Table 1 shows one common suspension related problems of the 2023 Tesla Model 3.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Suspension problems |
A bolt securing the rear subframe assembly is loose and missing its nut. This condition has caused damage to the rear subframe assembly, which now requires replacement. The vehicle was inspected by a licensed dealer who confirmed on video that no impact damage, scraping, bending, or collision damage is present on any surrounding components. The only affected area is the bolt and nut connection point. The dealer's professional assessment is that this is consistent with a factory assembly defect — either the nut was never installed or was not properly torqued during manufacturing. No routine service or alignment would require access to this fastener. Tesla's service records for this VIN should confirm no prior work has been performed in this area, meaning the fastener has not been touched since the vehicle left the factory. Factory-installed suspension bolts of this type are typically secured with a locking mechanism or thread locker; a properly installed nut does not detach through normal vehicle operation. This constitutes a safety defect. A rear subframe fastener that was not properly secured at the factory could lead to suspension component failure, loss of vehicle control, and a serious accident. Tesla's service center has denied warranty coverage for this repair despite the vehicle being within its warranty period, citing that "a manufacturing defect would have presented itself earlier" and that because I am not the original owner, they "don't know what might have happened. " Tesla quoted $2,812. 49 to replace the damaged rear subframe assembly.
Compliance arm bolt securing it to the subframe is fractured. Tesla has dismissed my ongoing concerns of vibration and instability while driving. Stating they performed an in depth inspection of all suspension and subframe components and found nothing of concern during last service appointment. I did my own inspection and found the fractured bolt. Sent photo to service and they are trying to play it off as normal and safe to drive. Contacted several manufacturers and mechanics stating otherwise. Told this will end in catastrophic failure and loss of vehicle control but apparently Tesla wants me to drive it to the service department for next service.
1. During summer months the wireless charger does not work and heats up the phone to hazardous levels, when I take it to service while under warranty, they are saying its a known issue and want to charge customers for replacing charging pad 2. The suspension of the car is making sounds, Tesla wants me to pay labor charges for fixing it under warranty. The suspension issue happened in almost all the Tesla cars of my friends and neighbors. It needs to be a recall.
During driving, Tesla car spontaneously stated multiple active safety features and regenerative braking were no longer available and stopped working during driving with multiple warnings appearing. Driver safety at risk during this as well as others safety due to the lack of functioning. The car was taken to Tesla service center and was explained that front lower lateral suspension links were damaged by "impact" although the car was never in an impact or accident preventing proper alignment and functioning of the car. The part has been since repaired and currently undergoing further investigation for warranty dispute.
Car is disengaging full self driving because of steering becoming difficult at slow speeds in a turn. Fsd disengages and the car drive straight instead of staying in the turn, crash could be likely.
Front upper control arms replaced. Vehicle only has 24,000 miles.
Incident summary: on [xxx], I was in an accident and dropped my Tesla Model 3 at Tesla’s north phoenix collision center in Nov 2024. I received the car back in Dec/Jan. Immediately, I noticed dangerous swaying, bouncing, and veering when hitting dips—especially on the freeway. The car was unstable and unsafe to drive at high speeds. In Feb/Mar, tanner (assistant manager at the collision center) drove the vehicle with me in the passenger seat. After hitting a dip on the freeway, he panicked, exited, and agreed something was wrong. I was later told they did a wheel alignment, but the issue remained. This was the second time they returned the vehicle in an unsafe condition. I nearly crashed due to how unstable it felt. In may 2025, I brought the car back again. Tanner suspected the steering column but said no diagnosis was done. He gave me a loaner vehicle, which had a flat tire. I had to drive my own unsafe car for nearly a month while waiting for another loaner and parts—no resolution during that time. On 6/13/2025, I contacted the Tesla glendale service center. The advisor expressed frustration, saying this collision center often offloads unresolved issues. I also contacted Tesla support (877-798-3752), who advised me to file this NHTSA complaint. As of June 2025, the issue is still unresolved. My car continues to sway and veer dangerously on the freeway, and Tesla north phoenix collision has failed to properly diagnose or fix it despite multiple returns. This vehicle is unsafe to drive, and I’ve been given excuses for over 7 months. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
Purchased 2023 Tesla Model 3 performance in January 2024. On August 6, 2024 at approximately 2 pm, I got a flat tire drivers side front on a remote highway outside of reno nv. At that time, I found out that I didn't have a spare tire or jack supplied by Tesla. I called Tesla roadside service and was told before they would send out assistance, I had to agree to purchase a new tire at 540. 00 per tire, the towing company couldn't be to my location till after 6pm. I declined Tesla service. The Tesla had less than 18000 miles on it. My son came and assisted me in removing the flat and we took it to les schwab tire center where I purchased a new tire for 375. 00 dollars. Les schwab stated that the wear on the tire was caused by alignment. I contacted Tesla made a service appointment for alignment for August 26, 2024. I got another flat on the drivers rear on August 20, 2024, which cost 283. 00 from les schwab with the same disposition as caused by alignment. I took the car in the next morning and had the remaining two tires changed as it was no longer safe to drive 766. 00 cost, and alignment was to blame milage was documented by les schwab at 18792. When I went for the service at Tesla, I was told they do not warranty tire or alignment and when I told them that I would let small claims decide if that the tire wear was excessive and caused by improper alignment, they threw me out of the dealership and have refused to work on my car. The main reason for filing the complaint is none of this was disclosed when I purchased the car, every car I have ever bought has come with a spare tire, jack, and tools needed to change it. There are no other tire repair shops that can do Tesla alignments, Tesla offers no warranty on their tires and les schwab stated even their lowest cost tires come with a 20k mile warranty. Tesla is price gouging for tires 540. 00 each and alignment 275. 00. Any of the Tesla forums state that this is happening thru all models and tire sizes to most owners.
This complaint is about a Tesla rental car from avis which has just shown up in the salvage yard. Because the VIN of the wreck can not be identified I have used the VIN of another wrecked Tesla. Here is the wreck in question. . Read more...
Rattle sound in suspension and not sure if part is loose or bushing is worn out not even 1 year old car.
The car has issue with suspension, I know it is sporty suspension, but I drove so many sport cars. But this is the only one that has jarring issue, my whole upper half is shaking back an forward on bumpy wavy roads causing me to have lower back pain and if I put my back head on head rest on these road my back head will be bouncing on it non stop. I went to service center and they say the car drive normally ,I told them mode 3 2024 does. Ot have that issue they say it is completely redesigned suspension. I told them from the sporty cars I drove non have that issue. They say Model 3 is different than other models. It is so frustrating buying 2023 and having this issue and Tesla is not will ing to fix it and have to suffer back pain .
Car at low mileage started having suspension issues and felt out of alignment. Took car to goodyear where they found car was out of alignment as of car was not set up correctly at factory when made. Goodyear spend a few hours fixing alignment and tire setup. Car is having issues again.
The front left suspension arm failed and fell out as I was parking my car. If this would have happened at highway speeds it would have caused an accident because the car would have run into incoming traffic, potentially resulting in death. This occurred after a collision repair. The collision center that did the initial repair also fixed the issue. The car has had issues with pulling to the right since this repair. It has been taken to them several times but they are unable to address my concern.
Bought a 2023 Tesla Model 3 performance that vibrates from the day I bought it. After 12 service visits, new wheels tires and even a new brake rotor the car is still vibrating. Tesla seems to say it’s normal and that all Teslas drive like this but no other vehicle manufacturer has ever produced a car that vibrates. It’s unsafe and scary to drive this car the way it is. They tried fixing it at first hence why so many parts got replaced but since they don’t know how to fix it they wanna just push the “it’s normal and within spec” speech to me. Please get a recall going to address the ongoing steering wheel vibration problem faced by numerous owners as shown on numerous threads and forums. This is unacceptable.
During a road trip, autopilot started pulling to the left and right because the autopilot was struggling to center the car in the lane. Driving without autopilot showed that the car was pulling to one side. A wheel alignment by firestone showed alignment specs consistent with a strike, however the car was not actually struck during the trip. The rims and wheel look intact and brand new, without cracks or bubbles. A visit to the Tesla service center showed that the right hand rear control arm has an enlarged hole, indicating abnormal wear and tear on the suspension elements for a 4-month car with 7,000 miles. The car's steering wheel still feels loose even though the car drives straight.
This is an addition to my earlier complaint, NHTSA tracking number # 11520382. To reiterate, in this issue the suspension components failed even though the rim and wheel were pristine, and the sidewall did not have bubbles even a week after steering issues were observed. I will submit pictures of the failed suspension components following my service center visit next week.
I picked up my Tesla Model 3 performance less than a month ago and from day 1 it has been having vibrations from 40mph all the way up to 80-85 mph. I haven't driven it faster than that due to safety concern. I took it to Tesla and they said they needed to balance the wheels (why wasn't that done on a brand new car already?) anyways, I take the car back and I was still having the same issue. Tesla has now booked another service and said that my wheels might have been bent by me! the audacity! I gave them a piece of my mind so they will not charge me for service and will inspect my vehicle soon. Meanwhile I have driven the car 2500 miles and the vibrations have not gone away. I know this problem exists in model s plaids as well as with some other Model 3 performance owners as I reached out on the forums. Tesla has given up and accepted that they cannot repair these issues. Lets see what happens with my car. I plan on taking them to the court for lemon law.
My Tesla Model 3 was delivered on 14 December 2022. I first drove it on 16 December 2022 and that day I had an accident. I was about to park my car and I was already on the designated parking slot when the car made a sudden un- commanded acceleration. I first hit the handicap sign, but the car did not stop and apparently the collision avoidance safety feature did not work. The continue to accelerate and I hit a restaurant establishment. The police came and I reported the incident to my insurance (geico). The police (mr. Mcclure) gave me the case number 2238293. Geico is taking care of the repair which would cost over $10k and the property damage, which added up to 10k. I went to the Tesla service center in carlsbad and mr. Hyuma said that I can request for the log. I guess it is the edr. They gave me a link to request for the edr but the start date is 23 January 2023 way after the accident date of 16 December 2022. I have not received any log or edr from Tesla to date. I am uploading the pictures of the car before the repair. Please help me find out what exactly happened and why the car suddenly accelerated without pressing the gas pedal. I am a retired us navy (20 years) and I bought a Tesla to save money because I have solar in my house. I have a fixed income and cannot afford to spend money on the edr. I believe that here is a defect on the Tesla Model 3 that I bought and I will appreciate all the help you can provide.