What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - cruise control. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - traveling at 55-60 mph on a 2 lane highway at night when the car suddenly put on brakes because it must of saw something but there was nothing. I believe this is called "ghost braking". There was a car behind us and had to slow down as well. Luckily no accident was caused but scared my wife and I. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? NO Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? It happened so fast I did not see any warning lights. The car just suddenly started to brake hard.
2021 Tesla Model 3 driver assistance complaints
Page 13 of 16: complaints 341 to 370 of 431, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When the car is in assisted autopilot, the vehicle will brake very hard when not necessary.
While driving on the highway and using auto pilot it has had multiple instances of phantom brakes doing highway speeds it will slow cars down rapidly and for no apparent reason. Really needs to get corrected.
Our Tesla Model 3, while using the Adaptive Cruise Control, will apply full brakes with either nothing in the road ahead or with oncoming traffic on a 2-lane highway. This is extremely dangerous and a hazard to vehicles behind us. This occurs every time it is used, with frequency up to 4 times in a single minute. Tesla has cancelled 2 service requests this month stating this is normal operation.
This has happened frequently since I took delivery of the vehicle, I did have one repair request with tesla but they said they could not duplicate and the vehicle did not store enough data to confirm an issue. when driving with adaptive cruise control or cruise control with lane centering (autopilot) enabled the vehicle will SLAM on brakes (Like full emergency braking) with nothing in front of me. sometimes it chimes warning of a potential collision, sometimes it gives no visual or audible reason. It also will have more frequent events of mild to moderate braking. These events happen on interstates and two lane roads mostly but has also happened on multiple lane lower speed roads as well. it has gotten to where I do not use these features as I have almost been rear ended multiple times now due to these events. Tesla's general attitude to this was that it wasn't a big deal which i completely disagree. I have driven older teslas that still have a radar chip and it happens much less frequently and less severe on those. When I purchased the vehicle they informed me that the radar was no longer necessary and that it was to REDUCE these events. This happens from 20mph to 80+ all the way from 10 miles to the current 15,000
Any time I have the car in autopilot, it unexpectedly phantom brakes. Even when I'm not using autopilot, and I am using cruise control, the phantom braking still occurs. In several instances I have had people come close to hitting my car's rear. The braking is not subtle. It is rapid and aggressive. This issue creates a major danger for anyone in my car and others on the road.
I've complained to Tesla as well. No known fix at this time. When Autopilot is engaged, it will pick up phantom objects and brake hard to avoid. I notice this happens mostly when passing semis, RVs, trailers. I see this happening on any turn where a vehicle is in the lane next to you or on the other side of the road. The latest one I had autopilot engaged, I was alone on the highway, and it braked hard for no reason. Brought me from 75-80 mph down to 20 mph in an instant. It then accelerated hard up to 80 again. Within a couple of seconds, it braked hard again down to 20 mph. Autopilot doesn't work. Tesla had no fix and their recommendation was to not use it anymore. I bought the Tesla for that reason. Full Self Driving is even worse. I'm afraid to use it because I have a delayed reaction in Full Self Driving mode. It is unsafe and it will cause an accident.
Car continues to have instances of phantom braking, no acknowledgment from Tesla regarding the issue. Occurs randomly and unpredictably, causing a serious safety hazard for cars following behind on the road.
The car phantom brakes a lot. When sun is directly hitting from front, the car wouldn’t go in autopilot. The car phantom brakes on 1 lane streets a lot when there is a car coming from the front. When going the speed limit, it changes automatically to lower speed limits out of nowhere and is a hazard and dangerous because there are cars coming from the back and can hit the car when it reduces the speed very fast. Have submitted multiple phantom braking issues with Tesla with pressing and holding right scroll wheel but nothing has happened so far to correct this issue. When a big trailer changes lane and comes to the near lane of the car, the car thinks it’s going to hit the truck so it phantom brakes.
While using adaptive cruise control the car unexpectedly and unnecessarily brakes, rather sharply at times. This occurs especially frequently on two lane roads with curves and with trucks coming from the opposite direction. This does not occur, in my 6 months of owning this Tesla Model 3, on freeways.
I was driving 65 on Highway 12 in California with the cruise control on and the car hit the brakes for no reason. I was not using autopilot, I was still controlling the steering. The car behind me had to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me. This has happened several times and I am not afraid to use cruise control
Since about November Tesla has been doing random emergency braking both day and night in the middle of the highway almost causing numerous near miss accidents while on auto pilot. Also scaring the hell out myself and other passengers. It sends my dog in the back seat flying forward too.
Car applied brakes while cruise control was engaged. There were no other vehicles around (either in front, approaching, or behind)
When vehicle is in full self drive mode, sometimes it mistakenly detects an obstacle on the highway and applies brakes. This event presents risk of getting rear ended at high speed on highways.
Phantom braking for no apparent reason. Worst occurrence was this morning driving home from work on cruise control, max speed cruise 73mph, suddenly my car braked on its own down to 59mph in 2 seconds. Very scary. My wrist hurts from that incident & my forehead almost hit the steering. Nothing in front & thank God no tailgating car behind me. This is not safe. It happens to me all the time but this was the scariest of all.
Driving on the interstate in autopilot with nobody in front of me but there was somebody riding my rear. And the vehicle decided to phantom break which almost caused the guy to rear end me while going 75 mph it could have been lethal.
1st incident Driving on a 2 lane road @ 55MPH with no oncoming traffic emergency braking occurred (with all the warning lights and sounds) with no obstacles in my path. 2nd incident driving on a 8 lane highway @65 MPH (I-71) with very little traffic (and no oncoming obstacles) emergency braking occurred (with all the warning lights and sounds) no obstacles in my path. 3rd incident driving on a different 2 lane road @ 45 MPH emergency braking occurred (with all the warning lights and sounds) no obstacles in my path. I have only owned the vehicle 2.5 months and less the 1300 miles on the odometer.
Since my ownership, I have experienced multiple phantom braking incidents with my 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range. I would estimate that I experience 3 to 5 severe phantom braking incidents per week. It is nearly a daily occurrence during my daily commute to work. Sometimes there are multiple incidents during one leg of my commute. I have filed several requests for service with Tesla through their application and every time the technical support says the system is working properly. I have given them explicit details and information about the incidents which have helped them to identify the time and location but they have never fixed/changed/remedied the phantom braking issue. I have filed these requests for service to protect myself if I'm ever involved in a serious accident due to these phantom braking incidents.
While using the autopilot feature on my Tesla, there have been several instances where the car will brake suddenly for no apparent reason. This has happened at high speeds and at slow speeds under various conditions. The braking is so severe that if a car was following behind they would have to react quickly to avoid an accident. Multiple instances over the last year.
System: Traffic Aware Cruise Control Safety Risk: Full regenerative breaking in the fast lane on a highway with a car following behind. Car behind had to initiate emergency braking. Reproduced by Dealer: Did not contact dealer Inspected by Manufacturer: Did not contact manufacturer Warnings: No, braking automatically initiated System: Lane Departure Warning Safety Risk: Misreading a parking garage and initiating lane departure warning chime Reproduced by Dealer: Did not contact dealer Inspected by Manufacturer: Did not contact manufacturer Warnings: Yes, warning chime initiated and warning message.
While driving in cruise control, my Tesla 3 braked for no reason. No accident occurred because no one was behind me. It has happened about 10 times. It has not been confirmed by a dealer because I do not live near a dealer. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance representatives. No warning lights or messages appeared to warn me.
Driving on cruise control only. Autopilot was not engaged. I was cruising at 50mph when it "phantom" braked out of nowhere. It was clear as day in front of me and luckily the car behind me was a hundred yards or so. It abruptly decreased speed to 35mph before I could get back up to speed by manually using the accelerator to override cruise control. This has happened many times and I'm afraid to use such features moving forward.
When driving in several locations near my home, with cruise control engaged (not full driving, just cruise control), the car will suddenly slow to ~20mph and stay at that speed for a few moments, and then accelerate back up to the legal speed limit of 55mph, 60mph, etc. There are no objects on or near the road, no other cars, and it appears to be a problem with the software that identifies if there is an object in the road to automatically reduce speed or slow down. There are no warning chimes, no feedback to the driver of the reason to slow down, no posted speed limit signs, etc. I can duplicate this every time I traverse these roadways. One of the most significant reasons I purchased this vehicle was it's advertised safety features like emergency braking and such. However, with this problem, I either have to disable the auto-braking feature, or not use the driving assist features (like cruise control). This is a significant issue for me, and I have no doubt going from a 60mph roadway to 20mph for no reason will result in me getting rear-ended or at the very least cause problems for drivers behind me.
When driving at low speeds (below35) we have had 2 instances of the car braking with no obstacles.
When using the adaptive cruise control on the vehicle, which is the only cruise control there is, the car will often brake hard for no reason, or inappropriate reasons. This most recent incident was a two lane highway (one lane each direction) where oncoming cars who were in their lane would cause the car to think a collision was imminent, start beeping, and brake hard. Another incident appeared to brake for shadows, but I am unsure! Overall the experience, and experiences of many other Tesla owners facing similar problems has caused me to just be unable to use cruise control at all as I fear it could cause an accident.
When using traffic aware cruise control or auto steer the car phantom breaks and issues warning chimes when it senses large vehicles approaching on undivided 2 lane roads. The car also phantom brakes when it misidentifies shadows on these same 2 lane roads. I have almost been rear ended by closely following traffic several times. This has been happening since new. We have been patient, hoping a software update would fix this very well known problem.
On several occasions, when the car was on cruise control and for no apparent reason, it suddenly braked from 70/65 mph to 30. Not only was this startling and frightening, it could have caused a rear-end collision, especially on Interstate 66 in VA where cars often follow too close. I contacted Tesla twice about the issue and set up a service appointment. Tesla cancelled the appointment the day before, saying they needed to have specific "time stamps" of the incidents. When I gave them a several day range, they said that wasn't specific enough, that I should drive the car and "time stamp" the next incident. Great idea, Tesla, for me to risk injury so they can get a "time stamp". In a word, they were dismissive and responded as if this were the first they'd heard of such a problem. It is a significant safety issue not only for the driver but for anyone in nearby cars.I have only had the car 4+ months and it terrifies me. The Washington Post had an article this week indicating this is a problem with many Teslas. Now I know I'm not alone. Would appreciate the federal safety agency's assistance in getting this safety issue resolved.
1. Vehicle brakes for no reason while on Traffic Aware Cruise Control 2. At night on come head lights appear to cause braking while on Traffic Aware Cruise Control. 3. Vehicle brakes for no reason when on Traffic Aware Cruise Control when on two lane road (one lane each direction) when on coming large vehicle approaching. 4. Vehicle brakes for no apparent reason while on Traffic Aware Cruise Control when light conditions cause high contrast shadows on the road.
Phantom braking occurs about once every 15-20 minutes of long distance highway driving while using Tesla Autopilot. Specifically, for no apparent reason, with no obstacle in front or near the car, while driving highway speed on Autopilot, the car suddenly slams on the brakes on its own.
On a recent road trip from CA to UT while driving on four lane roads whenever I had Traffic-Aware Cruise Control enabled and approached a large vehicle from the passing lane the vehicle would suddenly slam on the brakes, dropping 15-25 mph in seconds, it would also do this for zero apparent reason when there was no other vehicles or objects within sight. Several times it almost caused a collision when a vehicle was following to closely behind us. I had to disable and stop using the feature to avoid a possible rear end collision!
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2021 Tesla Model 3?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history