The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated and the engine seized. The contact stated that the failure had occurred in heavy traffic. The Police arrived and assisted with traffic control. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that after several attempts to start the vehicle, the vehicle started. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the roadway and was left at the location overnight. The contact stated that the following day, while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle started and was driven to the residence. The dealer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the failure was because of a software glitch. The vehicle was repaired. In addition, the Mobile App produced a fault code indicating the vehicle was parked and unable to start. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.
Tesla Model 3 engine failure problems
12 of the 4,401 owner complaints about the Tesla Model 3 describe engine failure, most of them for the 2023 model year.
- owner complaints
- 12
- worst model year
- 2023
- typical mileage
- 36,000
By model year
- 20241
- 20234
- 20222
- 20211
- 20201
- 20192
- 20181
Often reported together
What owners say
Wy wife and I drove our Tesla Model 3 from Palo Alto, CA to San Francisco downtown, to meet friends. I was the driver, and my wife sat on the passenger seat. The weather was clear, and the pavement was dry. I did not engage auto-pilot features during the entire trip. The car condition was normal with no signs of error or warning. I made a right turn onto [XXX] from [XXX] Shortly after I completed the turn, the car unexpectedly lost control. Without any prior warnings, it suddenly veered into the center divider, snapped a tree, dashed towards oncoming traffic on the other side of [XXX] , and finally stopped on [XXX] , labelled as location A on the attached drawing. Everything happened so quickly: I could not control the steering wheel, and I applied the brakes in vain. The vehicle seized control, no matter how hard I tried to stop it. I regained control of the vehicle at the intersection of [XXX] and [XXX] , and was able to park the car at location A. We were very fortunate and blessed that we did not hit people at the bus stop, that there were no cars in front of us, that the opposite traffic on [XXX] was stopped by a red light, and that the traffic was light on [XXX] Without such luck, my wife and I, and probably others, would have been seriously injured, if not worse. Because [XXX] is one-way, we decided to move the vehicle to [XXX] , and parked at location B in the drawing. I called 911 and spoke to a female dispatcher. She asked us to remain at location B and wait for police officers to arrive. We waited there for almost 3 hours, but no police arrived. The dashboard display indicated that we had a flat tire(s). We called mobile tire services. After their inspection, most of our tires were alright, except the rim of the front-left wheel was badly bent, as you can see in the attached photo. The mobile tire service staff was skilled enough to carefully patch the damage and said it should be OK to drive back to Palo Alto. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 5
The contact owns a 2024 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while using the right turn signal, the signal seized and failed to turn off and remained engaged. The vehicle was taken to the Tesla Service Center; however, the service tech was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The Tesla Service Center declined to provide a steering wheel replacement. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 1,800.
The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH and making a left turn, the steering wheel seized, and the front passenger's side of the vehicle lowered to the ground and made an abnormal grinding sound, before coming to a stop. The contact stated that upon exiting and inspecting the vehicle, it was noticed that the tie rod had detached from the front passenger's side wheel, and the front passenger's side wheel had turned inward and was pinned by the wheel well. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla Service Center, where it was diagnosed and determined that the front passenger's side steering assembly needed to be replaced. The contact was charged a fee for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized, and it became difficult to steer the vehicle. The contact stated the vehicle failed to respond while the brake pedal was depressed. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle shuddered and almost caused the vehicle to crash against a guard rail. The contact stated that the auto steer avoided the rail but caused the vehicle to spin out. A Police report was filed but was not available. There were no injuries sustained. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, the steering wheel seized and made it difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated after leaving the dealer for a previous issue with a locked steering wheel, the contact was driving 50 mph on an entrance ramp as he accelerated to merge onto the highway, the steering wheel seized to the right in non-autopilot mode causing the contact to crash into the guardrail on the right side. The contact injured his neck and received medical attention. The emergency respondent was not called, but the contact obtained a police report. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but remains unrepaired, and needed engineers' diagnosis and legal investigation by Tesla. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V838000 (Electrical System). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,798.
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving out of a parking space, the steering wheel seized. The message "Front Motor Disabled. Continue Driving" was displayed. The manufacturer was contacted and provided remote assistance, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle regained power steering functionality after an hour. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving out of a parking space on another occasion. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla Service Center however, the failure could not be duplicated; however, the circuit board was replaced. The contact stated that the failure recurred while pulling out of a parking space on a third occasion. The vehicle was towed to a second Tesla service center, Tesla Sales (750 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087) who informed the contact that an unknown software update was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.
The contact stated that while renting a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the steering wheel suddenly turned left while accelerating. The contact attempted to gain control however the steering wheel seized. The vehicle ended up crashing in the middle of the highway on the left side of the vehicle and front-end mostly. The air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed however it had not been determined if the vehicle was totaled as of yet. The display of the front left safety restraint system fault message was displayed on the main control display. The contact received injuries to their arms, knees, neck, shoulder, and back. Medical attention was needed. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized, and excessive force was required to steer the vehicle to the left. The "Steering Assist Reduced - Steering Require Increased Effort” message was displayed on the contact's smart phone, but not on the radio home screen. The contact sent a message to Tesla through the app; however, the contact had not yet received a response. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 4,369.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Tesla Model 3 engine failure
Which Tesla Model 3 years have engine failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2023 (4 complaints), 2019 (2 complaints) and 2022 (2 complaints).
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