general problems of the 2019 Tesla Model 3 - part 1

54 problems related to vehicle speed control have been reported for the 2019 Tesla Model 3. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2019 Tesla Model 3 based on all problems reported for the 2019 Model 3.

1 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 05/04/2025

Phantom braking (as it's referred to by experts) happened to me twice on the highway using traffic-aware-cruise-control. Very scary. I was on cruise control going 60 mph when suddenly my car braked suddenly and inappropriately, losing at least 20 mph in a split second before I was able to slam on the accelerator and prevent an accident (rear-end collision). This happened twice in the course of 5 minutes on the same highway! there was no obstruction in the road, no cars moving into my lane, nothing but normal road conditions, when it occurred. From my research, this is a huge problem with Tesla vehicles that thousands of individuals are loudly complaining about online and now in court cases in the country. I see there are thousands of reports to your organization about this, but it says you have only complaints from 2021 and later years. However, I have a 2019 and it's happening to me. And it's happening to every single model year out there, just from researching and talking to Tesla owners. This is a major safety hazard, plain and simple. I was inches of being in a rear-end collision, and drivers behind me are extremely upset and vengeful on the road after an incident like this (understandably!). Because of this I fear for my safety and well-being on the road using Tesla's cruise control features. Very disappointing. Above for the adas option, I wasn't able to select 2 options, but "automatic emergency braking" is also applicable here as that is what happened. Somehow Teslas are falsely activating emergency braking during cruise control!.

2 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 12/04/2024

When cruise control or self-driving systems are engaged, there have been numerous times when the automatic emergency braking system mistakenly slowed the car suddenly. At 70+ mph, this is incredibly dangerous. The aebs apparently sees shadows as dangers. Fortunately, there has never been an instance when another vehicle has been close behind.

3 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/18/2024

Tesla has combined cruise control with their auto pilot feature. Now there is no human override to what speed limit to use, Tesla determines the speed to used based on certain criteria. This puts the driver at risk who may want to lower or increase the speed limit based on certain conditions Tesla may not be able to detect. For me it was a 9 pm run to the store thru an area that had temporary road construction and known to be a speed trap zone.

4 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 08/18/2023

I was at a toll booth paying for tow. All of a sudden the car accelerated forward by itself, ramming into the toll bar. At that time, my arm was still sticking out the window while interacting with the toll terminal. This incident is something that needs to be looked at. It certainly looks like this is a result of the accident avoidance feature. Not sure why it activated either. But I am 99. 9% sure that I did not accidentally press the gas pedal because I had to slam on the brakes to stop. Currently contacting Tesla to see if they can get the log to prove whether I accidentally press the pedal or not. In addition to this, there were reports of inverter spikes causing acceleration issues. Please look into the linkage of these incidents. As an electrical engineer myself, this is very alarming.

5 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 07/26/2023

I have a 2019 Model 3 and yesterday, while making a left turn and applying pressure to the brake, receiving feedback from the brake, my car lurched forward for about half a second. I thought I may have been rear ended, but no one was behind me. This has happened on the freeway before as well. I'll be accelerating at a totally even place and bam, I'll jolt forward out of nowhere. On the rare occasions that I use the car's "autopilot" feature, I will also encounter phantom braking, but that's easily avoided by not using the feature, which I haven't since first encountering the problem. I haven't suffered any damages from this, but if my car is able to do this, that's extremely alarming. What if this tripped while I was parking?.

6 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/01/2023

Multiple extreme braking so much where today actually hurt my neck it stopped so abruptly up a hill miscalculating that a walker was about to be hit by my car, the man was nowhere near being hit and the auto braking skid to a halt whipping my head forward and my sweatshirt choked my adams apple area. It was extremely abrupt, scared me, the walker and nearly caused a rear end collision with the car behind me. This has happened a lot in the past 3 months yet I’ve had the car for over 4 years so I am assuming something is wrong with the software updates - it’s super scary not to have control of your own car. Also, I can opt out of auto braking on my car yet that’s not what I’m reporting, I’m reporting the fact that it’s phantom braking miscalculating street situations and causing dangers to me, my passengers and others like I’ve described above. Also noticed recently, when I hit the gas, it’s often the car doesn’t “go” it pauses and then may go with similar miscalculation of street situations like pedestrians on a adjacent sidewalk or motorcycles in between cars yet literally the Tesla won’t let me move…this isn’t safe.

7 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 05/12/2023

My wife was dropping my kid in the school drop off line. The speed was probably about 5 mph. The Tesla suddenly went into a sudden spontaneous acceleration. When my wife tried to brake, the brakes did not work. There was no forward collision warning beeping sound that went off, which is supposed to. It hit the vehicle in front and finally hit a fence. So, both the accelerator and brake malfunctioned. The car will go to a body shop tomorrow. Since it was a school drop off zone, safety of a lot of people were put at risk. It was very hard to get Tesla on the phone. So, we went into a Tesla service center and a complaint was filed. They will be reviewing the data but I dont know how long it will take. A software update had been applied a week back. 2 hours after the accident, a software update screen popped up.

8 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 05/11/2023

I live in a very rural area with very little traffic on two-lane country roads. When my cruise control is active, my Tesla sometimes brakes for no reason. A couple of days ago it violently braked from 70 mph to 50 mph for absolutely no reason. On that particular trip of 30 miles or so it "phantom braked" four times. I have had this car for almost 4 years and this problem appears to be getting worse.

9 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 05/06/2023

The car will not allow me to use the cruise control, or put the car into auto-steer. Tesla says it do to a coax cable that is damaged or gone bad. Additionally the day a camera repeater also needs to be replace. The car has only 62,000 miles and is 4 year old. Which is out of warranty.

10 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 04/29/2023

The right camera and coax cable have gone bad. The coax cable is corroded and have water inside the camera. This is affect the car to use cruise control and the auto steer function.

11 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 03/31/2023

On long, straight interstate highway roads where speed limit is 80mph in good to excellent weather and visibility conditions the vehicle on average would apply emergency braking at least 10x per 1,000 miles when no hazard or obstruction was present. This was often caused by asphalt color changes, slight hills, or shimmer in the distance…all of which are normal conditions for average driving. If vehicle was being followed closely by another car it had potential to cause high speed collision and injury or death.

12 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/27/2023

The car on multiple occasions while driving on the highway with either the cruise control or autopilot engaged, drastically brakes and slows down for no reason. These slowdowns are drastic and have occurred when there are no other cars or conditions to cause the response. The braking is so dramatic that it is unlikely that I could have intervened in time to prevent a trailing vehicle from potentially rear ending my car. The speed change was so drastic that a trailing driver also may not have been able to react in time. This is a serious issue that must be corrected without delay. This typically issue occurs within 15 minutes of engaging the cruise control or autopilot and has happened multiple times. The date below is the most recent occurrence.

13 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/18/2023

On Feb. 18, 2023 when the Tesla Model 3 was being driven on I-66e in a regular lane (55mph speed limit) parallel to an I-66 express lane (posted limit of 70 mph) going in the same direction, the car display showed the higher posted speed limit of the express lane. As a result, in assisted cruise control mode, the car would speed up more than 15 mph faster than the permitted speed for the non-express lane. Using assisted cruise control in such a circumstance is a serious hazard, but it has been observed many times on different highways since the vehicle was purchased in 2019. The problem puts the occupants of the car and other vehicles on the road at risk. The problem was initially experienced on I-395 and reported to Tesla in 2019 soon after purchase, but no action or follow-up was made. Recently, the problem has been consistently detected multiple times in similar circumstances.

14 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/15/2023

I am writing to report a serious issue that occurred while my wife and two of my children were driving my Tesla Model 3 with VIN number 5yj3e1ea1kf323404 on highway 99 north on February 14, 2023, at approximately 6pm. While driving on the highway, the Model 3 suddenly shut down and died. The vehicle completely lost power and they were unable to restart it. Despite trying all the resets given by Tesla roadside assistance, the car would not move. Even the Tesla team wasn't able to move the car and it was California highway patrol who moved it to a safer location. My wife and children were extremely frightened by this incident, which was an incredibly dangerous situation as they were driving on a busy highway, and they were lucky that no accidents occurred as a result. I wanted to update you that the Tesla team in stockton, CA is now handling this issue and they have informed me that the battery fuse blew. However, this incident has left me with grave concerns regarding the safety of my Tesla Model 3 for myself and my children. I believe that the car has become extremely unsafe to drive, and I am very worried that a similar situation could happen again. I must also note that this incident has created a panic within me, that even if and when the issue is resolved, every time I drive my Model 3, I will have a flashback of the incident and the fear that it might happen again. I believe this is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed.

15 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 01/16/2023

This morning, I was driving using fsd beta and the car swerved and veered almost directly into the curb, head-on. I was able to capture the data using the car's built-in dashcam and saved it, though I can't upload it to this site. I was able to slam on the brakes at the last minute and luckily no one else was around as it could have easily injured someone else and/or damaged my vehicle.

16 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 11/30/2022

I started to having "faulty restrain system fault" around 49k miles on Tesla Model 3. Error pop up "service needed". Consult Tesla for repair. First they ask for $384 for repair harness wires attach for driver front seat. Upon checking warranty on Tesla. Com, it provides 60000 miles and 5 years warranty for restrain system coverage so Tesla agrees to fix error for "$0". Upon taking car for repair, I was informed I had rodent cause damage (chewed) wires and it's not cover. I had to pay $180 for repair. I live in phoenix city and where I live we don't have any problem with rodents. It's very shocking to learn that rodent get access to underneath of Tesla and can chewed on wires. Why wires are not covered with better material rather than cheap plastic tapes. Those wires play significant role in vehicle safety as far as restrain system is concern. Question is why Model 3 is so inferiors in quality and design that rodent get access to the wiring. Error cause many driving problems with air bags not working and causing speeding errors. I have read on Tesla motor club blog and many customers are experiencing same problem. Is there anything Tesla needs to do to make their car more safer on road? if you need more information please email me at ravson5011@gmail. Com I can provide pictures of damage due to rodent provided by Tesla. Thank you, rs.

17 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 11/17/2022

While freeway driving with autopilot (adaptive cruise control) engaged the car will suddenly break very hard when there is no reason to. This is super dangerous when traveling at 70 mph and someone is behind me. This is a known issue (phantom breaking) that has been a problem for years and not resolved.

18 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 10/05/2022

While the vehicle has adaptive cruise control engaged, there are times it applies braking (sometimes aggressive braking) for no reason (commonly referred to as phantom braking). It’s almost as if the vehicle thinks there is an object in front of it and is applying emergency braking, however there is nothing on the road. In my experiences, it happens mostly on the highway at speeds 60-80mph. This happens on clear days, with no weather concerns. This is a severe issue that will cause accidents (if people are following closely behind me, there is a concern of them hitting me). It is scary and concerning ; this needs to be immediately addressed and corrected.

19 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 09/29/2022

I was traveling approximately 70 mph in passing lane when I engaged (standard) autopilot, as I approached to pass a vehicle with another vehicle following me in the same lane as I was traveling. My vehicle (phantom) braked hard to which the wheels began to squeal slightly and the vehicle behind me had to brake hard to avoid hitting my vehicle. I almost immediately applied pressure to the accelerator pedal to avoid a complete stopping of the vehicle and to which the vehicle responded to accelerate. And I disengaged the autopilot immediately by applying an upward motion on the gear stock.

20 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 08/30/2022

Car is on cruise control on a two lane highway, posted speed 55 mph. It has ghost emergency stops on cruise control not auto pilot . My car doesn’t have it. It renders a simple feature unusable.

21 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 08/04/2022

Yesterday I had the most frightening driving experience of my entire life. It was raining heavily and I was going about 35 mph on the local road in my Model 3 standard, 3 years old. Suddenly I lost all traction and was slipping side to side +/-90 degrees from the direction of traffic. I immediately took my foot off the accelerator and tried to slow down but didn’t brake. I swung 180 degrees each way about 5 times. Luckily no one hit me but I was taking up all lanes as I careened all over the road. I can’t believe how easily the Model 3 loses traction in the rain. This is unacceptable.

22 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/09/2022

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in full self-driving beta 10. 12. 2 mode. The vehicle failed to recognise a speed limit change approaching a sharp left turn. The vehicle took the turn too fast at 29mph veered into the oncoming lane. The quick reactions of the driver, who took control averted a collision. There is go_pro video of the incident here https://vimeo. Com/736115753/289c3413e9.

23 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/08/2022

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in full self-driving beta 10. 12. 2 mode. The vehicle was navigating through roadworks with temporary signage and cones in place. This seemed to interfere with the fsd with the vehicle moving left to right in an erratic manner and accelerating to 28mph whilst still in the roadworks zone. There is go_pro video of the incident here https://vimeo. Com/736104870/581215a7e7.

24 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/08/2022

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in full self-driving beta 10. 12. 2 mode. On a section of road with a 15 mph limit the vehicle was travelling at 39 mph. It then attempted to take a corner at 25 mph veering into the oncoming lane. Vimeo link - https://vimeo. Com/735797650/15baa75187.

25 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/08/2022

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in full self-driving beta 10. 12. 2 mode. On a section of road with tight, blind turns, the vehicle accelerated from 23mph to 27 mph into the approach to a turn. In making the turn the vehicle crossed the median into the oncoming lane. There is a go-pro video of the incident here https://vimeo. Com/735805944/eab3a31083.

26 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/08/2022

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in full self-driving beta 10. 12. 2 mode. On a wide residential road, with a speed limit of 30 mph, the vehicle accelerated to 44 mph. The display on the vehicle incorrectly says the limit is 65 before the driver had to manually adjust the maximum speed. There is go-pro video of the incident here https://vimeo. Com/735815741/e651f8ab92.

27 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/08/2022

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in full self-driving beta 10. 12. 2 mode. At 45 mph and without indicating etc, the vehicle swapped lanes from left to right on a dual lane highway. There is go_pro video of the incident here. Https://vimeo. Com/735819637/601febb81d.

28 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/08/2022

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in full self-driving beta 10. 12. 2 mode. Cruising at 35 mph on a broad residential street, the vehicle failed to recognise road markings and signage indicating that the vehicle was entering a “slow school” zone. There is go_pro video of the incident here https://vimeo. Com/735823359/7795c10089.

29 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/03/2022

Car will break "phantom breaking" slowing down +20mph very quickly with nothing on the highway in front or behind. It typically happens before bridges, major shadows on highway. There are 2 places in little rock arkansas on the highway that it does it every single day in the same spot with nothing around! has nearly caused people to crash into me from behind. I stopped driving with the autopilot.

30 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 05/27/2022

This is a sudden unintended acceleration accident. I was driving into a hotel parking lot. I turned right at less than 5 mph for about 15 feet and then made another right. Suddenly, the car accelerated at very high speed. I was able to steer but can't stop the car until 200 yards after I made a turn into the bushes and knock down a tree. At about 50 yards the vehicle also banged into three parked cards.

31 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 03/19/2022

The vehicle suddenly and without visible obstruction in the road and with out warning applies the brakes aggressively which decreases velocity in an unsafe manner. This occurs while the enhanced autopilot is active. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or other. The only prior warning is that the aggressive braking has occurred on several occasions as early as 2019. The most recent occurrence was on 03/19/22.

32 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 03/18/2022

While driving on I 70 in kansas with cruise control on, the car violently decelerated several times during a trip. This happened with no reason, with no object in the vehicle path and was like someone jamming the breaks and tire nearly skidding. If someone was behind me they surely would have rear-ended my car.

33 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/12/2022

Several times while driving highway route 2 in massachusetts, westbound and eastbound, the adaptive cruise control system slammed on the brakes for absolutely no reason. There was nothing in front of the car for 100 yards, sometimes longer. It happened at least 10 times within an hour. This caused a dangerous situation for myself and the cars behind me who were not expecting my vehicle to brake suddenly and for no reason. There have been many other cases of this submitted to the NHTSA, it is not an isolated problem. There were no warnings displayed during the phantom hard braking incidents.

34 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 01/28/2022

Every time I am on a two lane road, and sometimes even on divided highways, I experience numerous instances where the car seems to think there is an imminent collision, where the brakes are immediately applied excessively and for seemingly no reason. This issue is present with either the fsd beta engaged or simply having cruise control engaged at all. The issue is far worse at night, and in a 1 hour drive it is likely to happen several times. In addition to the above, the car also forces the auto high beams back onto auto when re-engaging the system after I've had to take control to stop it from stopping or swerving unnecessarily. Since the auto high beams are really bad, the car often will flash oncoming drivers on its own, and again for seemingly no reason. I usually remember to disable it every time, but have also forgotten and flashed oncoming drivers due to this as well. In addition to the above, the fsd system will make swerves that make no sense at times as well. For instance, it turned into what it thought to be the turning lane a block early, but maintained speed for the actual intended turn. When it saw the lines ending, it abruptly made a 90 degree turn a block early as it didn't know what to do. While I feel competent enough to be more alert than an average driver should expect to be when driving, I feel it is a matter of time, if it hasn't already happened, where Teslas cause a rear end accident, injury, or even death, from their seemingly random and sudden movements by a driver that doesn't understand the limits of the cars. For the approximate date field below. . . . . . It happens every time I drive on a two lane road, and even more so at night. It's not a one time instance. It's every single drive. I'll put the date the last time I drove longer than a couple miles from home, but want to emphasize that everything described above can be easily reproduced on every single drive.

35 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 11/15/2021

On three occasions while driving on the expressway the vehicle slammed on the brakes while tacc was enabled. One occasion the vehicle behind me had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid hitting my vehicle. There was no threat or obstacles in the road, it was totally random. I’m afraid to use tacc and have no option for traditional speed based cruise on my vehicle.


Other Vehicle Speed Control related problems of the 2019 Tesla Model 3


Safety Ratings of Model 3 Cars
Model 3 Service Bulletins
Model 3 Defect Investigations