Complaint volume
650 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
2021 Tesla Model 3 Complaints
650 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Tesla Model 3, grouped by component category.
650 Total complaints
45 Crash reports
5 Fire reports
16 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, service brakes,forward collision avoidance, vehicle speed control,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 45 crash reports, 5 fire reports, 16 injury reports, and 5 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 42 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 18,076 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to forward collision avoidance, service brakes,forward collision avoidance, vehicle speed control,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 2021 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.
2021 Tesla Model 3
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Tesla Model 3 complaints?
45 Crash
5 Fire
16 Injury
5 Fatality
38 Towed
18 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Tesla Model 3 complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 199
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 57
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 53
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 41
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 33
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 21
VISIBILITY/WIPER 12
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11
SERVICE BRAKES 10
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 10
650 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | This vehicle phantom brakes during our last 2k miles trip. Happens while passing under pass, bridges, on coming vehicles on 2 way lanes, and just randomly when i was the only car on the highway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car randomly and violently applies the brakes, this occurs when it is in cruise control. It may occur due to shadows, oncoming cars both on two and four lane highways. Also occurs if I pass a semi truck on a 4 lane highway. It occurs nearly every time I use the cruise control. I have had cars in back of me nearly hit me due to the sudden and unexpected braking at highway speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On several occasions (probably around 10 times) since I purchased the car in November of 2021 I have experienced phantom braking while using adaptive cruise control. Most have been minor with a couple instances of severe braking that could definitely have caused a rear end accident if there were cars behind me. These have occurred on busy city streets while traveling 40-50 mph. None have occurred on freeways. I have not notified Tesla but see that others are having problems too. Software appears up to date. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | I have owned this car for almost 4 months. In that time we have experienced 4 incidents of the car deciding that for no reason it needed to slam on the brakes so hard we were thrown forward in our seats and went from speeds of 50-60mph on relatively fast highways to about 20mph. 3 of the 4 times we were in cruise control. But this latest event happened NOT in cruise control and there was literally nothing anywhere in front of us. However there was a car behind us that had to swerve into a different lane to avoid a collision. This last time was terrifying and we have scheduled an appointment with the dealer. But recently we have come to find out this has happened to other owners as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle decelerated inadvertently. The contact stated that the vehicle would detect a non-existent road hazard causing the vehicle to slow down dramatically, almost causing a rear-end crash. The contact stated that there were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that while researching online he became of similar failures. The dealer and the manufacturer were contacted; however, no assistance was offered. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000. On a recent trip up the same two-lane segment of US-95 where chronic incidence of my 2021 Tesla Model 3 suddenly removing acceleration causing a very dangerous unexpected drastic slowing from high speeds, recurrence of this problem indicated what might be causing the problem. There are certain times of day when on a mostly level asphalt roadway it appears there are patches of water or grease on the pavement when seen from a distance. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Our company Model 3 is having repeated phantom braking issues either in Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) or in Autosteer mode. Through time we have determined some expected situations but there are also many other times totally unexpected. The most common situation is while driving in TACC mode (standard cruise control) on a standard highway (one lane each direction) and passing a semi-truck. This situation results in phantom braking about in about 50% of instances. Beyond semi's, phantom braking can occur from other vehicles, shadows from trees, going up or down small inclines, changes in road coloration (going from cement to black top), and even when no obvious reason is present on a totally clear, flat road. During a 2-3 hour drive the average is about 20 instances of phantom braking. This has been reported to Tesla. They have apparently reviewed the information and determined nothing is malfunctioning with the vehicle and reminded us that Autopilot functions are all Beta and they are not responsible to resolve the problems. Attached below are reports completed for Tesla to describe information about phantom braking instances during a test period which was about an hour of driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE | Tesla offers a blind spot camera, standard on the vehicle, which activates automatically when the turn-signal is active on the appropriate side. The blind-spot camera feed appears on the center screen. The feed comes from each of the side cameras mounted to the external portion of the car. Since the side turn-signal is mounted right above the same blind-spot cameras, the light from the turn-signal often 'bleeds' into the camera feed used by the driver to determine if the appropriate lane is clear. At night, this causes the blind-spot camera video difficult to view since the video feed alternates between 'normal' video and a bright, flushed out video, matching the turn-signal timer. The end result is often times I, the driver having difficulty observing cars on the side of my vehicle at night. More specifically, several times I have missed the headlights of cars in the lane next to me because the turn signal light, bleeding into the camera feed, obscure or hides the car and/or headlights (since they driver's eyes have to chateaubriand adjust between a bright andrark video feed flashing). This causes me to start merging into a lane which I believe is clear, only to have to quickly swerve back into my original lane when I realize the lane is not clear. Both the driver in the new lane and myself are put at risk, unnecessarily when this occurs. I have reached out to the manufacturer for this complaint. In writing, they have admitted this is a problem and even though my car is only 10 months into a 4 year warranty, they will only fix this safety issue if I pay for a replacement part. This seems unacceptable to me to force customers to pay for a safety fix. The failed component is available for inspection. I have sample video available to demonstrate the problem. There are no warning lights for any components. The manufacturer does not need to inspect the component since they already know, and admit to the shortcomings, per my written conversation with them. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | My Tesla 3 accelerated out of control when parking at my place of work which is a daycare center. I could have killed children, others and myself. My foot was fully pressed on the brake. Tesla is claiming it is driver error. That is false my foot was pressed fully on the brake. Scared to go back in the car. I don’t want that car on the road. I hit the curb went airborne missing a car, sign, brick wall, trees onto an embankment. I have a wittiness too. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla Model 3 Phantom Braking while on cruise control. This car is a daily driver mostly expressway miles and cruise control is used every day for the majority of the drive. While driving on cruise control at 70 miles an hour the car will randomly brake hard enough for all items on the car seats to be sent to the floor. This happens in wide open situations with no other cars around in broad daylight. This has been occurring about twice a month since purchase. I am worried someday I may be rear ended or the car may brake hard into a slide. This has been mentioned to Tesla multiple times at service calls and they say they are working on it | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom Braking | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking while cruise control engaged. I do not have Full Self Driving, was only using the basic cruise. Appears to be worse when approaching large semi trucks, but has also happened numerous times when absolutely nothing is around (no cars, animals). No warning provided. Example: car will go from 75mph to 60mph in 1 second, then “recover” and go back to 75mph. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Adaptive cruise control engaged. Traveling over the crest of a hill after dark, the brakes automatically applied hard when an oncoming vehicle approaches uphill. This has occurred on several occasions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | phantom braking | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving on autopilot at 60 MPH, the vehicle applied the brake independently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated he had experienced the failure multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 2,000 |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Was driving on clear roads, there was a driver ahead of me but they were over 100 yards away, the vehicle behind me swerved to make sure they didn't get hit by my car's auto-braking safety feature. the vehicle was on autopilot using adaptive cruise control and just randomly used the safety feature without any warning or indication that there was any object on the freeway. The Incident had occurred in the morning on the 405s freeway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I am experiencing phantom breaking on our Model 3. While traveling last weekend on Interstate 5, as well as on CA 101 - the vehicle frequently slowed abruptly while driving at highway speeds. This occurred both with other vehicles around, and with no vehicles present - also while driving at times in clear daylight and while approaching shadows from surrounding objects such as trees or highway overpasses. It rendered the adaptive cruise control non-useable on a 5hr drive home due to the sudden and abrupt slowing of the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE | This defect affects the lane departure warning system of my vehicle. In certain situations, the lane departure warning system incorrectly activates when the vehicle is turning (vs. leaving a lane). On one occasion, the system activated while turning from my driveway onto the adjacent roadway. On another occasion, the system activated while leaving a parking spot. On both occasions, the vehicle was traveling less than 5 MPH and was not departing from a lane. When the lane departure warning activates, a loud noise is triggered, along with an alert on the center display. A driver's natural response in this scenario is to slow down mid-turn, potentially resulting in unsafe conditions for both driver and nearby motorists. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | This complaint was prompted by reading recent news reports of 'phantom braking' with our model vehicle. Previous to these reports, I did not have an awareness of NHTSA and their reporting mechanism. Driving on a highway, adaptive cruise control application. Sudden braking applied without my foot touching brake pedal. It was a sunny day, without any obvious need for braking. I was able to apply acceleration which terminated the braking cycle. No harm done, however if there was a car behind me there could have been a significant car accident at high speeds (>70 mph). This 'phantom braking' also occurred late 2021, also at highway speeds, on at least two occasion on the same trip cycle, in similar driving conditions (clear, dry). Nothing has been inspected. No indicators or warning lamps or messages applicable. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Three times so far in a week, the car has had extreme hard breaking on the freeway. These were done in full self drive mode. Absolutely terrifying and so unsafe for my family to have this happen. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | At highway speeds while using cruise control I experienced several times what is now being called phantom braking. I have ceased using the cruise control as this is a scary problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car will brake seemingly for no reason while on Autopilot. The environment does not change at all, yet the car will randomly brake very hard as if someone was in front of me and slammed the brakes. It also happens very commonly, more common than tolerable. No warning beeps or chimes or any indication of anything event. I'm not sure if this is inspectable, I have brought the car to service a few times under warranty for unrelated issues. This problem is pretty much widespread across Tesla's autopilot system. This has happened many times, but the most dangerous one by far was on I-75 and slammed the brakes from 85 to 45-35 in a matter of seconds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When driving on one way road and a vehicle is travel inbound. The vehicle will stop extremely hard without any notice of anyone or anything in front of me. Even when travel on a open highway the vehicle will sometime stop extremely hard and freak out like something is in front of me when their is nothing. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I currently drive a 2021 Tesla model 3. When I drive this car down two lane highways my cruise control is almost un usable not to mention auto pilot. Almost every time a larger vehicle, something like a Semi truck comes from the other direction in the opposite lane my car slams the brakes. At night time it’s even worse when headlights are in the distance my car slams the brakes and when the headlights are closer it slams the brakes again. It also has random phantom breaking. I tried the service department and the told me it was a software issue and there was nothing they could do. The technician told me it would improve if I purchased FSD. I don’t believe it, if basic cruise control doesn’t work how is FSD going to work. I don’t know who to contact or even what to do about this issue, the service department refuses to even look at my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving on an open 2 lane highway between Lecanto and Gainesville, car slammed on the brakes while in autopilot. There were no obstructions or other reason to stop. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving on the highway without any cars in front of ours, three times the vehicle slammed on the emergency braking system and attempted to stop the car causing cars behind us to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting ours. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |