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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I have experienced multiple situations where my 2022 Tesla Model 3 has issues with the automatic emergency braking feature, which causes the car to slam on the brakes unnecessarily while operating in the autopilot mode. Generally, I've seen this the most on 2 lane roads, especially when large vehicles (semi trucks, etc) are in the opposing lane. In some cases, the car will brake when there are no cars in the opposing lane. My concern is that the cars traveling behind me may not have the reaction time to brake, due to not expecting my car to brake in front of them. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | This has happened on a couple of different occasions but the one thing that has been the same is it has happened while utilizing the adaptive cruise control system. These incidents come out of nowhere and can be dangerous and cause an accident luckily we have not had that misfortune. While driving on the highway with adaptive cruise control enabled, the vehicle has suddenly and without warning activated the emergency braking. The first time this occurred the assumption was that it must have picked up something on the road because it only lasted for a brief moment, it slowed down the vehicle by 10-15 mph. Throughout this trip, adaptive cruise control was used and it didn't occur in that manner again. What is more alarming are the next couple of incidents which abruptly slowed the vehicle down by 30-35 mph this was very unsettling, luckily no one was behind the vehicle at the time of these incidents. The adaptive cruise control has not been utilized since the last incident which occurred the third weekend of January 2022. The severity and abruptness that the vehicle slowed and I must mention without warning can potentially cause a fatal car accident, especially while driving on the highway. The vehicle has not been inspected or serviced since the incidents and as long as adaptive cruise control is not used there have been no further incidents of this nature. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Multiple times while driving using adaptive cruise control while approaching a semi(both oncoming and overtaking) the car will slam on the brakes(phantom braking). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On a four-lane divided highway and again on a two-lane road my Tesla 3 long range AWD phantom braked for no apparent reason several times over a 145 mile trip while on cruise control and/or on auto pilot . On the two-lane portion of the trip I assumed the braking occurred because of shadows on the road. On the four-lane highway it braked for no reason. If someone had been closely following me, I am sure a serious collision would have occurred. I will not use either cruise control or autopilot until a fix is made. This Tesla on cruise control makes for a dangerous driving situation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Freeway driving on a clear day in low traffic on a straight road using Tesla’s TACC adaptive cruise control the car abruptly slowed from 73 mph to @ 50 mph with no vehicle in front of my car. This was a very brief deceleration. The braking released after @ two seconds and the car returned to the set max speed (73 mph). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I would like to add my voice to those complaining about the phantom braking problem in recentlly built Teslas. On more than one occasion, the car has slammed on the brakes, in broad daylight with good visibility, FOR NO GOOD REASON. At the very least, Tesla should be compelled to add plain-vanilla cruise control that permits the driver to switch off any traffic-aware assistance features. This problem is ongoing and occurs nearly every time I attempt to use the traffic-aware cruise control. The problem makes this feature too dangerous to use. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When driving on two lane highways and using the "autopilot" cruise control, the car will occasionally panic brake for no valid reason. This occurs almost every time an oncoming semi passes in the oncoming lane as well as going over bridges with raised sides or when there is crack seal on the road that is slightly more reflective. This has happened several times when crossing a bridge with cars following closely, almost causing several accidents. Tesla service was contacted immediately and I was told that it was a "software issue" and that there was nothing I could do. I tried disabling emergency braking in the car interface however it had no effect on the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While using adaptive cruise control or the autopilot systems, the car will unexpectedly brake very hard (dropping speed anywhere from 5-20 mph). This can cause a safety issue due to other cars behind that aren’t prepared for a car to randomly hit the brakes and drop up to 20mph quickly. The problem is easily reproducible by using the systems while driving anywhere. Complaints and requests to the manufacturer have gone unfixed and brushed off as not a concern. This happens every single time I use cruise control, not just the date I had to select for the incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While using “Traffic-Aware Cruise Control” the car regularly sounds an alert and breaks rapidly in preparation for a forward collision despite no such danger existing. Most often this occurs on a two-lane highway when a large van or semi-truck is traveling in the opposite direction; in its own lane, nonetheless. This feature is marked as “beta” but there is no standard cruise control option. This issue can be easily reproduced and happens multiple times on any given day when said circumstances exist. Tesla service advisors have told me the only fix is to not use the feature. I am scared the sudden breaking may cause whiplash, a rear end collision, or other danger presented by sudden unnecessary breaking. When using the additional Autopilot feature, “Autosteer,” the incidents seem to happen even more frequently and invoke a slight swerve right - away from the vehicle in question. This could make it even harder to recover from the phantom breaking event. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving on a two lane rural road with a 55mph speed limit, I had traffic aware cruise control engaged with the speed set to 55 mph. A truck crested a hill coming the opposite direction, fully within their lane, and the car engaged the emergency breaking system. Fortunately, no one was behind me at the time as this could have resulted in me being rear-ended. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | This vehicle has frequent issues with phantom braking whenever cruise control is engaged. The brakes are suddenly applied automatically and sometimes severely. This occurs dozens of times on long drives and I purchased the car new 6 weeks ago. I have reported it to Tesla and was told this is a “known software characteristic”. I brought it in for service and provided date and time stamps for dozens of occurrences. The service manager confirmed with me that this is a known issue that Tesla is looking into and that even her own Tesla has this problem regularly. This is clearly a safety issue and makes me feel unsafe to drive this car, which is especially concerning since one of the biggest selling points for me was its rating as the safest car on the road. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Random "phantom braking" while on cruise control. Unexpected and significant braking. On icy or wet roads, this could cause a departure from the vehicle path and road. It happens often enough that I'm rarely using it anymore. And fora feature that is supposed to be a safety feature (reducing driver fatigue, backup to emergency braking, safe following etc.) this is very bad. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Twice now the car abruptly slowed down from about 75 to 50 in the left lane of the highway with nothing in front or next to my car. Falsely thought there was something in front of the vehicle and it quickly decelerated. Oddly happened both times in the same spot on the highway. Seems to be an issue with that area on how it looks in the "Tesla Vision" software. Both times almost caused an accident with the car behind me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | on 2-3-2022 on a 200-mile day trip I had two false braking events one while passing a large truck on a divided AZ Hwy 260 and one for no notable reason what's so ever on the same Hwy. I do not have FSD just autopilot this is my second compliant to NHTSA thank you. Mike | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking issue. Usually occurs on two lane roads, sometimes there is a vehicle in the opposite lane, other times there is nothing in front of the vehicle in either lane. I have reported to Tesla, they say they’re aware but have no solution. I have kept a log of when it happens since the first time I reported it to Tesla and was told there is no solution. I commute 128 miles a day and the below log shows it happens on daily basis multiple times a day. 1/5/2022 5:32pm 1/5/2022 5:35pm (multiple times) cruise set at 65, speed got down to 45 1/5/2022 6:30pm 1/6/2023 5:59pm 1/6/2023 6:01 1/6/2022 6:33pm 1/6/2022 6:34pm 1/6/2022 6:37pm 1/10/2022 6:37am 1/10/2022 5:11pm 1/12/2021 7am 1/12/2022 5:49pm 1/12/2022 5:50pm 1/12/2022 5:53pm 1/12/2022 5:55pm 1/13/2022 6:13am 1/13/2022 6:15am 1/13/2022 6:16am 1/13/2022 6:18am 1/13/2022 6:21am 1/13/2022 6:09pm 55 to 38 1/13/2022 6:11 pm 55 to 44 1/13/2022 6:13 pm 55 to 46 1/13/2022 6:14 pm 55 to 42 1/18/2022 6:09 am 55 to 41 1/18/2022 5:39 pm 1/18/2022 5:43 pm 1/18/2022 5:44 would not resume speed on cruise control 1/18/2022 6:17 55 to 42 mph 1/18/2022 6:18 55 to 44 1/19/2022 6:14 55 to 37 1/19/2022 6:47am 70 to 32 1/20/2022 6:10am 55 to 47 x2 1/24/2022 7:32pm 70 to 53 1/26/2022 6:33am 1/26/2022 6:07pm 55 to 45 1/26/2022 6:06 55 to 48 1/26/2022 6:15 55 to 49 1/27/2022 6:48 55 to 47 1/27/2022 6:50 60 to 43 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The TACC (traffic aware cruise control) applies sudden, hard braking especially on two lane roads and almost always when meeting a large truck (semi-tractor trailer). This is commonly referred to as “Phantom Braking“. Drivers should be allowed to disable automatic braking while using cruise control on two lane roads. It is very dangerous in that it may cause a rear end collision. The cruise control as currently implemented in Teslas is unusable and without a doubt a safety hazard. I have experienced phantom braking events every time I have used cruise control on a two lane road. It will hard brake 9 out of 10 times it meets a large truck and sometimes when meeting small cars. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I received my 2022 Tesla Dec. 3, 2021. I have experienced approx. 100 phantom braking incidents in roughy 3,000 mi. Driving. The system causes a loud alert and extreme braking which is extremely concerning while driving. This has happened in all conditions (daytime sunny, cloudy, night, etc.). Several camera warnings though I have cleaned them and alerts still happen. It happens on 2-lane roads more often than multi-lane highway. Happens at residential and highway speeds. The extreme braking could easily cause rear end collisions if traffic were close. As a driver the abrupt alerts and braking could cause driver errors. This is a “safety” feature which is extremely disruptive to drivers is in fact a safety issue in my opinion. The data below is the most recent incident and it happened 3-5 times in a 300 mile drive. Tesla Service cancelled an appointment to look at my car. In a chat exchange they deflected it as environmental, driver error, dirty cameras, etc. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When using cruise control (TACC) with or without using lane centering (Autosteer), my vehicle will often brake suddenly (and harshly) for no reason at all. It's worse on undivided highways (with no median). I've noticed the phantom braking occurs most often when an oncoming tall vehicle (18-wheeler, RV/motor home) approaches, or I approach an underpass, or I approach a large shadow on the road (from a building or large tree). During a 90-mile trip last weekend, my car phantom braked almost a dozen times, sometimes severely. Fortunately, no one was following close to me. I feel this is a safety hazard and should be fixed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Cruise control is completely unusable on two lane roads. Automatic braking ensues every single time a car is in the opposite lane. Sometimes it only slows 5-10 mph but other times the car gives the warning for an imminent collision and tries to brake to zero. This is exceedingly dangerous on the highway when other cars are behind me. It generally functions fairly well on the interstate but it does happen occasionally there as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On February 2, 2022 at approximately 8:00 a.m., MST, I was driving north at 50 mph on a stretch of two-lane highway with moderate traffic. Adaptive cruise control was engaged. A large truck was approaching, traveling in the opposite direction. Suddenly, and without warning, my vehicle’s brakes were applied, without my involvement, slowing my vehicle to approximately 20 mph and causing the driver of a vehicle traveling behind me to slam on its brakes to avoid a rear-end collision. No collision occurred and no one was injured. It could have been a lot worse, but this problem needs to be identified and fixed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Issue is consistent on 2 way lane roads but sometimes occurs on Highway roads going in the same direction. Whenever I travel with autopilot or cruise control if there is a semi-truck on the opposite lane driving towards me the car will slam on the brakes for no reason. This has also happened a few times on the highway when passing a semi-truck on the same flow of traffic as myself. This has not only terrified myself but also my family and other passengers. It makes this feature almost unusable. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Vehicle frequently brakes hard to prevent a collision with an object that does not exist. Also known as phantom breaking that is a commonly known issues with Teslas autopilot. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Our Tesla is experiencing a Phantom Braking that appears to be a known issue. We drove the car from eastern KS to western CO and experienced multiple occurrences (more that 10) of unexpected braking while using either the adaptive cruise control or the auto pilot feature. The car would dramatically slow from 75 to perhaps 65 and then accelerate back to 75. My wife also takes the car to work on a 20 mile commute and she has also experienced this. I have not discussed this with Tesla Service yet, but have read many posts about this and that we should report. So....here it is! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I was driving on a two lane road using auto pilot. I was going 55mph when all of a sudden my car slammed on the brakes down to 32mph as a school bus approached us. There was no reason to brake. The school bus never entered my lane. If a car had been following me closely I would have been rear ended for a system malfunction. Very scary. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Traffic aware cruise control is dangerous to use. Automatically slams on brakes on 2 lane roads with large vehicles in oncoming lane. Brakes at the top of any sort of hill, brakes for shadows of overpasses on the highway. System is dangerous and has caused several situations where I would have been rear ended on 2 lane roads and larger highways. Recent road trip had almost a dozen phantom braking events on a one hour drive on a straight 2 lane road during the day. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |