Got warning about front drivers safety restraint failure on screen. Airbag warning began to display on the side showing if an accident occurred, they would not deploy. Talked with Tesla representatives and was told this is a known issue but would not be covered. Seems to be faulty wiring from chair moving over time based on what I was able to read. Error code was rcm_a021.
2018 Tesla Model 3 airbags complaints
Page 3 of 6: complaints 41 to 70 of 144, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault error. Tesla is indicating this is out of warranty but seems this is a very pervasive issue with an important safety mechanism on the car.
Concern: I See the error message on my screen like restraint system fault require service. when I contacted Tesla for Sevice Repair I got an estimate which includes following fixes for a charge of 1,804.02. They are not covering for this saying the car is out of warranty. Seems like Tesla is aware of this issue and impacting many other Tesla's for 1) FIRST ROW SEAT HARNESS ASSEMBLY - RIGHT HAND(1489060- 03-G) 2) FIRST ROW - SEAT BELT REMINDER SENSOR BOX CLIP(1130363-00-B) 3)Correction: Replace Front Passenger Airbag And Update Vehicle Configuration - Remove and Replace
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? “Front left safety restraint system fault” error code “RCM_a021” How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? It appears as though the seatbelt or airbag may not function properly when needed. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No but it has been on every time I drive. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No, upon requesting inspection, I was quoted 400$ Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No, it appeared periodically before but now it’s constant as of 9/29/2024
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the "Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault" message remained displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The contact stated that the failure had occurred previously with the front driver’s seat, the rear middle seat, and the rear passenger’s side seat. The vehicle was repaired at the local service center. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 80,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "Front Driver’s Side Safety Restraint Fault" remained displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,000.
I have an error on my car, have had this for almost a year now, Front Left Safety Restraint System Fault. This seems to be a safety issue that Tesla should recall. I have seen thousands of online posts related to this same issue. .
Occupant classification System (OCS) for front passenger seat kept alerting while driving both with and without any person or object in the seat. I contacted Tesla service center and they stated that the occupant classification system (OCS) AND the front passenger airbag require replacement, otherwise the front passenger airbags will not function properly in a collision. I asked if this was a recall or covered by warranty, and they said no.
I was involved in a rear-end collision where I was completely stopped at a green light due to traffic congestion and the person driving behind me hit my car from behind that caused me to hit the car in front of me. The impact was hard that the Tesla model 3 immediately turned on the hazard lights and called 911. The screen of my Tesla model 3 stated "airbag deployed;" however, no airbags deployed. The Tesla immediately became inoperable and did not let me drive the car to the side of the road out of traffic. Also, the Tesla did not let me change to towing mode (since the screen eventually went black); which made it more difficult to tow the vehicle out of the way of traffic.
Front passenger safety restraint system fault error. They tried fixing and it started the next day again. Now they want to replace this along with my airbag. This seems to be a consistent issue reading forums online. This is a manufacturing defect and major safety issue.
I started getting this alert on my screen a few weeks ago: RCM_a056 "Front passenger safety restraint system fault" Service Required. Tesla says the warranty only covered this issue up to 60,000 miles and I'm at 61,000. They are quoting like $2,000 to fix. They say they have to change something in the seat (sensor) and change the air bag since new sensor is not compatible with old airbag. Looked up issue and it seems to be common happening at before and after warranty for a lot of people. I see different quotes from $500 to $2000 (mine was the highest). This should be a safety recall. I do not suspect too many people getting this fixed on their own their due to the expense.
Error message in passenger airbag restraint system. There is a known issue where the cable bundle in the seat wears with movement of the seat, causing a short. Tesla has redesigned the bundle and it’s using a new airbag, but will only replace the faulty bundle if it fails while under warranty. It is a >$1900 Repair for the customer. Upon my research, this happens frequently even in the first year of the car. My car has 39,000 miles on it is faulty already. They can’t replace the bundle because the new Improved bundle requires a different airbag, increasing the cost of the consumer
For the fifth time since the car was purchased new, it is displaying a warning that there is a passenger airbag fault. This has been repaired previously four times by Tesla, on 8/04/20 (28980 miles, replace OCS filter module), 2/10/21 (35831 miles, replace front passenger seat), 1/06/22, and 5/08/23 (52891 and 82293 miles, both replace OCS filter module). It is now showing this warning again (106507 miles, 8/22/24) for the fifth failure. This is extremely concerning that an airbag may not deploy properly or even might deploy when not warranted. Since the car has been repaired so many times for the same recurring problem it suggests there is a systemic issue with this component which should be addressed properly.
My Tesla has been displayed a warning error message "Front passenger restraint system fault". This is a safety issue, I searched online and it looks like this is a common problem for the 2017-2019 Tesla Model 3. Many of the owners were fortunate if the issue happened before the expiration of the warranty which Tesla fixed it for free. However, this issue happened after warranty expired. I took the car to service center, they estimated the fix would cost over $3200 (see attached). Tesla claimed that the fraudulent module cannot be replaced as it's no longer support the older version of the airbag system. To fix the problem, it will have to replace the airbag, seat cushion and harness system. This is clearly a defect with the original equipment where manufacture does not support or provide replace with original parts.
I randomly received an alert indicating “Front passenger safety restraint system fault” on my Tesla’s display. When I look this up, it indicates that the airbag may not deploy correctly in the event of an accident due to a seat sensor malfunction. When I contacted the service center, they quoted me at $1500 to repair this critical safety issue (involves replacing the seat sensor and reconfiguring airbags so that they will properly deploy). I believe this should be a recall and not something customers have to pay out of pocket to drive their car safely.
My 2018 Tesla Model 3 is experiencing an intermittent "Front Left Safety Restraint System Fault". This error message, appearing on the main display, suggests an issue with the driver-side airbag, seatbelt pretensioner, or related components. The fault seems unrelated to seat occupancy or weight, as it occurs both with and without a passenger. While the error message eventually disappears after restarting the vehicle, its recurring nature is concerning and raises safety concerns about the airbag deploying unnecessarily or failing to deploy in an actual collision. This problem appears similar to those reported by other Tesla Model 3 owners, suggesting a potential systemic defect in the safety restraint system that warrants further investigation by the federal safety agency. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Car reports RCM a056 error related to Occupant Control sensors. This is apparently a common problem for this year and model (related car forums and social media report > 100 such incidents that I can find), but is not covered ($1700 repair). This should be a safety recall.
Seat occupancy system failure received. June 27, 2022 Mobile service inspected for wiring damage, as common cause. recommended appt at service center. Sep 2, 2022, could not fix issue, had to replace entire passenger seat. July 23, 2024 took car to service center for seat occupancy system failure received. Tesla stated I needed to pay for lumbar seat occupancy system sensor as it was failing. This was the same part (seat that was replaced in Sep of 2022). This part was 22 months old. Parts and labor for this part was $955. In addition, they stated this new part is not compatible with the existing seat occupancy system sensor in the seat portion of the seat and also not compatible with the passenger air bag. These parts including labor were an additional $1,500. These parts were not defective. Tesla has developed a new part of the safety system which is not backward compatible with other parts of the safety airbag system. This is improper practice and the cost for upgrading their defective manufacturing practices of safety systems should not be passed on to the customer.
Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault continually chimes and then goes away again. Appears to have loose or faulty wiring. This is directly related to the passenger airbag system, so very concerning. -Tesla inspected this back in March 2020, with no repair, -Inspected it again in August 2020 and found an error related to the left curtain airbag connector and repaired under warranty using a Wire harness Repair Kit. -Same fault started again in 2023. Tesla recommended bringing into the shop for inspection and is quoting $800 to repair, so I have not taken it in yet as I believe this is a manufacturing defect that I should not have to pay for.
Starting Jun 15 2024 an error came up saying "Left Restraint System fault" after a remote software update for Model 3 2018 Tesla The Alert comes up intermittently & Tesla requires $359.50 to change First Row Seat Harness Assembly - Left
Apparently faulty sensor that then needs to replace airgbag and now it’s costing $1833!
Started receiving Error RCM_a056 Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault. The vehicle shows that the passenger airbags are DISABLED after the alert is issued. I am working under the assumption that all passenger airbags (front, side, overhead) are currently disabled at all times. This puts my family at risk if there were to be a collision. Tesla seems to know exactly what the problem is because the estimate came back shortly with a list of fixes required at a cost of $1,768.35 to 1) Correction: install an Occupant Classification System (OCS) filter Module, 2) Correction: Retrofit SBR in OCS Equipped Front Passenger Seat - Remove and Replace, and 3) Correction: Replace Front Passenger Airbag and Update Vehicle Configuration - Remove and Replace. Quick internet search shows this is a SYSTEMIC problem with a bad part (Tesla forums and search your own databases for the past year or so... these are the people who know to report this to you, there are probably a lot of others). I'm 6 months out of warranty for a sensor that should not have wear and tear. Furthermore a retrofit demonstrates that they are replacing a KNOWN problem part. Additionally, there is no rational reason to replace a perfectly good airbag. Replacing the airbag because it is incompatible with a retrofit sensor should be free. Retrofitting a sensor that has a known problem should not be a cost to the consumer for a part that is not subject to wear and tear. Adding a filter to a sensor line shows that the sensor is not an appropriate part or the filter should have been added to start with in original manufacturing. Note Tesla has a procedure already out to address the problem SB-23-20-002 which shows they already know it is a problem that needs to be addressed when the sensor failure shows up. Recommend and request an investigation into whether there is a lower cost fix for what seems like a known problem or require a recall to repair to a safe state.
Received an alert about front seat safety restraint system fault. Decided to see what was needed for the fix and address my other trunk harness recall. Received invoice stating the airbag needed to be replaced along with $1900 quote. Knowing this info, if this doesn’t get fix the safety of my passengers are at risk so now I definitely can’t have any passengers. Not sure how I should be responsible for a safety seat airbag sensor defect.
My 2018 Model 3 started giving me the error "RCM_a056_passengerFrontOCS" today. This is caused by a faulty passenger occupancy weight sensor. This has been an ongoing issue in these models evidenced by SB-23-20-002 being revised 6 times. Tesla has resisted fixing this safety issue because the air bag also needs to be replaced to maintain compatibility with the redesigned Occupant Classification System (OCS) weight sensor evidenced in Tesla SB-23-20-001. Tesla has redesigned the known bad sensor part no. part 1121234-70-B with an updated part no. 099592-00-F which is only compatible with an updated airbag. The OCS weight sensor was defective from the point of manufacture. The RCM_a056 error only appeared after applying the latest firmware update that addresses the federal safety agency recall 24V‑376. The firmware update made the firmware more sensitive to analog sensor readings which revealed the originally defective OCS weight sensor triggering the error message. Nearly half of the recent the federal safety agency complaints for this model involve this exact issue. This OCS hardware sensor was always defective and poses an ongoing safety concern. The defective system never should have been approved as it did not function as intended originally. the federal safety agency must issue a new recall that covers the defective hardware instead of just the software as in the federal safety agency recall 24V‑376. Without corrected hardware the OCS system will not work as intended which is allowing the airbags to prevent injury and death in the event of collision. [XXX] TeslaSB-23-20-002Replace Occupant Classification System (OCS) of Front Passenger Seat while Servicing Subcomponents TeslaSB-23-20-002 R1 TeslaSB-23-20-002 R2 TeslaSB-23-20-002 R4 TeslaSB-23-20-002 R5 TeslaSB-23-20-002 R6 TeslaSB-23-20-001Update Front Passenger Airbag to Maintain Compatibility While Servicing Front SB Passenger Seat [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The car issued me a "front left safety restraint system fault" saying service is required. The code it flashed was RCM_a021. I am able to get the code to go away by adjusting the seat, however, if i shift my weight or i hit a bump in the road, the warning will appear once again. This leads me to believe that there is a component in the seat that is defective. I took vehicle to the Tesla service center where they found a "broken wire in the pretensioner connector" and they replaced the wiring harness. Upon doing investigation it appears that there are multiple components that are used to determine the firing intensity of the airbags should they go off. If either are damaged the airbags will not fire correctly. Some of these components can be easily damaged due to the seats constant back/forth motion if the easy entry mode is enabled on the car. As the car was outside the warranty period, Tesla refused to cover the costs for repair even though there was a TSB (technical service bulletin) already out on this same issue (reference SB-21-17-005). Total cost for repair including parts, labor and tax was $631.10.
My car started giving me an alert for a "Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault". There has been no accident to cause an issue. I'm being told by the service center that it is a known occurrence and certain models/years, require a new safety vent type front passenger airbag to maintain compatibility between the front passenger seat and the front passenger airbag.
I'm receiving an error "Front Passenger Restraint System Fault". According to online forums, this issue is PREVALENT amongst many Tesla vehicles. This seems like a serious defect that Tesla should be responsible for fixing.
Safety Restraint System fault warning, passenger airbag off on display. 1) 4/10/24 Dealer replaced Occupant Classification System components for front passenger seat for $184.26. Dealer assured issue being resolved. 2) 5/5/24 Same fault warning, passenger airbag off on display reappeared for 2nd time and dealer replaced front passenger airbag for $1089.18. Dealer assured issue being resolved. 3) 5/10/24 Same fault warning, passenger airbag off on display again reappeared for 3rd time and dealer is now proposing to replaced front passenger seat back and seat cushions for $1248.07.
The vehicle showed an alert "Front passenger safety restraint system fault/Service is required". The vehicle never had an accident, nor abnormal usage, which may have caused this system fault. The manufacturer's service department gave a repair plan including an air-bag replacement at the owner's cost. It is not fair to force vehicle owners to be responsible for the cost to repair the manufacturer's safety system problem. The repair should be done under a safety recall.
While driving normally, an error warning was received that stated "Front Left Safety Restraint System Error" and the icon for an airbag fault would come in simultaneously. This error would disappear and reappear, sometimes up to 10 times per minute, creating a driver distraction due to the loud error chime. The error code identified for the fault when checked on the Tesla service screen corresponded to pretensioner wire harness. The pretensioner harness connects the seat sensors for driver weight and positioning to the car's airbag control system, which then classifies passengers and ensures that the airbags fire correctly in the event of a collision. For example, if a smaller female driver was operating the car but was incorrectly classified as male, the airbag could fire with excessive force and cause injury. The set of symptoms occurs commonly in Tesla Model 3s and are caused by the wear over time of a poorly designed wiring harness, which chafes as the seat is moved forward and backward until it breaks. This is a known problem by Tesla and they have a specific service bulletin designed to address it, which I have attached below. When taken in to address the issue, Tesla performed the procedure in the attached bulletin and identified a damaged harness, which was subsequently replaced. I retained the damaged harness for inspection. The invoice for this service is attached. No other defects were identified that could have caused the issue. This is a safety related issue occurring due to a manufacturing related defect and should be a mandatory recall with complimentary repair.
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