The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the seat belt warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the seat belt was inoperable, and the front seat restraint system failure message was displayed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 99,508.
2018 Tesla Model 3 seat belts complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 105, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle started to display error message of "front left safety restraint system fault" intermittently, then would come on after the vehicle runs for about 5 minute and stay on. According to online forums, this is a common issue with Tesla Model 3, primarily related to the frequent movements of the seat (use of easy entry function). There appears to be electrical wires / sensors that can be damaged or pinched from moving the seat. There is no other issues aside from the safety alert. Tesla quoted more than $700, mostly in labor, to evaluate root cause of the issues. This can be a potential safety issue (not sure how this affects seat belt and/or airbag deployment), and it is not due to negligence or misuse of the vehicle; rather, this appears to be related to the design and quality of vehicle and should be covered by Tesla as a recall to fix the issue.
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.
getting a "front left safety restraint fault" warning when moving the driver seat...is a known issue in tesla forums where the seat wiring harness is not secured properly and either a wire is crimped by the seat mechanicals or a wiring harness is pulled loose...
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.
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)
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.
Keep getting a safety restraint system fault error displayed and the estimate is more than $2000.This error just came out of the blue and I am not sure if the vehicle is safe to operate.
This is a follow up to issue 11584898. Tesla Service states that due to the seat belt fault, the vehicle is not safe to drive until repair is complete. Tesla is also not providing a loaner vehicle until the vehicle is repaired. This puts many Model 3 and Model Y Drivers at risk due to limited Tesla and 3rd party service centers, limited service center schedule availability, and high cost of repair.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Front left safety restraint system fault, must replace first row seat harness assembly for seat belt. It is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Potential Seat Belt Malfunction, Tesla states "Service Required" Â Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, common issue all over Tesla forums covering both Model 3 and Model Y. The problem/warning is reproducible on personal vehicle. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Tesla diagnostics showed service is required to replace front row seat belt assembly due to fault. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Yes, warning on display "Front left safety restraint system fault/Service is required" first appeared on personal vehicle 1 year ago intermittently, but online forums show this issue on similar vehicles dating back to 2019
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, a message displayed reading "Left from passenger safety restraint system fault". 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 Technical Service Bulletin: SB-21-17-005. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 105,000.
Car displayed safety restraint system fault RCM_a094. Tesla diagnosed as rear seat buckle sensor failure. Additionally, car displays an intermittent fault RCM_a056. Tesla diagnosed this as a front passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor fault. Tesla stated the front passenger airbag would need to be replaced as the new sensor is not compatible with the older airbag. This renders the entire airbag system inoperable due to this component failure. The critical safety issue is extremely expensive as the incompatible sensor requires expensive airbag replacement. Furthermore, the safety system is prone to failure with 2 safety system faults occurring at <80k miles. Service rep stated that the 2018 model year has had issues with the airbag system that is why they updated the module. I asked for recall or replacement at Tesla cost but was denied. Facebook group discussions and search indicate others have intermittent OCS sensor failure and this is likely a defective part for that year.
Error message displays confirming: “Front left safety restraint system default” Error code displayed: RCM_a021 Service is required but Tesla is charging for this safety issue. Researched this and other drivers are reporting same issue.
I'm getting an error for "Safety restraint system fault" on my Tesla Model 3. When I booked a service appointment it turns out they are wanting to charge $1,955.11 for replacing the Occupant Classification System (OCS) of the front passenger, updating the front passenger airbag, and installing a OCS filter module. This seems to be safety related and should be part of a recall. I have seen similar reports from other drivers on Reddit.
On Feb 12 2024 the error code RCM_a021 appeared. “Front left safety restraint system fault Service is required.” The service center confirmed that it was an issue related to seatbelt safety during a crash. They said “The specific part that would fail in this case would be the seatbelt pretensioner. When in an impact this deploys and pulls the seatbelt tightly against the driver. This will likely not deploy in an accident if not repaired as the wires going to this component are broken. We are replacing it with a new updated part that will not wear and have this same issue.” Although a known safety issue, it was NOT a repair under warranty. I am putting in this claim and appeal that it should be an under warranty repair. Parts and Labor for 1 seatbelt assembly replacement would have been $450. As it is a known safety issue, I opted to proactively repair both front seat seatbelt assemblies so the cost increased to $650. The cost estimate is attached. Also attached is the text communications with Tesla service center.
I was driving when I received a service prompt on my Tesla Model 3 stating that there was a fault with my front passenger safety restraint. When I looked around the area, I noticed that the cable securing my seat belt to the vehicle was sticking out of the enclosure by about 6 inches. The car has not been involved in any violent collisions and the seatbelt has not otherwise been abused in any way. The car only has 23,163 miles on it.
Service advisory for front driver's side seat belt system appears on central screen after seatbelt is unlatched and retracted. Front right side also had this warning but it no longer does. Warning reads as follows : "! Front left safety restraint system fault. Service is required. Note: this warning reappears even when the seat belt is held loosely and allowed to fully snap back into the retractor. The warning persists even after rebooting the main screen (double scroll wheel press reboot)
Many Tesla owners are experiencing this issue: "Front left (or right) safety restraint system fault. Service is required" message on screen Tesla service quoted $430 for a repair of a problem that shouldn't exit on a privately owned, non commercial low mileage (<50k in 5 years) vehicle. Tesla service refuses to do a recall or warranty repair. Comparison; we have a family Volvo with ~250k miles and it has never had a seat belt issue!
began receiving fault alert 'RCM_a021 - Front Left Safet Restraint System Fault' in December 2023. Web query indicates this has become a common problem, with the source being a loose connection of the seat wiring harness under the front driver's seat. No other observed malfunction of the vehicle. alert occurs whenever car is entered and powered on (seat adjusts for specified driver). Alert seems to be based on loose wire that is either loose or severed at the wire harness connection.
I have three potential safety hazards to report. Tesla has advised that there is no recall for any of these. 1) The car issued an alert that says "Front Passenger Safety System Fault." This seems like the most serious. 2) The horn malfunctions and does not work at safe level 3) The driver's side mirror does not consistently extend out preventing the driver from adequately using the mirror for driving.
We intermittantly received alerts on the screen showing "Front safety restraint system fault (service is required)." After many hours of research, we found that other owners also have the same issue and they found that a wire from a electrical connector that connected to the seatbelt pretentension was broken from the seat being moved up and down.
My Tesla has been in need of repair for a "System Restraint Fault" 5 times since the car was purchased and 4 times in the past year. The Tesla service center has replaced multiple components including the seat harness, seat sensor, airbag, low voltage circuits over the span of the service appointments. It is unknown what would happen if an accident were to occur with the sensor fault activated or if it would cause an accident. I bring this issue up because it is a known issue to Tesla but I have not seen any recall information, nor does it seem like the service centers know how to fix the issues, especially since I have taken the car in so many times during the life of the car.
When driver seat adjusted to end positions (e.g all the way up/down/forward/backward), it causes an error message stating “Front left safety restraint system fault” & and airbag failure icon would appear. This usually cause by the wire harness being pinched or stretched. The error message may come and go based on the position of the seat, and occurs more frequently as time goes by. I am concern that the airbag or other safety restraint system may fail to engage when the message pops up. Tesla community has reported similar failure.
Seat restrain system detected a fault with the back row seat buckle. This appears to be a repeated issue based on other drivers reporting same safety issue. Happy to provide photos.
Recall items not available
Seat belt sensor went off. Took vehicle to Tesla and was charged for a replacement of the seat buckle that you place the seat belt in. This should be a safety hazard and should not be a charge to replace a safety seat buckle. I have an invoice of the work done and what I paid to fix.
Car issued a message on screen: "Front left safety restraint system fault. Service is required". From what we found online, others are experiencing this same problem with this make/model and have also received this message recently. Appears that there is a bad connector under the seat. This sure seems to be a safety issue so wanted to make you aware. At this point, it is reported that Tesla has been charging people to fix the safety issue. We plan to make a service appointment to get this fault addressed and hope that they will fix it at no cost to us.
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