Complaint volume
412 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
2023 Tesla Model 3 Complaints
412 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Tesla Model 3, grouped by component category.
412 Total complaints
70 Crash reports
1 Fire reports
36 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, steering, 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 70 crash reports, 1 fire report, 36 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 39 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 14,505 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to forward collision avoidance, steering, 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 2023 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.
2023 Tesla Model 3
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2023 Tesla Model 3 complaints?
70 Crash
1 Fire
36 Injury
1 Fatality
56 Towed
26 Medical attention
What are the most common 2023 Tesla Model 3 complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 76
STEERING 51
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 28
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 20
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 14
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 11
STRUCTURE 10
VISIBILITY/WIPER 9
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 8
412 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2023 | STEERING,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The car lost all adaptive driving features and power steering. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was diagnosed by a mobile application where it was diagnosed that the firmware needed to be updated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 4,000 |
| Oct 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | the car suddenly braked while using autopilot drivers assist while at highway speeds. There were no cars in front of me when it occurred. I had to take control of the car and accelerate to avoid causing a crash. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | STEERING | Steering Issue Will be calling Tesla Service about this problem. Put the vehicle in Reverse to back out of a driveway and a message stating “Steering Assist Reduced” appeared on the display. Did not back up; could not turn the steering wheel. Put vehicle in Park and exited. After ten minutes put the vehicle in Reverse, no message, and was able to steer again. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Will Randomly slam on the brakes saying that there is something in front of cars on the highway. This has caused me to almost get into a few accidents suddenly slamming on the breaks at 75 mph. It has happened numerous times and the car feels unsafe to drive. One example it slammed on the brakes in front of an 18 wheeler causing it to almost hit me but I had to slam on the gas very rapidly. There is usually a warning light on about parking break not working when these happen. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On 2 separate occasions, the cruise control set to 80 and suddenly decelerates. Very scary. Term being used in Tesla chat rooms is 'phantom breaking'. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Going down secondary road with cruise control on at 42 mph ; no auto steer just plain cruise control. The car all the sudden slams on the brakes for no reason causing the car behind to slam on brakes and almost causing a accident. This needs to be addressed or the cruise control disabled until they fix the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | STEERING | 1. Power steering diminished as I was driving. As the steering wheel was turned their was a "clicking feel" , more than a vibration. I drove slowly and safely returned home. The message on the screen was "steering assist reduced" steering may require increased effort. 2. I did fear for my safety and the safety of others on the road because I did not have full normal control of the steering wheel. I slowed speed to 20mph and carefully made my way home. 3. Yes, they determined my steering rack needed to be replaced. 4. Tesla service inspected the steering rack and determined it needed to be replaced. 5. The message displayed on my Tesla screen was "Steering assist reduced, steering may require increased effort". | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | STEERING | Steering is very jerky/choppy - vehicle is hard to keep straight while driving on freeway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | STEERING | Lost power steering while driving. Luckily this occurred while I was going less than 5mph and near a parking lot, so was able to muscle the steering to a safe place. Received a warning from the car that “steering assist is reduced” randomly. Luckily we were going slowly and able to find a safe place to park, so my wife and kids were safe. Could barely turn the wheel enough to park safely. Once restarted a few hours later power steering worked again. Car has now been in a manufacturers shop for a week to try and figure out the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tesla Model 3 Policy #: [XXX] Claim Number: [XXX] I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to report an incident involving my Tesla Model 3 (Blue) and to initiate the process for an insurance claim. The incident occurred on [XXX], at approximately 2:15 PM. My fiancée was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the incident. Incident Details: - Date: [XXX] - Time: Approximately [XXX] - Vehicle: Tesla Model 3 (Blue) Location: The incident took place on the freeway merge from [XXX], where it merges onto [XXX]. Heading home. Circumstances: My fiancée was operating the vehicle in Autopilot mode while maintaining her hands securely on the steering wheel. As she approached the freeway merge from ramp [XXX], heading onto [XXX], she experienced an unexpected jolt. Despite her continuous control of the steering wheel, the Autopilot system seemed to be accelerating without her input. Simultaneously, my fiancée felt a sudden tire malfunction, which resulted in a significant loss of control over the vehicle. Despite her best efforts to maintain the car's position within the lane, the Tesla Model 3 veered off the freeway and entered the adjacent Ravine area. Impact and Airbags: Upon entering the Ravine area, the vehicle experienced a collision. multiple plants/highbrush/uneven terrain as well as having to maneuver around 2 large palm trees which resulted damage to side mirror. Notably, none of the vehicle's airbags were deployed during the incident, and there were no sensor alerts, except for the tire pressure warning light. Also there wasn't any record of dashcam recording when we checked the car. We are seriously concerned that the airbags did not deploy , attached are photos concerning the damage. I would like to emphasize that my fiancée was diligently following safety guidelines and had her hands on the steering wheel while using Autopilot. This incident occurred suddenly and unexpectedly. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While on a cross country trip and while on the highway using the Tesla auto pilot and/or adaptive cruise control, we experienced numerous phantom braking incidents. Several while driving during the day with no other vehicles around and several while passing semi trucks in the other lane. At night the same thing occurred and on one occasion, with no other vehicles around, suddenly braked from 70 mph to near stop. Had we been on a wet or icy surface, there is the possibility of control issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Vehicle heat pump system has had multiple failures leading to windshield fog leading to low/no visibility. Service center unable to get vehicle in in timely manner stating 3-4 weeks before it can be serviced. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | STEERING | After 1.5 months of ownership (I purchased the car end of May 2023) the steering wheel appeared tilted to the right, and car pulling to the wright when driving. I have taken the car to Tesla service centers for 4 separate service appointments. They have conducted numerous alignments, adjustments, replaced front lateral links, retorquing but this has not resolved the issue. The car still pulls to the right. The car currently has 3000 miles. There were no incidents or car accidents. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Multiple times, the vehicle braked on its own while traveling eastbound on the Interstate 8 freeway between Yuma, AZ & Gila Bend, AZ. This was when no other vehicle or obstruction was on the freeway within a mile of the vehicle. The braking was very jarring, and if another vehicle was behind us it could have easily caused a high speed rear-end collision. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The Driver Assistance System fails. Specifically, the cruse control, parking assistance, blind spot monitor, display of other objects, lane identification, stop sign or traffic light recognition and other safety features fail repeatedly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While on our first road trip in this vehicle, we engaged Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). After about 30 minutes, the vehicle suddenly (within 1-2 seconds), and without warning, decelerated from 75 mph to under 50 mph. After re-engaging ACC, exactly the same thing happened again 5 minutes or so later. Thereafter, we did not use ACC, and the car ran fine. This was a safety hazard because if someone had been following us when these incidents happened, it could have resulted in a rear-end collision. We have not yet taken our vehicle to a service center. Since there was no resulting accident, we have not reported this to any authority. Clearly, however, our Tesla Model 3 has a safety problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving with cruse controll, auto pilot, or adaptive cruise control my vehicle brakes suddenly without warning and without any reason or danger. This has happened many times. Today on the I8 traveling from Yuma az to Surpirse AZ the car braked around 15-20 times with out reason. I held the tesla car symbol on the screen to report the problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | While driving on a two lane highway I experience daily ghost braking incidents. While doing 75, in both cruise and autopilot mode, the car will slam on the brakes when approaching a semi in the right lane. Today it even swerved to the right without the semi moving out of its lane. I also experience panic braking if a car crosses the lanes in front of me even if it is 500m away and the crossing car even left the road before braking occurs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When cruise control is engaged, the vehicle suddenly decelerates, (at times dropping speed by more than 20 mph in less than 2 seconds). This occurs as often as 5-10 times in a single 60mi trip, and occurs at least once per trip on this same route (divided highway, sometimes with hills, often with no other cars ahead of or around the vehicle, speed 60-70mph) These events are unsafe because unexpected braking is a hazard for following cars and my passengers. My job as a driver is to be as predictable as possible, but when I use the cruise control the car behaves unpredictability Problem reported to dealer, confirmed by remote diagnostic, and car was serviced but the problem got worse. There are no warning lamps or error messages displayed in conjunction with these sudden braking events. First appeared when the car reached 2000miles on odometer | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When on a recent trip from Salt Lake City to Denver Via I 15 to hwy 6 and on I 70 When it was in cruse control and also auto pilot the car would on it's own brake. Some of the time it would brake very harshly others it would not be so violet ,but would certainly be some thing that could cause a very bad accident. The only solution Tesla service would offer was to go on a test drive to see it happen. This could take posably many miles, and then said they did not have a solution. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Vehicle suddenly brakes while in autopilot with no road obstructions. This has happened to me several times and I'm concerned that if someone is following me too close this may cause a collision. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | I parked the vehicle. When I returned to it and was about to drive, the steering wheel became too stiff and I had to apply extreme manual force to turn. The code UI_a020 appeared and the message “Steering assistance reduced. Steering may required increased effort.” It happened twice on the same day. I had to stop driving the car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The cruise control was set at 70 MPH. The car braked itself and tried to stop itself even though I had no cars or objects in front of me. I had to apply the accelerator to get it to out of stopping itself. It happened twice in a short amount of time on that morning. The car is available for inspection. This is a safety issue as it could have caused an accident if I had someone too close behind me while driving on freeway I-75. I have not had the car inspected as this just happened yesterday 09/22/2023 and today is 09/23/2023. There was no warning prior to this happening and no issues with the car. Again this happened on 09/22/2023 for the first time. Thank You. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE | Power steering stopped working when the car starts up, Cannot steer the wheel at all in PDNR. Basically cannot steer the car at all and it is not drivable. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |