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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The vehicle was travelling at 21mph approaching a railroad crossing in moderate to busy traffic. The crossing was open. The Tesla slowed quickly to 7 mph for no reason. The driver had to take control of the vehicle in order to maintain progress and not cause a hazard to other road users. A link to the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/729934579/b3e3d6438a | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | My friend was driving the car (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The Tesla attempted to cut across the freeway while merging from the on-ramp. The auto-steer function attempted to drive perpendicular to the on-ramp and cross the lanes on the freeway, forcing the driver to disengage Full Self-Driving mode to avoid a collision with high-speed traffic approaching from the rear. The extremely dangerous event was recorded by using a GoPro camera, and a link to a video of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/729927123/a5cd8eeb15 The car was originally positioned in the wrong lane of the on-ramp, and then suddenly lurched to the left while making the right-hand turn to merge with the freeway. With traffic approaching at such a high speed, the sudden movement into the middle of the freeway was highly dangerous and the FSD Beta 10.12.2 did not give the driver much time to react. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | My friend was driving my Tesla Model 3 while Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 was engaged. The Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta software caused the car to stop at right turn onto highway on ramp and hesitated whilst it waited for traffic to pass, causing a queue of cars behind it and frustrated drivers honking their horns. The Tesla could have taken the turn into the right hand lane and merged ahead. Instead, it pulled out into the turn lane while traffic was passing and had to steer around the Tesla to avoid colliding with it. Please find a link to the clip of the incident below: https://vimeo.com/729932395/315ccb9ffb | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | I was driving with my 5 yo in a car. We had to swerve to miss a truck pulling out in front of us, and when we swerved slightly, the systems of the car shut down. I could not drive the car to get us out of the middle of the road, but I also could not put the car into park. In order to prevent the car from rolling down the hill with my daughter and I inside, I had to keep my foot on the break. The emergency flashers also did not work, so there was a material risk of being rear ended. The AC also stopped working. It was 100+ degrees outside. The doors and windows did not work, so we were trapped in a hot car, in the middle of the road, without emergency flashers. Tesla Roadside refused to come. They also refused to help me because the car was in my husband's name. My 5 yo daughter and I could have died either of suffocation or by collision. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | AIR BAGS | I was coming out of the park and getting on the main road, when the Tesla accelerated without warning in huge burst of speed. I don't use AutoPilot. I had to drive the car out of the road to avoid the incoming traffic and the Tesla hit a tree and a parked car. Then it came to a stop. Then the airbags also failed to deploy. I reported to the police . | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | STRUCTURE | When heavy down rain falls and the streets start to collect water of 1-2 or more the uderbody skid plates with collect water and the body panels fasteners will fail and the skid plate tears. This has happed twice since I've owned the car. This last time happed last week when a heavy rain came through. I'm now over my warranty but the problem keeps happening. Tesla has a bulletin specifically for this dated September 19, 2019 address this problem. Tesla TSB SB-19-12-00. Tesla service in Austin, TX is denying my car a replacement skid pad since I'm at 55,000 miles, just 5K past my warrenty. Even though they know this part will fail if the car happens to go through enough water from a heavy rain. If this part is not replaced water can then get into the rear bumpers and then cause them to be ripped off which could then cause an accident if this were to happen at hwy speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | AIR BAGS | Frontal head-on collision - I went too fast while making a left turn (at least 50mph) - vehicle drifted and I lost control and it hit a lamp post - damage was pretty severe in front left drivers side of car but airbag never deployed | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The rearview camera of the Tesla Model 3 is defective and it will lead to an incident since I rely on it when going in reverse. Tesla issue a recall letter in February 2022 but has not provided an update or dates as to when the solid core coaxial able will be replaced. If you can put pressure on Tesla to replace this part ASAP before someone gets hurt. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | SUSPENSION | Squeaking suspension not allowing for a safe drive. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I'm submitting this because my safety recall NHTSA # 21V-00D which was sent to me on Feb 15, 2022 has not been serviced in a timely manner by Tesla. The letter I got stated that they would either replace the harness, or install a guide protector for the rearview camera. However they have done neither. When I call them about it, they tell me "everything is fine, there are no repairs available for your car, just keep using it as normal". When I told them that what they were telling me disagreed with the recall notice, they told me to "ignore the recall notice". | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | I was driving on Tesla “autopilot” and instead of noticing the exit from freeway , the car thought it was still on freeway as it had to take the next exit, it just on full speed went into the exit, it did not break or slow down and just before the sharp exit turn on 65 mph it just disengaged autopilot with message “system error “ luckily I was aware and was able to avoid a major crash . If I was a second late, the car would have gone through the road barrier. I’m sure if I had a crash Tesla would find reasons to blame me for the crash even though it was its software. Autopilot is junk piece of software with little regards to customer safety. I am not sure how something like this is even allowed to be sold and used on public roads | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the Forward Collision-Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking was disabled independently. The contact stated that the Forward Collision-Avoidance warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to work safely. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 89,050. | Crash: No Fire: No | 89,500 |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse, the Back Over Protection camera failed to display an image on the screen. The contact stated that he received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) several months ago. The dealer was contacted and stated that the parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA to file a complaint. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | 65,000 |
| Jun 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking. During Basic autopilot (steering, braking in one lane) at times system applies brakes for no reason, which could cause rear-end collision with the following car. Usually happens at freeway speeds, with NO cars around the vehicle and the road is unevenly sightly with small grades or going past the crest of a large grade roadway happens when the vehicle peaks grade and descends down. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | Car will break "phantom breaking" slowing down +20mph very quickly with nothing on the highway in front or behind. It typically happens before bridges, major shadows on highway. There are 2 places in Little Rock Arkansas on the highway that it does it every single day in the same spot with nothing around! Has nearly caused people to crash into me from behind. I stopped driving with the autopilot. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Sudden braking / deceleration while on adaptive cruise control. Has been happening frequently on I66 east between Haymarket and Rte 28, often at same locations. No visible hazards and often no other cars immediately in front of vehicle. Vehicle has "Autopilot," not full-self-driving. Has been happening for more than two years. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While in Tesla’s auto pilot mode, the vehicle breaks for no particular reason. This is particularly very dangerous while going 70 mph and someone is following in close proximity. I have gotten side eyes and hand gestures from fellow motorists, I presume it is due to them thinking I break checked but I am very defensive driver and I would not put anyone at risks for any reason. I got rear ended back in 2019 in slow speed but do attribute this to Tesla sudden breaking issue. I have since stop auto auto pilot in regular basis. I do use auto pilot once here and there often in light traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My car brakes for no apparent reason consistently in the same location every time. What has been described as “phantom braking”. When I hit two spots on I5 northbound near the berkley exit. The set max speed of my cruise control will suddenly drop and the vehicle will brake. The speed then adjusts up to the prior setting and the vehicle will return to normal. This in total lasts about 5 seconds but results in dangerous braking. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Multiple occurrences of phantom braking while at highway speed and using Autopilot (I do not have FSD). In most cases, there is another car (on either side next to me) and a 3rd car is coming up from behind at a high rate of speed. The 3rd car then cuts across to the open lane and as that's happening, my car suddenly/abruptly applies emergency braking and I instinctually apply throttle to keep the car moving forward. I have submitted bug reports to Tesla at the time of each incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Autopilot break the car for no reason on highways and high speed. Always happen on I-5 at Anaheim, CA to Los Angeles, CA area. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When I drive under bridges during the daytime, the vehicle will alert and in many cases brake the car. Can be very repeatable in my experience on my commute. Has happened on nearly every single different software version I had on the car over the last several years. Used to always report the 'bug' to tesla but they never did anything about it | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | On several occasions in the past 2 months, the display on my Tesla mode 3 has gone blank while driving. One on occasion, the display which is the only source of your driving speed info went blank during a rain storm at night. At the same time, the vehicle also lost its auto wipers and turn signals. This made driving very unsafe . I was on a highway in a long construction zone with no way to pull off the highway.It was several minutes before the screen rebooted and returned to normal. I have attempted to have Tesla correct this problem but they have told me that I must provide them with the exact time and date this occurs as they cannot go through lines of code to diagnose the issue. Blanking displays is a known issue. The service person I communicated with would not provide me with their phone number to discuss his dangerous issue. The advised me that without me telling them exactly when this happened they would not attempt a resolution. Help !! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | This is a sudden unintended acceleration accident. I was driving into a hotel parking lot. I turned right at less than 5 mph for about 15 feet and then made another right. Suddenly, the car accelerated at very high speed. I was able to steer but can't stop the car until 200 yards after I made a turn into the bushes and knock down a tree. At about 50 yards the vehicle also banged into three parked cards. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | NHTSA Recall No: 21V-00D My vehicle has been affected and suffering from the defect noted by the NHTSA. For approximately five months I have unsuccessfully attempted to have the defective condition repaired to no avail. Most recently the vehicle was taken to a Tesla Service Center to have to recall performed, however upon arrival I was informed that the parts were not available and the service center informed me incorrectly that the the parts were available. Specifically, the service center advised they did not have a grommet to complete the repair and would not repair the vehicle without the grommet. I was informed that although the service center had the rear camera coaxial cable in stock, which would have repaired the defect the service center would not perform the repair without the rubber grommet as well. Upon being informed the repair would not be completed as previously promised, I requested the alternative repair be performed for safety reasons to prevent the intermittent problem becoming permeant. I requested the "guide protector" be installed as a temporary solution to the rear camera ceasing to function for days at a time after I open and close the trunk. The alternative repair is described at: https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-trunk-lid-harness-retrofit "How will Tesla repair my car and how long will it take? At no cost to you, Tesla Service will inspect the trunk harness on affected vehicles for wear. If the amount of wear is within the specification for the coaxial cable, Tesla Service will install a guide protector to prevent further wear. If the amount of wear is beyond the specification, Tesla Service will replace the harness and install a guide protector." I have submitted numerous photographs to the Tesla documenting the recalled defective condition that creates an enormous safety hazard. To date the only solution I have is to not use the trunk whenever the camera is actually working. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | No timely remedy provided for recall 21V-00D. The recall was initiated in December, six months later the manufacturer has no resolution. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |