Equipment Problems of Tesla Model 3 - part 1

“the affected system was Tesla full self-driving (fsd) (supervised). Fsd correctly selected the northbound left-turn lane but, while executing the left turn to westbound pecan street, intermittently directed the vehicle into the eastbound lanes carrying opposing traffic. ”.

On August 26, 2026, at approximately 8:56 am, I entered a public parking garage in washington, DC. Full self-driving (supervised) was engaged and controlling the vehicle during a reversing maneuver. I remained attentive to the vehicle's surroundings, including pedestrians and surrounding traffic. While reversing under fsd (supervised), the vehicle's right rear corner collided with the corner of a stationary structural pillar in the parking garage. I did not command the vehicle to steer into the pillar. Upon becoming aware of the impact, I immediately applied the brake. There were no injuries. The collision resulted in damage to the right rear area of the vehicle. After the incident, I photographed and recorded the scene and vehicle damage and saved the available Tesla dashcam footage. I also requested the vehicle data from Tesla. I am reporting this incident because the vehicle collided with a stationary structure while fsd (supervised) was engaged and controlling the reversing maneuver. I do not know the specific technical cause of the incident. The vehicle and available recorded data can be made available for inspection upon request.

To whom it may concern, I am reporting what I believe is a foreseeable child-safety risk involving Tesla’s toybox feature. Tesla allows parents to pin-restrict arcade, theater, and the web browser, but toybox remains accessible. Recently, I briefly went inside my home to use the bathroom, and my child slipped outside and climbed into my parked Tesla specifically to use the touchscreen and toybox. Fortunately, I discovered him quickly. In hot weather, however, a child remaining unnoticed inside a parked vehicle could face serious injury or death, particularly if climate control were disabled, changed, or failed. Tesla already has the software infrastructure to restrict entertainment features. Adding toybox to parental controls appears to be a straightforward safety improvement. I believe this omission creates an unnecessary and foreseeable risk to children and warrants review as a potential vehicle safety concern. Sincerely, [xxx] Tesla Model 3 owner information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

On xxx at approximately 12:56 pm pacific on [xxx], my 2024 Tesla Model 3 VIN [xxx] was operating in full self-driving (supervised). The system detected oncoming traffic, stopped, then reversed to yield and backed into a parked 2015 Ford transit van that had an occupant inside. I am the registered owner. [xxx] was the driver. Teslacam saved events at 12:56:33 and 12:56:43. There was little visible damage, no injuries logged, and no police report. Tesla's consumer privacy form does not accept a crash narrative. I requested a vehicle data report / copy of my data on xxx. Usaa/[xxx] claim xxx later assigned 100 percent fault to the Tesla driver for backing, treating this as a conventional reverse collision rather than an fsd commanded maneuver. I am reporting this as a safety defect in fsd (supervised) because the vehicle reversed into a parked occupied vehicle while the feature was engaged. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

At approximately 32,916 miles, the powered trunk lift strut on my 2022 Tesla Model 3 separated from its mounting ball stud during normal use. There was no collision or external impact. When the strut separated, it struck the rear glass and caused the glass to break. Tesla inspected and repaired the vehicle. Tesla’s final service invoice states: “strut failure was responsible for breaking back glass. ” I am concerned that failure of the powered trunk strut attachment on a relatively low-mileage vehicle can cause broken glass and may create a safety risk.

I was driving normally and drove in a dip in the road. The vehicle went completely into auto drive, leaving me helpless behind the wheel. It spun and swerved wildly for 30-45 seconds on a neighborhood street resulting in the left rear tire and the rim being mangled. When it was spinning out of control, the left rear tire was seemingly stuck, dragging in whichever direction it chose. Thankfully, no one, pedestrians or other vehicles were injured or damaged. This was a truly terrifying experience.

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Muffled or significantly quieter horn during rain. Users on reddit generally agree that the sound typically returns to normal once the area dries out. Why this happens: speaker design: newer models (such as recent Tesla Model 3 and Tesla model y versions) utilize electronic pedestrian warning speakers or integrated units for the horn function rather than traditional enclosed metal horns. I have an issue with my car where every time I wash it or drive it even in light rain, the horn is extremely muffled. So muffled that I was sounding it driving down my road with people out walking, and no one heard it. I took it to the service center and they basically said “we confirmed your complaint, it’ll work when it dries out”. My car now has two notations on file from two visits to service center. This is a very wide spread problem - hundreds of comments online. Google: Tesla horn rain.

Date: xxx, time: 5. 09. 2026 state: [xxx] location: [xxx] we were on full self service driving mode a [xxx] came and hit my car in the passenger side behind the front wheel and front buffer. We were on left/fast moving lane and two semi-trucks were in the right lanes slight ahead of us (one had overweight sign). Something came out of the direction of trucks and hit our car with a big sound (moving object). When we stopped and checked the car later, it was evident that the damage was a sizable, it would have been something solid or heavy. Our concern is the Tesla was on full self driving mode, and it did not generate any alert, recording or more importantly, it did not break, change the driving direction nor try to avoid being hit by the object. This diminishes the reliability of Tesla fsd and raises serious safety concerns. We are in the process of filling insurance claim. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I am writing to report several safety incidents that occurred while using full self-driving (fsd) mode on my 2023 Model 3. Below are the details of the specific behaviors observed: - right turn on red almost crashed into an oncoming car from the left - hard emergency brake due to a bird that was in the opposite lane - additional emergency brake around 10 seconds later for no reason - running a red light by more than a second.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

The horn on the steering wheel rarely works unless it is pressed directly in the middle. I have tried to honk the horn when there is a safety event but it rarely works. This is definitely a safety issue. This has been going on since I bought the car June 2022. Full self drive is also unsafe and it will make sudden turns, accelerate too quickly, or have phantom braking. This can be unsafe for other drivers. I heard that this is improved with newer models, but if it is unsafe for older models like my 2022, it should not be available.

Passenger side view mirror intermittently gets stuck in the "reverse" position while in drive gear. I have the side view mirrors settings to where they are in a certain position when in reverse gear, and then a different position when in drive gear. I will reverse out of a parking spot and then proceed on my drive. Every now and then, the passenger side mirror will still be in the "reverse" position while driving and I only notice it when making a lane change and looking at the mirror and its pointed down at the ground in its reverse position. This has distracted me a few times as I expect the mirror to be in the normal drive position and I'm unable to see any cars in my blind spot. The issue has never occured on the driver side mirror, and has happened for the past few months. I have to correct this each time it does this by going into the mirror settings and hitting the reset position button.

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Tesla rolled out fsd 14 lite to hardware, including to my vehicle and it’s become extremely unsafe. The past several days the vehicle will suddenly slow down/break causing people to almost crash into me, make sudden and indecisive lane changes, and constantly rocking the steering wheel left and right. I hope someone takes this seriously and has Tesla revert back to the old software or make changes before someone is killed.

See all problems of the 2019 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Complaint summary: critical safety regressions in Tesla fsd softwarei am filing a formal safety complaint regarding severe, high-risk behavior regressions introduced across the last three consecutive builds of Tesla’s full self-driving (supervised) software. These defects create immediate collision hazards, cause major route disruptions, and require frequent, urgent driver intervention to prevent accidents. 1. Intersection and traffic control violationsred light violations: the vehicle correctly identifies a red traffic light and comes to a full stop. However, after a brief pause, the software erroneously treats the steady red light like a stop sign and attempts to accelerate directly into active cross-traffic. Green arrow dead-stops: when approaching a dedicated turn lane with an active, protected green turn arrow, the vehicle frequently applies aggressive braking and comes to a complete stop, creating an immediate rear-end collision hazard for drivers behind me. Phantom braking: the vehicle aggressively brakes without warning for empty crosswalks, shadows, or distant roadside elements. 2. Illegal lane navigation and routing errorserroneous turn lane diving: the vehicle frequently dives into dedicated left or right turn lanes even when the navigation route explicitly commands the vehicle to continue straight. This behavior forces improper turns, requiring backtracking and causing significant destination delays. Incorrect lane turning: the system regularly misses dedicated turn lanes entirely. It then attempts to execute sharp left or right turns directly from middle lanes or straight-only lanes, cutting off adjacent vehicles. Turn signal failures: the software initiates a turn signal to merge but then cancels the action, or conversely, attempts to execute a physical turn blindly after disabling the turn signal. 3. Restricted space targetinghandicap parking violations: upon arriving at destinations, the automated parking software fails to recognize painted stencils and act.

Car was sitting at a red light while in full self driving (supervised). The screen showed at least four red lights. Suddenly the car started to move forward while the lights were still red. I was able to stop it from going further. This has happened before and I reported it then. If I had not had my foot near the brake pedal the car might have just run through the light.

See all problems of the 2020 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

I was using fsd and my vehicle braked suddenly, with nothing in front of me, on the highway going over 50mph with a car close behind. The car to my right was swerving into my lane, so it was trying to help, but my vehicle should have veered left - not brake hard in the fast lane.

Vehicle displayed a “safety restraint system issue - service required” alert (fault codes rcm_a056 and rcm_a032). Tesla diagnosed an open circuit between the driver-side curtain airbag and the left airbag controller, requiring replacement of the left body harness. Tesla quoted approximately $1,800–$2,200 for the out-of-warranty repair. This is a known, recurring pattern — multiple other 2018 Tesla Model 3 owners report experiencing this identical fault at nearly the same mileage (~78,000 miles), suggesting a design or component wear issue rather than isolated damage, similar to a prior Tesla trunk-harness recall (NHTSA campaign 21v-00d) that also stemmed from a wiring/harness defect on this same vehicle. I am requesting NHTSA investigate whether this represents a safety-defect trend warranting a recall.

On [xxx], at approximately [xxx], I was traveling northbound at the intersection of [xxx] and [xxx], with the vehicle’s self-driving feature engaged. As I approached the intersection, the vehicle unexpectedly proceeded into a left turn despite the traffic signal displaying a red left-turn arrow. I immediately recognized that the vehicle was not stopping and had to take control by forcefully jerking the steering wheel and slamming on the brakes to prevent the vehicle from running the red light and potentially causing a serious collision. There were no actions on my part that would have caused the vehicle to continue through the red left-turn signal. The weather was clear, the roads were dry, and there was no rain or any adverse weather conditions that would have affected visibility or vehicle operation. This incident raises serious concerns about the reliability and safety of the self-driving system under normal driving conditions information redacted pursuant to the freedom of inormation act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I was driving today in California, to topgolf. I had to cross a railway crossing around [xxx] I think, or [xxx] - one of those 2, between [xxx] and [xxx] pm. . I was using Tesla's fsd driving to go on a local road. I was not distracted or occupied - the vehicle was going at a fairly high speed like maybe 35 or so, and in a couple of seconds, it broke the red and white safety gate at a railway crossing, inspite of it being down and the train being on the tracks - I was in shock. The car completely missed the red and white gate, and just blew past it, damaging my windshield completely to smithereens and throwing glass all over the car. I was in such shock and trauma that I literaly wanted to exit the car and sit down somewhere, but I gathered my composure and drove quickly to the nearest safest place I could stop, and got into some office parking garage. I then called the cops and reported it. This was such a shock, and thank the almighty god that I wasnt hurt and that the train didn't just hit me. This has to be recalled, and there is no way this should be allowed on the roads. I used fsd a lot and I will never use it again. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Subject: Tesla hw2 fsd – advertised safety/autonomy features not provided description: I am reporting an issue regarding my 2020 Tesla Model 3 equipped with hardware 2 (hw2) and full self-driving (fsd) package. Although the vehicle is listed and sold as “fsd capable,” Tesla has stopped providing fsd software updates for hw2 vehicles. My vehicle is stuck on fsd version 12. 6. 4 and cannot receive newer versions (v12. 7, v12. 8, v13, etc. ). Tesla continues to advertise fsd as an evolving safety and autonomy system, but hw2 vehicles are no longer receiving the required updates to maintain or improve safety functions. This results • safety-related features not being updated • autonomy features advertised at purchase not being delivered • ota updates being discontinued without notice • Tesla refusing to provide a hardware upgrade path (hw3) despite fsd being purchased on this VIN this creates a safety concern because the vehicle is operating with outdated perception and driving models while newer vehicles receive critical improvements. Tesla has not provided a remedy, timeline, or alternative solution. I request NHTSA to investigate Tesla’s failure to provide advertised and safety?related fsd functionality for hw2 vehicles. Vehicle info: 2020 Tesla Model 3 hardware: hw2 fsd purchased on VIN (previous owner) purchased used in July 2023 current fsd version: 12. 6. 4 (no further updates).

The outside part of the glove box is coming off. It could prevent air bags from working properly. It seems like the o ring glue holding it together has failed. It is available for inspection upon request. The issue is well known and is documented online. The issue has in the past been inspected by the manufacturer and requests an approximate $400 from the customer to fix the issue.

Tesla Model 3 full self-driving (supervised) feature I was using self-driving mode in my Tesla Model 3 while traveling on [xxx]. The vehicle suddenly turned right without warning, struck a mailbox, broke the right-side mirror, and came to a complete stop. There were no vehicles in front of or behind my car at the time of the incident. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

On June 16, 2026, while operating the "autopilot" self-driving system, my vehicle autonomously activated the right turn signal to enter a parking space. Subsequently, the vehicle experienced an unexpected acceleration. Despite my immediate application of the brakes, the vehicle collided with a storefront window, resulting in property damage. My insurance provider covered all associated damages, including vehicle repairs. Immediately following the incident, I informed Tesla and requested access to the vehicle's electronic records, which were made available at a Tesla service center. Tesla is currently rescheduling my vehicle, acknowledging the severity of the self-driving system's malfunction. Concurrently, Tesla continues to charge me for the self-driving capability, despite having advised me to refrain from using it until all necessary vehicle tests have been completed. What further actions should I undertake, and how can the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) provide assistance in this matter? thank you.

I am reporting a recurring safety defect regarding the exterior door handle assembly on my 2024 Tesla Model 3. On 6/15/26, the exterior door handle of caused a finger entrapment incident, resulting in an avulsion of a gel nail and significant trauma to the nail bed. The artificial nail remains trapped within the door assembly. Despite seeking service at the local Tesla service center, technicians failed to retrieve the object or address the entrapment hazard. This design creates a severe pinch-point hazard that poses an ongoing risk of injury to all users despite bringing the vehicle in for service on 6/18/26 to have the hazardous object removed, the service center performed only a cursory visual inspection and refused to disassemble the handle, leaving the entrapment hazard in place. The design of the door handle creates a clear pinch-point/entrapment zone that poses a safety risk to all occupants. I am reporting this to document both the design defect and the failure of the manufacturer to address the resulting safety hazard upon request.

The horn system on the new Tesla are not effective. Other drivers cannot hear the unit is facing the ground, and a high speed. Other drivers. Can I hear it specially when it’s raining. The use of the original point was effective and never had a problem on my previous last Tesla, or any other car for that matter. Please help before a serious. Ask her that happens.

After a recent Tesla software update, a mandatory full self-driving disengagement feedback window appears every time I disengage fsd while the vehicle is still moving. The feedback window covers a large portion of the display with a black overlay, noticeable enough something popped up. There is no setting to disable it, dismiss it immediately, or postpone the response until the vehicle is stopped. I am required to select a disengagement reason before I can access the controls and information behind the overlay. While this window is displayed, I cannot properly view or control functions such as music and other touchscreen features behind the area. This is especially dangerous because it appears immediately after I take manual control from fsd—a moment when my full attention should be on the road and the vehicle. The system effectively requires me to look away from the road and interact with the touchscreen before I can make another needed adjustment. This occurs every time I disengage fsd and is consistently reproducible. This behavior began after software version fsd v14. 3. 3. My vehicle is a 2026 Model 3. The problem occurred everytime while traveling at any speed. I believe this mandatory, non-dismissible overlay creates a serious driver-distraction hazard by obstructing the center display and requiring touchscreen interaction while the vehicle is in motion. Tesla should allow the feedback request to be dismissed, delayed until the vehicle is parked, or disabled entirely.

High voltage fast charge contactors experienced partial weld failure (bms_a167_sw_fc_partial_weld) during routine supercharging, causing complete hv system shutdown (hvstate = hv_down). Vehicle also threw bms_a085/a086 pack and fast charge contactor mismatch codes. Tesla service is refusing to cover repair under the 8-year hv battery warranty, claiming fast charge contactors are not a warranted component despite being integrated into the hv battery assembly. Vehicle has been at duluth, GA Tesla service center since approximately June 8, 2025.

Complaint title: defective horn system on 2026 Tesla Model 3 - ineffective in rain or highway conditions description: the horn on my 2026 Tesla Model 3 highland is dangerously inadequate. It uses a single pedestrian warning speaker instead of a proper horn, which is easily overpowered by road noise, tire noise from large trucks, and especially rain. I cannot reliably alert other drivers, including 18-wheelers, when they are drifting into my lane or failing to yield. This creates a serious safety risk in wet conditions and highway driving. Traditional horns have been effective for decades — this design fails basic safety expectations. I am requesting immediate investigation and a fix.

Client left the road and the vehicle hit a tree by the roadside. The vehicle caught fire and client was incapacitated and unable to operate the door handle from the inside or unlock the doors. Bystanders attempted to open all four doors from the outside, but they were all locked. Bystanders noted that the handles themselves were functional and believe it was an electrical issue keeping the doors locked. Bystanders broke the windows and attempted to open the doors from the inside, but they were unable to access the emergency door release because the driver door panel was on fire in proximity to the emergency release. Bystanders began mechanically disassembling the door to get him out and he was eventually extracted by the fire rescue team. The inability to open the door delayed our client being extricated from the vehicle and as a result he suffered severe injuries, including the loss of both legs, due to severe burns. The vehicle is currently being held by copart miami south and is available for inspection. So far, it has been inspected by the insurance company and our experts. Warning lamps, symptoms, etc. : unknown. Vehicle is badly damaged, so we are not able to recreate/confirm the problem at this time.

This model lacks a well-tested turn signal lever, replacing it with arrows on the steering wheel. This method of activating turns signals is fundamentally unreliable and consequently dangerous. As an owner of the subject Tesla for just over one year, I find that I regularly fail to achieve correct activation, even with repeated attempts to do so. The steering wheel control may: not activate at all, even with multiple attempts to activate the signal. I find no consistent patter as to why pressing the arrow or vicinity of the arrow fails to achieve activation. Worse, may activate in the opposite direction to the pending movement. This is the most dangerous situation, misleading other drivers with regard to the intended movement. It’s also not apparent to me that the opposite direction has been activated. The problem is made worse lack of tactile feedback from the controls. The switches do not move perceptibly, nor is there any other feedback, such as a click. The ridge between left and right arrows doesn’t provide sufficient indication of correct or incorrect placement of the thumb on the controls. Pressing on the controls within the vicinity of the arrows may or may not result in activation at all or activate the opposite one. The position of the control varies depending on the steering wheel angle. The control may be very difficult to access, particularly where a sequence of turns in opposite directions must be executed. Specifically, it is essentially impossible to activate for the second movement while making the preceding turn. I understand that Tesla recognizes the problem and owner dissatisfaction in that it offers a retrofit with a conventional and well-tested turn signal lever for $600. Tesla must be compelled to recall these vehicles and retrofit them with a conventional turn signal lever or other effective control at no charge to owners.

See all problems of the 2025 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

I was using actual Smart summon to get my vehicle out of my garage. While standing behind the vehicle, it indicated that the car was in drive with no reversing lights on. The vehicle then rapidly lurches backwards, striking me and a freezer. After reviewing the dashcam footage the vehicle stated it was in drive and never once activated its reverse lights, even when they was objects and a human behind the car, still reversed at a high rate of speed.

- Tesla fsd - my son was driving on fsd on state highway, while on fsd, the car suddenly turned left and hit the concrete barrier and spun out of control. All the air-bags were deployed and car front crashed completely. The car is near totaled, my son was able to get out the car with a bruise on right hand. -no -no -no warning was on, the car was on full fsd and suddenly turned left and drove into the concrete barrier and crashed and spun , I had no time to react/take over.

Vehicle was operating under Tesla full self-driving (supervised) on [xxx], on [xxx]. While fsd was engaged, the vehicle struck a large object/debris that was present in the travel lane. The system did not appear to detect or avoid the obstacle. The impact caused severe damage to two wheels and two tires, and the vehicle required towing. Tesla service later confirmed that the damage was caused by road debris and replaced the damaged wheels and tires. I am submitting this report because I am concerned that the fsd system failed to identify or respond to a significant roadway hazard. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

On may 24, 2026, at approximately 8:28 am, I activated actually Smart summon on my 2025 Tesla Model 3 using the Tesla mobile application to reverse the vehicle from my garage. Before this incident, the vehicle displayed no warnings, alerts, messages, or other indication of a problem, and I had previously usd actually Smart summon without similar behavior. Shortly after activation, the Tesla mobile application became unresponsive, and the vehicle did not stop despite my attempts to stop it through the app. I attempted to open the vehicle door during the incident but was unable to do so while the maneuver continued. Because I could no longer stop the vehicle through the app or access the vehicle, I placed my phone in my pocket so I could use both hands to try to stop the vehicle and prevent further damage. At that point, I was no longer pressing or holding the actually Smart summon control in the application. As the vehicle continued reversing, I repeatedly repositioned myself behind it and pushed against the rear of the vehicle with my body multiple times. Despite this physical intervention, the vehicle continued reversing and applying rearward force, forcing me to repeatedly move out of its path to avoid being pinned between the vehicle and my neighbor s garage. The vehicle pressed into my neighbor s garage with enough force that the impact transferred to the parked vehicle inside the garage. It did not stop upon the initial impact and continued pressing into the garage afterward. This sustained movement is clearly visible on the preserved Teslacam footage and independent home-security recordings. I narrowly escaped being crushed between the vehicle and the garage while attempting to stop the vehicle and prevent further damage, sustaining a muscle strain in the process. The incident created a serious risk of bodily injury in addition to substantial property damage. I do not know which specific component or system failed. Based on the sequence of events, the incident.

My vehicle should've been included in a recall. While exiting my garage to pick up my son from school, a loud mechanical banging noise came from the front of my car. I abruptly stopped and proceeded to reverse back into my garage to inspect my vehicle. While inspecting my vehicle and the surrounding area, I discovered a large bolt on the ground. A quick image search says "on a Tesla Model 3, this specific high-strength 10. 9 class metric hex flange bolt is a critical structural component that almost certainly backed out of [my] front suspension lower control arm/ lateral link assembly or the front subframe structural mounts. " so the loud banging noise came from my suspension falling apart after the bolt fell out. Upon further inspection, I confirmed that this was the issue and that a second bolt on the same side had partially backed out as well. My vehicle was not safe to drive, so I had to have my vehicle towed to the nearest service center for repairs. I took photos and video of the areas, as well as the bolt, which showed no signs of any damage to the head or threads - so the bolt simply backed out and appears to be a manufacturing/ assembly issue. After a quick search, we learned that there were previous NHTSA recalls (ie part 573 safety recall report 23v-235) for this particular issue, including for my same vehicle make, model, year (2018 Tesla Model 3) and production dates (Jan 5, 2018 - Mar 30, 2019). Unfortunately, I never received a recall notice. I barely drive my car, so bolts shouldn't just be backing out on their own. Unfortunately, my car is no longer under warranty, but was advised by the service managers to file a report and to get reimbursed thru ncds. This is a huge safety issue. I had no warnings or alerts from the car. My alignment was checked a year ago. My wheels and tires get checked often and are well maintained, so I didn't even need air or rotation, yet my suspension just fell apart on its own before 60k miles.

Attached is a photo of the lower driver-side knee bolster/under-dash panel after it detached while I was driving. The panel dropped directly into the pedal area and interfered with normal foot access to the brake and accelerator pedals. Given that no broken attachment points or damaged clips were reportedly identified, I am requesting a formal review of both the safety concern and the handling of this issue.