Tesla forced my car to update to v11 software. This software interface is dangerous. It hides the climate control and wiper control off the home screen and requires drivers to dig though menus to do things that were previously doable with one touch, such as enabling the defogger, defroster, wipers, or heated seats. This creates an unnecessary distraction for drivers.
2018 Tesla Model 3 electrical complaints
Page 6 of 7: complaints 131 to 160 of 168, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the backup camera malfunctioned and the screen displayed completely black or completely white causing a visibility hazard to the driver while reversing the vehicle. The vehicle was previously serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the replacement parts were not available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 35,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH with the Autonomous Self Driving function engaged, the vehicle would intermittently brake. The contact stated that the failure only occurred while on autopilot. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was erroneous because there was no other vehicle in close proximity. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the failure was common however, there was no current fix. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 28,000.
Tesla has upgraded the visual interface of the Model 3 to version 11 of their software. My vehicle is now running version 2021.44.30.7. The new interface hides critical functions of the vehicle required for safe operation of the vehicle, such as windscreen wipers, front and rear window defoggers behind the multiple menus of the user interface meaning unfamiliar drivers are unable to safely operate the vehicle. Previously these items were on the bottom status bar of the display. Telsa have placed entertainment options as the priority for the display versus safety options. Charging rates and associated energy safety options are similary hidden behind multiple menus or require the charge port to be opened to access functionality. The user interface of the vehicle is now more like a smartphone with attention to entertainment versus attention to safety. Critical controls need to be permanently on display on the top or bottom of the display so unfamilar drivers can readily access functionality for safe vehicle operation in all weather conditions. My wife, who drove the vehicle using the previous interface with controls clearly displayed on the bottom bar of the display, now feels completely unsafe in the vehicle, as multiple clicks through menus on the display are required to activate devices versus the single click on a function in the previous version. She now has to concentrate on the menu and divert her attention from the road to the display to active a function such as window defogging or wipers, presenting a serious hazardous situation for her and other road users. the federal safety agency and Tesla need to address the now unsafe condition of Tesla vehicles running this new user interface. Tesla in Europe has been subject to safety sanctions by government agencies for concealing critical vehicle functions including these.
Recent Tesla software versions have hidden vital safety controls (front and rear window defrost) in sub-menus on screen where previously they were always present on the screen bottom row. Furthermore, frequently used controls (seat heaters) have been moved to sub-menus while they were previously on the main screen. Both of these above changes pose a distracted driving hazard. I have not personally installed these updates, but according to Tesla documentation this means I am no longer covered by vehicle warranty. This presents an unfair choice to owners: maintain vehicle warranty or allow Tesla to modify the vehicle in undesirable and fundamentally unsafe ways.
On November 30 at 6pm I was driving north on I-75 in the Tampa area with Navigate on Autopilot activated. I was in the middle lane, it was dark, and there was lots of traffic. My screen asked me to confirm the autopilot request to move to the left lane. I tapped the stalk to confirm. I did not look in the left lane and was not controlling the steering, though my hands were on the wheel. The car immediately turned into the left lane and side swiped a police vehicle. Nobody was injured and the damage to both cars was minor. Previously I had received alerts that my left pillar camera was "blocked", but the alerts went away, so I assumed that there was no problem. When the alerts appeared, auto steer was deactivated, but when the alerts went away auto steer worked again. I do not remember when the first alert appeared, but probably earlier in November 2021. Subsequently, the alerts have appeared and disappeared. I have requested service from Tesla, but the appointment is scheduled for next month. The officer in the police vehicle and two other officers who came to the scene looked at my vehicle and took pictures. I received accident report, Crash Number [XXX] from Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (Case Number[XXX]), but no citation. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The latest Tesla software update (their “holiday update”) has buried important controls in menus where they are difficult to access. For example, defrost and wiper controls were available directly on the main screen prior to this update. They now require multiple taps to get to with the associated further distraction from keeping eyes on the road. Less critical but oft-manipulated control (such as seat heat) that were are the main screen are also now buried.
Car backup camera has been unavailable for use for months. Originally the issue was intermittent and only happened after Tesla alarm system active so Tesla service could not reproduce issue at dealer. They had me perform full factory reset and now issue is constant. Tesla has been unable to fix the issue stating that it is a software problem and engineers will need to create a software patch to correct. Unable to see safely out of back window to backup creating hazardous condition every time car is put into reverse. Have already taken car in for service, performed complete factory software reset, and uploaded all new software per Tesla instructions. They claim there is no fix for my backup camera so I am driving a car with no ability to see when I am in reverse.
Power Conversion System was defective when car brand new and replaced under 50k mile warranty. Now out of 50k mile warranty and Power Conversion System is failing again. Manufacturer service center says this item is customer pay and is just a defective item that is out of warranty for the 1-year replacement warranty, and refuses to cover this repair under the battery warranty where the Power Conversion System is located. Service center states there is nothing the customer did wrong or could do to cause this problem, acknowleges it is a defective part, and insists it is customer pay with no indication of an updated part. What happens when the Power Conversion System fails is the car is stranded and cannot recharge or operate its safety systems. This should be a recall item if it was updated to a newer part correcting defective design. The manufacturer should replace this high voltage and core functionality of the vehicle under its battery warranty where the part is located. It would be highly dangerous for the vehicle owner to replace this part and requires specialist tools to diagnose and replace or repair.
Within the first day, my 2018 Tesla Model 3 lost all instruments, safety indicators, and touchscreen controls while driving on the freeway. The car did this *multiple* times, without warning. Each incident lasted several minutes. It was alarming, and there was no way to tell what systems in the car were working (such as automatic emergency braking or cruise control), and no way to change settings, or even know if the turn signals were working as I tried to exit the highway. The Model 3 has only one screen where everything (including basic instruments) is displayed and most controls are accessed. When the screen freezes, we lose access to basics like speedometer, collision safety or system failure warnings or even speedometer readings, as well as control of headlights, wipers, climate control, lock / unlock, navigation, and many other essential functions. During these failures, we do not know what if any safety systems are still operating. Typically when this problem occurs, the screen "freezes" while driving, without warning or any indication of trouble. The screen remains unresponsive for a lengthy period (typically minutes) until the screen goes completely black for a time, and then eventually a Tesla logo appears, followed by instruments and controls gradually being restored. The car was delivered from the factory to my home in this state, with other obvious defects—Tesla did not permit us to test-drive it. The next night a Tesla technician saw the failure happening in real time, through Tesla's remote diagnostics. He said the car was probably not safe to drive. I asked to return the car under Tesla's satisfaction policy, and he agreed to start the refund process. Tesla refused to take the car back, and the car has continued to exhibit these failures. This has been happening since the car was delivered in October of 2018.
The 12V auxiliary battery failed around 6:45pm PST on Aug. 8, 2021, causing the car to be unresponsive - Tesla acknowledged this. There was no warning prior to the battery failure. The driver (my wife) was trapped in the car because the electronic door latch would not open and the windows would not retract. My wife was panicked, crying and kicking at the window. I had to break the window to get her out. Tesla replaced the 12V battery as an item under warranty. They believe that I/we should have know about the manual door release to avoid breaking the window. This manual release is unmarked and inconspicuous. Tesla claims that the manual door release is described in the car's user manual; however, the car's user manual is electronic (no hard copy provided) and was not accessible because the car was unresponsive. The user manual can only be accessed from the car's display screen. There is no telephone number to call a Tesla representative and no way to access the user manual via the iPhone application. I had no choice but to break the window. Tesla is aware that their 12V batteries are failing prematurely and are not doing anything to prevent drivers from being trapped inside vehicles. The tow truck driver said he picked up four Tesla cars on Aug 9th for the same battery issue. I spoke to multiple other Tesla owners and none were aware of the manual door release. This includes one of my neighbors who received his Tesla a few months ago. It was not explained during the delivery process. The driver must rely on an electronic user's manual that can only be accessed when the car is operational. The faulty battery creates a condition that renders the car non-operational, so the contents of the user manual are irrelevant. Furthermore, the unmarked door release is an insufficient safety feature. Airplanes, buses, trains all have emergency exits marked. Apparently Tesla chose not to do this. Tesla created an unsafe situation where people can be trapped.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while using driving and with the Full self-driving feature activated, the vehicle nearly crashed into other parked vehicles. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 21,389.
My car was parked and was charging in our garage when it suddenly shut off. I got into the car to get something, but noticed the car's computer screen did not light up. I tried to open the glove box and it also would not open. When I tried to open the car door button, it also would not open the door while I was still inside. I got out of the car using the manual car handle and realized the charger would not unplug from the car either. I was very scared that the car was going to burn because the battery was charging at the time and everything suddenly happened. In addition, the backseat doors do not have a manual car handle to open the door. In an event of an emergency and the power shuts off, how are passengers sitting in the backseat going to escape from the vehicle??? The cause was due to a 12v battery malfunction.
I was driving my model 3(in motion) in the left lane of a 3 lane local road (3 lanes each direction). The car suddenly displayed 2 warning light, "unable to drive" and another warning about vehicle powering down, move to a safe location. The car stopped a few seconds after displaying these warnings. I did not have enough time to maneuver the car to a safe location. I was stuck on the left of the busy roadway. I was offered help by a police officer and a pedestrian to help push the car to safety. I was unable to engage the car in neutral to allow the folks helping me to push the car. The 2 main major safety concerns was the vehicle shutting down completely and then being unable to shift the vehicle to neutral to move it to safety. Please investigate this. My family could have been in the vehicle with me and we could have been seriously injured or killed in an accident. Thanks.
Car frequently fails to unlock, or to shut down. Have reported this dozens of times to tesla who has failed to acknowledge or fix the issue. When leaving, the car will sometimes sit with all systems running, doors unlocked, ready to be driven away. When trying to enter, it frequently will not unlock as claimed. We cannot depend on the car to unlock if we were in any kind of rush or danger. Picture below shows the car refusing to unlock as claimed via the app, which is the "main" way to unlock a model 3. "keyless entry" is terribly unreliable, and often requires getting out the backup cardkey and trying to manually unlock the car.
Our car caught fire sitting in the driveway of my house. This happened around 4am in jan9, security footage from neighbors has been handed over to fd and tesla engineering team. The last trip was 10 hours prior to parking the car. We are lucky it was not in the garage or charging, the damage could have been more than a few broken windows, as soon as we saw the fire we called the fd, they put out the fire within 15 minutes.
Because I hit a small puddle of water on the road, my vc right got water inside and the passenger seat started tilting forward, then move forward then tilt back. All moves to the maximum range. If someone would've been sitting on it, the best case would've been some broken legs, worst case death. I was unable to operate the passenger seat with the controls. Had to go to service for emergency, and they said that 2018 models have a problem that lets outside water inside and shortcuts vc right. They replaced that vc right computer and said they retrofitted it and hope it does happen again. Now I have 2 model 3's and when I asked service to retrofit the other one too, the asnwer was well if it didn't happen it's okay no need. I'm not feeling safe to put my loved ones on passenger seat if it's raining, car wash, or anything that involves water.
-multiple times that the screen has gone black while actively driving the car (both on city streets and highway) -episodes where the screen is unresponsive; thus, being unable to use any functions of the car using the touchscreen both while stationary and while driving the car -car not rebooting/resetting despite multiple attempts while stationary -car sounds suddenly being cut off while driving- unable to hear turn signal, GPS, etc-and while driving -car/system implements auto-correction measure to reposition the car thinking the car is departing from the lane, when in fact, the car is not swerving or trying to do a lane switch (car is driving in lane on a highway). Due to this faulty system, car has unsafely drifted while in motion and does not let human guidance trump this mechanical error.
Car interface bugged out and would not recognize with the phone key or key card to start after entering the parked vehicle. Touch screen flashed on and off. Attempted resets to no avail. System would randomly shut itself off and not turn back on.
While I was parking, the car it unexpectedly accelerated and jump over the side walk and crash itself into the building and destroyed the face of the building and the car. The air bags deployed from the impact of the car.
Vehicle will emergency brake on highway without warning and no other cars around. Also unable to access charging port to charge vehicle.
Three separate problems: (1) rear camera goes black when backing up. (2) forward facing camera gives error on screen "driving visualization temporarily degraded" when driving. This happens on road and freeway. (3) screen became completely unresponsive to input. Map display was working. Following software reset procedure fixed this.
The backup camera and side view cameras are intermittently not displaying while reversing. The camera displays the trajectory lines, however, the image is totally black. There is no camera feed. This problem has remained, despite several software updates. The camera at times will freeze on a previous image, not the current 'live' image.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 tesla model 3. The contact stated that while using the automatic parking feature, the vehicle independently accelerated and crashed into a vehicle. There was no injury sustained. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to tesla (5544 okeechobee blvd, west palm beach, fl 33417, (561) 841-9281) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that dealers findings were that both hands were off the steering wheel and the brake and accelerator pedal were being depressed while attempting to parallel park. On another occasion after the vehicle was parked, the contact entered the vehicle and was locked in with the electrical function inoperable. The contact remained locked in for 45 minutes until security was able to remove her from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to the same dealer where the 12 volt battery was replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle remained at the dealer. The contact was concerned for her safety and declined to retrieve the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 11,776. *bf consumer stated car had issue the moment consumer purchased it.
Several ongoing issues with touch screen failure (black outs) malfunction, has been repaired more than 3 times continues to be issue * ongoing accelerometer malfunction * all of sudden receive error message stability control disabled * --regenerative braking disabled * --automatic emergency braking is disable * ongoing phone key and connection issues, antenna issues, unable to connect to bluetooth. Repeated issues have not been resolved by tesla service dept * touch screen failure (black outs)and consistent issues with connectivity wifi. * mass malfunction of internal hardware * voice control barely works * seatbelt sensor malfunction * issue with breaking noise, screeching * uncontrollable acceleration while ongoing chronic unintended acceleration problems, such a accelerate out of control, jerking, braking all of sudden while driving. Suddenly acceleration * these are ongoing issues with our tesla model 3. Several of these malfunctions have been addressed with tesla service department more than 3 to 4 in the last six months. Filed complaint on 8/30/2019 the federal safety agency id# 11301634.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 tesla model 3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH while in the auto pilot mode and with the vehicle merging onto a ramp which is descending downward with on coming vehicles stopped approximately 200 feet ahead the auto pilot did not deactivate and slow the vehicle causing the vehicle to crash into the rear of a second vehicle. During the crash no injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene (9675202000182). The vehicle was destroyed and towed away. The manufacturer and local dealer tesla of costa mesa (3140 pullman rd. Costa mesa ca) were notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 20,500.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 tesla model s. While driving at 5 MPH the vehicle independently accelerated, jerked and stalled. The seat belt warning lights were illuminated. The driver and passenger safety restraint fault message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to tesla 6701 amador plaza rd, dublin, ca 94568, (925)361-1173 where it was diagnosed that the safety sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 19,241.
My tesla when on autopilot on a freeway running less than 5 MPH due to traffic was right behind a big truck and the car never stopped and bumped into the truck. An attempt to brake manually was done but the autopilot wouldnt deactivate and give us back the control to stop the car. I have a video from my front cam with the incident. I was lucky my car was not driving at a higher speed if the same incdent could happen as like may others who got killed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 tesla model 3. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with electronic doors that released the latch when the door handle and/or a button located inside the vehicle's door was activated. The contact stated that the passenger side doors failed to release the latch when prompted. Tesla (52 derwood cir, rockville, md 20850, (301) 738-6523) diagnosed that the rear latched needed to be replaced. The rear passenger door was repaired, but the front door was not. The manufacturer stated that the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 98,825.
About 6 weeeks ago the horn on my tesla model 3 stopped working. I have had one very close call where I almost got in a wreck because the other driver was making a u turn in front of me who did not see me coming. I could not get their attention because my horn did not work. I had to go into the lane of on coming traffic to avoid a serious wreck. I have made multiple efforts to get tesla to get this repaired. They have failed every single time to take care of this or even schedule an appointment. Communication has been very little and now they are not responding at all. I have emailed them and texted them. Even tried to get them to help thru their twitter account. Please help !!
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