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Tesla Model 3 collision warning problems

128 of the 4,401 owner complaints about the Tesla Model 3 describe false forward collision warnings, most of them for the 2022 model year.

owner complaints
128
worst model year
2022
typical repair cost reported
$2,616
typical mileage
1,800
Is there a fix? There are 7 recalls for this area of the car. See below

By model year

What owners say

Filed Oct 27, 2026 · Driver assistance · TX

Following Tesla's over-the-air deployment of FSD 14.1 Lite, the HW3 Autopilot computer in my 2018 Tesla Model 3 failed. FSD / Autopilot worked normally before the update and stopped working immediately afterward. Tesla Service diagnosed the vehicle XXX and verified the alerts APP_W207, APP_W462, APS_W182, APS_W188 and APS_W185. The technician attempted hard and soft resets and a firmware reinstall, and verified power and ground to the car computer. All attempts failed. The technician's notes state the secondary autopilot processor is no longer communicating and "a new car computer is needed." The failure has disabled Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning, as well as FSD / Autopilot. Tesla denied a goodwill replacement in writing on XXX, stating there was no evidence linking the failure to a software update, after the technician confirmed the computer had failed. Tesla provided a written estimate for the replacement of $2,616.37 total (invoice dated XXX). I have not authorized the repair. Tesla also confirmed in writing that my vehicle is not currently eligible for the HW4 upgrade. I sent a formal Notice of Dispute to Tesla at [XXX] on XXX and received no response; I sent a follow-up on XXX. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Oct 27, 2026 · Driver assistance · MD · crash

• forward collision warning and automatic emergency breaking failed to work and are still currently an ongoing problem and not functioning. They are and have always Been enabled and can be inspected upon request. • my safety and those in my car and around me put at risk, by the system and software not functioning as intended and providing extra alertness and reaction to avoid collision. •the earliest service date I could get from Tesla is Nov 11. I have requested they preserve all data from dates Oct 20-27 2026 •no, my car has not been inspected yet. I have taken, Videos and have saved in car camera footage to show the ongoing defect. •no warnings lights or alerts prior to the incident. The problem first became apparent and clear Oct 26, 2026. I had FSD subscription that ended Oct 24, 2026 and the system warnings worked just fine during that time even while driving manually.

Filed Oct 24, 2026 · Driver assistance, Visibility · CA

Immediately following the installation of over-the-air software version 2026.32.3, the vehicle's center touchscreen lost all driving visualization capabilities. The backup camera now displays a black/non-responsive screen, removing federally mandated back-over protection. Additionally, the vehicle no longer provides active safety alerts, such as forward collision warnings or blind-spot obstructions, and driver-assist technologies (Autopilot) are entirely unavailable. Official Manufacturer Diagnosis: A physical diagnostic review of the vehicle's alert and signal history by Tesla Service confirmed an internal hardware communication failure directly induced by the software rollout. The official service logs state that the secondary Autopilot processor, designated as "Processor Turbo-B," has suffered a fatal fault and is failing to communicate. Tesla documentation acknowledges that this software-induced hardware lockup prevents the car from completing future software updates and has permanently disabled the safety vision suites. Current Vehicle Status: A subsequent physical replacement of the 12V low-voltage battery failed to resolve or clear the faults, confirming a permanent failure of the primary computing hardware. The manufacturer requires an out-of-pocket Car Computer replacement cost of $2,136.00 to restore federally mandated safety features that were operational prior to the manufacturer's software deployment. The vehicle is currently being operated without active safety overrides, emergency braking, or backup visibility.

Filed Oct 19, 2026 · Steering · FL · crash

My Tesla was operating with Full Self-Driving (FSD) (Supervised) engaged when it initiated a left turn across the path of an oncoming vehicle traveling in the opposite direction, resulting in a collision. During the incident, FSD was controlling the vehicle's driving behavior and initiated the left turn despite the presence of oncoming traffic. The Tesla collided with the approaching vehicle while executing the turn. I am concerned that the FSD system failed to properly recognize or respond to oncoming traffic, failed to determine whether the left turn could be safely completed, or made an unsafe decision to turn across the path of another vehicle. This incident created a significant safety risk for the occupants of both vehicles. I believe the collision may indicate a safety-related problem involving FSD's intersection handling, left-turn decision-making, detection of approaching vehicles, or collision avoidance capabilities. I request that the federal safety agency review this incident as a potential FSD safety defect and obtain relevant FSD engagement records, vehicle telemetry, camera footage, steering commands, and collision data from Tesla to determine why the vehicle initiated the left turn into oncoming traffic.

Filed Oct 5, 2026 · Steering · WA

Car was in self-driving and struck a piece of concrete. The car was in hands free and was being monitored by me, the driver. This obstruction was in the left side of the lane, about 2" tall, a foot wide and 6" across. I thought the car would see it and miss it but I was wrong, it clipped the concrete, punctured the tires side wall and damaged the tire rim. Tesls'a position was that I shouldn't have trusted the car abilities to avoid the obstruction. This is a basic for collision avoidance, and this system should not be allowed to run in self-drive without hands on the wheel unless the car is capable of avoidance of obstructions large enough to disable the car. This car is dangerous if it can operate at freeway speeds, hands free, and not have the ability to avoid obstructions that could cause it to be out of control.

Filed Sep 10, 2026 · Driver assistance · PA

Interior camera circuit failed in the main computer as diagnosed by Tesla, it disables most safety features of the car, no collision warning or avoidance, no automatic emergency breaking, no lane departure warning or correction, no reverse cam, no cruise control or self driving, and probably more. Only Tesla can replace it because it's vin matched to the car, for $2400. This part should be more durable

Filed Aug 16, 2026 · Driver assistance · MA

After Tesla pushed software update 2026.20.6.11 or “FSD 14 lite” the self driving feature stopped functioning. Also all of the driver assistance safety features stopped working at the same time, forward collision warning, emergency braking, lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection have all stopped working as well. It appears one of the two “self Driving” ECU was damaged or disabled by the update. Without these features the drive is not notified in advance of a collision and the emergency braking does not function to stop the car. The car is awaiting inspection and repair by the manufacturer.

Filed Jul 11, 2026 · Driver assistance · TX · crash

Incident involving my 2026 Tesla Model 3 equipped with HW4 hardware and the latest FSD (Supervised) software. During a garage reverse maneuver performed under FSD supervision, the vehicle had sufficient time to assess the surrounding environment before initiating the maneuver. There were no pedestrians or moving obstacles nearby. An adjacent parked vehicle was present next to the intended reversing path. During the maneuver, the vehicle made initial contact with the adjacent vehicle. At no point did the vehicle provide any collision warning, alert, or indication that a collision had occurred. After the initial contact, the vehicle continued moving and a second impact occurred shortly afterward, resulting in additional damage. Immediately after the second impact, the driver intervened and took control of the vehicle to stop the maneuver, before further damage is caused. My main concerns are: 1. Why did FSD fail to identify the adjacent vehicle before the maneuver? 2. Why was no collision warning provided before or after the initial contact? 3. Why did the vehicle continue the reversing maneuver after the first impact instead of stopping till driver intervention? 4. What if is pediatrician who qualify ADA, children, elder was in the position of the adjacent vehicle, this failed sensing would cause imparable result. I would appreciate a technical review of this event and a detailed explanation of Tesla’s findings.

Filed Jun 23, 2026 · Airbags, Body · FL · crash · fire

A fatal crash occurred involving a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The vehicle departed the roadway, impacted a guardrail, struck a utility pole on the driver’s side, rolled down an embankment, and came to rest upright. The crash resulted in catastrophic intrusion into the driver’s compartment and a fatal injury to the driver. I am requesting that the federal safety agency investigate the crashworthiness and occupant protection performance of this vehicle, including the structural integrity of the occupant compartment, airbag deployment and effectiveness, and the performance of any advanced driver assistance systems, including collision warnings and automatic emergency braking. I am also requesting review and preservation of all available vehicle data, including Event Data Recorder (EDR) information, vehicle telemetry, driver assistance system status, warning notifications, braking data, steering data, and any other information recorded before and during the crash. At this time, I do not know whether a vehicle defect or system malfunction occurred. My concern is whether the vehicle’s safety systems and occupant protection systems functioned as intended and whether additional vehicle data may help determine if any safety-related issues contributed to the severity of the crash.

Filed Jun 12, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · TX

The forward-facing camera and Autopilot computer system on my 2021 Tesla Model 3 has failed. The dashboard first showed intermittent warnings that "Automatic Emergency Braking is currently unavailable" and "Adaptive headlight features are unavailable." Over several weeks the problem worsened from intermittent to constant, and the vehicle progressively lost its forward road visualization and all active safety features. Using the vehicle's Service Mode diagnostics, the Autopilot computer's Primary (A) processing node reports a "CRITICAL" status. The fault log records repeated alerts including dasMIA (driver-assistance system not responding), aebFault (automatic emergency braking fault), and fisheyeCamInitFault and fisheyeCameraStreamExit (forward camera initialization and stream failures). The cameras themselves are physically clean and unobstructed. Safety risk: the failure disables Automatic Emergency Braking and forward collision avoidance, lane-keeping/driver assistance, and the adaptive auto high-beam headlights. AEB is a critical crash-avoidance system; losing it leaves the vehicle unable to brake automatically for an imminent collision, and the loss of adaptive headlights reduces nighttime visibility. A Tesla service center inspected the vehicle, confirmed the diagnosis, and determined the Autopilot computer — a sealed, solid-state control unit — had failed and required full replacement at approximately $3,400. The vehicle is well under 50,000 miles. This failure appears consistent with the same car-computer power-component shorting failure for which Tesla issued a recall on its newer model-year vehicles. The vehicle and the failed component are available for inspection on request. The vehicle has not been inspected by police or insurance.

Related recalls

Back over prevention: softwareReported May 4, 2026 · 218,868 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017, 2021-2023 Model 3, 2020-2023 Model Y, 2021-2023 Model S, and Model X vehicles operating software version 2026.8.6. The rearview camera image may be delayed when the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk
A delayed rearview image reduces the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 3, 2026. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-26-00-001.

Recall number 26V283000 · Recall details

Back over prevention: softwareReported January 6, 2025 · 239,382 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Model 3, Model S, 2023-2025 Model X, and Model Y vehicles. The computer circuit board may short, resulting in the loss of the rearview camera image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk
A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Tesla will also identify any vehicles that experienced a circuit board failure, or stress that may lead to a circuit board failure, and replace the affected computers, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 7, 2025. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-25-00-001.

Recall number 25V002000 · Recall details

Forward collision avoidance: warnings: external/pedestrian alertReported February 27, 2024 · 6,557 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2013, 2018-2021 Model S, 2020-2021 Model X, 2018-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A factory reset muted the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
Risk
Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are muted, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, release 2023.44.30.14, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 27, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-006.

Recall number 24V153000 · Recall details

Forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency brakingReported May 9, 2022 · 7 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Model 3 and 2021 Model Y vehicles. The fisheye and narrow camera cable terminals were incorrectly installed in the cable harness connector, resulting in swapped camera views.
Risk
Swapped camera views can prevent the vehicle's cameras from detecting crossing objects and high-curvature lane lines, impairing the Autosteer and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) performance, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Tesla Service will correct the swapped terminals and recalibrate the cameras, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 8, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-17-007.

Recall number 22V317000 · Recall details

Back over prevention: display functionReported March 18, 2022 · 947 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Model S, Model X, and 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles equipped with Autopilot Computer 2.5 and operating certain firmware releases. The rearview image may not immediately display when the vehicle begins to reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk
A delayed rearview camera image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 17, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-004.

Recall number 22V169000 · Recall details

Forward collision avoidance: warnings: external/pedestrian alertReported February 4, 2022 · 578,607 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model S, Model X, Model Y, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to be played through an external speaker while the vehicle is in motion, which may obscure the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
Risk
Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are obscured, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the Boombox functionality when the vehicle is in Drive, Neutral and Reverse modes, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 5, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-003. Note: This recall has been superseded by Recall 22V‑235. Tesla's number for the new recall is SB-22-00-003.

Recall number 22V063000 · Recall details

Forward collision avoidance: warningsReported October 29, 2021 · 11,728 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles operating software version 2021.36.5.2. A communication error may cause false forward-collision warning (FCW) or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency brake (AEB) system.
Risk
Unexpected activation of the AEB system may cause the car to stop suddenly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Tesla Service has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. The recall began October 25, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-00-004.

Recall number 21V846000 · Recall details

Questions about the Tesla Model 3 collision warning

Which Tesla Model 3 years have false forward collision warnings problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2022 (37 complaints), 2021 (32 complaints) and 2018 (19 complaints).

How much does it cost to fix false forward collision warnings on the Tesla Model 3?

Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $2,616 (median of 10 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.

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