Wiper Problems of Tesla Model 3 - part 2

1. There is an open recall since Dec 2021 (21v-00d) which Tesla has still not fixed! 2. The automatic wiper system on the car is unsafe as it takes a long time to activate when its raining, and sometimes it activates without any rain!.

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed in the rain with the windshield wipers activated, the windshield wipers became inoperable. The contact was able to turn the switch for the windshield wipers and the wiper blades started operating as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the contact was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that the failure began after an ota update. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 11,800.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

1. Ptc heater, old part is available for inspection 2. Ptc heater failed while driving, experienced loss of power and slow loss of secondary electrical systems (the 12v battery was not able to recharge itself with the ptc heater not functioning). When attempting to restart car after pulling into a parking lot, the entire car died (12v battery was drained so it couldn't start up) and had to get towed to Tesla service center. Ptc heater is critical for car to operate as it is closely linked to 12v battery. Additionally, without ptc heater car cannot defog windshield, resulting in potentially poor visibility. 3. Dealer replaced the defective part (ptc heater) and had to replace 12v battery as well. Was not covered under warranty and I had to pay the cost out of pocket. 4. Inspected by manufacturer and replaced. 5. Got warning signs about reduced power available, and secondary electrical features were limited.

Tesla adas detects non existent objects and issues collision alerts and phantom brakes randomly if there is no cars in front of the Tesla, braking abruptly and almost getting me into rear end accidents. Tesla adas freaks out when making lane changes randomly, shaking violently and giving the driver and its passengers a fishtailing simulation. Auto wiper triggers randomly while it's sunny, distracting the driver and forcing an interaction on the center console to stop it. Auto wiper cannot be turned off as it reengages upon using Tesla adas. The rear view camera lags. It stutters and shows me a delayed view. Compounded by the Model 3's very small rear view mirrors and side mirrors, this is incredibly dangerous as I have no way of gaining sufficient visibility of the back of the car. Tesla service told me this is all normal.

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Automatic wipers are very erratic. Sometimes it works like crazy. Sometimes it never cleans the windshield even though it is soaking limiting visibility. Using it in manual mode is also very difficult as all adjustments are done on the screen forcing you to take your eyes off the road. There are no levers to adjust it.

While driving in rain, the windshield wipers will randomly stop. This will happen both in auto and in manual modes, especially at night in poor visibility. I contacted Tesla and they came and replaced the wiper motor assembly but the problem was not resolved. I believe it is a software issue. I nearly had a crash as this happened to me first at night in a very busy and complex highway intersection and resulted in me being stuck in the middle and blocking traffic until I could navigate the touch screen and find the wiper option to get it restarted.

A crack appeared on the interior of the windshield, with no marks of any exterior impact and no external crack or other mark on either surface of the windshield. The crack originated directly from the windshield positioned camera/rear view mirror.

See all problems of the 2020 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

The rear view camera has not functioned properly for several months. We did have the rear harness recall work completed, but the camera was working fine at that time and stopped working in Nov sometime after a software update. This is very similar to 24v-035, except that is on 2023 year models only. Why I that campaign limited to 2023 only? there are a lot of complaints on the internet about this issue, and in some cases Tesla charging $3500 to replace a computer in the car. We also have the full automatic driving, same as in the 2023 models recalled. This issue seems to be related to this update, or one about that time period: 2023. 44. 30. 6. . Read more...

See all problems of the 2019 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Auto windshield wipers do not turn on often when raining or misting. I constantly have to change the settings which takes my eyes off the road often. Very poor and unsafe system.

Auto wipers do not speed up in heavy rain forcing me to manually change the speed which can be dangerous while driving on the highway in heavy rain.

Wiper control is limited requiring the driver focus on the touch screen. Auto wipers activation is slow and does not keep windshield clear from rain, forcing the driver take the eyes off the road and find the small area on the touchscreen to control the various wipers speed.

Ever since software release 2023. 44. 30, there has been a serious issue with automatic wipers and visibility during driving. It has been documented by drivers on the internet, however I simulated driving conditions in a car wash that has triggered auto wipers atleast a dozen times in the past. Today I recorded a 4 minute and 30 second video where there was zero activation of wipers at all with torrential rain simulated as well as soap fully covering the field of view. Since the auto wipers are tied to the autopilot and fsd system this could cause serious injury or death if not rectified.

The windshield wipers do not have proper functional control. There is no adequate manual control over the windshield wipers without being distracting, further more the windshield wipers constantly put themselves in "auto" mode when you turn them off. This causes unnecessary distraction while driving and because the only feedback you have is either on the main touch screen or the bottom left touch screen this is a severe safety issue.

The cruse control is unable to keep its speed and sometimes the vehicule breaks suddently on the highway, especially when the road is wet. The cameras are obstructed by mist or other dirt and the system does not work properly. Related to this problem, the wipers are dangerous to operate. When the cruse control is engaged, then the wipers are forced to automatic mode, which does not work properly. It could start to swipe the dirty mist and actually reduce visibility. Operating the wipers with the touch screen is a hazard, forcing the driver to leave the eyes from the road. I contacted Tesla about these problems last year and the company did nothing. Even worst, on their new cars they removed the stalks completely, which is a non sens. The NHTSA has to intervene.

Heating failed in -10 temperature for approx 40 miles. Window became ice covered and would not clear. Interior of car was 33 degrees and heat came back on when plugged into charger.

Live in atlanta that seldom we get frost. We had an event in December and noticed my rear defroster would not defrost killing rear visibility. Got Tesla to check if connected which it is but doesn't work. They blamed the ceramic tint that was recently installed. Took car to film installer and he showed me how my car's rear window never had any embedded wire, just painted lines that do not heat up. Showed me newer Tesla Model 3's and showed how Tesla seems to have changed the design and you could feel the defroster wiring so seems I never got defroster wires. Going back to Tesla. All documented in you tube from statement from Tesla glass installer and film installer. Search for xpel vs Tesla defroster in youtube. My glass was recently replaced by Tesla ln December 2022. Noticed the problem the first day we had frost in atlanta.

I got into my car and turned on the climate control as normal. The vehicle is always parked in the garage. It was blowing cold air, no matter the temperature setting, or vent selection. There is a message on screen that reads “climate keeper unavailable due to system fault. ” it’s not just that the cabin has no heat, which is uncomfortable, but terrible in much colder climates than mine. The heat not functioning means the defrost feature is useless. Water sprayed onto my windshield while driving this morning and froze! it stayed frozen because I didn’t have a functioning defroster or a warm enough cabin to melt it off that way either. It’s a known issue for Tesla’s, particularly with Model 3s. Tesla has never done anything to rectify it. My car has a resistive heat system, and this is the first time this has happened to me. There was no warning or indication this would happen. Non working in cabin heat may not be a direct safety flaw, but not being able to defrost my windshield for proper visibility while driving is!.

I am writing to file a formal safety complaint against Tesla, inc. Regarding a software update failure that has disabled legally required vehicle functions on my Tesla for over two years. For more than 26 months, my vehicle has been unable to complete a software update through Tesla's over-the-air (ota) update system. As a direct result of this failure, my vehicle's display screen does not function for the first several minutes of every drive. This prevents me from accessing my speedometer, turn signals, and other legally required safety features, rendering the vehicle non-compliant with federal and state motor vehicle safety standards during this period. I have made multiple documented attempts to resolve this issue through Tesla's customer support channels over the course of these two years. Despite these efforts, the issue remains unresolved. Tesla has now informed me that resolving the defect will require a paid service visit — despite the fact that the failure originates within Tesla's own software update infrastructure, not from any action or negligence on my part. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this matter on the following grounds: 1. The software defect disables legally required vehicle safety functions, including the speedometer, turn signals, hazard lights, and more. 2. The defect has persisted for over two years despite repeated good-faith efforts by the vehicle owner to resolve it through the manufacturer. 3. Tesla's ota update system is manufacturer-controlled infrastructure. A failure within that system constitutes a manufacturer defect, not a maintenance issue. 4. Tesla is requiring payment from the consumer to correct a defect in their own systems. I believe this issue may not be isolated to my vehicle and could affect other Tesla owners experiencing similar ota update failures. I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate whether a broader safety defect exists and whether a recall or corrective action is warranted.

See all problems of the 2017 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

Recently I noticed that the automatic windshield wipers are completely non-functional on my vehicle. Windshield wipers can still be turned on manually and work normally as expected in all speeds in manual control mode. But in auto control mode, they simply don't turn on at all, even in very heavy rain. This is critical because when driving the vehicle in autopilot mode or full-self-driving mode, the vehicle automatically puts the windshield wipers in auto control mode and the driver cannot change them to manual mode. So when driving using autopilot in the rain, the windshield wipers just stay completely off all the time, even when autopilot is displaying warning messages about severe weather. I contacted Tesla support about this and Tesla support immediately responded that this is a known issue and should be corrected via over-the-air update soon, but no eta available.

Tesla vehicles have an automatic wiper mode that is supposed to clear the windshield, without driver intervention, when it becomes obscured due to rain, snow, or water buildup. While driving on December 19, 2023, our Model 3 was passed by a large truck, throwing a large amount of water across the windshield. When this happened, the forward visibility was completely obscured momentarily. The automatic wipers did not clear the windshield as expected. The vision was obscured until the driver was able to manually enable the wipers. Obviously, driving at highway speeds on the freeway, without being able to see forwards, even momentarily, is a safety concern. Thinking the car had a failure, we tried to arrange for a repair from Tesla service. Their response was: "this issue has been identified as a known firmware issue, to be resolved on a future firmware release. For now, we recommend using the manual wipers as needed when auto wipers are not detecting rain. When a fix is available it will be sent to your vehicle automatically over the air. Unless you had any other questions, I will go ahead and close out this service request. Thanks!" looking through Tesla owner forums, this appears to be a much discussed issue for the last 4-5 years. Many owners are having issues with functionality of the automatic wipers. We don't have any photos of the incident, but I recreated a similar situation in a local touchless car wash. With the car being completely deluged in water and soap, the automatic wipers never came on. The included pictures show the touchscreen with the auto wiper mode and the windshield completely obscured, but no wiper activation. The last photo is a screenshot of part of the conversation with Tesla support about the repair request.

Currently occurring with fsd beta firmware v. 2022. 27. 12 but the same has occurred with previous firmware versions also. Normal operation of the vehicle with the adas engaged puts the windshield wipers into auto mode. At times the windshield wipers are activated when the windshield is dry. It isn't raining or misting and there's nothing on the surface of the windshield at the location of the front-facing cameras. "no rain" occurrences seem to correlate with times when visibility ahead has low contrast and there are no highlights and shadows to sharply define the scene, (ie, a little "muddy"). Observed when it is overcast but not raining, around sunrise when the sun is low in the sky and the light levels ahead are relatively low and headlights aren't helping illuminate the road ahead, and at times there are high-contrast light and shadows immediately ahead but farther down the road there is mist or fog, creating the same low contrast lighting conditions some distance away. It is as if the adas is aware that the scenery is not sharply defined and is "wiping its eyes" in an attempt to gain a more sharply-defined view. Occasionally, but rarely in my experience, the windshield washer is also engaged. Having the adas activate the wipers at these times is not a safety hazard, per se, but it is distracting and concerning as it gives the driver the impression that perhaps the adas is malfunctioning. I've read in user forums reports from a fair number of fsd beta drivers complaining that the wipers go on when the windshield is dry and the adas is engaged. I haven't observed the same when the adas is not engaged.

The only cabin heating and defrosting mechanism in early Model 3s, a ptc heater, is prone to failure leaving the vehicle without the ability to maintain clear vision through the front and side windows. This occurred on my Model 3 in November of 2023 and Tesla was unable to source parts for several weeks, with a cost of $900. This failure is extremely common among Model 3 in cold weather environments and is well documented online.

Fsd beta firmware version 2023. 27. 7. -- when operating with fsd beta in control of the vehicle, the turn signal is activated and the appropriate left or right side blind spot video is brought upon the driver's display automatically. This works perfectly for city street lane changes and turns at intersections or driveways, etc. When operating on a controlled access highway the systems works in the same manner, activating the turn signal and displaying the blind spot video on the driver's display when changing lanes and exiting the highway. However, the turn signal is not activated and the blind spot video is not displayed on the driver's instrumentation when first entering a controlled access highway. This is the one exception where the driver is required to activate the turn signal while fsd beta is in control, and seems like an oversight or 'bug'. However, it might be by design, in which case the intent that the driver is required to activate the signal indicating the vehicle's merge has not, to my knowledge, been communicated to the driver as the one exception to the otherwise automatic operation of the turn signal and blind spot video display while the vehicle is under fsd beta's control.

The automatic windshield wiper feature fails to properly respond to rain intensity. The wipers turn on when it is perfectly dry outside, causing premature wear. On the other hand, when it is actually raining out, the wipers consistently and ongoingly activate at a much lower frequency than necessary to keep the windshield clear, resulting in forward visibility of close to zero in most situations. Tesla ran diagnostics on the wiper system and determined that my vehicle's hardware and equipment is functioning properly, despite all the problems.

On 10/9/23 and prior on 9/17/22 while driving the windshield wiper blades will activate while there is no rain or water on windshield it will go on for several minutes which impairs visibility through the front windshield making it difficult to drive.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model 3 🔎.

The automatic windshield wipers are not picking up rain - at all. Living in a raining area, it caused me to no have clear visibility and on the Tesla you have to manually change the mode on the screen, which causes you to take your eyes off the road. Tesla has known about this but not issued a warning (see screenshot from Tesla service agent). Luckily an accident didnt occur but this is an overall safety issue.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving in the rain, there was an auto rain sensing feature on the vehicle that was inoperable. The contact stated that the front windshield wipers did not automictically turn on while it was raining and that the auto rain sensing feature worked intermittently. The contact stated that the manufacturer was made aware of the unreliability of the auto rain sensing feature, but stated it was a beta feature. The contact stated that the risk was that there was no physical control for the front windshield wipers causing a safety issue because the contact could not engage the wipers safely when driving as it was not readily accessible via the entertainment panel when the auto rain sensing was inoperable. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed, but not repaired because there was no fix. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.

Spontaneous shattering of side window, rear driver's side. Car was parked in driveway at the time.

The wipers come on for no reason and there is no way to turn them off. Since the wiper blades are running on a dry windshield the visibility decreases considerably after it runs for some time.

Automatic windshield wipers have not worked since a firmware update several months ago. Unfortunately, the touchscreen controls for the wipers are not easily accessible and that makes it difficult to control them while driving. Drivers are required to take their eyes off the road to adjust the wipers. Making matters worse, the buttons are small, low contrast, and difficult to press while the car is in motion. These touchscreen controls are the only method for operating wipers. Do to the way the controls work, automatic wipers are a necessity for safe driving in bad weather. I live in an area with frequent rain so this is a serious issue. I have reported the issue to Tesla at least twice and they continue to say it is a “known firmware characteristic” with no eta for a fix.

Emergency braking applied when no other vehicles were in sight. Braking was hard enough to spill coffee. Seems to occur when adaptive cruise control is on. Happened about 10 times on recent road trip. Lucky no one was behind us! felt very unsafe.

Software bug for sure. When car is in autopilot the windshield wipers start and cannot be turned off. This occurrs when the windshield is clean , not raining. The wiper off virtual switches cannot be turned off and the only option is to switch from auto to 1 to slow the wipers. If the car is not in autopilot the issue doesn’t not occur and the wipers operate as they should.

Back windshield spontaneously cracked from the heat.

I’ve called twice for Tesla to fix the part for this recall. They tell me they won’t fix because I have an aftermarket truck opener. The back up camera works sometimes but not all times.

The automatic windshield wipers came on and would not shut off. The car was clean, the day was sunny, and the camera lenses were free of dust or anything else that could cover them. While driving along, the wipers started and would not shut off. I went into the main monitor/screen that has the wiper settings but I was not able to activate the wiper/off button, so the wipers kept working. Pressing on that button would not activate it. I was in autopilot at the time, I. E. , cruise control + lane keep assistance. I have fsd/full self driving, but have never used it since it is still in beta testing. I’m using Tesla software # 2023. 7. 10 I checked the various Tesla websites, and you can turn off the wipers only if you disable the adas features. After I turned off the adas, I was able to activate the wiper/off button. But this is a terrible situation, the adas needs to be activated, but if I activate, it wipers will begin working whenever they feel like it, regardless of the weather outside. This is clearly a software problem with the Tesla adasn needs to be corrected. I don’t want to be driving along with auto pilot on, and then the wipers will simply turn on. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated to correct this dangerous situation. There are countless hundreds of complaints like this on the various Tesla websites about spontaneously functioning wipers when the weather is bright and sunny.