Seat Belt Problems of Tesla Model 3 - part 2

The "front passenger safety restraint system" is prone to errors because the wiring for it beneath the seat is prone to getting knocked loose and electrical interference.

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Safety restraint defect.

See all problems of the 2019 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

I have been getting an alert: front passenger safety restraint system issue/service is required. It has come on when there is no one in the seat and goes away shortly after I start to drive. I contacted Tesla and they sent an estimate to repair it which includes a bunch of different bolts, passenger airbag, airbag harmiss retaining clip. Also replacing occupant classification system (OCS) of front passenger seat while servicing supcomponents. List of parts for that is first row seat harness assembly-right hand, first row - seat belt reminder sensor box clip, first row occupancy. All of this will cost over $700 . Aren't these items required safety equipment that they should responsible to maintain? I have seen that there are a lot of other people having the same issue, I think that there should be a recall on this that they shoud have to pay for.

See all problems of the 2020 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Driving a 2018 Tesla Model 3, driver seat shows message "front left safety restraint system issue. Service is required". This occurs when the driver is in the seat with the seat belt fastened and the vehicle is in motion. This issue refers to the possible seat belt, seats and/or air bags failure. This is a threat for drivers as these are the front line of defence in case of any collisions or accidents. This issue has been reported by multiple Tesla car drivers and their posts are available on online forums. Message appears on the Tesla screen driven. Tesla does not cover this out of warranty. My appeal to nhsta is this is hazardous to drivers and cars should be recalled and repairs should be covered.

Safety restraint warning in car, unsure of actual issue but warning keeps popping up. Presumed that the seatbelts or airbags would not properly work in event of a crash. Dealer/company says it's a known issue, with other cars needing a fix too, however they aren't able to specify exactly the issue or issue a timeframe on repair. Issue first started appearing in late August of this year, and has become more frequent as of recent. Potentially this is a critical safety issue regarding airbag/seatbelt's potentially failing to work as designed for all similiar models.

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Driver belt latch failed while driving.

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Driving as normal when an alert for a front passenger safety restraint system fault appeared. It went away on its own. I thought it was a software glitch. It would periodically reappear, then go away after a driving session. Last week it persisted between sessions. I learned that if the seat was moved slightly forward or back, then the alert would go away. I scheduled a service with Tesla. Tesla advised that the entire car seat and airbag would have to be replaced for $1800. This is a ~50,000 mile car with no collision history. It's just out of warranty. Tesla refuses to tell me if the car will safety function in an accident or not. The alert is gone, but I have a service estimate that says the car has all of these problems. Major safety concern.

Getting a notification for "front left safety restraint system fault" which disengages the airbags. Seems like a very common fault with Teslas but no recall has been made.

A sensor for the driver side safety restraint system was displayed from the vehicles screen. Potentially loose wires under the seat when manufactured.

I am getting "safety restraint system fault" on my car. This puts my family at risk if the safety features are faulty. When I contacted Tesla, they want me to drive 41(!) miles away and charge me almost $500.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the front driver's seat belt warning chime had become inoperable and did not alert the driver that the front drivers seat belt was not secured while driving. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure and a service appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 35,400.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Passenger restraint system fault causing the system not to sense the presence of front passengers. This could possibly lead to safety systems for the passenger to not work in the event of a crash.

I received a proactive service alert from Tesla car stating: front passenger safety restraint system issue. Tesla wants to charge me to fix this and said there may be issues with the restraint system, such as seats belts or airbags if I don’t pay out of pocket to fix it. This seems ridiculous I have to pay to fix this safety concern. . Please issue a recall for this… seems a lot of people are getting this after researching on google and reddit. Thanks.

Correction: retrofit sbr in OCS equipped front passenger seat - remove and replace. First row - seat belt reminder sensor box clip (1130363-00-b), first row occupancy sensor(1099592-00-f) first row seat harness assembly - right hand (1489060- 03-g). This car has 69k miles and I'm informed this is out of warranty and has a cost of $696. 75 to repair on a car that is less than 4 years old. Saying the sensor failed is not accurate as the error does not exist unless there is someone in the passenger seat which tells me the sensor is working somewhat. Tesla will not inform me of what will and will not work in the event of a collision but that these items need to be replaced to ensure safety of occupant's. I am skeptical since safety is your number one concern and should be the concern of every auto manufacturer. Unless damage by the owner specifically, how and why is this not covered for the life of the vehicle?.

Seatbelt pre-tension system fault (rcm_a021). Can be cleared by adjusting seats sometimes, but remains constant at my current seat configuration.

Rcm2_a636 front passenger safety restraint system fault service is required passenger airbag turns off when a passenger is sitting in it. Error is intermittent and while occasionally turn off and on. Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen should someone get in a car accident.

This is a large scale problem with Tesla due to their "easy entry" which automatically moves the front seats to fit the drivers saved positions. Due to Tesla not properly securing the wires under the seat, they get crimped over time causing an error of "safety restraint system issue. " there have been thousands of reported Teslas with a simple google search. The service center also stated to me this is a large scale issue but a recall has not been issued. This is very dangerous as this disables the airbags due to a seat belt or wire crimp under the seat issue. Please investigate and issue a mandatory recall for the safety issue as Tesla wants $1000 to rectify the issue. Many have reported this issue to be fixed by the service center multiple times only to come back months later.

On June 7, 2025, I was a passenger in a 2025 Tesla 3. Driver of Tesla made an unsafe lane change coming off an interstate and my side was struck almost t-bone style by an oncoming vehicle going between 45-55mph. Our seatbelts did not lock us in place causing the driver to hit his head on steering wheel and then on driver side window causing lacerations and possible concussion. My side tool the impact and no side curtain airbags deployed and neither did the dash airbags. I am concerned that the location and speed with which we were hit could have been much worse up to and including death as the airbags did not deploy nor seatbelts firmly lock us in place. The car was deemed a total loss and all 4 panels on passengers side were impacted in the collision. I have pictures, Tesla video, police report I can provide. I want this looked into for defect of the Tesla sensors. All public data indicates that at a minimum the side curtain airbags should have deployed as there isnt much of a wrinkle zone and the speed of impact should have deployed them. I was unable to get out passenger side door and had to crawl across driver seat to get to ems assistance. I was then transported along w Tesla driver to local hospital.

See all problems of the 2025 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Front driver seatbelt will not latch or lock. Car less than 3 years old.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Vehicle is displaying an error message "front passenger safety restraint system fault" and "front passenger safety restraint system fault. Service is required. " this has the result of "the restraint system may not function as designed. " according to an internet search, this is a very common fault, caused by "interference" and necessitates an occupancy sensor, wiring harness and airbag module exchange.

Started getting intermittent rcm_a056 faults stating "front passenger safety restraint system fault". Apparently this can be a safety issue as the airbag may not deploy and seems to be a common issue reported by owners. Tesla is charging owners to fix this safety issue, which in some cases is completely replacing the full seat and airbags. Instead, this should be covered under recall or bulletin fix.

Passenger safety restraint failure message came on so I made an appointment and took it to pleasanton Tesla for repair 3/19/25; was under the 60,000 safety warranty. Then on 5/6/25, 6 weeks later, the passenger safety restraint failure message appeared again. I contacted pleasanton Tesla and they told me I was now responsible for a different piece to be replaced, which was quoted over $1,000 to repair, as the 60,000 mile safety warranty was up and it is a different piece that needed to be replaced. I said it’s the same message, passenger safety restraint failure!.

When seat is moved up for my [xxx] daughter, who is learning to drive, it now triggers an error an indicates the air bags will not work. The error code is rcm_a021. It seems the vehicle has a defect that over time the connections for the front seat harnesses will fail. This is a known issue with a service bulletin - sb-21-17-005 on your website from December 8, 2021. [xxx] manufacturer has confirmed the issue, but refuses to replace it unless they are paid more than $800 (although, online people report that when they were under warranty the cost for parts and labor was in the $300 range). Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Passenger safety restraint system fault error appears on and off without any correlation to driving conditions or passenger presence. This error is potentially deadly since it will cause the passenger airbag not to deploy in an accident.

I believe this is a safety issue that warrants a recall notice since the seat restraint system may not work correctly due to an electrical connection issue. I get an error message "front left safety restraint system fault" that comes comes and goes depending on the position of the driver seat - if I raise the seat I get the fault message, if I lower the seat the message goes away. This is clearly due to a loose electrical connection in the seat restraint system. I removed the cover at the side of the seat and have identified a loose yellow/orange plastic connector to the left of the seat (see picture). When you jiggle that connector the error message goes on and off. Tesla will fix the issue for $650, but I believe this is a faulty design issue that causes the connector to get worn every time you adjust the seat, and it should be fixed by Tesla at no charge.

Got an alert on the Tesla screen on 4/21/2025 indicating "front left safety restraint system fault". Took to Tesla svc center and they replaced seat belt lap pretensioner, seat belt reminder vent, seat belt reminder sensor box and first row occupancy sensor. Cost $650. Alert goes away if I raise the seat and comes back if I lower the seat. I asked Tesla while scheduling an appointment whether it was a safety issue and they said "yes". Vehicle has only 43,500 miles on it.

We received a front passenger safety restraint system fault on our car. When a passenger sits in the seat the fault is not displayed. This was not a software update and the sensor was faulty and could cause the airbags not to go off. The sensor was faulty in the seat but because we were out of warranty we had to pay for the repair. Clearly they have seen this issue and said it was not a recall but a bulletins and bulletins were a caution, they made us pay for the repair.

Tried to put on seatbelt and would not click locked. Have never had issues and nothing has changed that could cause any damage or malfunction. Nothing inside or stuck just won’t lock.

The front passenger seat’s OCS required a service bulletin application, involving a retrofit of the seat belt reminder sensor and component replacement, confirmed by a Tesla technician. The repair likely falls under TSB sb-19-20-003 (2017-2019 Model 3), addressing OCS electrical interference causing airbag indicator issues, which can affect seat belt reminder functionality. The TSB involves retrofitting parts my 2019 Model 3 (39,140 miles) needs an OCS repair per sb-19-20-003, a known safety issue from 2019 affecting airbags and seat belts (fmvss 208). Since it’s a manufacturing defect and a safety risk this should be under a recall.

Hello. I am following up with the previous safety report I submitted for my vehicle. I just received an updated repair estimate citing the parts that will need replaced (pdf attached). I also confirmed with the service advisor that the functionality of the safety restraint system may be impacted by this issue, however, Tesla still wants to charge drivers $1,300 for this repair.

See all problems of the 2017 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

There is a warning on my car saying “front passenger safety restraint system fault”. The Tesla service center says the fix requires an air bag replacement and to replace the seat sensor. Does this not impact the safety of the passenger? this is the second Model 3 I’ve owned that continuously has this fault. I feel like this model should be recalled since it is such a widespread issue. I dealt with this warning light for 2-3 years because Tesla wants to charge >$1,000 for the replacement of these parts. I’m definitely not the only one. There are plenty of complaints online and most people never get it fixed if the vehicle is out of warranty. On the other hand, some people try to fix the problem themselves which could create a worse problem for the safety restraints system.

Alert message on car "safety restraint system issue".

There has been a consistent warning "safety restraint system fault rcm_a021". My initial investigation pin pointed to the harness pinched by the seat. Tesla service center diagnosed and required to replace first row seat harness assembly - left hand (see attached service estimate). The safety restraint system related issue put every Tesla's driver at risk and thus should be recalled.

* front passenger safety restraint system issue - sensors under passenger seat intermittently failing for months even after taking it in for service. * safety of passenger is at risk as airbags might not fire due to occupant classification system failing. * service center said nothing looks wrong even though car alerts multiple times per drive. Many reports online of alert rcm2_a636 . * has been inspected by service center * alert from car beeps every 30 seconds to 1 minute intermittently, has been occurring for months.

Rcm_a021 alert: front left safety restraint system fault. Seems like an issue caused by seat movement back & forth.