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2020 Tesla Model 3 visibility complaints

Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 28 of 28, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2020 Tesla Model 3 visibility problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jun 13, 2023 · Visibility · TX

Rear windshield developed a stress crack. No incident was involved, it just suddenly appeared. It ran about 1/3 of the rear window. I was concerned the glass would fall in on infant passenger seated in a car seat in the back seat. This appears to be a common glass problem for Tesla.

Filed Jun 12, 2023 · Driver assistance, Visibility · MD

The automatic windshield wipers came on and would not shut off. The car was clean, the day was sunny, and the camera lenses were free of dust or anything else that could cover them. While driving along, the wipers started and would not shut off. I went into the main monitor/screen that has the wiper settings but I was not able to activate the wiper/off button, so the wipers kept working. Pressing on that button would not activate it. I was in autopilot at the time, i.e., cruise control + lane keep assistance. I have FSD/full self driving, but have never used it since it is still in beta testing. I’m using Tesla software # 2023.7.10 I checked the various Tesla websites, and you can turn off the wipers only if you disable the ADAS features. After I turned off the ADAS, I was able to activate the wiper/off button. But this is a terrible situation, the ADAS needs to be activated, but if I activate, it wipers will begin working whenever they feel like it, regardless of the weather outside. This is clearly a software problem with the Tesla ADASN needs to be corrected. I don’t want to be driving along with auto pilot on, and then the wipers will simply turn on. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated to correct this dangerous situation. There are countless hundreds of complaints like this on the various Tesla websites about spontaneously functioning wipers when the weather is bright and sunny.

Filed Jun 1, 2023 · Visibility · AZ

Windshield wipers routinely start "auto-wiping", even while turned off. I've reported this to Tesla many times and nothing is done. Plenty of evidence online that others have this same problem. I live in Phoenix, Arizona so when I say my windshield is dry, I mean it's DRY. Leaving out how distracting it is to have your wipers refusing to quit wiping, it's also wearing out the wiper blades so they're not efficient when actually needed. I've already replaced them once a year ago with, maybe 10,000 miles on vehicle.

Filed Apr 21, 2023 · Driver assistance, Electrical · DC

The contact owns a 2020 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 unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part 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. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Apr 10, 2023 · Electrical, Visibility · WA

Left headlight blinker and windshield wiper not working. Happened twice once in 2022 and now. Repaired once in 2022 and when happens is dangerous because can’t signal and can’t use wipers in the rain

Filed Jan 30, 2023 · Visibility · CA

This is regarding the computer and the cameras on this car. From the first day that I got this car, I have had the issue that when I use the cameras or the backup camera on this it laggs and this is part of safety issue because I was going to ran over some people when I was reversing. The lagging is very noticibale and I took the car to Tesla multiple times and said is ok but when they send technician to my house, we went for drive and I showed him the cameras and he duplicated the problem. The problem is getting worst and last month the computer was blacked out while I was driving. I need you guys to help me out to either put a recall on this car or return and get my full money back for this junk.

Filed Nov 21, 2022 · Driver assistance, Electrical · CA

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notifications of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Back Over Prevention, Visibility) and 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Nov 21, 2022 · Driver assistance, Electrical · FL

The contact owns a 2020 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 not contacted. 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 and informed the contact that a request was not needed at this time and that he would receive a notification for an appointment for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Sep 18, 2022 · Visibility · FL

Tesla software version 2022.24.8 that I currently have installed has switched off the vehicles equipped forward facing radar. I can't find any method to undo their software update, I'm unable to find a way to contact a person via their website. I've lost control of my lights and wipers when the vehicle is using Autopilot. Both of which are set to automatic leaving me the driver with absolutely no way to turn them off short of turning off Autopilot which I've paid money for. I'm unhappy that a vital safety feature that I'd paid for (radar) has been switched off by the manufacturer without any means whatsoever to turn it back on. I do not want their software overriding my decisions as the driver, radar needs to be on and I the driver need to have full/complete control over lights and wipers.

Filed Apr 29, 2022 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 400 miles · HI · crash

The contact's granddaughter owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while her granddaughter was reversing, the rearview camera failed to turn on, causing the rear end of the vehicle to crash into a cement post. The contact was unsure whether there was a warning light illuminated. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla-certified autobody mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then towed to the contact's residence. The contact later 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 manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 400. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Feb 25, 2022 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 20,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse, the rear camera would intermittently fail to operate as needed. The contact had previously received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) but stated that the vehicle was not included in the recall. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

Filed Feb 17, 2022 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · NY

Phantom braking can occur when vehicles are passing at night and during the day for no reason. There is no adequate control to enable the windshield wipers. Many menus to access the wiper controls. Not safe

Filed Feb 8, 2022 · Driver assistance, Visibility · TX

Tesla model 3 has side repeater cameras that work as blind spot monitor cameras and provide visuals for safe lane changes. However, my model 3 suffers from a manufacturing defect in the camera assembly which causes the visuals to wash out at night due to light bleed from the turn signal. This caused an unsafe condition where i almost ran into a car in my blindspot being unable to see them on the camera visual. I raised the issue with service and they do not consider it a manufacturing defect. The defect however has been confirmed by independent researchers like here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BUPsjguqdY

Filed Dec 27, 2021 · Seats, Visibility · TX

Tesla pushed an update (v. 2021.44.25.2) to my Model 3 a couple of days ago that has dramatically altered the usability of the car, and potentially has safety implications. There was no warning prior to the update being applied that such changes to the car's user interface were included, nor is there any option to revert to the prior user interface. Major issues with the changes are outlined below: - 1-button, single-click shortcuts to seat heating, defrost/defog functionality have been removed; when driving in bad weather where the screen may fog up rapidly, you're now required to take your eyes off the road, and click twice on a small target on the touch screen to activate the required functionality. - 1-button, single-click access to the wipers has been removed, now requiring one to either rely on the auto-sensing functionality (which works properly about half the time), or click through the HVAC menu to adjust the wiper speed. - The quick access driver profile selection dropdown in the previous interface has been removed. My spouse and I differ significantly in height, and about half the time, the car selects the wrong profile when we're both getting into the car (despite our phone keys being linked to our specific profiles). With the earlier UI, it took one tap on the screen to switch to the correct profile. Now, I have to dig through menus to select the correct profile, while my knees are being slowly ground into the steering column/dash. - When driving, the speedometer, gear selection and navigation look significantly different than in the earlier UI. This is likely to lead to more distracted driving while we get used to the new interface. I filed a service request with Tesla, requesting that they revert our car back to the prior version of the interface; this request was denied and the appointment was automatically canceled with a generic message about firmware updates being rolled out on a schedule.

Filed Dec 27, 2021 · Lights, Visibility · VA

Tesla issues an update to software that forces drivers to go through a jumble of menus to do important tasks like turning on defrosters and windshield wipers. These used to be one touch items on the home screen, but now require drivers to take their eyes off the road for a dangerous amount of time.

Filed Oct 1, 2021 · Visibility · MI

My front windshield has chipped and then cracked twice in about 6 months. I heard a pebble hit the windshield the first time, but it sounded very small and I did not expect it to chip/crack. The second time I didn’t even hear anything hit it. My friend has the same vehicle and her back windshield cracked unexpectedly and another friend’s cracked when she hit a bug that was on the windshield with her hand.

Filed Apr 21, 2021 · Visibility · 9,000 miles · NY

Light sources such as tail lights of other vehicles, traffic lights, and lit signs, all have an artifact effect - view of the light source has a double that exists right above the original source with a slightly dimmer brightness when viewed through the windshield. This is not an effect caused by poor eyesight, things look normal when viewed directly through an open window. The effect can be reproduced at any time, but it is most noticeable at night when the view of the artifact is in high contrast to dark backgrounds. This effect is most noticeable on LED light sources, such as LED tail lights. This effect is produced regardless of the state of the vehicle - occurs when the vehicle is stationary or in motion. This is a safety concern as double vision - seeing artifacts on light sources through the windshield can cause excessive strain on drivers' eyes, and can be an unwelcome distraction to the driver. This can also potentially cause confusion in the driver where the location of a lit object may be misjudged by the driver who sees artifacts on those light sources.

Filed Nov 25, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 15 miles · NY

From the moment I drove my brand new tesla off the lot - the screen - the only way to control anything about the vehicle - would freeze; black out; and take several minutes to reset itself. While in this completely inoperative state: the audio system would emit a high pitch noise; any ability to tell speed; turning signal status; anything was completely impaired; the climate control blasts on high fan a torrent of cold air. At 2000 miles; this has happened several hundred times - on average once every 10 miles driven; though sometimes twice within a few moments (boots up only to reset again) and sometimes it can go as far as 30 minutes without freeze; black; reset. This is easily the most expensive car I've ever purchased; and had nearly 0 miles upon pickup - it is easily the most frustrating experience I've had with a car. To not be in control or have any visibility to the machine driving at highway speeds when everything goes completely black and the computer takes minutes to reset. The repair facility has estimated $2400 which they're attempting to charge me.

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