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2018 Tesla Model 3: airbag warning light

10 of the 1,040 complaints about the 2018 Tesla Model 3 describe airbag warning light.

owner complaints
10
of this car's complaints
1%
typical mileage
21,000
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 4 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Airbag warning light by model year

  • 2024
    2
  • 2023
    1
  • 2022
    3
  • 2021
    1
  • 2020
    1
  • 2019
    8
  • 2018
    10
  • 2017
    1

What owners say

Filed Jan 21, 2024 · Airbags · CA

the airbag light shows

Filed Jan 4, 2024 · Airbags, Electrical · CA

My car went out of warranty for seat related issues in December of this past year 2023. I don't even have 26K miles on my car therefore not a heavy driver. This week I experienced an error RCM_a021, front left safety restraint system fault, which I've researched has affected many others and appears to clearly be a safety flaw. The service team mentioned this isn't covered. My airbag light doesn't go off and is constantly on, my seats no longer save the seat setting (which occurred a couple of months ago but I didn't think about it).This is a safety hazard should I get into an accident. There were no previous warning issues prior to this warning error which occurred this week. According to Tesla, if the airbag light remains lit, schedule a service appointment immediately and do not drive. The service team mentioned the seat harness is faulty remotely and according to what they can see. I have not had them look visually yet though. They do not cover the repair for this as it's out of warranty. There's even a bulletin posted on this issue/repair by the federal safety agency therefore is known problem. [XXX] I'm unable to upload any files. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jan 2, 2024 · Airbags · CA

My Model 3 began giving an RCM_a056 error indicating a fault with the front passenger safety restraint system. When I scheduled service for this fault at Tesla, they advised that the front passenger airbag and occupant sensor for the right/front seat needed to be replaced. Research into this issue revealed at it is a common issue. Other owners reported Tesla covering the cost of this repair (indicating they know this is a manufacturer defect in a major safety system and not a one-off issue.) Unfortunately, Tesla refused to repair this issue without payment, insisting that my SRS warranty had expired. I believe this is a manufacturer defect in a critical safety system that should be investigated for a possible recall.

Filed Oct 30, 2023 · Airbags, Seat belts · 60,000 miles · AR

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, a message was displayed alerting the driver to a passenger safety restraint fault. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular failure. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V389000 (Seat Belts) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 60,000.

Filed Jul 12, 2023 · Electrical, Seat belts · NJ

Received an error "Front left safety restraint system fault. Service is required." error on my vehicle yesterday (7/11/2023) which disappears when lifting seat to highest position. As soon as seat is lowered more than 1/2" the error reappears and airbag light is illuminating notifying that the airbag is not enabled. This error is clearly an issue with the safety restraint system on the vehicle but Tesla will not honor fixing this under their Supplemental Restraint System Limited Warranty. The vehicle is within coverage period (<5 years and <60,000 miles). I am being told this SRS Limited warranty covers air bags, seat belt, seat belt buckles, sensors, and modules only. I have not taken the vehicle in for service as the quote I received is too expensive ($601). Please see photos for my conversation with Tesla service as well.

Filed Jun 27, 2023 · Airbags, Seat belts · FL

My vehicle recently depicted warnings on my screen showing " Front Left Safety Restraint System Fault" " Service is Required". I also sometimes get a visual warning showing a depiction of an airbag. Now I don't know if anything is wrong, but Tesla is going to charge me $400 to fix this problem. My cars warranty expired in April of this year. My concern is, if this is an airbag problem shouldn't it be coved by a recall? Or does your agency need to receive a large number of complaints to issue a recall? To answer your general questions, the warning messages started one month ago, late May. Beside the warning message, the airbag warning lamp would sometimes appear. I have a service appointment with the Tesla Service Center on July 1, so I should know more then.

Filed May 20, 2022 · Airbags, Driver assistance · 21,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the warning message "Front Left Safety Restraint System Fault. Service Required." The contact continued to drive. The contact stated that the next day, the air bag warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that a field mechanic would be sent to his residence to repair the vehicle however, the repair appointment was rescheduled several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Additionally, the contact became aware that the VIN was included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000. Parts distribution disconnect. Defective airbag warning sign in red is also active. After repeated requests to Tesla they refuse to fix the issue and keep postponing the repair dates.

Filed May 26, 2021 · Airbags · 58,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while entering and starting the vehicle, the front driver side safety retrains fault message was displayed on the screen. The air bag warning light was illuminated on with error code: RCM-A021. The contact reached out to a local dealer who sent out a mobile mechanic to the residence to inspect the vehicle. The contact stated that the front driver’s side wiring harness was defective. The wiring harness was replaced and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 58,000.

Filed Mar 16, 2021 · Airbags · 19,000 miles · VA

Multiple times, the passenger airbag indicator on the dashboard showed the airbag was not activate despite the passenger seat being occupied by a 112 pound person with a buckled seat belt. There is no active notification that the airbag is deactivated in the presence of indications of occupancy of that seat. This could lead an inattentive driver or passenger to believe everyone is safe when, in fact, the passenger is not safe.

Filed Sep 24, 2020 · Airbags · 20,000 miles · TX

My wife is 5 feet tall and weighs 90 pounds. When sitting in the front passenger seat, the passenger side airbag indicator displays off. This means the passenger side airbag safety system is not available to her. The occupant classification system is failing at all times when she is in the front passenger seat..

Questions about the 2018 Tesla Model 3 airbag light

Is airbag warning light a common problem on the 2018 Tesla Model 3?

10 of 1,040 owner complaints about the 2018 Tesla Model 3 (1%) mention airbag warning light. The model year with the most reports is 2018.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 Tesla Model 3?

There are 0 recalls and 4 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2018 Tesla Model 3

Ball joint 98Adaptive cruise 69Phantom braking 50Grinding brakes 38Backup camera 36Wipers 29Sudden acceleration 25Headlights 20Collision warning 19Harsh shifting 19Lane assist 16Power steering loss 16Door locks 14Jerking 14Seat belt 14No deployment 11Steering noise 9Screen failure 7Loss of power 7Overheating 6ABS 5Stalling 5

All model years of the Tesla Model 3

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