Complaint volume
200 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
2024 Tesla Model 3 Complaints
200 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2024 Tesla Model 3, grouped by component category.
200 Total complaints
20 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
12 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 unknown or other, electrical system, steering. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 20 crash reports, 0 fire reports, 12 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 7 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 12,614 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to unknown or other, electrical system, steering?
- 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 2024 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.
2024 Tesla Model 3
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2024 Tesla Model 3 complaints?
20 Crash
0 Fire
12 Injury
0 Fatality
11 Towed
9 Medical attention
What are the most common 2024 Tesla Model 3 complaint categories?
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 50
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27
STEERING 21
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 18
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL 8
AIR BAGS 4
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS 3
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS 3
200 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL | While driving from Costco in Fountain Valley to Best Buy in Costa Mesa, I was using FSD for the entire route. Everything was running smoothly until we approached [XXX] near [XXX] (Costa Mesa, CA). At that point, the FSD system incorrectly directed the vehicle to enter a freeway off-ramp, effectively driving into an [XXX] exit ramp in the wrong direction. This created a highly dangerous situation, as the ramp was intended for vehicles exiting the freeway, not entering. Fortunately, I was able to take over control of the vehicle and prevent a potential accident, but this was a very close call. Incident Details •Date: [XXX] •Time: Between [XXX] •Location: [XXX] (Costa Mesa, CA) •Route: Costco Fountain Valley → Best Buy Costa Mesa •Navigation Mode: Full Self-Driving (Beta) enabled throughout •Conditions: Daylight, dry roads, moderate traffic What Happened •FSD turned the car onto a road segment that functions as a freeway exit. •The vehicle entered the lane facing oncoming traffic exiting from [XXX]. •I immediately disengaged FSD and took manual control to correct the situation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Tesla cars use loudspeaker that mimics the car horn when used. In rainy conditions this speaker becomes very muted and the horn is barely heard even when right next to the vehicle. When reaching out to Tesla they say this is a normal occurrence and the will sound normal again once the speaker dries out. This shouldn’t be normalized and poses safety concerns in rainy conditions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING | See attached document for complaint | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Phantom braking occurred three times with this vehicle, all three times, the car abruptly stopped while driving for no reason: 10/30/2024 at 8:03am 2/10/25 at 7:47am 3/6/25 at 5:55pm | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING | Tesla has told me the AP4 computer has failed in my car which has resulted in them having to replace it. This issue impacts: emergency braking, blind spot detection, lane keep/centering, assisting with parking, automatic high beams and wipers, cruise control/ adaptive cruise control, Vehicles built in GPS to be stuck at one location every time, has made my touchscreen not automatically brighten or dim, my auto dimming mirrors be too dim in most driving conditions, constantly fail to install system improvements and safety updates, and because my vehicle keeps trying to do this, it has caused increased battery drain as well. This has increased the safety risk of my vehicle tremendously... Tesla has not seemed to publicly acknowledge the issue yet either. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | STEERING,SUSPENSION | Complaint: I took delivery of my new Tesla Model 3 on [XXX], and noticed it pulls hard to the right from day one. The steering shakes constantly, feels unstable, and loses traction—sliding sideways and lurching above 40 mph. It’s dangerous on highways; I’ve nearly lost control multiple times. Service wait times delayed my first visit over a month. Service History: Tesla Service, Dedham, MA, three visits: [XXX]: Techs confirmed pulling, performed alignment—issue unchanged. [XXX]: Pulling replicated, alignment redone—no fix. [XXX]: Supervisor test-drove, claimed no issues, said “normal operation,” and refused further action. Third-Party Input: On [XXX], Electrified Garage (Amesbury, MA), a Tesla/EV specialist, replicated the pulling, shaking, and instability. They suspect a suspension or steering defect (e.g., rack/control arm) and urged Tesla review, citing warranty coverage and parts limits. They called it a safety risk. Current State: The car’s unusable—shaking intensifies above 40 mph, slides unpredictably, and steering resists. I’ve stopped highway driving after near-misses. Tesla’s “normal” ignores this danger. Available for inspection on request. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS | See attached document for complaint. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Turn signals on steering wheel don’t work sometimes. They also get stuck causing no signal to turn on. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | This is the 3rd or 4th time I have observed sudden unexpected acceleration when at a full stop at a light while using FSD Supervised (v13.2.7 just updated). It first happened 2 or 3 times on FSD v13.2.6 when mine was the lead car at stop lights. This time I was at a stop light but obviously not the lead car. The truck in front of me was blocking view of the traffic lights. Each time, I have hit the brakes immediately, so I don't know if the vehicle would stop on its own during these situations, but I have no issues with it safely braking at any other time. Other than this intermittent glitch, FSD has been flawless on the HW4 next generation computer, which may lead to driver complacency not expecting this. I am reporting for awareness & hopefully correction. I have MP4 video files of the incident, but I cannot upload them here. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | During freeway driving, turn signal buttons located on the steering wheel, which when working properly produce a tactile click, fail to click and engage the turn indicator. A service visit to Tesla resulted in technician unable to replicate the issue. I was instructed to date stamp the problem. The next time I drove the car on the freeway, the problem repeated. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Turn signal capacitive buttons are incredibly hazardous for safe driving. They are failing to register inputs for me regularly as resting your finger on one as is natural in a normal driving position, locks the signal out for a period of time. I had to look down trying to work out why the signal button was not registering my intent to change lanes on a freeway causing significant distraction at a critical time. Manufacturer refuses to do anything as they say it is just normal for the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | This vehicle has push button turn signals that have replaced traditional steering wheel stalks. These can be difficult and dangerous to use as the steering wheel is being turned especially when you are trying to signal direction in the now numerous round-abouts that are installed in Florida and around the nation. They are also dangerous to operate during night time driving. I believe Tesla should recall these vehicles and install steering wheel stalks similar to their older model cars and which have been in use on all the vehicles I have operated in the past 60 years. It is not a matter of just getting used to their operation. It is a bad design. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | STEERING | Vehicle was functioning normally prior to this event. Around 17:30 on 02/10/25 I arrived at airport terminal to pick someone up. I exited vehicle, opened trunk then went back inside vehicle. Upon putting the vehicle in drive I noticed problem with power steering. I had to use excessive force to turn the wheel. I drove forward 100 feet, then pulled over and called Tesla Support. After describing the issue to the agent, she instructed me to put vehicle in park and press and hold both scroll wheels on steering wheel to perform system reset. After 2 attempts the issue persisted. I then exited the vehicle, locked it manually from the app. After 5 seconds I opened the vehicle, put it in drive and steering worked properly. Dry conditions - outside temperature about 30F I noticed that NHTSA is already investigating this issue for certain Tesla Model 3 and Model Y where power steering stopped working. While my issue happened while vehicle was stopped, I am concerned about it happening again while driving on highway | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Specifically when in somewhat cool and cold temperatures the Front Drive Unit is emitting abnormal high pitched sound that is intermittent at times and that is causing a distraction while driving and is very bothersome. Tesla acknowledged they hear it but nothing is being done about. Front Drive Unit should be replaced. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The front camera that is known as Tesla vision consistently stays fogged up. This creates an issue when using auto-pilot that makes the car beep loudly and disengage auto-pilot putting others at risk if the car disengages and the driver is not quick enough to respond to the the disengagement. After several months of this and the problem does not go away after following Teslas advice per their user manual of pre conditioning the car and de fogging the windshield for a long period of time, I have scheduled a service appointment. The vehicle I own has not been inspected by Tesla, nor a third party service at the moment. There is no warning when the system will deactivate and I have had it happen several times on corners which is very concerning and scary when in the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS | When backing out, software doesn’t emergency brake or scream/beep/siren etc (no audible sound) when car is coming, just shows a red light on the screen. Every other manufacturer has this audible and emergency feature. My relative had hit their Tesla with another car since there was no beep or emergency braking with another car behind them. I have talked to many other people and they have said the same thing. It’s just a tiny red line that’s on the screen camera which makes no sense for a high tech car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | WHEELS | This is an ongoing issue since I bought this car. There is a vibration felt in the steering and throughout the entire car when driving both at low and high speed. It is felt more when driving at higher speeds.Does not seem to be an alignment issue. Car was taken to service center multiple times and will be going again in a few days to attempt to diagnose this issue. I do not know the source of this issue but it causes a lot of concern while driving. Unsure whether something will break apart or will lose control of car etc. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When vehicle is in rain or sub-freezing conditions, the horn completely stops functioning. Took vehicle to Tesla Service and was told, "Technician inspected and found the vehicles horn to be working as expected at this time. Technician noted that under heavy rain/snow the vehicles horn may not work as expected due to water accumulation in the cut out for the horn." The issue is reproducible every time the vehicle is exposed to rain or snow. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Car horn is muffled or no sound when driving in rain or exposed to water. It takes 30min-4h to dry out to be fully functional again | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Car horn is muffled or no sound when driving in rain or exposed to water. It takes 30min-4h to dry out to be fully functional again | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | In instances of rain or snow. The horn along with the pedestrian warning system do not function properly and aren’t audible. It appears to me that there is water intrusion into the speaker of which the horn and pedestrian warning system both use and that is what muffles the sound. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | In rainy conditions the horn does not perform as expected | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Rear Display (1875931-00-D) glass breaking without any impact. Tesla Service Center refused to honor warranty repair. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Touch activated car signal buttons often cease to work or allow input preventing safe and legally required signaling to show intended path of car to pedestrians and other vehicles. Tesla say it’s normal behavior and won’t repair. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL | 12/26/2024 around 5-6pm, Full Self Drive abruptly tried to accelerate into the intersection while sitting at a stop light. I stopped it immediately but was very surprised as FSD v13 has been exceedingly reliable and a pleasure to drive. This is the 2nd time this has happened after the holiday update of FSD 2024.45.25.5 (v13.2.2). Both times mine was the lead car at the light with no others ahead of me. This behavior has been reported multiple times in social media groups this past week by other FSD users. I entered a Tesla service request but have not heard back other than an automated appointment scheduled at the service center 8 weeks from my request and the incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |