Complaint volume
587 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
2019 Tesla Model 3 Complaints
587 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Tesla Model 3, grouped by component category.
587 Total complaints
58 Crash reports
5 Fire reports
19 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 forward collision avoidance, suspension, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 58 crash reports, 5 fire reports, 19 injury reports, and 3 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 134 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 21,753 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to forward collision avoidance, suspension, unknown or other?
- 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 2019 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.
2019 Tesla Model 3
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2019 Tesla Model 3 complaints?
58 Crash
5 Fire
19 Injury
3 Fatality
47 Towed
15 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Tesla Model 3 complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 63
SUSPENSION 53
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 35
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 26
LANE DEPARTURE 26
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 24
AIR BAGS 20
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 18
STEERING 17
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 17
587 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | A couple things that concern me. One- My vehicle is showing an open recall since I purchased it. I reached out to Tesla and they advised it most like has been addressed by the software updates. I would prefer a more direct answer versus stating it “most likely” has been addressed. Two- My Model 3 was advertised on Tesla’s website with a range of 310. I get an equivalent of 120 miles of range. This is less than half. I have reached out to Tesla within days of purchasing the car and was told they completed an over the air diagnosis and nothing is wrong with my battery. They advised the cold weather can play a major role. Which I totally understand, however I can’t imagine losing over 50% of range. This has also not been completely addressed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I have six recorded incidents over three different trips where I was traveling at highway speeds on I-84. While utilizing cruise control, weather was clear and roads were dry with no vehicles in front of, behind or to the side of me. The vehicle slammed on it's brakes unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. 5 out of the 6 times, it stopped so fast, nearly coming to a complete stop that it caused the vehicle to swerve almost out of control. Luckily there were no vehicles close behind me, otherwise I would have certainly been rear ended and possibly even killed at the speeds we were traveling. I have spoken to Tesla and they admit it is a known problem, but they don't have an immediate fix. The recommend not using cruise control in their vehicles. I think they should buy the vehicles back if you cannot use something as basic as cruise control. This problem is wide spread and extremely dangerous if not deadly under certain conditions. The date below is the 2nd to last time it happened. Last time was on 2/13/23. There were 4 similar incidents prior to 2/12/23 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | I've been experiencing "phantom braking" where the car will decrease it's speed, sometimes up to 50% while it's in self-driving mode. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving the cruise control or auto pilot activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking with a beeping sound coming from the vehicle with a manual control warning message appearing on the infotainment screen. Neither the Service Center nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 28,000 |
| Jan 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at 3 MPH and slowing the vehicle into his residence driveway, as he took his foot off the accelerator the vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed forward. The vehicle crashed into the residence and entered the house. The contact stated he did not notice any warning lights. The contact was rendered unconscious and was transported by ambulance to an ER. The contact stated that the air bags did not deploy. The contact had sustained a broken back and had fractured his sternum. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | 35,000 |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was utilizing Tesla's self-driving feature and while traveling at about 75mph, the vehicle slammed on the braked on three different occasions for no reason. Fortunately, on all occasions, no vehicles were anywhere near me. There were no warning signs and this is the first occurrence. I have not utilized cruise control or the self-driving function, since. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla knowingly disabled the hardware sensor suite in a recent update of the software in their push toward "Tesla Vision". Unfortunately the disabling of the hardware sensor suite has made the car more dangerous to drive in certain conditions such as dark roads and inclement weather where the camera cannot detect a danger situation in advance the way it could with a hardware sensor suite. The disabling of this sensor is costing me $6000 in damage due to Tesla Vision not seeing a large, dead deer in the middle of the highway causing me to drive over it and damage critical components. Tesla's decision to use a plastic shield instead of a metal shield to protect the components lead to the piercing of the battery coolant line and damage to other components. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Since disabling the radar, the car very frequently brake checks on the highway when there are no cars in front of it, due to the reflection off the surface of highways that are very flat. This happens at least every hour or 2 when driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Vehicle came to abrupt stop so hard the seatbelt locked and my head hit the seat rest once fully stopped in highway traffic. I was traveling in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway at night, with clear skies, and dry road. There nearest car ahead of me was about 40 feet, and I was traveling with the flow of traffic at around 20 mph. “Autopilot” was enabled and set to 35mph. I believe the ADAS camera system of my vehicle momentarily determined a nearby car in the left or right lane had suddenly moved into my lane when in reality none had crossed the white line and the road ahead was clear. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at high speeds with the auto pilot feature activated, the vehicle experienced intermittent phantom braking. The contact stated that no warning light appeared on the instrument panel prior to the failure. The contact attempted to notify the service center of the failure but was informed that he could only report the failure soon after the failure. The service center offered no further assistance. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 20,000 |
| Jan 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | This morning, I was driving using FSD beta and the car swerved and veered almost directly into the curb, head-on. I was able to capture the data using the car's built-in dashcam and saved it, though I can't upload it to this site. I was able to slam on the brakes at the last minute and luckily no one else was around as it could have easily injured someone else and/or damaged my vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car has repeatedly slammed on the brakes while using Tesla's Full Self-Driving functionality and made the car unusable at times. I've gotten into many near accidents, with the most recent happening on 1/8/23 where the vehicle slammed on the brakes on the freeway in front of a big rig, almost causing it to rear end me while me, my wife and two children were in the car. At the same time, the vehicle has also almost hit pedestrians while using the FSD beta, which I managed to avoid on 1/8/23 because I was paying attention. Had I not, I'm sure we would've struck a pedestrian walking across the street. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | SEATS,AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the Front Passenger Restraint System Fault message was displayed. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the front passenger’s side seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 66,000 |
| Dec 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced intermittent loss of the back-up camera. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 14,419. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | 14,419 |
| Dec 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My Handicap Son, Devdutt Srivastava, on Cushing Parkway and Fremont Boulevard. Fremont, CA, on US October 24 Evening with no Auto Pilot or FUSD engaged. At threshold the light had turned Orange and my son proceeded with same pace as usual, without accelerating. A cross car with an Autistic Kid, most likely as my son is a Special Ed Masters and trained to spot one, rammed into the Tesla 3 which was fully wrecked. The Auto Collision Emergency Detection and Braking should have worked as it was Stop and Go Traffic at Peak Evening Hours between 3:50 and 4:30 pm. I have seen Toyota Prius Auto Collison Braking Work. Someone needs to stop Elon Musk and Tesla charging premium on false promises and taking toll on lives of innocent people trusting their marketing false propoganda and constant spinning on Auto Pilot and FUD with new additional confusion creating packages and options and moving features too and fro. This complicates the software and causes more bugs. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 12/24 between 7:54am and 8:55am driving on the 10 west from Arizona to California while on auto drive within one hour experienced 4 times the car engaged the brake while traveling 80 mph on the highway. All 4 times there was nothing in front or side of the vehicle. The vehicle did not alarm a sensor that something was in the way. Fortunately we reacted quickly and continued with the accelerator so we didn’t stop abruptly on the Highway. 2 out of the 4 times it was a very hard brake the other two times it was hard but not nearly as forceful. Again nothing in the road, sun behind us, no indicators of obstructed cameras. We haven’t been on a long trip with the car in a long time, however my son drove from Orange County , CA to Los Angeles one evening about 6 weeks ago and he said the same thing occurred 3 times while on the trip and on the highway. I did Google the situation and it sounds like I am not the only one who has experienced the phantom braking situation. We have disengaged the auto drive and auto pilot the remainder of the trip. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Modal 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH with the autopilot activated, the cruise control suddenly deactivated and the braking system erroneously activated causing the vehicle to abruptly decelerate. The contact immediately depressed the accelerator pedal to avoid being rear-ended by a second vehicle. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,291. | Crash: No Fire: No | 25,291 |
| Dec 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while his partner was driving at approximately 60 MPH in inclement weather, the lane departure feature malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to hydroplane and crash into the median. No air bags were deployed. The contact's partner sustained a sore neck and back; however, medical attention was not received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | 66,000 |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | "Full Self Driving" (FSD) 10.69.3.1 disconnect events lock out driver after five 'strikes.' This makes it impossible to diagnose repeatable faults until a future version unlocks FSD. My testing suggests there are problems with controlled intersections making a left turn. However, the lockout prevents documenting the problem(s). Locking out the software also makes it impossible for NHTSA, IIHS, and even the National Transportation Safety Board to identify and document failures with FSD. It also impacts car reviewers as well as this owner. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking is occurring regularly on a road trip from CA to LA. It has happened on clear roads with sunny conditions and no obstructions as well as in shadowy or dark conditions. It only occurs with cruise control on. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Poor LED headlight/headlight seal caused severe condensation (water dripping) inside headlight housing, which led to the headlight and turn signal to not function. No warning/notification received from the car. The car is 3 years old, past 50,000-mile warranty. Headlight inspected by Tesla service center and had to be replaced at owner’s expense due to out of warranty. Condition led to poor visibility and danger/risk to other drivers/pedestrians on the road especially at night. Attempting to obtain old headlight from service center, but have pictures on hand. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | I started to having "Faulty Restrain system fault" around 49k miles on Tesla Model 3. Error pop up "service needed". Consult Tesla for repair. First they ask for $384 for repair harness wires attach for driver front seat. Upon checking warranty on Tesla.com, it provides 60000 miles and 5 years warranty for Restrain System coverage so tesla agrees to fix error for "$0". Upon taking car for repair, I was informed I had rodent cause damage (chewed) wires and it's not cover. I had to pay $180 for repair. I live in Phoenix city and where I live we don't have any problem with rodents. It's very shocking to learn that rodent get access to underneath of Tesla and can chewed on wires. Why wires are not covered with better material rather than cheap plastic tapes. Those wires play significant role in vehicle safety as far as restrain system is concern. Question is why Model 3 is so inferiors in quality and design that rodent get access to the wiring. Error cause many driving problems with air bags not working and causing speeding errors. I have read on Tesla Motor Club blog and many customers are experiencing same problem. Is there anything Tesla needs to do to make their car more safer on road? If you need more information please email me at [XXX] I can provide pictures of damage due to rodent provided by Tesla. Thank You,[XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Two lane highway I was in the left lane with the cruise control on not Full Self Driving. In the right lane was a semi which I came up along side off on the left , I was driving 70mph. (Speed limit) The car suddenly hard braked on it’s own. The car behind me had to brake to avoid an accident and went into the dirt. After that on this same drive, there were at least 6 more instances of phantom braking when traveling over a “wash bridge “ going under a highway sign, driving along side another semi and once without anyone near and an open road. This also happened 3 months ago and when I reported it to Tesla they said when I received the FULL self driving down load which I got the next day, the problem should be corrected. I also reported the previous problem to you, the case # 11488958. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) and 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | At night, both left and right side turn signal cameras (repeater cameras) become heavily obscured with glare when using turn signals. This interferes with lane keep assist, blind spot/collision warning, autopilot functions, and the ability for a driver to safely discern the presence of a vehicle in the vehicle’s blind spot. In November 2022 Tesla stated “It is a characteristic of the product… that has been design enhanced in newer vehicle production.” The issue is caused by 3 small holes located on the repeater camera’s printed circuit board (PCB) that allow internal light from the turn signal repeater to shine through the PCB to the camera sensor side, directly obscuring most of the camer sensor. The new “design enhanced” version covers these 3 holes with tape, eliminating the problem. Tesla does not view this as a concern and does not cover this safety issue under warranty. A very large number of owners have filed complaints with Tesla. Some owners had the parts replaced under “good will” while most have been charged for the replacement of the side repeaters as Tesla doesn’t classify this as a defect in “materials or workmanship”. Despite this, Tesla felt compelled to “enhance the design” by eliminating this problem. It’s absurd that Tesla knows about the issue and went as far as correcting it to prevent further problems, but won’t issue a TSB for vehicles effected by this “characteristic” that poses a major safety concern. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |