Recently I noticed that the automatic windshield wipers are completely non-functional on my vehicle. Windshield wipers can still be turned on manually and work normally as expected in all speeds in manual control mode. But in auto control mode, they simply don't turn on at all, even in very heavy rain. This is critical because when driving the vehicle in Autopilot mode or Full-Self-Driving mode, the vehicle automatically puts the windshield wipers in auto control mode and the driver cannot change them to manual mode. So when driving using Autopilot in the rain, the windshield wipers just stay completely off all the time, even when Autopilot is displaying warning messages about severe weather. I contacted Tesla support about this and Tesla support immediately responded that this is a known issue and should be corrected via over-the-air update soon, but no ETA available.
2018 Tesla Model 3 visibility complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 61, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Software bug for sure. When car is in autopilot the windshield wipers start and cannot be turned off. This occurrs when the windshield is clean , not raining. The wiper off virtual switches cannot be turned off and the only option is to switch from auto to 1 to slow the wipers. If the car is not in autopilot the issue doesn’t not occur and the wipers operate as they should.
I’ve called twice for Tesla to fix the part for this recall. They tell me they won’t fix because I have an aftermarket truck opener. The back up camera works sometimes but not all times.
The issue is with autostart, enhanced auto pilot and lane departure warning. I paid for Enhanced auto pilot. This car totally relies on cameras. 1. In the slightest occurrence of rain, it complains about one or more cameras malfunctioning or out of vision. This doesn't happen often in Full Self Driving version. For early adopters of Model3 FSD, manufacturer updated the cameras. However they did not do that for early Enhanced Autopilot customers. 2. For the same reason, on a 3 lane or more highway, on autopilot when one moves from speed most lane and if there is a truck on the slowest lane, the camera shows somehow that the truck is on the middle lane when it is not, and hence the software assumes an impending crash and pulls you back to the speed most lane, giving no time for anyone behind you to think anyone, and leaves yourself in a dumbfounded state. 3. Without the upgraded cameras, Autopilot is prone to accidents. 4. Car tent to automatically brake when sun directly shines on the driver or there is a bridge in front of you while on autopilot. I believe this has something to do with the older version of cameras.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's and passenger's side door panels made clicking sounds while the windows were rolling up and down. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The rear view camera in our Model 3 stopped working in April 2022. This is a known problem related to the federal safety agency Recall Number 21V-00D, which was issued in December 2021. It has been over a year & Tesla is still waiting for parts to become available to perform the repairs for this recall. Although our car is still drivable, it is very difficult to use Tesla’s Superchargers since they require the car to be backed into the parking space.
Tesla recently pushed out a significant software update version 2023.2.12. Like a similar software upgrade last year, the upgrade wipes out all user profiles and rearranges control settings. The sudden change makes it hard to find simple and necessary control features of the car. The driver is significantly distracted trying to find where the new controls are. Some are hidden. Some are no longer visible. Software update is inherently unsafe especially for older drivers. In addition, the controls panel font is so small that many of the controls cannot be seen by older drivers. We have complained to Tesla that this is inherently unsafe and poses a risk to motor vehicle safety. No response.
Heating has malfunctioned and car will not warm up defrost windows in snow storm. This happened shortly after charging the tesla at a supercharger and the car also seemed to suddenly require a software update. Having performed the update and reboot, the heat has not fixed. The weather is currently 14f and the car is essentially undrivable in the recent snow storms due to no heat. The system will blow air but this will not melt accumulating ice. Unsafe and random.
The electrochromic rearview mirror will not significantly darken or dim. There is no way to make the mirror less reflective. The vehicle is designed to automatically simultaneously darken the rearview and sideview mirrors at night. The sideview mirrors darken properly* but the rearview mirror only very slightly changes color and does not noticeably reduce reflected light. This appears to be a manufacturing defect with the mirror. From what I understand about how electrochromic mirrors work, I believe there is likely a slight misalignment within the layers of the mirror that result in the mirror providing less than acceptable contrast. I have another Tesla with the exact same mirror and it works as intended. According to various internet message boards, many Tesla owners have the same and the opposite problem (mirror gets too dark). This would lead me to believe this is due to lack of quality control during the mirrors' manufacture. This lack of functionality requires me to suffer temporary blindness (Troxler Effect) caused by the intense reflection of headlights of the vehicles behind me. My only remedy is to reposition the mirror such that the mirror becomes useless for its intended purpose. This defect has existed since I purchased the vehicle new in September, 2018. There are no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms associated with the defect. I reported this to Tesla multiple times. Tesla technicians inspected and tested the mirror on at least two separate occasions during daytime hours. Both times the technicians stated that the mirror appeared to work properly but the technicians were unable to replicate the issue because the vehicle will only darken the mirrors after sunset. *This is also problematic because the mirrors should also darken on dark, rainy, overcast days when the vehicles behind me are using their headlights. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.
Many states like Florida have a law that headlights need to be on when it is raining, My Tesla has automatic wipers that come on when it senses rain, when this happens, it should also turn on headlights for safety reasons but it does not, they need to be turned on manually, the car does also have automatic headlights, but the automatic headlights on the car only work when it gets dark in the evening. This is a simple programming change that Tesla could do, my repeated requests to Tesla to address this in the app has done nothing, that’s why I’m requesting you force Tesla to do this. Makes sense right?
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notifications of the federal safety agency Campaign Number 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention), 22V702000 (Visibility), and 22V798000 (Seat Belts) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The local Service Center was contacted and confirmed that the parts were 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 the failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
After software update 2022.44.30 PTC heating failed. No warning lights, just failure to keep cabin warm.
The automatic wiper does not always work. Set to auto but despite poor visibility on the windshield, it failed to start until I manually adjusted the wiper control on the screen. With poor visibility and having to look at the infotainment screen to adjust wiper while vehicle is in motion, my safety was put at risk. Every time it rains, the auto wiper is unreliable and often fails to start or is too slow to start as if there is a huge delay and does not keep up with in heavy rain as it sometimes wipes too slow and I have to look at the screen to find the settings for the wiper to manually override the wiping speed. Also, the adaptive cruse control accelerates too aggressively at stop and go traffic causing hard braking by the car and I worry this will cause rear end collisions. The blind spot side cameras are unusable at night when turn signal is on as the light blinds the camera image and can’t see anything from it, multiple visits to service center and they told me it is normal and refuse to replace but this cannot be normal as the image from the camera is blinded by the turn signal.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of 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 local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that recently the rearview camera intermittently flickered while in use. The failure mileage was 49,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the front driver's side and passenger's side windows failed to operate as needed intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Tesla Service Center where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Additionally, the contact stated that he had been receiving notifications on the center display indicating that the visual ability of the camera on the front driver's side of the vehicle was faulty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while attempting to roll up the windows, the windows failed to respond as needed. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) 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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Water/liquid entering cabin from behind glovebox. Potentially affecting computer and other electronics. Also could affect the AC system and its intake air filtering. Possibly adding mold growth due to the excess moisture entering from the outside. When it rains, the water will gush through into the front passenger’s feet on occasion. This is possibly from pooling water in the intake within the front trunk. When activating the air conditioning in the car after sitting in the rain, it will spill over into the front passenger’s mat. This issue could additionally damage the floor with rust over time if a weather proof mat is not in place. Tesla Service will charge the customer when out of warranty, even though this is an issue that should not occur in any vehicle. Thank you. P.S. photos of puddling water taken from a video made during the occurrence of the issue
The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the Back Over Prevention camera intermittently failed to operate as needed. The contact then received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was taken to the service center where the back-up camera cable was reinforced as stated in the recall. Upon return of the vehicle, the contact stated that the back-up camera failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the dealer had not tested the cable and that the recall repair did not fix the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that since the failure was intermittent prior to the failure, they were not responsible for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000. The contact stated that the manufacturer had made a mistake and refunded the cost to the contact. The complaint has been resolved.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while reversing, the Back Over Prevention camera became inoperable nearly causing the vehicle to crash into the garage. The dealer and the manufacturer were contacted and stated that the contact had to pay for the diagnostic test even if the VIN was included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention. The failure mileage was 90,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of 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 dealer was not made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Tesla no longer automatically turns on headlights when the automatic wipers are enabled, this used to be a functionality of the vehicle. The ability to turn on headlights is extremely difficult and requires going through multiple screens while driving, something that is extremely dangerous. Tesla also does not allow you to turn on headlights with voice command. Proposed Fixes #1) Restore functionality that turns on headlights when wipers are enabled #2) Same as #1, but as a preference setting that requires a driver to enable that setting #3) Allow a driver to turn on headlights via voice command. If there is a safety concern that the voice system may turn OFF headlights, disable the ability to turn OFF but enable the ability to turn ON. Long story short the vehicle needs to automatically turn on the headlights when the wipers are on.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received a notification for the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention). The contact then attempted to ship the vehicle to Hawaii and was informed that all recalls must be serviced before shipment. The dealer was notified about the recall and informed her that parts were not available. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the HVAC system became inoperable. The contact stated that the cold weather had frozen the windows and the contact was unable to properly see out of the windows and windshield. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not yet repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 51,000.
My blindspot warning cameras display gets completely washed out at night, (unable to view alongside my vehicle) whenever the directional blinker lights. This causes me to loose view of anything alongside my car. This only happens during darkness. This has been corrected in newer versions of the camera, but Tesla refuses to repair this under warranty. I was instructed to have the cameras replaced at my cost or to disable the feature. They refuse to fix this under warranty. I have included the complete correspondence with Tesla after requesting service.
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.
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.
Consistently reverse backup camera is delayed appearing on screen. Camera views will be black for several seconds before video feed appears. After video feed appears it consistently freezes initially and then stutters when vehicle is in reverse motion. This legally required safety device puts pedestrians or property at risk as visibility is severely hampered. While over the shoulder visual checks can still occur a functional reverse camera provides additional visibility for shorter objects or children. No warnings appear, just degraded ability to view behind vehicle. Has happened over several years with various software versions, but lately has been consistently bad every time the car is put into reverse. Unclear if this is software only or a combo of hardware and software not being able to reliably handle reverse camera video feed. Current software is 2021.44.30.5
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