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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SEATS | There have been a number of Tesla’s coming back to the dealership due to a left or right pseat restraint error, which is the seat restraint module failure or even pinched wires that have not been secured properly during manufacturing. This is a safety issue that Tesla needs to correct as they are charging customers between $460 and $1500 to be repaired and these faults end up coming back time after time. Any other car manufacturer would replace on a recall. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | STEERING | Driving on the freeway and steering completely locked up. Luckily on a straight away so the car could go to side of road. Restarted the system and it was functional again. Has happened again. Very concern over the safety of these vehicles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | This morning the Tesla mobile technician informed me that the defrost is disabled. He explained that is something that only Tesla can fix. When talking to Tesla service they quote me over 1k to fix. After reading about this particular issue, Tesla has been recalling the model 3 ( 2021 -2023 ) for the exact same issue. Can someone look into this since it appears to be defective from Tesla Sincerely | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | SEAT BELTS | The week of July 29, 2024, I received a report on my computer screen that the driver's side seat belt was malfunctioning. I checked and it moved freely--there was no restraint. I drove to Rocklin Tesla and they did a diagnostic test ($235) and found there was a low voltage circuit integrity issue. This problem was not from physical damage to the seat belt, but a problem during manufacturing. They required the left front row seat harness assembly be replaced. As the driver, I was at risk because if I was in an accident, my seat belt would fail to stop forward motion. Online Tesla forums explain this has been occurring, but Tesla does not have a recall. The problem was confirmed by the dealer. I was advised to send a report to NHTSA. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The component is a software update by Tesla, the change is in the climate control screen, the problem is that the recirculating air icon was large and easy to change status while driving but is now microscopic and not able to safely check status or touch to change the air recirculation. There is no way to revert or customize the size or placement of this control | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE | Car intermittently gives me a "reduced power steering" error making it impossible to steer and had to stop in the fast lane on the freeway and reset the car just to get the error to to away I could have been killed and Tesla refuses to have a recall on my year and model and I must pay out of pocket for a new steering rack this is not fair that other models is covered for a recall but not a 2019 model 3 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | AIR BAGS,SEATS | Seat sensor error. "Front left safety restraint system fault" Car was still under warranty when the right seat fault happened. Clearly an issue with Tesla since there are many reports out "restraint system fault" | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | While driving I received an error on the screen stating “front passenger safety restraint fail -service needed”. This would go on and off randomly. It took over a month to get into Tesla. By the time I got into service the error was gone but Tesla replaced a sensor and airbag to be complaint with the sensor costing over $1300. I have seen a lot of posts of other Tesla owners experiencing the same error. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | STRUCTURE | On at least 3 occasions, the glass (windshield, roof and rear window) on my car has been shattered by a small nut (beechnut) falling from a tree. The cost of the damage has totaled thousands of dollars. The latest incidents were on July 31 and August 15, 2024. A previous incident occurred a few years ago. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | Nothing happened my cameras just stop working I was told it was a defective sensor. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEATS | Safety issue: Got a "Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault" (code RCM_a056) out of a sudden. Apparently, the passenger's occupied-seat sensor is not communicating with the system, leading to potential hazard in airbag deployment scenario. Upon reaching out to the Tesla Service Center, got a quote for $1600, which includes a replacement not only of the passenger's seat sensor, but there's also a need to replace the airbag - to maintain compatibility with the new sensor. Upon additional research, I've discovered that this is not merely wear and tear; some owners reported that this error appears on brand new cars. In short, Tesla is requiring customers to pay $1600 to cover a design failure that could result in a safety / injury. The company should be held liable to its errors, not customers. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | Safety features on my car are currently unavailable. I called the dealership and was told it was due to a defected sensor in the back windshield. And I would have to pay to replace the entire windshield. Even tho the sensor is defective. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SEATS | I continuously receive a notification on my car that the there is a fault with the passenger restraint system and includes a red income with the airbag. I have found hundreds of Tesla drivers that have reported the same issue. Tesla is claiming that my airbag needs replaced as well as other safety components with the seat that need retrofitted in order for the airbag to work properly. They quoted me over $2.4k for the repair and are holding me responsible for all costs since the vehicle is out of warranty. They told me that the airbag may not work properly. This is a common problem among Tesla’s and should be assessed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | SEAT BELTS,SEATS | Error message from tesla: front passenger safety restraint system fault. Potentially impaired airbag deployment for passenger. Tesla fixed it under warranty in 2021. The issue is appearing again and I am out of warranty. The car will warn me once every 15 minutes (very annoying). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEATS | An error has displayed on the screen stating: "Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault RCM_a056 Service is Required" and reaching out to the local Tesla service center, I discovered the prescribed repair costs $1600. After searching online for other owner's experience with the error, I discovered that this is a common issue caused by a wire connection to the seat control model coming loose due to a poorly tensioned connector. Those other owners have reported that Tesla knows about this issue in their manufacturing and is refusing to fix the issue or issue a recall even though it is a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | SEATS | Seat weight sensor does not always work. This results in the car putting itself into park while reversing / driving at low speeds. This also results in the car both not booting up / shitting down correctly depending on if it thinks someone is in the car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while charging the vehicle at a supercharging station, the vehicle shut off once the battery charge reached 250 miles. The contact attempted to move the vehicle to another charging station, and the vehicle failed to shift to drive(D). Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a Tesla Service Center where the contact was informed that the pyro fuse used to regulate the battery voltage had failed to operate as needed. The contact was also informed that the pyro fuse inside the vehicle was an aftermarket part; therefore, the contact would be responsible for the repair of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 85,000 |
| Jul 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The brakes of my car did not work on July 2023. I stepped on the brakes and the car did not stop. It accelerated. I almost crashed into another car as the car kept on going. The car beeped when getting close to another car & slowed. I had to maneuver the car to the side of the road to avoid a collision. It did not stop until the length of 2 cars. My husband checked my tesla car and saw there was an alert that the brakes did not work, however, he was unable to take a picture of the message and it did not re-appear. When I scheduled a Tesla service, at first it was a mobile service & they said it had to be checked at a service center. At the service center, I was told that nothing was wrong with my cars brakes and I was charged a $240 diagnostic fee. They state that they "test drove [the] vehicle and was unable to replicate customers concern. Using customers provided times stamp of 7/13/23 between 5:45 PM and 6 PM verified no brake related alerts where present. Technician inspected from and rear brakes, front and rear brake pad thickness was at 8MM. Customers stated about a recall related to loos brake caliper bolts, as of now there is no documentation available to service of any steps to take. For piece of mind technician torqued front caliper bolts to knuckled to 94NM and rear caliper bolts to knuckle to 83NM. Advise customer to monitor condition as it was a one time occurrence." - Component that failed were the brakes & the automatic emergency braking as it did not turn on quickly. - My safety was put at risk as I almost got into a car accident. - The Tesla Service Center at Buena Park "drove the vehicle and was unable to replicate" my concerns. - The vehicle was inspected by Tesla, but not by the police, insurance, representative or others. - There was a warning message that showed up when my husband went back to see if there were any messages and it stated that the brakes did not work. Of note, I do not recall seeing any messages before or during the incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | SUSPENSION | The front wheels suspension are squeezing. For a relatively new and low mileage car I don’t think this should be happening. I understand there’s been a lot of complaints about this issue. We believe it should be recalled. Thank you! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SEATS | FRONT PASSANGER SAFETY RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAULT | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | My back glass on my Tesla model 3 started to crack very bad there is no sign of any impact to the glass Tesla even stated it’s a stress crack and stated many teslas have this problem and continued to tell me even though it is a defect and a safety concern that the back glass can shatter and injury passengers in vehicle I would be responsible for paying to replace a defective back glass. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | STEERING,SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Customer concern confirmed there is a creaking noise coming from the front of the car while turning, I performed a visual inspection and found that both RF lower control arm bushings are torn and the LF frontward lower control arm bushing are torn but this is not the cause of the noise the cause of the noise is the upper control arms I took the load off of the upper control arms and the noise went away I also had someone turn the wheels while I looked for the cause of the noise and found that the noise is coming from the upper control arms, recommend replacing upper and lower control arms to fix all safety concerns. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | STEERING | [XXX] the vehicle provided an amber triangle alert that power steering may not be fully available. On [XXX], the vehicle lost power to the steering wheel and the car steering locked in a straight ahead position. Fortunately the car was traveling at low-speed in a parking to and came to a halt in the parking lot. However, the steering was locked. After several re-boot attempts the failure mode light was extinguished and the car could be driven home. It was brought to Tesla to service on [XXX]. Tesla reported "water ingress damage" to the steering unit, rack and electronics. Tesla charged me >$5,000 and implied the water ingress was my fault. The car is a southern California vehicle resident that has never been immersed in water, has only experienced periodic rain (CA 92865) and is driven on average 8,000 miles a year. It has never been out of State. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla has combined cruise control with their Auto Pilot feature. Now there is no human override to what speed limit to use, Tesla determines the speed to used based on certain criteria. This puts the driver at risk who may want to lower or increase the speed limit based on certain conditions Tesla may not be able to detect. For me it was a 9 PM run to the store thru an area that had temporary road construction and known to be a speed trap zone. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | SEATS | "front left safety restraint system fault/service is required" this is the error message, and i am being charged over $300 for a faulty seat wiring harness being replaced out of warranty for a massive safety issue | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |