Table 1 shows one common exterior lighting related problems of the 2022 Tesla Model 3.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting problems |
I am filing a safety complaint regarding water intrusion into the rear tail lamp assembly of my 3-year-old Tesla Model 3. The rear tail light has progressed from minor condensation to active water accumulation and visible pooling inside the sealed housing. This is not light fogging — there is standing moisture inside the assembly. The vehicle has not been involved in any collision and there is no visible external damage to the lamp. I have already been pulled over, and drivers behind me have indicated that the affected tail light is not clearly visible. Reduced rear illumination creates a serious safety risk, particularly at night or in poor weather conditions. A malfunctioning tail lamp increases the likelihood of a rear-end collision. Rear lighting is a federally regulated safety component. Water intrusion into a sealed led lighting assembly creates risk of electrical malfunction, corrosion, and sudden loss of rear illumination. The vehicle is currently out of warranty due to mileage; however, it is only three years old. A sealed led tail lamp is not a wear-and-tear item and should not fail due to normal mileage accumulation. This appears to be premature sealing failure. I contacted Tesla service regarding this issue. Their written response stated that because the vehicle is out of warranty due to mileage, any repairs would be at my expense. They did not address the safety concern or the presence of internal water accumulation. There are numerous reports from other Model 3 owners describing similar tail lamp water intrusion issues. I am requesting that NHTSA review whether water intrusion into sealed rear lighting assemblies constitutes a safety defect and whether further investigation is warranted.
My car just made 50k and is out of warranty and the headlight fail. I contacted Tesla and they quote $1800 to fix it. When I went on the internet and found out that this is very common and seems to be a bad design. Can you do anything so they redesign and recall so we consumers are not ripped off by Tesla? I know is a long shot now that elon is running the government but I have nowhere else to complain. Thank you.
I was driving after dark on a country highway with my wife. She was choosing music while I was driving. An oncoming car went by and afterwards I flipped to high beams. . . At the exact same moment she tapped to play a song on the display. Turns out the skip/play songs menu is exactly where the headlight adjust menu pops up when you switch from high to low beams. This caused her to turn the headlights off on the car while we were travelling at highway speeds. This causes an obvious significant safety risk because of a poorly thought-out ui design and could cause a crash very easily. I am including two photos of the ui problem one with music playing, and the second popup for headlight control when the light beam is changed from low-beams to high-beams.
The Tesla computer and especially the user interface is unsafe. ?more accurate to say I hate the unfriendly user interface. I am surprised NHTSA oked this computer interface. It needs a google quality voice activation feature. The current one is deaf to most words normally used to drive a car. E. G. , to turn the lights on while driving on a road where “lights on” is required. I must hit a button to see all controls. Then I must hit the “lights” button. Then I must hit the “lights on”. All this while having trouble reading the small print on the screen. The reading is difficult. All this while taking my eyes off the road to even see the screen. This is just one of very many examples. The actual use of the computer is very often more user unfriendly and unsafe than the “lights” button. Dangerous, dangerous. I almost killed another driver when my car was new because I was working the computer and I ran a read light. Fortunately my car stopped because I hit the breaks or because the car was, in fact, Smart??????? I am surprised NHTSA oked this computer interface. The computer is Smart but using the interface is dangerous. I want to bring this issue up to NHTSA, not to issue a recall, but to add on a user interface as good as google? what is the chance that they will re-investigate a safety decision they have already made? sincerely; william zagotta.
My car is less than two months new. The headlight assembly, which includes blinker and running light, has been defective and not working for over a month. No blinker, no headlight, no running light. This is a safety issue and can be issued a traffic citation, yet Tesla has not repaired/replaced this part.
Less than a month after I purchased my car, the whole diver's side headlight assembly stopped functioning, no blinker, no headlight, no running light. It's been over a month and Tesla keeps moving my service appointment to a later date. Tesla states it's a part issue, yet you continue to build cars with headlights ignoring current customers. I still have no working headlight assembly.