2024 Tesla Model 3: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Aug 7, 2026 · Steering · NJ · crash

On July 18, 2026, at approximately 10:00 AM EST, my son was manually driving a 2024 Tesla Model 3 at approximately 26 MPH when the steering suddenly became extremely stiff and difficult to turn. He attempted to steer away from a roadside barrier but was unable to turn the steering wheel sufficiently, resulting in a collision. There was no warning or indication observed on the dashboard before the steering suddenly became extremely stiff. Autopilot, cruise control, and Full Self-Driving were not activated; the vehicle was being driven manually. Fortunately, my son did not sustain any physical injuries. However, a sudden loss of normal steering control is a serious safety concern and could potentially cause severe injuries to the driver, passengers, pedestrians, or occupants of other vehicles. After the accident, the vehicle was towed to the insurance-designated facility and is currently being examined by the insurance adjuster. Within a few minutes of the accident, the vehicle also became completely locked, preventing us from retrieving personal belongings. I previously reported this incident to the federal safety agency under complaint number 11751698, but all required documentation was not available at that time. I am therefore submitting the complaint again with the additional information and documentation now available. I respectfully request that the federal safety agency investigate this incident and determine the root cause of the sudden steering stiffness and whether there is a safety-related defect or condition that could affect other vehicles.

Filed Jul 30, 2026 · Driver assistance, Visibility · NC

When cruise control is engaged on a Tesla (all models to my knowledge) the Auto Wipers automatically come on and then randomly wipe. There is no option to disabled the Auto Wipers, as you can only disable by manually selecting control panel and then turn off each time you engage cruise control. This creates a significant risk to driver safety as I have had numerous instances of wipers randomly starting (without any rain) and smearing the windshield. This forces me to look away from the road and go through a manual disable every time I use cruise control. NOTE: this is a software default that cannot be removed

Filed Apr 20, 2026 · Driver assistance · MA · 1 injury

On March 21, 2026, the vehicle’s Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC), suffered a severe "phantom braking" failure. While driving, the vehicle engaged in a violent, full-force emergency brake application without any external hazard or driver input. This unprompted deceleration caused the seatbelt to exert extreme pressure and trauma on my abdomen. As I was [XXX] pregnant, this abrupt stop was medically treated as a high-force accident. The trauma caused pregnancy abnormalities, requiring a 20-hour hospital admission for observation and fetal monitoring. I contacted Tesla customer service multiple times. Initially, I was told a service check was necessary, but the Service Center stated they could not provide assistance for "automatic behavior" issues. A corporate representative (Angel) admitted the vehicle should have been flagged for a formal medical claim and instructed me not to visit the service center. Despite this, I took the vehicle to the Service Center on April 15, 2026. Technicians confirmed they had no findings or solutions regarding the phantom braking event. No warning lamps, audible alerts, or system messages appeared prior to the failure. Upon requesting the vehicle data logs for the date of the incident, I noticed that the specific timeframe of the event was "missing" from the record. The manufacturer cited a VIN-matching error as the cause for the data gap. On April 20, 2026, Tesla corporate denied that a claim had ever been filed and stated they would not take responsibility for injuries related to pregnancy or a fetus, claiming these do not meet their internal threshold for medical injury. The vehicle remains available for inspection. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Nov 17, 2025 · Driver assistance · AR

The forward-facing camera on my vehicle repeatedly fogs up inside the sealed camera housing, creating a light to severe haze across the camera lens. This internal fogging obstructs the camera’s view and affects the vehicle’s safety systems that rely on it, including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, and adaptive cruise control. The components are available for inspection upon request. This obstruction puts my safety at risk because these systems either disable themselves or operate unpredictably when the camera view is blocked. The issue occurred again this year under normal outdoor temperatures, and the fogging cannot be cleared by the driver or by using defrost or cabin heat. The problem has been confirmed previously by a Tesla service center, where technicians inspected the camera area and told me my vehicle had one of the worst cases they had seen and told me this is a common issue. They attempted a repair, but the issue has returned, making it a recurring defect. No police or insurance representatives have inspected it. During the first occurrence, the vehicle displayed messages indicating that features like Autopilot, cruise control, and lane assist were disabled due to camera obstruction. The current recurrence produced visible internal haze over the camera lens and a warning message appeared which I do have that Tesla acknowledges this is an issue and that rather than fixing it, you can bring your car in for expedited cleaning. I have read others stating Tesla changed their windshield design and it doesn't heat up this area properly any longer. This issue has happened in multiple winter seasons and directly affects the proper operation of safety-critical driver assistance systems.

Filed Mar 5, 2025 · Driver assistance, Engine · CO

Tesla has told me the AP4 computer has failed in my car which has resulted in them having to replace it. This issue impacts: emergency braking, blind spot detection, lane keep/centering, assisting with parking, automatic high beams and wipers, cruise control/ adaptive cruise control, Vehicles built in GPS to be stuck at one location every time, has made my touchscreen not automatically brighten or dim, my auto dimming mirrors be too dim in most driving conditions, constantly fail to install system improvements and safety updates, and because my vehicle keeps trying to do this, it has caused increased battery drain as well. This has increased the safety risk of my vehicle tremendously... Tesla has not seemed to publicly acknowledge the issue yet either.

Filed Dec 29, 2024 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · TN

the car consistently has phantom braking. the speed will drop around 15 miles of speed immediately. it also will slow on rolling hills and random long turns on cruise control. most recent date listed

Filed Dec 29, 2024 · TN

the vehicle consistently has pillar camera blockage warnings. I have had this repaired once but it still happens. this would not be a problem except the vehicle offers no other cruise control than adaptive. my concern is the vehicle consistently has phantom braking ( listed in a separate complaint I have made). I am concerned the two issues are related. the last time this happened is reported below.

Filed Dec 8, 2024 · Acceleration · NV

I reduced my set standard cruise control speed when traveling on a road curve and the speed drastically reduced by over 15mph lower than my setting on it's own. If i was traveling in a group then this would have created a dangerous situation for the following vehicles. This is another FSD/Beta programming in regular cruise control. Why are you still allowing this to exist???

Filed Dec 8, 2024 · Acceleration · NV

Traveling with cruise control at 80mph with the flow of traffic and the speed setting dropped to 60mph. Why do you still allow this?

Filed Dec 8, 2024 · Acceleration · NV

Traveling with cruise control with the flow of traffic at 75mph and the setting dropped to 60mph. I thought FSD/Beta programming was not allowed as regular vehicle settings so why does this continue?

Filed Nov 19, 2024 · Driver assistance · MI

Car randomly breaks or swerves when using cruise control. When there is nothing ahead of me have called tesla and been told it is called phantom breaking and that it is normal happens multiple times a day, almost causes collisions. Very dangerous.

Filed Nov 3, 2024 · Acceleration · NV

Cruising at 75 and speed dropped to 55. There are at least 3 FSD/beta features in the driver set cruise control, did Tesla get approval to add those features to the cruise control?