easily cause a serious crash. A car that steers itself into oncoming traffic under fsd control should never have been returned to a customer — especially one new to using fsd. I should not be responsible for any repairs, recalibrations, or diagnostics related to a defect introduced by Tesla. This issue appears to be the direct result of improper installation, misalignment, or faulty calibration following the fsd hardware upgrade performed by Tesla cherry hill. This poses a severe risk of collision and injury, and Tesla’s refusal to take responsibility or correct it under warranty demonstrates clear negligence and disregard for safety. Tesla cherry hill is also known for poor customer service and repeated dismissal of safety complaints from other owners, which further concerns me.

I was at a stoplight behind a Toyota tacoma. I must have stopped around 8 feet behind it. I was not using fsd and I was not one-pedal driving. My foot was on the brake. I must have been at a complete stop for approximately 10 seconds when my Model 3 suddenly accelerated full throttle on its own and rear ended the tacoma, directly hitting its trailer hitch, causing my car's driver-side airbags to deploy. When it happened, the light was still red and my foot was still on the brake. I never touched the accelerator. Luckily I was driving alone. After the inital contact, my car sort of bounced off of his hitch then slowly lurched forward before it stopped. After that, it was immobile, leaving me stuck in traffic until it was towed away.

I’m not exactly sure what’s wrong, the screen keeps failing on my car. It’s been taken to Tesla to service this issue 4 times. With the most expensive repair costing $2,200. Its poses a safety hazard because when the screen fails. You can’t see anything, speed, gear. You can’t adjust windshield wipers, seat or mirror positions.

On 9/6/2024 I was driving on I-10 e going about 70 mph in the left lane. I had engaged the cruise control but not the autopilot because I’ve had dangerous experiences with the autopilot phantom breaking and misinterpreting cracks in the road as lane markers and dangerously changing lanes. So even though inoaid thousands of dollars for autopilot I never use it. So I was driving approaching a big rig in the lane to the left of mine and the sun was low in the sky casting a shadow on the road. The car thought the shadow was a car and slammed on the breaks and almost came to a complete stop until I pressed on the breaks to release the cruise control. We are very lucky the car behind us didn’t hit us. The car behind us almost hit us and my passenger and I both sprained our necks. The same exact thing happened 5 minutes later. After that I am too scared to use cruise control which is very inconvenient when on a road trip. My car is a 2018 Tesla Model 3 that is equipped with lidar radar when I bought it, however Tesla turned this feature off awhile back. I never had issues with cruise control when the lidar was still enabled. I am very angry that a carmaker can turn off a safety feature that I paid for without my consent. I would have bought a different electric car if I had know I’d have to go back in time to the 1990’s before cruise control was invented. Most cars use some kind of radar for their cruise control systems and this seems to much safer. There are many, many complaints on line of other Tesla drivers having lots os problems with phantom braking. This is an important safety issue that needs to be addressed immediately.

The mcu in my 2018 Tesla Model 3 failed after a software update, rendering several key safety features inoperable, including the car’s cameras and autopilot functions. The vehicle currently has 16,600 miles and had previously received an mcu replacement in 2022. This most recent failure occurred during a firmware update, which got stuck at 50%. The Tesla service center confirmed that the mcu needs replacement again, but I was not given clear diagnostic logs or evidence of a pre-existing hardware issue. Due to this failure, the rearview camera, blind spot monitoring, and autopilot features are no longer operational, which directly impacts the safety of driving the vehicle. These features are critical for safe operation and are standard in ensuring driver assistance, situational awareness, and accident avoidance. The issue has been inspected by the Tesla service center, and they proposed replacing the mcu at a significant cost, though no prior warning signs or messages appeared before the failure during the update.

While driving on the highway with fsd on, the car severely amalfunctioned with sudden deceleration at 4 separate ocassions. At 68 mph when changing lanes, the car suddenly decelerated. There were several cars behind us and it could have been a major multi car collision. At all 4 ocassions, I immediately took over control on steering and acceleration, thus avoiding any accident. This problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center yet. My vehicle or component(s) have also not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others yet. Additionally, there were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

Autopilot fsd 12. 3. 6 in ohio is interpreting state route signs as speed limit signs. In milford ohio, the speed limit is 25mph. While traveling on sr 50, each state route sign had the max speed jump to 50mph. Then back to 25 at the next actual speed limit sign. An sr 28 sign was interpreted as 20mph. Errors is speed are dangerous in either the car going too fast or risking a rear end collision by incorrectly slowing down.

I recently took my car in for a recall for the trunk wiring harness and have never had any major issues since I purchased it in 2018. Since replacing the recalled harness, I’m starting to receive several alerts from my driver assistance system (emergency brakes, camera failure). I called a service tech who mentioned there’s either a failed camera or a failed wiring harness. Looking online, I was shocked to see hundreds of other owners with a 2018 Model 3 also experiencing the same issue in 2024 (assuming after they replaced the recently recalled harness). I strongly believe that these two issues are related and that the camera should be replaced alongside the wiring harness. Several people on this forum have been quoted hundreds or thousands from Tesla to replace the harness (including myself) and are taking matters into their own hands by replacing with after market parts. This is a serious safety issue since the cameras control all self driving functionality. I’m shocked that it’s not already been addressed through a recall! the first time my system had gone out while on autopilot, the car flashed and sirened and asked that I take over. Since then all my driver assistance features including my rear camera are no longer functional. Please see this forum where several others are experiencing the same issue on their 2018 Model 3s [xxx] attached are error messages from my car and screenshots from the forum above where people have described the diy fix and the costs quoted by Tesla. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The most recent software update v11. 1(2024. 3. 10 9d92fb944d7f) was downloaded automatically and I installed it. The next time I drove, the car made uncommanded and unwanted lane changes, apparently because I could "go faster" if I passed the traffic in front of me. I did not want to go faster due to congestion and aggressive drivers where I live. I then discovered that "full self driving" had been activated after the download and without my knowledge or authorization. I believe that this was an unsafe condition and wish to report it. I immediately turned "fsd" off.

Tesla Model 3 autopilot engaged. The car steered itself off the road and into a tree as it was accelerating on a residential street from 8 mph to approx. 30 mph.

The adaptive cruise control (autopilot) suddenly applied the brakes while I was traveling about 70 mph on a major interstate highway. There was no reason for the sudden and rapid braking. No obstacles of any kind. I suspect the autopilot was confused with the shade of the road from asphalt to concrete as I approached a small bridge. Software version on the vehicle is 2023. 38. 6.

I was exiting the highway onto a blvd and I slowed down. The car all of a sudden accelerated by itself, went over the exit curb and hit the central median of the blvd. Fortunately, no vehicles on the blvd wer crossing when this happened. I was fortunately not physically hurt in the incident but it could have been afr worse if I had a vehicle in my front or on the lvd when the incident happened.

2018 Tesla Model 3 was in cruise control (not self-drive) on an interstate with no other vehicles in the near vicinity. The car repeatedly applied brakes unexpectedly. I have traveled with this vehicle before and did not have unexpected braking problems. I have requested a Tesla service appointment but do not know if Tesla has an answer to what I hear is a widespread problem.

Multiple "phantom braking" events in which the car, on a clear day & no cars around, would suddenly slam on the brakes and try to stop. No messages were displayed on the screen. Tesla service seems uninterested as it is a "software" issue. I tried a full reset of the car with no improvement.

Car speed control malfunctioned. There was a sudden acceleration when car was below 10 miles in the parking lot. The driver lost control on braking and car keep accelerating even no force was applied to pedal. Dribe had to steer out of parking lot and crash through a wood en fence on next door neighbor. Car still keep going thru front yard of two houses cross the street and eventually hit a concrete barrier on front porch of the house. Several parts breakoff underneath the car , fluid leaked and all wheels are severely damage. Severy damage to front body side of the of the car and battery system , has occurred . There was near miss body injury to pedestrians in the area and neighbor hood. No physical injury was reported at the time of accident. But driver reported psychologycal distress. Currently car is towed away per instruction from insurance company for evaluation. Police report case# 23021162 north brunswick pd 710 hermann road north brunswick, NJ 08902.

I am driving on the new fsd beta that Tesla just released to comply with NHTSA's previous recall, version 2022. 45. 13. Despite the claim that this release has addressed these issues, I experienced these today while driving around my town on city streets and on the open highway: as I approached the stop sign at the end of the exit ramp off the highway to my neighborhood street, the car blew right past the stop sign just like it wasn't there. It did this before the current update as well. While this is improved over previous versions, it still doesn't slow down in advance of a new lower speed limit sign to ensure it's moving at that posted new slower speed by the time it reaches that sign, as it should. As you know, it's illegal, e. G. , to continue driving at 45 mph after you've passed a 35 mph sign. But with this latest update, even though the car can "see" the new lower speed limit sign ahead, the car only begins to slow down once you've passed this new lower speed limit sign and then goes about 200 ft before it actually reaches the lower speed. This is still illegal in every state and is a danger to drivers and others. Please make Tesla fix both of these problems fully.

Tesla recently pushed out a significant software update version 2023. 2. 12. Like a similar software upgrade last year, the upgrade wipes out all user profiles and rearranges control settings. The sudden change makes it hard to find simple and necessary control features of the car. The driver is significantly distracted trying to find where the new controls are. Some are hidden. Some are no longer visible. Software update is inherently unsafe especially for older drivers. In addition, the controls panel font is so small that many of the controls cannot be seen by older drivers. We have complained to Tesla that this is inherently unsafe and poses a risk to motor vehicle safety. No response.

While attempting to park the car in a parking lot, the car did not respond to the release of the accelerator or the press of the brake but just continued. Car continued to jump the curb and run into a concrete wall without slowing or stopping. No auto functions were enabled on the car. Car was attempting to park in the spot on the right side of the photo but just continued on and ran into the stone wall.

When driving on the highway and using the "autopilot" lane assist feature the care will automatically change the set speed limit and hard brake which puts my passengers and I in danger of being rear ended due to the abrupt stop. For example I have been driving on the highway with the autopilot set to 65mph and all of a sudden the speed will change to 35 and execute a hard braking maneuver. To compensate for this I have learned to hover my foot over the accelerator to counteract this phantom braking. When this happens there are no alerts that there is something in my path that I need to slow for. Other times there are forward avoidance alerts, but there is nothing in the path. The manufacturer has done nothing to remedy this issue.

During rush hour traffic on highway 101 southbound near redwood city, I experienced an incident while utilizing autopilot and autosteer. Despite being in stop-and-go traffic, the vehicle did not respond to the car in front which suddenly came to a complete stop. Neither the automatic emergency braking system nor warning sounds, which has been known to activate erroneously, were triggered. As a result, I was forced to manually brake at the last moment, but there was not enough time for manual intervention and the vehicle collided with the car in front. It is worth noting that every other instance in which I have utilized autopilot and autosteer, which occurs on nearly every trip I take, the vehicle has been able to respond and brake, albeit with slow reaction times and close distances.

While in cruise control: I. E. Going 70 + mph, when passing large trucks (18 wheelers) the vehicle will hard break down to 50 mph. Vehicles traveling behind don’t expect this and are barely able to stop from hitting into my back end. Only happens with large 18 wheelers, seems to be trucks that are white in color. It has happened several times previously, stopped at dealer, told nothing wrong, record if it happens again.

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 have noticed unwarranted braking while using cruise control. I have been able to confirm at least some of it is due reconstruction of the highway. At certain places the car thinks I am on an exit ramp with a 45mph limit when I am actually on the main highway. It then suddenly slows the car until I correct it using the accelerator.

1) ongoing issue with car braking suddenly when no other cars are ahead of it. 2) when in auto-pilot, the car brakes late when carrying speed. This has happened when the car is less than 1 car length behind the car ahead of it forcing me to disengage and brake hard to avoid a collision. In one incident, I had to swerve the car and drive onto shoulder of the highway to avoid a collision. 3) on 7-16 the the undercarriage cover detached from car while driving on highway.

The car brakes by it and accelerates by it. Some time it says I am not holding the steering wheel and it cancels the autopilot in the middle of the long distance driving. The defective cabin camera does not see the hand position at all and randomly keeps on distracting from the front road view to the screen which is not in the same line as the road. Too many errors of auto pilot are very frustrating and distracting. The Tesla’s team tries to repair something and keeps on blaming their own departments not to fix things correctly. I have tried many times to make an appointment thru their app which is very buggy and it’s like one way communication. I have multiple recalls on my car but they don’t have time or parts to fix it. They will not allow making any weekend or within 20 mile radius service center. Once they do any repair their technician drops the ball and do not want to fix the original problem correctly. The full self driving is ridiculous I have not been able to complete even 10 miles trip without taking over in few minutes. This fsd software/hardware needs to be more accurate as soon as possible so that there is no harm done to the driver and passenger to the Tesla and other cars.

Car was stop at left turn lane waiting for light to change to green arrow. Car just accelerated on its own . Car crashes into to car in front of me and pushes us onto center island and continues to accelerate sending us on to crossing traffic, endangering others and my family life . Tesla never investigated or tried to respond. Insurance company couldn’t or never did any investigation and made me at fault for the accident. Tesla certified body shop told me they can’t pre scan Tesla and print out reports like any other vehicle. Cars driver front camera was coming on and off prior to acceleration for no apparent reason . Camera is part of adas system.

Cruise control was engaged at 70mph. Auto without warning while traveling suddenly started severe braking. Driver was only guiding steering at the time ( foot did not touch brake). The dual lane highway was level and straight. There were no other vehicles in sight. The skys were overcast so there were no shadows. There were no overpasses. I have had this happen several times when autopilot is engaged but never when just cruise control activated. Sudden braking like this at high speeds could cause a vehicle following this auto to rear end that could cause the loss of control of this vehicle that would cause a life threatening event to occur.

Phantom braking!!! ever since purchasing the car in March 2018 and right up to the present, when using autopilot or more recently full self driving (fsd), especially at highway speeds, the car will suddenly start significantly braking and slow down for no justifiable reason. This is dangerous enough that if the vehicle behind me is not paying attention, they could rear-end me. It’s totally unpredictable when this will occur, but it does happen frequently at highway speeds. This is a very well-known problem, but even after dozens of software update releases, Tesla has been unable to eliminate or even reduce the frequency of phantom braking.

Nhtsa forced Tesla fsdbeta to remove “rolling stop” behavior at clear intersections. This has caused me to be continually honked at, drivers aggressively passing my slow fsdbeta car. The decision by the NHTSA has caused my car to be more unsafe by impeding proper traffic flows. Nhtsa should be focused on improving safety and not traffic law enforcement. This complaint is directed at the improper decision and solely on the NHTSA to lift the guidance to Tesla. As a customer I now feel my car is unsafe to drive due to your decision.

The optional "self driving option" we purchased for an additional $8,000 when we purchased this vehicle has never worked properly. The adaptive cruise control will brake for no reason, often multiple times per mile. It seems to be affected by shadows on the road and the vehicle mistakes these shadows for obstacles. The "self driving option" will abruptly jerk the steering wheel in the direction of oncoming traffic and violently disengage. My wife and I find it to be unusable. Multiple service requests to Tesla have resulted in no actions.

While using the adaptive cruise control plus autopilot, car suddenly and rapidly slows to stop. At each instance, there are no cars in front of me or any other obvious obstruction to cause the car to rapidly deaccelerate. It only happens on the freeway at freeway speeds. It is shocking and unnerving. When I quickly take back the control, I can bring the car back up to speed. So far, there has not been a car close behind me to cause a rear-end collision, but that is my fear. This has happened sporadically since I got the car, perhaps ten times total. The form asks for a date, but there are multiple across years so I put the approx latest date.

Vehicle center screen freezing multiple times per drive. Speedometer, turn signals, autopilot, battery percentage, backup camera, blind spot monitor, parking sensors, hvac and garage door opener all repeatedly inoperative. Audio chimes also freeze up and previously-engaged “navigate on autopilot” functions continue to operate without any visual or auditory alerts.

I needed to back up slightly to make room to get our of a parallel parking position. I pressed the brake and put the car into reverse, pressed the accelerator slightly to back up. I then pressed the brake again and put the car into drive. I then pressed the accelerator slightly to drive off, but the car suddenly accelerated in an uncontrolled manner. I was able to slam on the brakes to prevent an accident. This is not the first time that this type of unintended acceleration has occurred in this vehicle.