2021 Tesla Model 3 transmission problems

Filed May 6, 2026 · Transmission · CA

My RWD motor completely went out and lost power on the highway off ramp. Could have turned into a dangerous situation. Not sure why these motors seem to be very unreliable. Tesla has not given me an explanation as to what is exactly causing this. Happens to thousands of owners. And this car is only 5 years old. I had the motor replaced in November 2022 and 3 years later it’s out for good. Now I have to deal with teslas insane costs. I feel like they sold me a defective car.

Filed Feb 13, 2026 · Transmission · AZ

HVAC system which provides cooling/heating for all the systems including the powertrain, battery, inverters, Full-Self Driving computer malfunctions randomly shutting itself off due to a known issue of failing pressure and temperature sensors. Tesla is aware of this issue where the sensors may fail prematurely and in 2021 they issued a service bulletin SB-21-18-002. I was told It would be fixed with a software update... In other words it was never fixed. Now my car says that cooling and heating may randomly be unavailable due to invalid readings from the pressure and temperature sensors. They want me to pay to have the sensors replaced despite them acknowledging that they have a defect causing premature failure. This issue is safety related because in the event that I was supercharging and the HVAC system shuts down it could potentially lead to a battery fire or thermal runaway. Not to mention that the car left me without heat in subzero temperatures on a roadtrip.

Filed Jan 19, 2026 · Transmission · CA

The high-voltage traction battery pack has failed twice on my 2021 Tesla Model 3, both times while the vehicle was under the original battery warranty. The failures occurred on: • 08/30/2022 at approximately 15,100 miles • 11/08/2025 at approximately 57,222 miles The exact error code by Tesla was bms_a079, which doesn’t let the vehicle charge at all. The vehicle was drivable before the battery depleted. The defect has been reproduced, confirmed, and repaired by the manufacturer twice, but the same critical system has failed again after replacement, raising concern of a recurring defect. The failed component is the high-voltage battery pack. The component was inspected by Tesla, and in both cases Tesla confirmed battery failure and replaced the entire HV battery pack with a remanufactured unit under warranty. The failed components were retained by Tesla and are available for inspection by the manufacturer.

Filed Jul 30, 2025 · Brakes, Steering · WA

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - ABS, Automatic Emergency Braking, Traction Control, Stability Control failed while braking using the regenerative braking. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - While coming to a stop using the regenerative braking, the regenerative braking immedietely ceased to work, and the driver had to immediately apply the hydraulic brakes to avoid a rear end collision 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? - No, they appeared while braking. This issue is not new to this vehicle and has happened in the past, however the errors cleared themselves out.

Filed Apr 27, 2025 · Electrical, Transmission · MI

my 21 M3P 27K miles threw BMS_a079 I've never used a supercharger and rarely charge over 80% mostly charging at work on lvl 2 & occasionally at home on lvl 1 vehicle will no longer charge I've tried 2 Button reset and HV disconnect no help. 27k miles seems unreasonable for a battery malfunction on a vehicle that has been cared for meticulously.

Filed Apr 18, 2025 · Transmission · 80,340 miles · VA · crash

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while his wife was driving at approximately 29 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated and the front of the vehicle crashed into a tree, where it came to a stop. No warning lights were illuminated. The front driver's side air bag was deployed. A police report was filed. Medical attention was sought as a precaution; however, there were no injuries sustained. The vehicle remained at the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,340.

Filed Jun 6, 2024 · Acceleration, Electrical · TN · crash

The vehicle, a 2021 Tesla Model 3, had an episode of sudden unintended acceleration. I was almost stationary waiting to make a left when the car accelerated by itself, left the road, crossed a grass field at high speed and crashed into bushes. The vehicle was not on auto pilot, it resulted in damage of almost $ 20.000 as estimated by insurance. The vehicle is available for inspection, it will be checked by Tesla service after the damage is fixed. There were no previous warnings, this is the first incident of this kind. It is not clear what component malfunctioned, probably some electric/electronic device in charge of acceleration. It was obviously a very dangerous event that could have jeopardized my safety and/or some others.

Filed Dec 13, 2023 · Electrical, Fuel system · FL

My 2021 Tesla Model 3 shuts/powers down WITHOUT warning while driving with a battery charge >0%. This unsafe event has occurred twice now! While the battery gauge displayed 10%, I was driving about 60mph when all of these warning messages appeared prompting me to pull over. As soon as these messages displayed, my car lost all propulsion and I was left stranded in the middle of the road. Both times I narrowly avoided being hit by other vehicles traveling at high speeds since my car died in the roadway. The car was towed to Tesla on both occasions, and they weren't concerned about my safety issue in the slightest. Instead, they said the battery just ran out; however my car displayed that I had about 6-10% charge remaining. So, if the battery were completely depleted (like Tesla says), then the meter should have displayed a 0% reading at the time of the breakdowns or, there is something defective with the battery/computer. Tesla service has refused to investigate the cause of the safety issue and, thus, refused to replace the EV battery (even though my car is still under the manufacturer's warranty). Electric vehicles should not die/run out of battery at 10% charge. However, my EV has done so TWICE! Tesla says that I just ran the car out of battery but has no response when I show them the pictures and video proving that the car died when there was, in fact, a decent amount of charge remaining on the vehicle (PLEASE SEE ATTACHED VIDEO AND PICTURES). If your phone died at 10%, then you would take it back to the manufacturer and demand that they fix the defective product. However, Tesla refuses to help fix my defective vehicle and just tells me that it is "operating as intended". EVs should not just lose all propulsion mid-drive. This creates an unsafe vehicle for me to drive, for my two young daughters in their car seats, and for other drivers who might hit me. I can provide other Tesla owners who have had a similar experience. Please force Tesla to take action!

Filed Oct 24, 2023 · Transmission · NC

While drive after dark on a four-lane city road with no breakdown lane my vehicle alerted me of a problem and I should slow down. About five second later the car came to a stop and placed itself in park in the right-hand lane with traffic coming up behind me at 50 MPH. I was unable to locate the emergency flasher so I turned on the turn signal (I later found out the emergency flasher was located on the ceiling with white marking which were not visible in the dark). With the right turn blinker on I attempted to exit the vehicle but when I did, the turn signal turned off. This left me with a choice to leave a dark vehicle in the right-hand lane with moderate traffic or sit inside keeping the lights and signals on. No accident resulted but this was a very dangerous situation. The failure was a power converter which led to the disabling of both the front and rear drive motors. I was also unable to put the car in neutral and move it as far right as possible. I would have expected this type of failure to at least turn on the emergency flashers and give the driver the option of placing the car in neutral so it could be moved off the road. When i bought the car I specifically ordered the one with front an rear drive motors so failure of one would not completely shut down the vehicle. Seem like this power converter is a single point failure which leave the operator and other vehicles in a very dangerous situation.

Filed May 23, 2023 · Driver assistance, Transmission · NV

On May 22, 2023 driving south on I-580 through Reno with the Tesla adaptive cruise control, there's a 55mph construction zone. As a result, I use the right scroll wheel to adjust the speed from 65 to 55mph. The scroll wheel didn't work. As a result, I turned off the cruise control with the right steering wheel stalk. At the same time, I noticed the vehicle speed indicator on the upper left of the CRT display was malfunctioning; both failing to respond to changes in the car's speed, and then indicating erroneous speeds (at one point indicating 34mph when I was going around 60mph. These issues continued. I took the exit on Double R Blvd to turn right. As I got into the right lane on the freeway to exit I attempted to turn off the cruise control and it didn't work. Approaching the exit, I then applied the brake. The regenerative braking function did not apply. As a result, it felt like the cruise control didn't turn off. However, I braked to a stop at the intersection in the right lane with no issues. When the traffic cleared, I attempted to turn right and proceed east on Double R Blvd. The car didn't move. Using the right stalk, I tried shifting into drive, reverse, and back. All this time, the drive (D) and reverse (R) indications on the CRT did not show. I let off the brake and the car inched forward. I turned right immediately into the Maverick gas station entrance to get off RR. The CRT display now showed the back-up camera displays (a normal indication of the car being in reverse). I cautiously let off the brake and applied the accelerator pedal to see if I backed up, but the car was in drive and proceeded normally. I continued to drive and the CRT screen went completely black. I soon realized the car's computer was rebooting with the faint Tesla logo on the black screen. Within a mile or so, everything came back on the screen and worked normally. I then reached my destination. When I returned to the car, it was as if nothing had happened.