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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2023 | WHEELS | On 3/11/23, around noon time, I drove on I-280 N bound, just past Edgewood Road. It was nice weather, no wind, nothing extra loaded in the car, smooth clean road surface. All of a sudden I saw black pieces flying at my left side of the car through the window, I heard some noise and the car started unbalanced. I pulled the car slowly to the shoulder ... It was a left rear tire blowout! This car was only for 4 months, and drove ~2700 miles. NO warning sign beforehand and no damage on the tire, the rim and the tire cover after carefully examining the Tesla Test Center at 680 El. Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA. Attached are four photos taken on 3/11/23. New tire was replaced on 3/14/23 at SC site, CA. It was charged $441.67 (receipt is not included here) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE | I picked up my Tesla Model 3 Performance less than a month ago and from day 1 it has been having vibrations from 40mph all the way up to 80-85 mph. I haven't driven it faster than that due to safety concern. I took it to Tesla and they said they needed to balance the wheels (why wasn't that done on a brand new car already?) Anyways, I take the car back and I was still having the same issue. Tesla has now booked another service and said that my Wheels might have been bent by me! The audacity! I gave them a piece of my mind so they will not charge me for service and will inspect my vehicle soon. Meanwhile I have driven the car 2500 miles and the vibrations have not gone away. I know this problem exists in Model S Plaids as well as with some other Model 3 Performance owners as I reached out on the forums. Tesla has given up and accepted that they cannot repair these issues. Lets see what happens with my car. I plan on taking them to the court for lemon law | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving on the HOV lane (going between 65-70 miles mph) with the adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist on when the car suddenly slammed on it’s brakes to stop. There was a slight hump in the highway, but no car or object in front of me in the lane. Thank goodness there were no cars behind me or they could have easily rear ended me. It was extremely scary and now I’m too scared to use these driver assist features moving forward. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was on Interstate I5 on March 16th with car cruising on Tesla Auto Pilot Assist. The road was completely clear with nothing ahead of behind me for atleast half a mile. All of a sudden I experienced Sudden Breaking (Phantom Breaking) and broke hard to about 30 MPH before resuming. I was fortunate that there was nothing behind me otherwise I would have been rear ended. The only thing I could see was there as a dip in the roadway and some shadows were falling across the highway. Tesla has no radars and I suspect the camera was fooled by the lighting. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I bought a new Tesla Model 3 in December of 2022. In mid March 2023 we had our first road trip in this vehicle. I had at least 4 major phantom braking incidences while traveling an average of 75 mph on I-80 with the cruise control on. Two were experienced while traveling eastbound in Nebraska and two were while traveling westbound a week later in Wyoming. Each experiece was separated in time by at least two hours. The last one scared me and my wife so much that she won't ride in the Tesla on the freeway until it is fixed. We also had several minor phantom braking experiences which did not alarm us. What happened is that the car slammed on the brakes while going 75 and reduced the speed to about 55 in seconds. It was over before I could react. The tires did not skid and fortunately no one was following us. I fear that if someone was tailgating me that they would have rear ended our car. I had experienced a couple of phantom braking events in Utah in previous months but they weren't severe enough for me to report it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | - The adaptive cruise control malfunctioned, It sharply braked while no cars in front or arround me was braking.Conditions were clear, no rain/no snow, in the daytime. The windshield was clean, the road was clean as well (on the asphalt with road markers clearly visible). - My safety and the safety of others was put at risk, the braking was realy sharp nothing could have helped me or other users of the road predict that it was going to happen. Someone behind had to slam the brakes to avoid a collision with me. - Nothing was inspected - No warning or symptoms were visible then nor now. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While traveling with cruise control enabled and not using autopilot, about every 50 miles or so I will encounter a situation where there is no one in front of me and the car with begin rapidly decelerating. I have had several drivers behind me hit their horns in a panic while trying not to hit my car. I am very worried that this issue will cause me to be rear-ended by another driver. This issue is occuring at both highway speeds exceeding 65mph as well as speeds speeds as low as 50 mph. It has happened on multi-lane highways with no other cars around as well as on single lane local roads. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I experienced unnecessary emergency braking while driving from Chicago to Madison on I-90. I was driving at 75 mph on adaptive cruise control with auto steer on. I suddendly I experience hard braking for no reason. I observed my set speed limit changed to 45 mph. However, I instantaneously took over and pressed accelarator. I experienced the same 2 more times during the same trip. It's created a very dangerous situation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | TIRES | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3 equipped with Pirelli Tires, Tire line: P Zero, Tire Size: 235/35/R20, DOT Number: (Not available). The contact stated while driving 65 MPH an hour after purchasing the vehicle brand new, the rear passenger's side tire experienced a blowout, and the rim was severely damaged. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla Service Center, where the rear passenger's side wheel and tire were replaced; however, the rear driver's side tire experienced a blowout a week later. The vehicle was towed to the Tesla Service Center. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that he would be charged for the repair. The tire was not replaced. The tire and vehicle failure mileage was approximately 80. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 80 |
| Mar 2023 | SEATS | Brand new Tesla Model 3 delivered a week ago. Passenger seat, front inside mounting bolt is not tight. Corner of the seat rail can move up/down 1/8-1/4". Can't tell how well attached it is. Potential safety concern. Passenger side back seat cushion also exhibits up/down movement 1/8-1/4" but likely not a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driving on interstate using Tesla model 3 autopilot about 75 mph. Road narrowing from 3 to 2 lanes and I was in the merging lane approaching entry to 2 lane road. Cars were to my right, visible, but safely distant. Suddenly, unexpectedly the car started breaking, creating alarm for me, but was able to re-engage the accelerator and safely merged into 2 lane highway. If a car was closely following me, which was not the case, could have resulted in rear end crash. Had used autopilot frequently before this episode and never had this problem, and subsequently autopilot seems to be working properly. Occurred 3/11/2023. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | A large portion of the plastic accelerator pedal broke | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | STRUCTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The undercarriage shield of my car disconnected and started dragging while I was driving in the rain. I did not collide into anything or hit a bump. I inspected my wheel well to discover a set of screws that were bunched up and not installed during manufacturing. I had to pull the shield from under my car so that I can continue to drive the vehicle. the shield is connected to the forward warning and pedestrian warning collision system which became inoperative. The faulty manufacturing that caused the shield to disconnect caused a dangerous condition while operating. After I removed it, a second dangerous condition was created since all of the safety senors were disconnected. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | We were driving down the road, emergency braking enabled came on and car came to a complete abrupt start 10ft from railroad tracks and would not do anything. Could not reset it. Nothing. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | This model doesn't have parking assist, so every time I park there is a danger of collision. All modern cars have parking assist. Tesla promised in Nov 2022 that software update enabling parking assist will be available within "next couple of weeks". 3 months passd since then and there is still no parking asist. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while at a red light with the autonomous self-driving feature activated, the vehicle in front made a right turn while the light was still red, and the vehicle inadvertently accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The failure occurred without warning. Neither the Service Center nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 3,400. | Crash: No Fire: No | 3,400 |
| Feb 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Multiple times on the highway the car would slam the brakes for no reason in autopilot mode reducing the speed significantly. In all cases it reduced the speed from around 70 mph to 40 mph. The road was clear with no vehicles in front. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My Tesla Model 3 was delivered on 14 December 2022. I first drove it on 16 December 2022 and that day I had an accident. I was about to park my car and I was already on the designated parking slot when the car made a sudden Un- commanded acceleration. I first hit the handicap sign, but the car did not stop and apparently the collision avoidance safety feature did not work. The continue to accelerate and I hit a restaurant establishment. The police came and I reported the incident to my insurance (Geico). The police (Mr. McClure) gave me the case number 2238293. Geico is taking care of the repair which would cost over $10K and the property damage, which added up to 10K. I went to the Tesla service center in Carlsbad and Mr. Hyuma said that I can request for the log. I guess it is the EDR. They gave me a link to request for the EDR but the start date is 23 January 2023 way after the accident date of 16 December 2022. I have not received any log or EDR from Tesla to date. I am uploading the pictures of the car before the repair. Please help me find out what exactly happened and why the car suddenly accelerated without pressing the gas pedal. I am a retired US Navy (20 years) and I bought a Tesla to save money because i have solar in my house. I have a fixed income and cannot afford to spend money on the EDR. I believe that here is a defect on the Tesla Model 3 that I bought and I will appreciate all the help you can provide. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking and the vehicle stopped abruptly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to accelerate to avoid getting rear ended. The dealer was contacted and admitted knowledge of the failure; however, there was no remedy for the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 2,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 2,000 |
| Feb 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Wiper blades activate for no reason while driving the vehicle in auto pilot. There is no ryme or reason as to when this happens, it just happens randomly at random times for unknown reasons. The most recent incident happened today, but this has been going on since I took ownership of this brand new car in December of 2022. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? When there is salt on the road and there is no moisture hitting the windshield, all this does with the salt is smears your windshield making it very difficult to see out of the windshield. The only way to clear the windshield is to activate the windshield washer fluid. This wouldn't be necessary had the wipers just stayed off in the first place. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The dealer tells me the wipers are working as designed, but can't explain to me why they turn on when there is no moisture hitting the windshield. They can't explain to me why it is happening to my car and not other similar vehicles of the same make/model. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The dealer has looked into this and says it's working as designed. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning lights are or were present during any of these incidents. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | AIR BAGS,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH another vehicle suddenly entered the lane that the contact was driving on, causing the contact to strike the other vehicle. No air bags deploy, and the brake assist feature failed to activate. There were no reported injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and filed a case. The failure mileage was 8,728. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 8,728 |
| Jan 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While exiting a hospital parking deck, after driving for approximately 15 to 20 seconds, the car began to accelerate to an uncontrollable rate of speed on its own. The Tesla crashed into a parked car which was then pushed into two other parked cars. The Tesla and at least the first car hit are totaled. There was no sign of the emergency braking system engaging. Injuries from the airbag deploying were sustained. The driver has a fear to drive again as the car seemed to have a mind of it's own. The Tesla is being held at the insurance company's tow yard. There has been no feedback from the dealer. No inspections have been conducted on the car. There were no indications there was a problem with the vehicle previous to the crash. It is unknown if any warning alert systems activated during the incident. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | After backing out of a parking place I could not switch into "drive". The car froze and had to be put into "tow mode" to be pushed aside and later taken to a dealer. Before being collected the car was partially blocking a car park, but there was no other safety risk. Warnings appeared when the event occurred, but not prior to. The rear drive unit was replaced under warranty. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION | This model has misleading user manual about park assist chime button, park assist front camera on button. Apparently they have removed the ultrasonic sensor and did not enable any user interface to do with Park assist in the control menu. This is misleading safety feature and total lie to the customer. Please flag this as a safety flag so the user will be aware of it. There is no option for the user to enable the front camera for whatever the little useful it can offer. They need to immediately send us the software update to view any camera at will. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I was driving in rainy weather and my windshield wipers were set to 'Auto' mode. The wipers were functioning correctly until I clicked on a menu item in the car operating system. The operating system became unresponsive to any touches and wipers stopped working at this moment which dropped my visibility to almost 0. I was fortunately not driving on highway when the incident occurred. The operating system rebooted after roughly 20 seconds and the wipers started working again after the reboot completed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |