Complaint volume
983 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Tesla Model 3 Complaints
983 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Tesla Model 3, grouped by component category.
983 Total complaints
100 Crash reports
4 Fire reports
34 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are suspension, unknown or other, forward collision avoidance. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 100 crash reports, 4 fire reports, 34 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 219 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 25,782 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to suspension, unknown or other, forward collision avoidance?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Tesla Model 3?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Tesla Model 3
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Tesla Model 3 complaints?
100 Crash
4 Fire
34 Injury
0 Fatality
63 Towed
19 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Tesla Model 3 complaint categories?
SUSPENSION 116
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 82
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 73
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 49
AIR BAGS 42
SEAT BELTS 39
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 34
STRUCTURE 27
STEERING 26
AIR BAGS,SEATS 20
983 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | At night the camera feed turns bright orange with turn signal blocking the over half of the view. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Tesla's newest V11 update for Model 3 removes frequently used features from direct access of the driver. Now many options that were one-tap require navigating into a menu system to control, forcing the driver to take their eyes off the road creating a dangerous situation. This update allows for limited customization to bring quick access to games to the screen, hiding defrost, heated seats, etc. Tesla does not allow users the long term choice to avoid major user interface design upheavals, defeating learned muscle memory in favor of 'newness'. This is not the first update that has made the car more difficult to operate in motion. If a user avoids an update, eventually Tesla forces the update or can refuse to troubleshoot an issue with the car. Unexpectedly Tesla says some connected features may also stop working. Tesla should offer security and connectivity bug fixes but a user defined choice on whether the car's control surface continues to radically change over the life of the vehicle. Given the absence of physical buttons, the continued obfuscation of basic functions over time makes the car less safe to operate. Image uploads show permanent features on screen bottom in V10 vs new game customizations in V11 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | STRUCTURE | Rear under carriage shield gets pulled off under normal driving conditions and rips off the bumper cover and rear wheel wells | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that the vehicle had begun swaying while driving approximately 60 MPH. Additionally, the contact noticed a creaking noise coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact pulled into a parking lot and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact noticed that the control arm had detached. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 33,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 33,000 |
| Jan 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Tesla released V11 software for its cars on December 24, 2021. The following controls were previously directly accessible on the touchscreen: Wipers, Front Defrost, Rear Defrost. These high importance safety controls have now been buried under sub-menus. I was shocked driving my car tonight when my windshield started fogging up and the Front Defrost button was not visible anymore. I could have crashed while searching various UI sub-menus to find it again in a panic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING,AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE | The steering system failed. I'm not sure about the availability for inspection. My safety was put at risk when my car collided with another car. I had just pulled out of my driveway and turned to go down the street a short distance from a stop sign where I would turn left. From a video taken by one of the car's cameras, the car went to the left side of the street and started toward the intersection where the car hit another vehicle. I have driven to the intersection numerous times. There is no way that I would have pulled toward the left side of the street. I believe that something in the steering system malfunctioned. This put me and other drivers on the road at risk. I don't know if the the problem has reproduced. There was a policeman at the site, but he would not inspect the vehicle for a malfunction. My insurance company must have inspected the car as they called today to inform me that the car is totaled. The failure happened so quickly, that I had no warning. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | EQUIPMENT | Latest software update from Tesla buried easily accessible features several layers deep into hard to manage screen menus. e.g windshield wipers. This now requires drivers to take their eyes of the road for many seconds to activate the functions. This can be extremely dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Tesla recently rolled out version 2021.44.25.2 of their vehicle operating system. This update introduced several major user interface changes. Including moving commonly used “virtual buttons” that had been permanently on the main screen, into buried sub-menus. This requires the driver to take their eyes off the road for a significant amount of time. Among the biggest concern is the windshield wiper controls. But also, seat heaters, and trip data. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE | Tesla changed the entire user interface with their software update to version 11. I believe that this software update will cause vehicle accidents since they removed quick access to critical features and replaced them with entertainment apps. As the driver of the vehicle I do not need quick access to video games / streaming services, and more importantly I should not have to go through several screens to access key functions like the window defrosters. Tesla removed quick access to the defrosters, the wiper controls, the seat heaters and tire pressure. Even the music player now causes driver distraction. This new update is an accident waiting to happen and is geared toward entertainment instead focusing on a safe driving experience. The windows that pop up on the screen even block critical features like wiper blade control. Tesla claims that since they removed the buttons for wipers and defrosters that I could use the voice command but with this new update the voice command feature usually crashes. The new icons for user interface a so small that they cause eye strain and make difficult to see the road after checking the screen. The bottom of the screen is stuck in night mode which also causes eye strain. Since this vehicle has no buttons just a touch screen this drastic change to the user interface is a serious safety hazard. Tesla needs to add an actual physical wiper control switch to their vehicles. The automatic wiper mode is defective because Tesla did not install rain sensors on their vehicles. Also the new software has a serious bug where the vehicle disables the safety systems (all cameras and the lane departure warning system). The vehicle safety systems were disabled on 12/26/21 and 12/30/21. I informed Tesla on both occasions and they saw this software flaw in my vehicle computer files. Please make sure that Tesla fixes their vehicle interface before someone crashes from distracted driving/difficulty using the touch screen interface. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The v11 software update buries many important buttons that were always up, to find basic functions needed for driving I now need to spend up to 15 seconds digging through multiple menus to say, turn on a defroster or the wipers. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Recent software update to the vehicle has made the care unsafe to drive. They completely reworked where all car control buttons on the main screen were located. They removed essential car function from the main screen. Specifically, windshield wiper control and defroster control are now buried in submenus. I am having to take my eyes off the road for 2-3 continuous seconds to find commands in these submenus and I can't tell you how unsafe this feels. Car windows/windshield fogs up and I can't find the defroster touchscreen button. Suddenly starts raining and I have to scramble to find windshield wiper touchscreen button. The touchscreen buttons for turning on fog lights and regular car lights are buried. This happened with a version 11 software update within the past few days. Before this - no problems. Please help us. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | On November 30 at 6pm I was driving north on I-75 in the Tampa area with Navigate on Autopilot activated. I was in the middle lane, it was dark, and there was lots of traffic. My screen asked me to confirm the autopilot request to move to the left lane. I tapped the stalk to confirm. I did not look in the left lane and was not controlling the steering, though my hands were on the wheel. The car immediately turned into the left lane and side swiped a police vehicle. Nobody was injured and the damage to both cars was minor. Previously I had received alerts that my left pillar camera was "blocked", but the alerts went away, so I assumed that there was no problem. When the alerts appeared, auto steer was deactivated, but when the alerts went away auto steer worked again. I do not remember when the first alert appeared, but probably earlier in November 2021. Subsequently, the alerts have appeared and disappeared. I have requested service from Tesla, but the appointment is scheduled for next month. The officer in the police vehicle and two other officers who came to the scene looked at my vehicle and took pictures. I received accident report, Crash Number [XXX] from Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (Case Number[XXX]), but no citation. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Latest update from Tesla moved commonly used features several layers deep into hard to manage screen menus. e.g windshield wipers. This now requires drivers to take their eyes of the road for several seconds to activate the functions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Latest Tesla UI update, V11 (2021.44.25.2) is less user friendly, especially for essential control operations while driving. - Front, Rear Defrosters, and Seat Heaters are now buried in multiple tap menus. Windshield wiper adjustment option buried in multiple tap menus or unreliable swipe motion to reveal options. Areas where these buttons used to be are now "blank" spaces that were done for "aesthetics" more than "practical utility". - Menu options and notifications are narrower and too low for quick visbility (e.g. Car alerts, Windshield wiper adjustment). - Speedometer number is too thin and small. - Autopilot notification icon is much smaller, so it is less obvious to the user if the system is active or when it can be activated. - "One tap dashcam recording" now missing on Map screen. "Honking to save clip" may cause confusion to other drivers if wanting to save footage, so that is not a proper solution. - Map at night time is now much harder to see smaller/non main roads. Poor map contrast/visibility - Supercharging locations view requires multiple taps to get to and gives less "map view" of charging stations overall. Compared to one tap or able to persistently see charging locations on the map. - Interface unnecessarily expands all differnet audio source as different "icon buttons", so it may take longer for someone to look and find the correct option - UI mostly requires swiping up/down to expand or close out menus. This is a longer action than pressing an "X" button in the corner that was previously there. Aware that pressing the same icon will close the menu, but X is more intuitive and quicker than doing a full gesture swipe motion that may fail at times to bring back the proper Map menu. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The latest Tesla software update (their “holiday update”) has buried important controls in menus where they are difficult to access. For example, defrost and wiper controls were available directly on the main screen prior to this update. They now require multiple taps to get to with the associated further distraction from keeping eyes on the road. Less critical but oft-manipulated control (such as seat heat) that were are the main screen are also now buried. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Several times I am driving on the Highway at 65 mph and the car decelerates rapidly for no reason while I am in the drive assist mode. I have reported this several times to Tesla through the "report bug" feature in the car. It's very scary and dangerous. Additionally the drive assist mode doesn't work well in dense fog or rain and there should be a warning to that effect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | LANE DEPARTURE | Side fender cameras quit working intermittently. Tesla repair tech said they need to be replaced and he's been replacing "hundreds" of them. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Safety Issue - A matter of life or death Many times since I’ve owned the Model 3 in late 2018, I have repeatedly contacted the service representatives about the A/C vent blasting out hot air over 90 degrees. I was told a software update will fix the issue. However, many software updates have taken place, it is not fixed. This now looks like a physical issue with the design flaw. This needs to be fixed. It can mean life or death for my family and my dog sitting in the back seats. This issue can be reproduced when I drive the Tesla over a long distance over an hour. Please see other people has already document this issue on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JudtkliZNjo | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | LANE DEPARTURE | Tesla auto pilot does not stay in lane under certain conditions. On the freeway, it failed to recognize plastic reflective stanchions while driving on freeway interchange. The car was making left turn from 101 to 5 north. the car hit the stanchions while making the left turn. I took over the left turn as soon as the car hit the stanchion. The car did not recognize the stations because some stations were missing . The car can make very difficult left tuns on the freeway interchanges. It can make 270 degrees turns. It can make 90 degrees turn at 65 mph and slow down at the last minute to 45 and make the turn without any problem. But it does not recognize stanchion on a left turn. Another problem is AutoSteer in the streets. When passing through an intersection with no traffic , it steers in the Opposition direction lane.This happened about three times. The Autosteer does not recognize the lane in the intersection when the divider lines are missing or there are no other cars to use as a lane reference. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Over the last several weeks there have been numerous phantom braking events when on autopilot. These seemingly happen out of nowhere, various conditions, and for no apparent reason. Some of the braking events are very light and others are harder. I estimate in the last 4-6 weeks I have 2-3 per week while commuting. One almost caused the person behind me to rear end me. I am on software version 2021.32.22 on a 2018 Model 3 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving on interstate, using adaptive speed control but not autopilot. Middle lane. Car suddenly applied brakes. A car was ahead of me but not very close, there was no reason to apply brakes. Slowed down from 65 to 45 very fast, (seatbelt tightened) before I resumed acceleration myself. Lucky I wasn’t rear ended because traffic is usually heavy in that area. I had one passenger who was as surprised as I was. Yes, the car can be inspected. Not reported to Tesla. No warning messages, including didn’t make the loud sound Tesla makes with normal city driving if a car ahead is turning right and I start to accelerate before it has completely left the lane I am in. Tesla cameras are also not seeing cars traveling in my driver side blind spot. They used to show up on the screen but haven’t for months. Tesla cameras also do not see low flat bed trailers (such as empty car carriers) pulled by pickup trucks, common in Ohio. Screen shows the truck but does not show the trailer. I don’t use autopilot because of the blind spot issue, now I’m afraid to use cruise control too. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Multiple "phantom braking" events while using Tesla's Auto Pilot system. Vehicle, while in Auto Pilot mode, will suddenly aggressively brake for no reason (no road hazards or other imminent dangers). Occurs about once every 50 miles driven with Auto Pilot on. The last incident occurred on 11/14/21 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On enhanced auto pilot highway speeds, the vehicle suddenly breaks, also known as phantom breaking. Extremely dangerous! Tesla service notified, their response “software is in beta, with a recent software update addressing the matter”. 35,000 of driver miles experienced, the auto pilot is extremely glitchy. When the algorithm is to complicated the vehicle well transfer the liability back to the operator with little warning. Their vehicle safety claims are highly overstated. Software updates cannot keep up with outdated hardware. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | SUSPENSION | Every time I make a turn or go over a bump, there is a loud squeaky noise and the tire pressure goes down from 44 to 36 psi. Even when driving straight without anything like a stop or a bump, the squeaky noises happens. The noise comes from the front passenger side. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Car backup camera has been unavailable for use for months. Originally the issue was intermittent and only happened after Tesla alarm system active so Tesla service could not reproduce issue at dealer. They had me perform full factory reset and now issue is constant. Tesla has been unable to fix the issue stating that it is a software problem and engineers will need to create a software patch to correct. Unable to see safely out of back window to backup creating hazardous condition every time car is put into reverse. Have already taken car in for service, performed complete factory software reset, and uploaded all new software per Tesla instructions. They claim there is no fix for my backup camera so I am driving a car with no ability to see when I am in reverse. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |