Complaint volume
741 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
2022 Tesla Model 3 Complaints
741 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2022 Tesla Model 3, grouped by component category.
741 Total complaints
51 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
26 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, vehicle speed control,forward collision avoidance, service brakes,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 51 crash reports, 3 fire reports, 26 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 55 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 13,827 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to forward collision avoidance, vehicle speed control,forward collision avoidance, service brakes,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 2022 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.
2022 Tesla Model 3
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2022 Tesla Model 3 complaints?
51 Crash
3 Fire
26 Injury
1 Fatality
32 Towed
21 Medical attention
What are the most common 2022 Tesla Model 3 complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 261
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 75
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 72
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 48
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 14
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 14
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 12
SERVICE BRAKES 11
741 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2022 | SEATS,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving the car suddenly the car applied sudden breaks & moved opposite road. luckily no traffic opp side otherwise we are having the same day as last day. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | while driving on north on I79 with auto cruise / steering on, the car tried to stop by itself at a speed of 70mph....almost causing the cars behind me to re-end me...this is the 4th time the car has had a phantom brake issue at speed...very scary and very dangerous | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that within the first week of purchasing the vehicle, he noticed that the front driver's side window would independently lower upon opening the front driver's side door. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred with the rear driver's side window and the front and rear passenger's side windows. The contact stated that the windows would lower when opening the doors and would roll up when closing the doors. The contact later received recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility), however, the parts were not available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 200. | Crash: No Fire: No | 200 |
| Dec 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | During cruise control on straight highways with no other cars nearby, the car would brake for no reason. Very scary. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Recall is not being corrected in a timely manner. Window has pinched my finger before retracting | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | We have experienced many instances of ‘phantom braking’. On a recent trip from St George, UT to Salt Lake City, UT (about 250 miles) we had eight instances going 65-80 mph. We finally discontinued using cruise control or auto pilot. We began keeping a log stamps, which I will now include. Tesla Log - 2022 Sudden breaking (on its own) 1. 8/20 at 1504 hours - on I-15 2. 8/21 at 1050 hours - 3. 8/21 at 2005 hours - 4. 8/30 at 1148 hours in cruse control brakes were applied for no apparent reason 5. 8/30 at 1734 hrs. In cruse control brakes were applied 6. 8/31 at 1029 hrs. In cruse control. 7. 9/11 at 6:30 pm In auto pilot 8. 10/25/22 - 1803 hrs - abrupt braking - no apparent reason. 9. 10/25/22 - 1835 hrs - abrupt braking - no apparent reason - 10. 11/10 @ 2:21 pm in auto steering - severe braking 11. Three times - 11/11 @ 2:20 pm, 2:21 pm, and again at 2:22 pm in auto steering and the in cruise control, the car abruptly and very seriously applied brakes (on I-15 traveling at 80 mph!!) 12. 11/11 @ 3:56 pm in auto pilot - brakes were applied strongly. 13. 11/11 @ 4:23 pm on cruse control 3 dramatic braking instances in a row. 14. 11/11 @ 4:42 pm on cruise control brakes applied abruptly. 15. 11/21 @ 2:10 pm on auto pilot brakes were applied. 16. 11/21 2:32 pm on autopilot brakes were applied. 17. 11/22 8:35 am on cruise control brakes were applied. 18. 11/22 11:47 auto pilot brakes were applied 19. 11/22/22 @ 1655 hrs Severe braking for no apparent reason We have had one service visit with Tesla and we thought the issue had been addressed - the Phantom Braking continues. We have another appointment on 12/5/22. We hope Tesla has a solution now. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I did not have cruise control on but do have the full self driving car simulation on. I believe that had I cruise control on that a rapid speed change could have occurred. While driving in Indiana, the car recognized state highway signs as speed limit signs. For example, on a couple of occasions, it changed when seeing a highway 25 sign but changed a few seconds later when it recognized the 55 mph sign. While in Illinois, it changed its notion of the speed limit for speed limit signs that were only valid when flashing. The firmware number of the car is 2022.36.20 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving on US interstate I-44 in Missouri at 74 miles per hour. I was using adaptive cruise control and not autopilot, when for no reason at all the car slammed on its brake and started slowing down at a fast rate. I had to push the accelerator to the floor to make it stop slowing down. If there would have been someone behind us we more than likely would have been in a serious accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Recall 22V702 was issued for my 2022 Model 3 Tesla. It was said that the recall would be delivered OTA starting in October. This software update has not been made available and when I called Tesla, they said that they do not know when it will be available. It is worth mentioning that I have sense received two software updates but neither have remedied this recall. As a mom of two young children, this is deeply concerning | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | After purchasing my Model 3, I have experienced numerous times of what they call "Phantom Braking" and have tried to have it repaired and have been told that there is not anything Tesla can do at this time, but inform the driver to be aware! I was never told/informed/warned about this issue when I ordered and picked up my car. I have almost been in accidents at least 3 times while using my cruise control on the interstates. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking. Driving down 395 going the speed limit, no other cars or any obstacles in the road whatsoever, the car would slam on the brakes hard to the point I almost lost control of the vehicle. This happened 3 times in a row before I turned off adaptive cruise control. This is the most glaring obvious example of a vehicle safety hazard that should be recalled that I’ve ever seen on a new car. If someone was driving behind my car I have no doubt this would have caused a rear and accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving with Adaptive Cruise control on a two lane highway, as I was entering a curve in the highway and there was another car in the opposite lane, my Tesla rapidly decelerated to the point that it almost caused an accident. The car following me had to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me. I just learned that there is ongoing deceleration problem with Tesla's and don't feel it is safe to drive with this technology on. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I am not sure if this is the correct avenue to address this concern; however, I feel it is a valid concern. I purchased my Model 3 Tesla in March of 2022. After having it about a week I conducted a supercharge for the first time after charging it at home. While I was supercharging I noticed an immediate head rush and the sensation of my skin feeling prickly. I then began to experience vertigo. I assumed it was a result of the high levels of electricity being pumped into the car. I didn't think much of it and subsequent supercharging yielded a similar yet less intense full-body-brain sensation. A few days after my initial supercharge I began experiencing major headaches; debilitating headaches. To the point to where I scheduled a CT scan. The result was a diagnoses of "Cluster Headaches." Though I find it odd that these intense headaches did not start until I began driving a Tesla. My concern is that the Tesla emits high levels of EMF's/RF's and that, because this is a field that is relatively unstudied, has not been truly vetted by Tesla or the NHTSA. There is little evidence to support that EMF's are harmful to the brain simply because the technology itself is in its infancy. However, a large and powerful battery in a Tesla could be cause for concern in relation to the levels of radiation it emits to passengers. I would hope there have been sufficient testing put in place to assuage any negative effects of this type of radiation on Tesla owners/passengers. My hope in writing this is to raise the alarm that there could be a potential oversight of the damage these batteries can have on the population operating them; lest we become too fixated on the excitement of an electric vehicle and overlook the very real detriment it has to its consumes. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | AIR BAGS | The SRS indicator will come on and stay on. From my research there has been many other Teslas with same issue resulting in the chair having to be replaced at owner cost when out of warranty. This is a safety system that is known to be faulty so Tesla is obligated to fix it for whoever has this issue. Just adding a report so a recall happens. Mine is still under warranty so I’m fine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Regardless of which cruise control function you are operating in the system will suddenly brake for no reason, sometimes slowing down by only a few miles an hour and sometimes by as much as 30 or 40 miles per hour. This can potentially lead to a rear end accident. System has far fewer failures at night than during the day and far fewer if there is traffic in front of the car than if there is an open road in front. This cruise control is almost unusable during the day on an open road. This has happened within 45 miles of owning the car to present 5000 miles + and has happened at every speed we have used it at This has been an on-going issue since the day we bought it and not something the Dealership tells you about in advance | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | owner/I can not program tire monitor sensor by themself/myself due to no option to reset, I have to go to their service center, and they are rip off , it is unsafe to have tire monitor | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Experiencing phantom braking at high speeds when there is nothing there. This has happen 5-6 times during a recent road trip of 1000 miles | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | since ownership phantom braking has occurred while the adaptive cruise control, autosteer and/or autopilot have been engaged. IT is completely random and occurs at both high speeds and during local street speeds. It doesnt matter the terrain either. It has happened while on a straight and even road as well as curvy and rolling hills. It also doesnt matter if its daytime or night. The applications will also disengage (turn off) if the rolling hills are frequent. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving back from San Antonio TX, I engaged autopilot on the hwy. Multiple times my vehicle would experience phantom braking with no other cars on the road and would slow down drastically from 75mph to 20mph. This sudden braking for no reason could have caused an accident if there was another vehicle behind me. This phantom braking has also negatively affected my safety score for my insurance. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My brand new model 3 stopped in the far left lane of the highway in Camp Pendleton this October 7th. There was 139 miles in range left (40% battery), and it clearly was not out of charge. It was towed to Tesla Santa Monica service center, and the battery slowly drained in the 5 days before it was looked at. Once the Tesla service center looked at the car for the first time on the night of October 11th, the battery had dropped to 5%, and the service center tried to give it back to me after a simple charge. They would not listen to me when I told them it was charged when it stopped on the highway, and something else was wrong. They closed the case and told me to pick up the car. I refused to pick up the car and left it in their service lot. I made a few social media videos on October 13th about this. Tesla saw the videos, and re-looked at my car and found the rear drive unit had to be replaced. If I had not made this video, Tesla never would have found the faulty rear drive unit, and I would have been forced to take back my lemon car. In summary, Tesla tried to give me back an UNSAFE car after accusing me of causing the breakdown by not charging it. But the rear drive inverter needed to be replaced. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My car is brand new. When in Autopilot mode (not full FSD), the vehicle does u expected braking apparently randomly. There are no road obstructions or potential road obstructions visible at all to me as driver. Yet, the vehicle will brake suddenly. It does this so frequently that I no longer use Autopilot unless I know the road has no other vehicle driving behind me and is very clear ahead of me. I never, ever use it on the highway. In one incident, I was using my Autopilot and a motorcycle was traveling at a much too close distance behind me on a curve on a busy roadway, with a large RV driving in the lane next to me. As all three of our vehicles approached the curve in this cluster, my vehicle suddenly braked and the motorcycle behind me almost crashed into my vehicle’s rear end. It was terrifying. After that incident, I severely limited my use of Autopilot and take pains to ensure my foot is resting on the accelerator in case I need to apply a little pressure to counteract the unexpected braking while in Autopilot mode. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Multiple times traveling on Interstate 70 at 75 mph the car would brake itself without warning while the “Autopilot” (driver assist) was engaged. This probably happened 4 times over the course of 1 hour. I recalibrated the cameras after the 3rd event, but it did not help. This was very dangerous and unsettling. I verified no-one was close behind when engaging the autopilot in case the system “decided” to brake unexpectedly. If someone was behind me traveling at interstate speeds, they would have hit me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Even with all automated safety options turned off, autopilot (cruise control) continues to implement sudden periodic "hard braking." This is occurring (a) when a vehicle crosses in front of my path *far* ahead of me, is not remotely close to causing an accident, and the way will be clear with plenty of room to spare by the time my car reaches that spot, and (b) sometimes for no reason I can detect: there's nothing in front of my car at all but open road. The second example above tends to happen at least once every trip in which I've engaged cruise control. This second case is especially startling and dangerous, because it seems to come out of nowhere. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Several times, while using the cruise control, the car automatically braked at highway speed. The car is available for inspection. My safety and my wife's safety were put at risk by the car suddenly slowing down on the interstate without my control. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center - I have not had the car serviced. It has not been inspected. There were no warning lamps or messages. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The adaptive cruise control. is subject to sudden phantom braking. On several occasions when the cruise control is engaged the vehicle will brake for no reason. On one occasion the sudden braking caused a semi-truck behind me to swerve just barely avoiding an accident. On another occasion the vehicle braked so hard that we skidded. There is no warning when the phantom braking will occur. The adaptive cruise control is useless on two lane highways and streets, because it sees cars in the oncoming lane and brakes. I have called the company to have the vehicle check on at least two occasions. Every time I schedule a service the company calls back and tells me they know about the problem and that they are working on the issue. I asked if they could do an update to turn off the adaptive cruise control and revert back the standard cruise control that does not brake or slow down. They said that is not an option. This is a real safety concern, and I will not use the adaptive cruise control except in stop and go traffic. It has been my experience that there has been no phantom braking in stop and go traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |