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2021 Tesla Model 3 brakes complaints

Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 126, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2021 Tesla Model 3 brakes problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed May 1, 2024 · Brakes, Driver assistance · VA

Tesla ADAS detects non existent objects and issues collision alerts and phantom brakes randomly if there is no cars in front of the Tesla, braking abruptly and almost getting me into rear end accidents. Tesla ADAS freaks out when making lane changes randomly, shaking violently and giving the driver and its passengers a fishtailing simulation. Auto wiper triggers randomly while it's sunny, distracting the driver and forcing an interaction on the center console to stop it. Auto wiper cannot be turned off as it reengages upon using Tesla ADAS. The rear view camera lags. It stutters and shows me a delayed view. Compounded by the Model 3's very small rear view mirrors and side mirrors, this is incredibly dangerous as I have no way of gaining sufficient visibility of the back of the car. Tesla service told me this is all normal.

Filed Apr 5, 2024 · Body, Brakes · CA · crash

I was driving in the street at 10 miles, I turned to the right and I push the break but the car didn't break and I crashed with the car in front of me.

Filed Mar 10, 2024 · Acceleration, Brakes · TX

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)

Filed Feb 14, 2024 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

My 2021 Tesla Model 3 has various issues with the auto pilot feature. When engaged the car makes sudden and abrupt stops while driving. This has happened various times while driving on the freeway when there were no obstructions present. The autopilot feature also prompts to change to the right lane, when dismissed the prompt appears again repeatedly. This is repeated throughout the drive and poses a major distraction. There was supposed to be an “over-the-air” correction but my vehicle has never received the software update.

Filed Nov 21, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · 33,000 miles · AZ · crash

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.

Filed Aug 27, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

Major phantom Braking at 70mph on interstate 5, 4 times the brakes slamed on as if yo had done an emergency stop from 70mph to 20mph fortunately we were not rear ended as I had my son and grandchildren in the car. The car was in cruise control on each occurrence I finally had to stop using it for fear of a major accident

Filed Aug 20, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · AZ

My Tesla Model 3 Phantom Brakes when using Cruise Control, particularly in the morning when the road is clear, no cars or obstacles in front or behind me. the federal safety agency KNOWS THIS IS A PROBLEM AND I HAVE PREVIOUSLY MADE THIS COMPLAINT. I contacted Tesla to no avail. They did nothing. WHY HASN'T the federal safety agency DONE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THIS IS DANGEROUS AS AN ACCIDENT IS WAITING TO HAPPEN.

Filed Aug 14, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · NM

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.

Filed Jul 28, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

“Phantom Braking”. Driving on the interstate approximately 75 mph using cruise control, auto steer, not auto pilot. Within a span of three hours today we experienced at least six episodes of the car emergency braking for apparently no reason. Immediately going from 75 to 40 mph. Thankfully no one was close behind us. We finally stopped using the cruise control. Now afraid to use it at all.

Filed Jul 18, 2023 · Brakes · TX

My car is braking hard while I'm on the highway. It's happened on this trip 7 times already. In one of braking, My wife almost got rear ended

Filed Jul 8, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · SD

When vehicle is in cruise control or autopilot the car will suddenly brake without warning. It will do this numerous times and could cause an accident if a vehicle is following close behind.

Filed Jun 20, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · OK · crash · 2 injuries

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.

Filed Jun 18, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA

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.

Filed May 17, 2023 · Brakes, Electrical · 18,000 miles · FL · crash

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH as he was exiting a highway and slowing for a traffic signal at the bottom of the off-ramp his brakes failed to engage. The contact stated the brake pedal was stiff and he had attempted to use full leg force to depress the brake pedal. The contact's vehicle ran the traffic signal and the contact stated he hit the right front end of a vehicle that was across traffic from him. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the crash stopped his vehicle and the other vehicle. The contact said that the air bags had been deployed and that the left front end of his vehicle was crushed into the left wheel well. The contact stated that the other vehicle received only light damage to the right end of the bumper due to it being higher than his vehicle. The contact stated that the police were on the scene and filed a report. The other vehicle was able to drive away, and the contact's vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The contact stated that his insurance provider declared the contact's vehicle a total loss. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that prior to the crash he had attempted to engage his cruise control while on the highway and it would not work. The contact stated that when he engaged the cruise control the windshield wipers would activate and he stopped attempting to use cruise control. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

Filed Apr 22, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · TX

While on Autopilot, the car suddenly phantom brakes when there is no risk of any collision ahead. This has happened multiple times on high speed highways. Within 1 hour, this happened 5 times and caused near-collisions with the car following my car.

Filed Feb 25, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

I was driving Tesla on the freeway using adaptive cruise control at 65 miles per hour and the car suddenly brake and the sped jumped from 65 to 20 in seconds. It was scary. There was no one in front of nothing in the road to cause that to happen. It did say on the screen something about visibility. I had to take control of the car after. It has happened several times before. When I spoke with Tesla they said it’s a safety feature and it only happens when you pass certain cities. I find that hardly true

Filed Feb 25, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA

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.

Filed Feb 16, 2023 · Brakes · CA · crash

i am slowly coming into the driveway. All of a sudden the car accelrated while i was applying brake. the air bags didn't come on either. it hit the car in front which then got pushed into the garage

Filed Feb 8, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · OH

This incident happened last summer, 2022 but I recently read that it is happening to many other people and thought I should report it. I was driving on Hwy 71 south in the Cincinnati area with the ADAS with the cruise control and auto steering in operation. All of a sudden the brakes slammed on with me not doing anything to cause it. There were no cars behind me and I touched and released the brake pedal and it went back to a normal driving mode. I don’t believe I hit a pothole or bump on the highway. I did not report it to Tesla.

Filed Jan 16, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

Twice in October 2022 (18th and 20th), my vehicle decelerated suddenly during cruise control with no impediments in the road (i.e., phantom breaking). The breaking on the 20th was akin to slamming on the breaks, and both occurred at freeway speeds. I did *not purchase Tesla's self-driving feature. The vehicle also on the 18th tried to steer around an object that did not exist in the road while I turned onto a freeway on-ramp. I reported all three incidents at that time to Tesla for servicing of the vehicle. It is unknown whether any "repair" was actually done to eliminate phantom breaking (I no longer use Tesla's cruise control in similar traffic conditions which were at the time crowded outside of the carpool lane I was using).

Filed Nov 26, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · NY

While using cruise control on a cross country drive, there have been numerous instances of phantom braking in my Tesla Model 3 SR+ (2021). This has been occurring during both day and night driving on the highway, at speeds of 65-75mph. It appears to happen most frequently when there’s a slight up-hill on the highway followed by a slight downhill and then phantom brake, but there have been instances on flat highway road at night with phantom braking taking place.

Filed Nov 19, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

I have had the car for about 1.5 years. In the last week it has started to have phantom braking where on a clear, flat road with no traffic, it suddenly has hard braking and slows from about 65 mph down to 40-50 mph. This has occurred when operating on Autopilot with the cruise control and autosteer on. There is a risk of a rear collision with this sudden braking. There was no warning. I do not have Full Self Driving.

Filed Nov 11, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CO

Driving in empty highway, no cars in front of me for great distances, on cruise control, the car would all of sudden perform hard braking. It happened many times in the course of two 6 hour drives over a weekend and I couldn't figure out what scenarios were predisposing to this. I also tried out autosteer (not autopilot) and it did it in autosteer too. It was very hard braking, not just disengaging, and so I just drove without cruise control because it is too dangerous and risks getting rear-ended because I am braking without warning and for no reason.

Filed Oct 6, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · TX

Since owning this car in January 2022, there have been issues of phantom braking during cruise control or autopilot. However, today 10/6/22 during an hour and a half time frame my car has had phantom braking episodes at least 5 times in the middle of the highway where it's speed suddenly drops by 20mph.

Filed Sep 25, 2022 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA

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.

Filed Sep 7, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · TX

While using my Tesla's Full Self Driving (FSD) feature (Navigate on Autopilot) on a recent road trip through West Texas, the vehicle, on multiple occasions, would automatically brake while cruising at speeds of 80 mph (speed limit was 75 mph), which consequently dropped the vehicle's speed over 20 mph within seconds. The result was being forcibly slammed forward with such a jarring, unexpected force that would have easily slammed me as the driver and my front seat passenger into the wind shield if we were not wearing our seatbelts. This happened multiple times on the trip. The only way to recover was to depress the accelerator and forcefully hold on to the steering wheel until the braking system released and control was returned to the driver. If this had occurred on a crowded highway rather than on the open spaces of the West Texas interstate system, I am convinced there would have been a rear impact collision. This "phantom breaking" as Tesla claims, is a serious issue that will no doubt lead to fatalities if not corrected. This issue manifested without warning and with no alerting. The issue can be easily reproduced and the component has yet to be inspected by any 3rd party. I fear people will die because of this issue until it is resolved. Thanks, Sean Merino

Filed Aug 30, 2022 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA

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.

Filed Jul 19, 2022 · Brakes · UT

My Tesla slowed from 70 to 50 on the freeway in under two seconds for no apparent reason while on autopilot. There was a concrete barrier a few feet away on the shoulder, which I had been driving next to for about a quarter mile before the incident. There was no other traffic within 50 yards of me.

Filed Jul 14, 2022 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA

While driving in Highway, Interstate or Freeway with cruise control enabled with or without autopilot the car suddenly breaks for no reason. It is a clear phantom break. It happened many times in different occasions even on the I40 with no car around in the middle of the Desert. In a couple of times a big truck was following and I was almost rear ended because this.

Filed Jul 7, 2022 · Acceleration, Brakes · CO

Cruise control set to 75mph (speed limit) on lightly trafficked divided highway at ~5pm on June 26. Skies were overcast and temp was about 80 degrees. Car braked from 75 to about 62mph but did not disengage adaptive cruise control and neither did I by applying the brakes. There was light traffic and it did not happen while approaching an overpass which has triggered this before on two occasions. After rapid deceleration to 72, car increases speed but fluctuated in high 60s and low 70s before returning to the programmed 75. Incident lasted about five seconds in total. Once car returned to 75, I disabled cruise control for remainder of journey. This was a 45 mile journey and the issue did not surface until about 35 miles in to the journey. Because this has happened before, I was mentally prepared for it this time and wanted to see if the car would eventually stabilize back to the 75mph programmed speed. In two prior incidents in late 2021, the braking was severe and without warning so in those instances I immediately deactivated system by pressing brake pedal. The incident I report now also had no warning, good weather, no cars within about 100 yards, and no sun glare at all. Road surface was very good as it had been recently improved in 2021 so lane markers were excellent as well.

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