Complaint volume
640 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
640 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Tesla Model 3, grouped by component category.
640 Total complaints
43 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 43 crash reports, 5 fire reports, 16 injury reports, and 3 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?
43 Crash
5 Fire
16 Injury
3 Fatality
37 Towed
18 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Tesla Model 3 complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 198
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 57
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 53
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 40
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 32
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 18
VISIBILITY/WIPER 12
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11
SERVICE BRAKES 10
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 10
640 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | there were 2 phantom braking incidents today traveling between pasadena and berkeley onhighway 5. it was getting cloudy. the first incident occurred just after i passed under an overpass, and thought it might have been due to the lighting. the braking was mild . there were other cars passing me on the left. i had the cruise control set to around 74mph. i probably slowed to 65mph the second phantom braking incident was about an hour later, and it was HARD. fortunately the cars behind me were far enough away. the cruise control was also set around 74mph. interestingly, no audio alerts were issued with either incident. normally, when driving without cruise control, the car will issue audio alerts (loud, urgent beeping) if a car gets too close. in both of my cases, there were no cars in front of me as i was in the slow lane. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Tesla has not downloaded the software to remedy NHTSA Recall No: 22V-702 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car will apply the brakes suddenly when in control when there is no obstacle to be avoided. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My car no longer makes any sound when driving in parking lots or alley lanes to warn pedestrians or bicycle riders of my approach. This needs to be addressed for the safety of myself and others. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When driving on the highway on autopilot (not full self driving or enhanced auto pilot), the vehicle will experience “phantom braking” where it will suddenly brake with full regenerative braking force without any perceivable reason/cause. I have noticed this event occurs every time at the same location as it is on my commute to work. I’ll be on the highway with my speed set to around the speed limit of 65mph in autopilot mode, and when approaching the merge of a specific on-ramp, the car’s set speed will suddenly change from 65 to 55 and then the full power of regenerative braking is applied until I manually disengage them. There can be no vehicles around me or any logical reason for it to brake, and it will do so anyways. This is a safety concern as a vehicle following behind me may not anticipate a random and hard braking event for no apparent reason or cause to do so. The car acts if the speed limit decreases, which it doesn’t, and then its reaction is to brake very very hard and abruptly. If I don’t manually disengage the brakes, I’m not sure if it would come to a complete stop on the highway or just brake until a certain speed is reached. This phantom braking event has occurred in other areas as well, but I have noticed it always happens at this one specific location every day. There are no speed limit signs/changes in the area. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My model 3 on crusing speeds on high ways, automatically applies brakes and makes sudden,abrupt, jolted slowing down which causes extreme pressure on persons body | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car suddenly braked hard when there were no obstacles or other reason. If someone was behind me I would have been hit. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Car put on brakes unexpectedly during use of adaptive cruise control (autopilot). This phantom braking happens often at highway speed. Bug reports have been sent from vehicle to Tesla | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving on the interstate I was using Autopilot (cruise control). I started into a slight curve when the vehicle suddenly emergency braked. The roadway was clear and thankfully no vehicle was following close behind me. Also there was no warning alarms, just a sudden, aggressive braking. This has happened several times before but the first time with no alarms beforehand. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My operating my Model 3 in autopilot mode, there is one particular location that my car "phantom brakes" every time I pass. I travel this location an average of 4 times per week. I have been reporting the phantom braking to Tesla for almost two (2) years and they still have not fixed the problem. They claim the car is doing what it is supposed to do. The phantom braking occurs on a divided highway on an overpass that passes over a highway with a lower speed limit ( 37° 4'54.40"N 94°18'48.09"W). It only occurs in the east bound direction. Tesla says their mapping information is provided by Google and until Google updates or corrects their mapping data, the problem will persist. On a day with no traffic behind me, I did not intervene and allowed the car to brake as it saw fit. I went from 70mph to 40mph all while in a 70mph zone. As I have mentioned, I have been telling Tesla about this since March of 2021 yet it is not resolved. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving with the Autopilot on, traveling about 65 mph on the freeway when the automatic emergency braking system kicked in for no reason. There was absolutely nothing in front of the car when it aggressively braked, very suddenly. I was very lucky no one was behind me. I have not reported this directly to Tesla, no one has inspected or confirmed this event. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving Tesla on the freeway using adaptive cruise control at 65 miles per hour and the car suddenly brake and the sped jumped from 65 to 20 in seconds. It was scary. There was no one in front of nothing in the road to cause that to happen. It did say on the screen something about visibility. I had to take control of the car after. It has happened several times before. When I spoke with Tesla they said it’s a safety feature and it only happens when you pass certain cities. I find that hardly true | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | AC/Heat pump total failure at 18,317 miles. Due to cold weather in Michigan and simply running the car, the heat pump went out entirely which creates the climate control in the vehicle. This caused dangerous driving conditions since the windows could not be defogged and the vehicle was below freezing temperatures inside. The service agents I spoke with seemed to understand this was a common occurrence in cold weather climates. The reason I am reporting this, is although mine was replaced at no cost to me under warranty, this is a manufacturing oversight and needs to be addressed by the company. This can cause very unsafe driving conditions for many people, and cost thousands of dollars in repairs all because they sell a vehicle that has parts not suitable for the climates they operate in. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | i am slowly coming into the driveway. All of a sudden the car accelrated while i was applying brake. the air bags didn't come on either. it hit the car in front which then got pushed into the garage | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | This incident happened last summer, 2022 but I recently read that it is happening to many other people and thought I should report it. I was driving on Hwy 71 south in the Cincinnati area with the ADAS with the cruise control and auto steering in operation. All of a sudden the brakes slammed on with me not doing anything to cause it. There were no cars behind me and I touched and released the brake pedal and it went back to a normal driving mode. I don’t believe I hit a pothole or bump on the highway. I did not report it to Tesla. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla software release 2022.44.25 My Tesla autopilot continues to exhibit phantom braking while in traffic aware cruise control and autopilot. The vehicle will suddenly slow down either gently or harshly. This behavior was observed after Tesla released software that disabled the cars radar. Since then, multiple updates have remedied the issue but 2022.44.25 has introduced phantom braking again. No accidents have occurred but luckily I live in a remote area of Arizona and can take control of the car as it phantom brakes. After Tesla working in autopilot for years, I think it’s time for additional validation to start happening on autopilot and traffic aware cruise control. I’m also of the belief that normal cruise control should be banned. Thanks! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | The heat pump failed in 12/2022. The defroster would not work and heating was an issue. I encountered 2 dangerous situations in snowstorms where I could not see out the window and the heating was inconsistent and difficult to control.This was fixed by Tesla. The heat pump failed again (less than a month later). I was told today that there was an ice buildup in the coils possibly due to car wash (?). This problem, I am afraid, is going to continue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While using the base level of "autopilot," remaining in a lane and maintaining speed, the car will randomly slam on the brakes even when there are no vehicles or objects in front of it. The first incident occurred while driving late at night on an interstate. There were no vehicles in front of the car, but it rapidly reduced speed from 75mph to 30mph, before immediately speeding up again. The camera based "autopilot" is essentially useless and I have decided not to use it when driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | While charging Model 3 the amperage went from 32amps and was capped at 16amps. This is a wide spread issue with Tesla’s model 3 Power conversion system (PCS). There is 3 controllers in the PCS system. When all 3 are working correctly it will charge at 48amps. If one stops it will drop to 32 amps or drop to 16 amps if two fail or not even charge if 3 fail. This is a known issue and and costly repair as Tesla refuses to fix these under the battery warranty. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Autopilot failed. Driver had head, neck injuries , and the passenger had head, neck, and knee injuries. CRASH REPORT: Date - 1/14/23; Time - 10:30 am. NCIC Number - 9565; Officer's Name: Garduno #22857 | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Twice in October 2022 (18th and 20th), my vehicle decelerated suddenly during cruise control with no impediments in the road (i.e., phantom breaking). The breaking on the 20th was akin to slamming on the breaks, and both occurred at freeway speeds. I did *not purchase Tesla's self-driving feature. The vehicle also on the 18th tried to steer around an object that did not exist in the road while I turned onto a freeway on-ramp. I reported all three incidents at that time to Tesla for servicing of the vehicle. It is unknown whether any "repair" was actually done to eliminate phantom breaking (I no longer use Tesla's cruise control in similar traffic conditions which were at the time crowded outside of the carpool lane I was using). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On 1-14-2023, while driving westbound on I-64, around sunset (5:20ish pm) in a straight portion of the highway, the vehicle suddenly braked for no reason. There was nothing in the road and no cross traffic. There was an all white semi in the right lane that I was approaching in the passing lane. I immediately disengaged the cruise and continued my trip with no further incidents. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The only cruise control feature available on this car is the adaptive cruise control. This car continues to make sudden unsafe braking maneuvers for no reason. It seems to get confused by steep hills, bridges, shadows, and other factors. You can be on a highway going 70mph and it will slam the brakes, terrifying passengers and potentially causing you to get rear ended. This has been ongoing since the purchase of the car 1 year ago. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving on an otherwise unobstructed road, with no nearby obstacles on a Rural South Dakota Interstate, the vehicle suddenly slammed on breaks in an unsafe fashion, forcing the vehicle behind us to swerve to evade our car. We were told by Tesla service that sometimes, "road shimmering" can cause this behavior, and there is no remedy available. In response to this, I gunned the accelerator to try and remedy the issue, hitting unsafe speeds before being able to fully return control to the vehicle. This was NOT while using the vehicle's autopilot system for FSD (which was available on the car), but adaptive cruise control, though the same issue happens with FSD regularly. This is not the first instance of this happening (I have stopped using cruise control and FSD on the vehicle since), but the first time it seriously endangered myself and another driver. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Vehicle's turn signal is not hardware based, but instead relies on the software registering signal use. The turn signal can be "fully" pressed, and "partially" pressed, and the behavior is supposed to be: Full press: Blinks until you manually disengage 1/2 press: Blinks 3 times, then automatically disengages. Anything "between" a full press and a half-press, ie beyond the level which is supposed to trigger a 3-time blink, but not "bottoming out" the signal, regularly fails to trigger the signal at all. This leads to scenarios in which the driver "thinks" they have signaled, and creates unsafe situations for surrounding vehicles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |