2022 Tesla Model 3 Complaint Log

As I was driving the car today, I had a car ahead of me at a full stop, so in order to slow down the car I lifted my foot off the acceleration pedal. However, instead of slowing down it sped up. My car has regenerative breaking (and it was turn on) which usually applies break when the pressure is lifted from acceleration pedal. However in this instant my car started speeding up. I then applied pressure on breaks, however it didn’t work. Fortunately the car ahead of me moved ahead and an accident was averted. My break and accelerator started working as expected moments later. But this can cause accident anytime. I have booked service request with Tesla. Also note that the car was not on Autopilot.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently turned to the right and then to the left. As a result, the contact stated that he momentarily lost control of the vehicle and collided with a barrier wall before careening to the right again into traffic. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were displayed on the instrument panel. A police report was not filed. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, and the failure has yet to be diagnosed. The vehicle has not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 27,000.

On 9 different occasions, my vehicle was operating in cruise control and slammed on the brakes for no reason. Fortunately, no vehicle was behind me. If there were I would have been rear-ended all 9 times. This has happed 8 times on the freeway and one time on surface streets.

This was a case of phantom braking. While on the freeway with the cruise control set to 80 mph the car suddenly and unexpectedly slammed on the brakes. I had to step on the throttle to make the car stop braking. We were nearly rear ended by the car behind us. You can definitely come and inspect the car. I have not taken the vehicle to Tesla for inspection. No accident resulted from this incident, however it was definitely a very close call. There wasn’t a vehicle in sight ahead of us for at least a half mile. The car had no reason to slow down the way it did. I use Autopilot on my Tesla all the time. This is the first time I’ve experienced this behavior.

Driving at speed limit (70MPH) on Interstate 5. Was using cruise control. On 5 occasions, driving N, then S 4 days later, car braked suddenly with no obstacle or vehicle within 50 yards.

On multiple occasions (100+) during a 4,000 mile road trip, (May 7-26, 2023) this vehicle slammed on its brakes while driving down the highway while using the adaptive cruise control feature. Speed reduction was up to 25 MPH from highway speeds of 65 - 80 MPH. This braking was quite dramatic, just short of locking the brakes up. Traffic conditions varied from very light (no vehicles in sight) to moderate traffic (vehicles in front, in rear and/or to the side). Weather was mostly clear, roads were mostly in good shape, there were no animals, people or other non-vehicle obstacles noted. Several instances were lodged in the vehicles "bug report" functionality, but not all, so Tesla should have a pretty good record of the status of the vehicle when several instances occurred. On more than one occasion we were very close to being rear ended because of this phantom braking. In contact with a Tesla Service Center, we were told this is a known issue but no fix had been found.

My car engaged the automatic emergency braking (AEB) when the car in front of me lightly tapped on their brakes-- When the AEB engaged, my car come to a complete stop... I tried to accelerate to prevent being rear ended, but my accelerator was disabled and I had no control of my car... Nearly causing me to get rear ended and probably causing a 5+ car collision. MANY Tesla drivers have experienced this, and it is absolutely TERRIFYING and NEEDS SERIOUS attention because lives are absolutely endangered due to this, and Tesla will not take responsibility, nor have they acknowledged the problem, at all. I've had this happen several times in the last week and I am just waiting to get in an accident at this point. This is unacceptable.

Vehicle was being moved across the parking lot in Summon mode. It crossed a parking aisle and went into the next aisle, striking a parked vehicle with a passenger inside.

During a 30 mile trip on a two lane highway I activated the cruise control. A number of times the car made significant slow downs. They seamed to be associated with oncoming trafic. I then shut off the cruise control. Later on when I could see there where no oncoming cars I again set the cruise control for 65 MPH. After only about 15 seconds the car made a rapid deceleation. The deceleration was rapid enough to cause an ice chest sitting on the passangers side of the front floorboard to roll over. I shut of the cruise control and did not use it again for the remainder of the trip

I was driving on Interstate 25 north towards Santa Fe NM at about 75mph with the cruise control engaged. The car abruptly slowed down to about 60 mph for no apparent reason. The slow down was so quick that passengers were pushed forward in their seats. This has happened before when cruise control was engaged. I had hoped that this was resolved by Tesla. There was not any vehicles in front of me for the car to believe a slowdown was necessary. I reported this to Tesla for repair and they replied that a repair was not necessary. They gave me instructions to override the action by pressing the acceleration pedal. I don't believe that is the solution to the problem and fear that if another car was following to close behind me that an accident could have happened. This car was purchased with cruise control but I cannot utilize it for fear of this braking problem

This incident happened as a result of the Smart Auto Summon feature failed in Tesla. I paid so much for the technology to work but it failed multiple times which is acceptable as I know the FSD and Auto Summon is in beta program but they way this incident happened, it definitely has to do something with either their Camer system, sensor or may be the hardware needs to be upgraded. Imagine if it had hit to some person. I activated the Auto Summon feature to call my Tesla in a parking lot. Regrettably, during the maneuver, my vehicle collided with a pole, damaging the car. It was a big pole. I have all the videos, and if needed, i can provide you with more details here ( Videos and Witnesses) . I have reached out to Tesla but looks like they are not even bothered about this incident and don't want to do anything and blame myself for this incident.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 80 MPH with the cruise control set at 80 MPH, the vehicle independently slowed to almost a complete stop. The contact stated that she pulled the vehicle off the highway. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact returned the vehicle to the highway and engaged the cruise control and set the control to 80 MPH; however, the vehicle failed accelerate to the designated speed. The contact stated that the inadvertent phantom braking failure recurred. The contact turned off the cruise control and continued her trip. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and she was advised that the manufacturer was aware of the failure but a remedy was not yet available. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.

While driving on the highway at highway speeds, our Tesla Model 3 frequently will perform a phantom braking action, presumably due to incorrectly sensing a collision. Thankfully, so far the traffic has been light on the freeways. Otherwise, this could’ve easily caused a wreck. This has happened to us approximately 20 times in the past two days. We ensured the sensors are free of any dirt.

CAR HAS PHANTOM STOPS ON CRUSE CONTROL THREE TIMES IN SIX MONTHS

See attached document for complaint

My 2022 Tesla Model 3 was hit on a highway from behind the car with 100 mph , the car spun multiple times and hit the guard rail. The Car Rear and front side was heavily damaged due to the impact but the Air bags were not deployed. The Car is declared total loss. The car is less than a year old and does not have any issues. Police report says that the Car Air bags are not deployed. There are no warning sign or any failures before the crash. I want to bring this incident ( Tesla AirBags for Model 3) to you attention as this is a Safety and risk to other drivers driving the same car.Also, i do have the Crash report if required.

During a head-on collision on [XXX] in Georgia, the electrical system in my 2022 Tesla Model 3 lost power and the electric door releases stopped functioning. The vehicle interior caught fire and I was trapped inside. I was unaware of the location of the hidden mechanical emergency door release because it is not visibly labeled, not explained upon delivery, and not intuitive in an emergency. I was forced to climb to the back seat and break the rear passenger window with my legs to escape while the interior was burning. I suffered a broken hip, broken arm, and later required a full hip replacement. The mechanical emergency door release was concealed and unlabeled, resulting in entrapment during a fire, which is a violation of FMVSS 206 and presents a continuing and life-threatening safety hazard to all drivers and passengers. Tesla has not provided warnings, recall guidance, labeling, or owner education regarding how to exit the vehicle during a power-loss emergency. This defect can result in deaths. I am requesting a formal investigation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Submitted Under 49 CFR §552.3 Request for Defect Investigation & Safety Recall Tesla Model 3 / Model Y: Interior High-Voltage Heater Fire Hazard, Missing Firewall, and Entrapment Due to Electronic Door Failures. My 2022 Tesla Model 3 experienced an interior flash fire caused by a design defect. Tesla placed the high-voltage PTC cabin heater and HV wiring inside the dashboard with no firewall. After a crash, I saw a straight “strip flame” shoot out of the HVAC dash vent, exactly like a gas heater. The fire began INSIDE the dash/HVAC ducting within seconds of impact, not from the battery. This shows an arc-flash failure of the HV heater or wiring inside the cabin. The flame entered the cabin instantly because there is no firewall separating HV components from occupants. During the fire, all electronic door releases failed. Tesla hides the manual front releases and provides NO rear mechanical releases. I was trapped inside a burning cabin and suffered major injuries trying to escape by kicking the rear passenger window before bystander helped me brake out the rear passenger window to get me out. Most people cannot escape this design. This is a dangerous combination of defects: (1) HV heater and wiring located inside the cabin with no firewall; (2) HVAC ducting becomes a flame pathway; (3) Electronic door releases fail during fire/crash; (4) No labeled manual rear-door exits; (5) No backup 12-V actuator power to open doors. Tesla must: relocate the HV heater outside the cabin (frunk), add a real firewall, add fire-retardant HVAC materials, add labeled manual releases on all doors, and include a 12-V backup to door actuators. Please open a defect investigation. This design nearly killed me and will kill others.

While in cruise control the vehicle initiates braking rapidly for no reason. This happens at high speeds 55, 65 and 70 mph on clear roads. No vehicles in front of or coming from the other direction. There may be vehicles behind at times. It doesn’t happen all the time but happens enough to be a concern.

Trip to California and back from AZ. Had several instances of severe braking. If I did not press the accelerator immediately, the car would slow down under what seemed like nearly maximal braking. No reason was apparent for this behavior. Some braking instances were on long straight stretches of I-40 with no other cars visible. This issue was only occurring if I had the cruise control engaged. Under normal daily driving without cruise control this issue of emergency braking does not occur. Each time this happens, it is totally unexpected and is extremely disturbing. I have stopped using the cruise control function on the vehicle out of fear of it causing an accident.

Adaptive cruise control fails. Repeated phantom braking on the highway. Would cause severe high speed accidents if there was traffic, luckily there was not. Not yet. Not yet. No. First appeared on my first long (5+ hr) road trip and brakes were applied jarringly for no reason, braking from 80mph down to 55 before I could turn the cruise control off. Repeated this more than a dozen times on the highway.

Phantom braking of vehicle consistently around: 1. Emergency vehicles when driving in lane next to emergency vehicles flashing light. 2. Digital maintenance signs set and flashing messages on side of road. (Consistently when I pass a particular sign on a particular highway).

I was driving my car north on I15. Suddenly the car applied full breaks when there was no objects on the road. I could no longer control the car. Even when my foot was on the accelerator the car automatically depressed the break pedal. Luckily there was no vehicle behind me. I was also fortunate that we were going on a straight section of road. If this happened mid turn I would have completely lost control. These cars are a danger to society. It is impossible to drive them safely when they take control away from the driver.

Hello, I recently drove 600 miles and experienced numerous random, frightening and dangerous occurrences of "phantom braking" while in cruise control mode. The car suddenly slammed on the brakes (I could hear the tires screech) while the highway was almost always completely empty, and always completely devoid of any potential danger. In three occurrences, the car was confused by something physical (albeit posing no danger at all): it was confused a "divide highway" sign post at the beginning of a divided highway median, the distant back a truck, a least a quarter of a mile ahead, and an incoming truck a least a quarter of a mile ahead in a long curve. In all other occurrences -the vast majority of occurrences- whatever triggered "phantom braking" was nowhere to be seen (the highway in front of me was completely empty of any traffic or obstructions), and never materialized. My safety and the safety of drivers behind me (and potentially in other lanes in case of a pile-up) was compromised during every occurrences. I stopped using cruise control when a car or truck is behind me. I contacted Tesla Service. They did an over the air check and said that there was nothing wrong with the system, that each occurrence provided data to improve the Beta system (it would have been nice to be told when I purchase the car that my family and I were Beta testers of an automotive safety product), and that Tesla is "working on a firmware update". Not very reassuring, and most importantly, no fixes at all to address this dangerous safety issue. Tesla Service indicated that I do not need to bring my car in (since there is nothing wrong with the software and therefore no fix).There was no advance warning before occurrences of "phantom braking". Thank you.

When driving on a vacation and on a highway from Tucson, AZ to Laughton, Nev we experienced what is being called PHANTOM breaking traveling approximately 75 mph several times. Extremely lucky to have not been rear ended. It also has happened with the FSD Beta late last year when I leased the software for a month. Can supply dates.

Driving on the freeway at night, cruise control was on and going 70 mph. There were no other cars around and the car started braking on me out of no where. My speed went from 70 mph down to almost 20 mph on the freeway. Luckily there was no one behind me otherwise it would have been a bad crash.

While driving on the highway on a clear day using what I call cruise control that also adapts to the speed of vehicles in front of my vehicle, as well as to extreme weather conditions, with no other vehicles around me, the car randomly decided to apply the brakes without provocation which slowed the vehicle from the setting of 74 mph to 49 mph before I could react and correct the aberrant braking. This is the 4th time this has happened in this vehicle. Previous incidents occurred in heavier traffic, so I suspected the aberrant breaking was an overcorrection relative to the other vehicles around me. After this most recent occurrence, I am confident there was no other reason for the car to suddenly brake other than due to a fault with the car.

I have had several incidents of my car rapidly decelerating when in assisted driving mode and I am driving on the highway. I am driving at 65 and all of the sudden it decelerates, making it extremely dangerous. There are no apparent barriers or nearby objects causing this to happen. I am very concerned this will result in a significant accident. I have filed this claim previously without anything happening. Additionally, I had a problem with my rear warning signal not going off when I was in a parking garage, causing me to back into a car. I filed a claim with Tesla and never heard back from them.

While driving across the Nevada and Utah deserts, while on cruise control, traveling at 80 MPH we experienced 7 phantom braking. There were no vehicles or obstructions in sight and it was on straight stretches of road. We are no longer using cruise control due to the danger of possibly causing an accident.

While driving in cruise control, NOT AUTOPILOT, my car phantom braked. The road was clear, the weather was clear. I'm thankful there was not a car behind me. I was doing the speed limit at the time 70mph when the incident occurred. the date lised below is an approximate date. It has occurred several times. I drive 45 minutes to work Mon-Thurs and cruise control helps for the long drive

In about a dozen incidences with my 12,000 mile model 3 the breaks come on unexpectedly. In one case i was on I-70 being followed by an 18 wheel truck / trailer when the phantom breaking occurred. Except for the attention of the truck driver and him slamming on his breaks to avoid rear ending me, I wouldn’t be here. I’ve opened 2 service complaints with Tesla and their response is that it is a learned correction for the car - Well it isn’t working.

Nearly every time I use the "Traffic-Aware Cruise Control" on my Tesla, I experience a phantom braking event. Nearly all the time it is when the road is clear, in the daytime. I use this feature infrequently because I cannot rely on it at all and I'm concerned it will cause someone to hit my from behind.

Just completed a 3 day cross country trip from Palm Desert CA to Saint Paul MN. On a long highway trip like this, we rely on 'cruise control' to maintain consistent highway speeds. Tesla provides adaptive cruise control as a feature of Autopilot. On numerous occasions, the adaptive cruise control unexpectedly stopped, causing the vehicle to slow, or unexpectedly braked hard causing the vehicle to sharply reduce speed. Due to the frequency of Tesla autopilot phantom braking, I found that my foot needed to consistently hover over the accelerator pedal to counter the numerous instances of phantom braking. This was necessary to prevent a possibly inattentive driver behind the Tesla from driving into the rear of the Tesla or another vehicle driving behind the Tesla. This phantom braking occurred as many as 6 to 10 times per day over 3 days and approximately 2,000 miles. The adaptive cruise feature malfunctions under certain conditions and our vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Our safety and the safety of others was put at risk by unexpectedly slowing or braking hard while driving at posted highway speeds and putting our vehicle at risk of being rear ended, and perhaps the same for a vehicle behind our vehicle. The phantom braking issue has been well documented in press & social media and I find it difficult to believe that it has not been reproduced by an independent organization such as NHTSA. I believe that the manufacturer (Tesla) is aware of the phantom braking issue as it appears to be inherent to Tesla's approach to providing adaptive cruise control. When the phantom braking occurs, there are no warnings or messages prior to the unexpected braking. Most phantom braking instances occurred on approach to or on the crest of a hill. At least one instance occurred after cresting a hill and the roadway was in full view.

Our 2022 Tesla Model 3 has "phantom braked" three times on the highway. During each episode, the vehicle slowed from 75mph to 45mph in about half a second - with no vehicle or obstruction in front of us. This was a 4-lane highway all three times. If a car was behind us, it likely would have collided with us. No precipitation, the car was clean and cameras clear. I took the car to the Latham Service Center at 326 bOld Niskayuna Road near Albany, New York, to have the sensors and car checked. The tech took the car for a 10-minute drive, didn't experience phantom braking, and said that since he "could not duplicate the concern" no repairs were needed. After several messages expressing concern that this did indeed need to be fixed, neither the owners Scott and Carolyne nor the tech responded.

Vehicle will repeatably go incorrect speed limit while on Autopilot or Fsd(beta), internal mapping data has incorrect speed limits, sometimes 65 in a 30, other times 25 in an unmarked 55. Speed limit may change multiple times within a short distance making it hard to correct without slowing or speeding up This is on software 2022.45.12. ( fsd 11.3.3), has been a constant issue on previous versions, also affects regular auto pilot

On a two lane road with no traffic approaching and no traffic behind us on us95 in the Nv desert, the model 3 slammed on the brakes and slowed from 60mph to 30 or less. This is with the adaptive cruise control engaged, not auto steering. This happens several times. There were several times when large semi trucks were approaching in the opposing Lane and the model 3 slammed on the brakes also when adaptive cruise control was engaged. When we reported this to Tesla they said they need the exact date and time of each incident, or they could not help us. These breaking incidents happened during a 12 hour trip between Carson City and Rancho Cucamonga. This is an unbelievable safety hazard as if someone is following too closely and the car suddenly decide to apply the brakes. The person behind you is going to be caught off guard and crash into you. I cannot believe this is been going on for over a year as I have read several articles about the problem. There is no warning whatsoever when the car does this.

The car, on 6 occasions, rapidly decelerated while using the Autopilot feature when no obstruction was present. This was on the freeway, on a sunny afternoon, and seemed to occur at random without regard to overpass shadows, hills, etc. This nearly caused a collision from a car following me on one of the occasions.

With the autopilot engaged, on the freeway, and at freeway speeds, the car will automatically brake without reason and without any traffic in front of the car. In a stretch of 100 miles, the car did this 8 times. The car even "phantom brakes" on regular cruise control. This is not only alarming but dangerous! Had the road been wet, or slick, we could have easily crashed! THIS MALFUNCTION NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION! Thank you, Steve & Liza Starr

During normal operation vehicle suddenly engages braking system l. This has nearly caused 2 accidents. Tesla insists there is no fault with the car.

While using autopilot the car randomly decelerated from 75mph to almost 30mph in the highway (I75) super quickly. If a car has been behind it might have caused a crash.

On 3/16/23 at 3:30 PM, my car came to a complete and sudden stop on the highway and would not move. The only warning was a slight lurch the car made a few second prior to shutting down. The car would not restart or go out of park. I sat on the highway waiting to be hit from behind. I was on a bridge with no shoulder. Eventually the IL police arrive to block the lane behind me and use their truck to push me off of the bridge to where I could pull onto the shoulder. The trooper noted that they have had other calls of Tesla stopping in the middle of the highway and locking up. Currently the vehicle is in the Tesla service department and they have provided no diagnosis yet.

complete shutdown or blanking screen while driving causing GOD knows what is working and what not. definitely driver won't know his/her speed, car systems status like blinker, auto pilot,...etc until the system comes back to become available. 1st time this happened, Tesla sent me its service mobile service person who mentioned that he could not find anything wrong and if it happened again he will schedule the car for an in-house service center appointment for the main computer unit to be replaced. When the incident happened again Tesla scheduled the service appointment but after inspection the report came back that this is a recurring incident in many teslas and require a firmware update! Service report attached (Job number 4 and 5)

I ran over an object in the road too small to see. The tire burst and went flat. The burst also created a hole in the wheel itself. The alloy/material from which the wheel is constructed was not strong enough to keep a hole from being created when the tire burst

Since taking ownership of vehicle in summer 2022, have experienced multiple incidents of vehicle emergency braking for no apparent reason while using cruise control. In a few instances when I have attempted to use cruise control again after initial phantom braking incident, there is a 2nd incident of emergency like braking for no apparent reason in the same trip. Have never attempted to reuse cruise control within same trip after experiencing issue twice in that one trip. When phantom braking occurs: - It is while using cruise control (with or without steering assist). - There is no audible or visual warning (not even from auto emergency braking system) before or during vehicle braking. - Is a very strong braking force akin to an emergency maneuver. - There is no clear reason for why vehicle braked - no obstacles in road or slowing traffic. - Level of traffic (light or moderate) does not seem to be a factor, but I don't use system in moderate to heavy traffic. - Weather does not appear to be a factor - it can occur in perfect driving conditions (sunny, clear day). In most recent incident, was traveling at 78mph on highway with no traffic in front or behind vehicle for approx. a half mile in either direction. Without warning or reason, vehicle began to brake hard, slowing vehicle down to 62mph before I could disengage system (approx 1-2seconds). Unclear how low vehicle would brake to if cruise control wasn't disengaged. Cruise control feature feels extremely risky to the point that view as unusable in almost all driving situations (even if would be a good time to use cruise control).

The accelerator pedal snapped off without any warning while driving on the interstate attempting to pass a vehicle. As I pressed the accelerator pedal, all resistance in the pedal disappeared and vehicles regenerative braking immediately engaged despite my efforts to maintain a safe speed on the interstate. Due to the regenerative braking and the lack of an accelerator pedal, I quickly found myself in the very dangerous situation in which my car was attempting to come to a stop from a high rate of speed in the middle of the interstate. I was luckily able to make a hard right turn to cross a lane of traffic in order to reach the safety of the emergency lane just before the car came to a complete stop. While doing so, I nearly clipped the front of another vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where it was serviced and a new accelerator pedal was installed. However, the service department had notified me that they had never had an incident like this before and even had difficulty knowing exactly how to fix it. The service to replace the accelerator pedal took nearly two weeks, leaving me without a reliable vehicle for my daily work commute. Upon picking up my vehicle, the service department also could not confirm that the vehicle was test driven with the newly installed accelerator pedal which heightened my safety concerns even more. When I asked to speak with someone in regards to my safety concerns going forward, no manager was available despite phone calls, messages, and an in person request. The vehicle now has a small wheel shake that wasn't present prior which is very unsettling.

the window is opening alone

While in the cruise control mode my car will periodically come to an abrupt slowdown. Often when I’m on the freeway and I am very concerned that one day I will be rear ended by the cars totally unexpected slow down. It has happened at least 30 times in my Tesla model 3

The car suddenly braked for no good reason nearly caused an accident.

The "traffic aware" cruise control automatically slows the car when entering a portion of highway with a reduced speed limit. Sounds good in theory and Tesla says this is intentional and cannot be modified in settings. However, suddenly slowing down from 65 mph to 45 mph when all traffic PERSISTS at 65 mph could lead to rear end collisions or loss of control.

Constant Phantom Breaking at interstate speeds. Tesla insists this is not a problem.