This car, like many Teslas, is experiencing what has been come to be known as phantom braking. When in the autopilot or full self driving, this car will occasionally to frequently, depending on the day, suddenly break where it will decelerate from say 65 mph to 45 or 50 in a very short period of time. This can happen in very busy traffic conditions. It seems to happen when I'm going faster rather than slower. For example, I haven't experienced it so much on City Street. It seems much more prominent on highways. This is an issue that has many YouTube videos about. It has been reported by many Tesla owners as well as the media.
2021 Tesla Model 3 acceleration complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 123, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Latest update changed the cruise control to force inclusion of autopilot. Cruise control function is now unavailable with without this autonomous feature. It's not only distracting, but aggravating. What's worse, is there's no online ability to inform or complain directly to Tesla. This isn't the first safety-related software glitch. Please get them to fix these issues.
While driving [XXX] on [XXX] in Texas, the Tesla autopilot abruptly and forcibly applied the brakes while I was driving approximately 77 mph. I was almost rear ended by a semi truck due to this issue. This happened again about 20 miles down the road and I disengaged the cruise control and autopilot altogether at that point. This is a continuous problem that needs to be addressed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Complete computer failure leaving cars safety systems not working. Had to pay 3000$ for a new computer for a new car. Did not have car for three weeks. No systems would work.
The contact owned a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that after reversing out of a parking space, then shifting to the drive position and lightly pressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and drove forward at a very high rate of speed. The vehicle drove across a street and crashed into a building. During the crash, the driver sustained an upper torso and neck injury and was transported to the hospital. One person inside the building was also injured during the incident. No further information was available. The vehicle was destroyed and towed away. A police report was taken at the scene. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 12,400.
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while attempting to park at 5 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed however the vehicle accelerated independently. As a result, the contact crashed into the two parked vehicles on the side of the parking space she was attempting to park. No air bags were deployed. One parked vehicle had an occupant and the other was unoccupied. There were no injuries or medical attention required. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer where it was unable to be diagnosed due to no available appointment. The dealer then suggested the vehicle be towed to the contact's residence where it currently remains in the garage. Tesla informed the contact that the brake system would not be inspected until she repaired the crash cosmetic damage to the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 33,000.
This accident involved a high speed collision on the 2nd floor of a parking garage at a hospital in a suburb of Houston, Tx. Both the driver and the passenger were killed. A question has arisen as to how the vehicle could have accelerated at such a high rate, in such a short period of time, especially inside a parking garage? When we found out NHSTA was re-opening, the Tesla sudden acceleration issue, we thought it important to include the facts of our accident. Sudden acceleration in this case, raises some concern, taking into account the facts and circumstances surrounding this accident. We have photos of the vehicle if needed.
Driving on I-5 North from Los Angeles to San Francisco with adaptive cruise control activated. Suddenly and without warning car activates emergency braking as if it sees an obstruction on the road but obviously road was clear of any obstructions. This happened 4 times then I finally decided to no longer use cruise control. This happened on a clear sunny day around noon time 9/8/23.
I was driving west bound on I4 August 12th 2023 at 1236pm at mile marker 45-47. I was in the left hand lane with the cruise control set at 73 mph. all traffic was moving well. there was no car in front of me. there was a car passing me slowly on the right. there was a retaining wall to my left. My car for no reason changed the setting on my cruise control from 73 to 35mph. this caused my husband and I to be thrown forward and I had to jam on the gas to try to regain speed. This was the 4th time this happened and the second time I have reported to Tesla who insists that there is nothing wrong with the car. I am scared if someone is following me closely I will be rear-ended at a high rate of speed. They continue to quote information from the manual and in the invoices insinuating that any incident occurring from this would be my fault. This is a terrifying thing to happen when there is no reason for the car to slow for any reason.
2021 Tesla Model 3 RWD; 21,000 miles I pulled into a parking spot creeping in like I am about to park the car. When I tapped on the break to stop the car, it suddenly accelerated forward. It jerked so quickly forward that the back of my head was pushed into the headrest like a whiplash. Luckily, there was not a car parked in front of me because I generally park away from other cars. I quickly hit the break and the car stopped. I am 100% positive I did not accidentally hit the gas pedal. If I did hit the gas petal, I would not have hit it hard enough to make the car jerk forward and accelerate like it did especially when in a slow creeping speed to come to a stop to park the car. In 36 yrs of driving I have not had one accident. This was quite a scary.
The vehicle was traveling in excess of 75 mph with only the autopilot system enabled. The vehicle brakes engaged by itself enough to squeal the tires and the rear end momentarily broke free from the pavement. I disengaged autopilot and drove for approximately 5 minutes. I reengaged autopilot and approximately 5 minutes later the brakes engaged again. I left autopilot disengaged for the remainder of the trip (~ 4 hrs) There were no other vehicles nearby but the breaking was severe enough that if another vehicle had been behind me, it could have caused a collision. The dealer acknowledges that this unintended breaking does occur on other vehicles. There was no warning that the vehicle would severely brake. The weather was clear with bright sun on route I25 south of Denver.
Just completed a 2week trip and the car attempted to stop on its own over 37 times (stopped counting) on the highway. 2times I had a semi within a block of my rear of the car. Since this occurrence is not anticipated it worries me that it's going to cause an accident. Reported to Tesla and it's days the feature is beta, I don't believe that for a second . This my 3td car with adaptive cruise control. I was not using the auto guidence feature.
Constant phantom breaking
1:Brake fail when trying to stop the car after the accident. The car is available for inspection at Arrow towing service Oklahoma City. 2: After the car accident the car keep going can't stop got Tee boned and my passenger broke his legs and ankles, elbow. 3: No, the problem has not be discussed with the dealer or manufacturer yet. 4: No one, including police, insurance have been inspect it. 5: No warning lamp or any kind of warning.
When driving the Tesla model 3 in cruise control, It will without warning apply the brakes. I have to then accelerate and then take it out of cruise control. The issue has happened about a dozen times and only happens while in cruise control. It happened most recently today but has happened in previous days.
The incident first happend (and has been happening ever since) on I-8, I-10, I-20 east bound 2 days ago. Driving on EB I-8 with speed limits 75MPH, engaged Tesla's well touted onboard Enhanced Auto Pilot (EAP) with Auto Steer control. There was no one ahead of us for over a mile. The weather was clear and sunny, time of incident around noon. Max speed was set to 75 on EAP. All of a sudden, we felt a jerky motion, and realized the EAP has activated brakes, dropping speed from set 75 to about 50mph. No visual or audible alarms, the EAP did not disengage. The driver took over to speed up to avoid being rear ended by vehicles coming behind us. It happened several times more during our trip and then we decided to manually drive. We have video documentation available.
My model 3 on crusing speeds on high ways, automatically applies brakes and makes sudden,abrupt, jolted slowing down which causes extreme pressure on persons body
Car put on brakes unexpectedly during use of adaptive cruise control (autopilot). This phantom braking happens often at highway speed. Bug reports have been sent from vehicle to Tesla
I was driving with the Autopilot on, traveling about 65 mph on the freeway when the automatic emergency braking system kicked in for no reason. There was absolutely nothing in front of the car when it aggressively braked, very suddenly. I was very lucky no one was behind me. I have not reported this directly to Tesla, no one has inspected or confirmed this event.
The only cruise control feature available on this car is the adaptive cruise control. This car continues to make sudden unsafe braking maneuvers for no reason. It seems to get confused by steep hills, bridges, shadows, and other factors. You can be on a highway going 70mph and it will slam the brakes, terrifying passengers and potentially causing you to get rear ended. This has been ongoing since the purchase of the car 1 year ago.
I was going 80mph on the interstate coming back from Little Rock to Tulsa. The time was 4am in the morning with little or no traffic on the road. I was using only the cruise control with adaption turned on. The car all of a sudden without any warning almost came to a complete stop on the interstate. I later asked what caused this and was told it is phatom braking but this was VERY dangerous, if someone had been behind me they probably would have been messed up. I merely accelerated to make sure I was at least keeping the minimum speed limit. Please advise. Shawn
On certain sections of highway unsuccessfully attempted to activate auto-steer (two down clicks) multiple times in a row. Did this multiple times in a row but was unsuccessful to activate auto-steer. Instead a supposed "easter egg" (which activates with 4 down clicks) very loudly plays loud jarring music (called "rainbow road")...this is NOT FUCKING FUNNY--I nearly ran my car off the road and into oncoming traffic. Giant 2000 pound hunks of metal going at 60 mph should NOT FUCKING COME with special surprises. This is incredibly dangerous and jarring to drivers.
Traveling between Colorado and Missouri, multiple instances of "phantom braking" where, without warning, the car would brake suddenly and very sharply, such that the tires would squeal and items in the back seat slid onto the floor. There were no obstacles, the weather was clear and there was no reason for it to do so. We were only using the cruise control and not the self driving program. Our safety was put at risk because had a car or truck been behind us, a severe rear end collision could have occurred. We were traveling at highway speeds at the time this occurred. We requested a service appointment but Tesla told us this could not be addressed in a service appointment. Tesla said this would be addressed in future updates. We told Tesla this was unsatisfactory and dangerous. We wanted the car inspected and the problem addressed but Tesla said the service appointment could not do anything. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms before the failure. In fact the braking did not even disengage the cruise control, which normally is the case when the brake is applied. This had occurred previously and Tesla said it would be fixed with a computer update in July 2022. Obviously it has not been fixed.
Driving with cruise control on following another vehicle 150 yards in front of me. I'm not even using Auto-Pilot because on how dangerous and unpredictable it is. I'm using Normal Cruise Control, which is also a disaster. A car built in 80s can perform cruise control without any hassle. It phantom braked and the vehicle behind me had to take corrective action. This has to be addressed to be fixed. Ditching radar for "vision" was a huge mistake that puts mine and many other lives in danger. A simple cruise control feature that every car is equipped with shouldn't be a death sentence waiting to happen.
Complaint: Phantom Braking -- My wife and I took ownership of our 2021 Tesla Model 3 at the beginning of July 2021. We experienced what is referred to as Phantom Braking (Car initiating sudden braking while at highway speeds). We took it on a 3,000+ mile road trip to visit national parks in the western United States. Having owned electric vehicles since 2015, we found Tesla's charging network to be reliable and hassle-free to operate. On a few long stretches of road in Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah we engaged model 3's adaptive cruise control. Three times during that trip, between July 2nd and July 8th, 2021, the car braked hard, without warning, while traveling at highway speeds. From what we could determine, shadows cast on the road at the approaching side of gentle hills, with the sun in front of us, may have been interpreted by the car's camera's as an approaching or stationary object on the road. This was very unnerving and caused us to lose faith in the adaptive cruise control system. This was both disappointing and a bother since it meant that we were driving a 50 thousand dollar car without cruise control, making driving a more tiresome experience. This past labor day weekend, 2022, we drove to Las Vegas on the same Tesla model 3 and again activated the adaptive cruise control while driving in Nevada. We thought that by now the periodic software updates would have fixed the problem. This time the Phantom Braking occurred more frequently and on seemingly level sections of road. After about four attempts at using the adaptive cruise control we stopped. This was, again, disappointing that we were driving a car whose adaptive cruise control failed to perform as it was designed to. We were disappointed because for what we paid for the car, this feature should be more mature than it is. Luckily we did not have other cars close behind us at the times the car's computer together with the sensors and / or cameras decided it needed to apply the brakes.
Unexpected phantom braking occurring randomly but on multiple occasions during a 2000 mile multi day trip. Several incidents of a hiccup resulting on a jolt but at least three incidents of rapid and sudden deceleration without an observed corresponding hazard. Occurred a couple times while cresting a hill on single and multi lane roads. One severe incident occurred while passing a semi truck on a multiple lane highway. Causes high anxiety and potential for a crash, especially from behind. This has not been inspected by Tesla or others but note many reports of this online. No warning prior to event but cruise control did not work properly after event and required reseting.
The adaptive cruise control (Tesla "autopilot") system has unexpectedly disengaged and applied light to heavy braking numerous times. The system frequently mistakes a particular highway sign for a stopped vehicle and applies moderate braking. The system has also applied light to heavy braking in circumstances where I simply cannot figure out what the camera is interpreting as a hazard. This puts me and other drivers around me at risk as it is unnecessary and unpredictable braking at highway speeds in traffic. Tesla has not been able to remedy this problem and I do not consider the cruise control system to be safe to use. This has happened more than 10 times.
When car was engaged in Autopilot the barking system was activated without warning or cause. The vehicle slowed rapidly and sudden. Had to disengage Autopilot to get vehicle back to safe driving speed. No others vehicles where in front or behind me and no obstructions were in the path of vehicle.
This is a complaint about Tesla using unqualified drivers to test Atopilot Beta on the public roads. Please note that the VIN of a random Model 3 Tesla has been used to enable this submission to be completed. Here is a video of a driver testing Autopilot on what is in his own words the most dangerous road in Virginia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VBhdrj1CqM He is driving hands free around sharp bends and against oncoming traffic entirely hands free but just giving the wheel a little nudge with his finger every 30 seconds to defeat the nag. At one point the car does swerve towards an oncoming car but corrects itself just in time. The driver is alert and monitoring the situation but because he does not have his hands on the wheel he is playing russian roulette with many lives. Please do not allow this madness to continue for one day longer. Elon Musk thinks this is all a joke which is why he has called it release 69. Smutty and unamusing. I will be posting a copy of this report on social media where it will be widely read. If you fail to take action there will be consequences. Thank you. I have archived this video in case the owner or Tesla decides to delete it. If that happens I will make another complaint with a link to my copy. A dummy USA address has been used to enable this submission. My true email address is used and you may contact me on this.
In Autopilot there has been a phantom braking problem (automatic emergency breaking due to object avoidance) since day one. It happened more than just regularly and would be uncalled for, scary, and dangerous. Ever since the update I have done that the company sent though, this has become now not just more than regularly but more than frequently and uncontrollably dangerous. It has done it around 30 times on a 9 and a half hour road trip. It has done a 20 mph slowdown from the speed limit FOR NO REASON in as fast as about two seconds frequently. The ONLY thing that has saved us from getting rear ended is due to driver diligence and pure luck of being on an open interstate because of the road trip instead of it being through the congested part of a city…where it still can happen easily.
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