What 982 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Tesla Model 3 Bev

Everyday while I am driving on the highway, when the car is in cruise control, multiple times it decreases the speed drastically for no reason.

NHTSA ODI 11453419

While traveling from San Diego, CA to Louisiana on the self-drive mode the car abruptly stopped in traffic 3 times (while this was at night there was no concern for an accident). On the return trip back home it did it 1 more time in the daylight hours, but this time there was an 18 wheeler behind me. We were doing the speed limit at the time, which was 75mph and it slammed on the brakes making me go from 75 mph to 60 in seconds. I was able to take control of the vehicle and get it back to highway speed before there was an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11453519

On several occasions while driving with autopilot on the car has suddenly and inexplicably braked HARD while at highway speed. Each time there was nothing in the road, no car, no obstruction, no anything, but it was as if the car saw something that wasn't there and jammed on the brakes. I quickly took back over and returned to highway speed. Luckily we were not in heavy traffic or I would have been concerned about being rear-ended by another vehicle. I don't do a lot of road trips with the car and have used autopilot less as a result, but I would guess it has happened 4-6 times since I have owned the vehicle. I just thought it was a glitch that they would work out but just saw reports of others still experiencing this issue so thought I should report it so you were aware of the breadth of the problem. The date below is a total guess as to the last occurrence.

NHTSA ODI 11453070

Since we purchased this car 3 years ago, when driving with the cruise control, it has in appropriately applied the brakes. This is a ongoing problem. This is a frequent occurrence (once or twice during 100 mile drives) mostly on 4 lane high ways. The most common situation where this happens is on a uphill rise in the highway and a overpass at the top of the hill. It can be a slight application of brake or a very strong application which is very dangerous with a large truck or close following car behind you. I only use cruise control to rest my foot on long rides and turn it off when approaching a over pass. There are other times it is turned on when a truck passes on the other lane or a car entering the high way from an entrance ramp that the white lines are worn out. We only use the cruise control with great care.

NHTSA ODI 11453071

the car tart to have sudden unintended acceleration at low speed after fully charge. The car will stop at the road Suddenly. leave car and back. The AC run for 1 min and shut down. I heard a sound which is from battery switch. 9/21, 11:15 am It happened again. I hear a sound and the car show alert. “”Pull over safely” — The autopilot system will slow down a lot passing a bride, even there is no car in the road.

NHTSA ODI 11453010

The car breaks automatically when neighboring cars drive by during autopilot. I have a family of 4. This appears to happen when using autopilot almost every single time. It has gotten worse over the years. This car is becoming dangerous.

NHTSA ODI 11452677

While using Autopilot adaptive cruise control at speeds of 50-70 mph, the car suddenly applies the brakes even though there is no car or other hazard anywhere near the car. This phantom braking has been happening since I bought the car in 2018. I imagine it's a software problem. I read recently that NHTSA is investigating a similar problem on 2021 and 2022 Tesla Model 3s, so wanted to let you know that this problem is also affecting my 2018 model. Also I read that there's speculation that the problem was as a result of a software update over the past year, but in my vehicle the phantom braking has occurred since 2018. The problem most recently happened last week.

NHTSA ODI 11452756

I drive along the highway and all of a sudden while I'm in adaptive cruise control my car brakes suddenly for no reason.

NHTSA ODI 11452403

1. Phantom Breaking when on Adaptive Cruise Control. 2. Many times , unexpectedly there will sudden application of brakes, or slowing down of car when on highway and with speed in range of 55-65 mph. 3. Mostly this happens when big truck comes in front or passing thru a bridge. 4. Many times I am not able make any reason of this sudden brakes. 5. Many times due to sudden deacceleration , I have a car following in back, came very close , and honking.

NHTSA ODI 11452462

Phantom braking- was driving at 65mph and car hard braked and decreased to 55mph in 1 or 2 seconds

NHTSA ODI 11452565

As others have reported, please add my 2018 Model 3 to the list of reports of the vehicle having constant phantom breaking issues that Telsa needs to address. I'm glad you are conducting this investigation. Most times phantom breaking occurs I submit a "Bug Report" using the voice button in the car that sends car logs directly to Tesla so they will have records of these phantom breaking issues at the exact time and location my car experienced it. While it is random it also is very predicable at certain spots on highways I drive in the Bay Area. Namely 680 South in the HOV lane right before the Mission Blvd. exit. At least 90% of the time even I'm the only car in that stretch of road the car breaks hard for no reason. It is occurs so often in that section that I typically disconnect the Advanced Cruise Control in sections as well as other section of the Bay Area where phantom breaking consistently occurs. Two of my neighbors also have M3's and we have compared notes and we all typically see phantom breaking occur in similar areas in the Bay Area.

NHTSA ODI 11452631

Car constantly phantom braking seemingly because of oncoming traffic safely in their own lane.

NHTSA ODI 11452646

When driving on autopilot on highways phantom breaking occurs for no reason. There are no warnings, the car just slams on the brakes. Elon Musk has state they were removing radars from cars to eliminate this issue and disabling it in cars with that hardware, but since my car have gone to all vision it is much worse. While following vehicles should always follow at a safe distance to prevent collisions, the reality is most drivers follow too closely and this could very easily result in a rear end collision. It could also trigger road rage from following drivers assuming the driver is doing a brake check on them. This has occurred numerous times over various software versions, but its much worse with the pure vision version of autopilot. Current software is 2021.44.30.5

NHTSA ODI 11451336

Was on highway using full self-driving feature when my car suddenly braked hard and in other instances I received a forward collision warning to take immediate action. These incidences (1/17/2022 & 2/6/2022) occurred when no cars were in front of me. I do not feel safe using this feature.

NHTSA ODI 11450679

While using Tesla autopilot on surface streets, the car will randomly brake. Additionally, it frequently thinks that green lights are red and will stop the car at an intersection which can cause an accident as other cars will not be stopping.

NHTSA ODI 11450698

I drive twice a week from Washington DC to Charlottesville, VA, a distance of 117 miles each way. 35 miles are on an interstate and 82 miles are on a divided 4-lane state road. Since I restarted this commute in September 2021 after Covid shutdowns and summer break, I have experienced recurring, frequent problems with the car's vehicle warning system, adaptive cruise control, and forward collision notification system. When I drive on the interstate (where there is currently a great deal of construction), the adaptive cruise control keeps automatically adjusting my speed when there is no speed limit change. So I might be traveling at 65 mph when my speed is suddenly lowered to 30 mph. There are no warnings, either visual or audio. The speed just changes. This is incredibly dangerous and requires me to be hyper-vigilant to avoid a rear end collision, or to turn off the cruise control system. When I travel on the state road, I receive frequent visual notifications of a collision risk ahead of me. I received four of them yesterday, and there was nothing in front of me at all. But sometimes, all automated systems disengage, a visual warning appears on my vehicle screen, and a loud klaxon sounds. This happened twice yesterday. It often occurs when I'm driving on a hilly stretch of road, when I'm ascending towards a crest in the roadway. It happens more at night than in daylight, but it happens without warning under a variety of conditions. The car also has an automatic lane change feature, which used to work reliably, but now seems more capricious, for no apparent reason. I engage the system, the screen shows it's safe to change lanes, the vehicle initiates the lane change, and then the car suddenly lurches back into the lane I'm leaving, saying the function isn't available. This has happened in all traffic conditions, from an empty highway to one with moderate traffic. I don't use the system when there's a lot of traffic.

NHTSA ODI 11450430

When the vehicle is in autopilot, it sometimes (once every couple of months or so) will suddenly engage automatic braking as though there is an obstacle detected in front of the vehicle. In nearly every instance, this has happened at one particular location on an interstate where an overpass casts a shadow on the interstate on which the vehicle is located. The problem seems to be that the vehicle senses an object in front of it and the collision avoidance system is engaged; however, that "object" is only a shadow. This has happened in a few other locations (not simply this where this one overpass is).

NHTSA ODI 11450176

I have been plagued with Tesla’s phantom braking for *years*. For all that they do, this seems like a problem they are not willing to invest enough resources to combat the problem. Some releases have been better than others but for last batch of releases, it has gotten far worse than ever before. The car is afraid of bridges and slows down unreasonably. The car is afraid of overhead signs (carpool ones especially) The car is afraid of cars riding on or near the lines of an adjacent lane. The car is afraid of oncoming traffic on the left while driving. What is ironic is these events of aggressive braking is all for nothing. 90% of the time,. The car brakes and does drama without actually having enough time or space if what it was afraid of actually happened. The car has a rear facing camera - why can’t it adjust behavior based on tail gating? Would the car rather have a rear end collision or be afraid of a bridge? It is straight dangerous. The fact there aren’t a lot more accidents is auto pilot/fsd drivers be a large majority pay attention. But, I have had close calls and *many* angry drivers around me get frustrated when it happens. It’s been happening for 4 years…. I realize navigating a complex intersection is a tough problem to solve. They have prioritized this over the fundamentals of driving in a sane way on the freeway in a straight line. It’s ridiculous and I for one am very tired of this problem lasting so long. What chides me is that, “car, why are you braking when a car right in front of you magically went through the bridge you are afraid of?” It is basic logic and simple/obvious clues to help avoid this. They choose not to use it. Also - being in technology myself, I have to rake Elon over the coals. No one smart chooses to not use available data. Elon calling ultrasonic data to be ‘noise’ to turn to vision only is a sign of great hubris over being pragmatic. His ego regarding Lidar is a problem.

NHTSA ODI 11450181

Car rear ended, brakes froze after reacting to a car in front of me. Behavior unexpected and Tesla should not have frozen break maybe Abs kicked in

NHTSA ODI 11448389

Car was totaled after uncontrollable acceleration. Air bags were deployed

NHTSA ODI 11431424

WE RECENTLY GOT INTO AN SUA WITH OUR CURRENT TESLA 3. I WAS TURNING INTO MY DRIVE WAY AND I CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. WHILE I WAS WAITING FOR THE GATE TO OPEN AND WHEN I BRAKED, THE CAR SUDDENLY SPED UP VERY FAST AND I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE AGAIN BUT THE CAR DID NOT STOP. THE CAR WAS ALSO IN HOLD MODE WHEN I LATER CHECKED I NEVER STEPPED DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR HARD ENOUGH TO REACH THE SPEED OF RUNNING THROUGH 2 CEMENTED METAL GATES. THE AIRBAGS DIDN'T POP OUT AND TESLA'S SENSOR BREAK SYSTEM ALSO DID NOT ACTIVATE. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE COMPUTER SYSTEM OF MY CAR A SHORT WHILE AFTER I PURCHASED MY CAR (APRIL 18, 2018). I WAS DRIVING BACK HOME WHEN THE DISPLAY SCREEN WAS STUCK ON THE PARK MODE FOR THE WHOLE ENTIRE DRIVE BACK. I COULDN'T TURN ON MY SIGNALS, OR SEE MY MPH. EVEN AFTER I GOT HOME, IT WOULDN'T TURN OFF EVEN AFTER TRYING FOR 2 HOURS SO I HAD TO CALL ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE AND SHE TOLD ME A WAY TO RESET THE CAR. ( I HAVE VIDEOS TO PROVE THIS.) THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN INCIDENTS WHEN I AM BRAKED AND WAITING AT A RED LIGHT. I OBVIOUSLY PRESSED ACCEL WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, BUT THE CAR WENT INTO PARK MODE AND I WOULD GET STARTLED AND QUICKLY MANUALLY TURN IT INTO DRIVE MODE. THIS HAS HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 4-5 TIMES IN THE PAST YEAR AND EVEN RECENTLY IN 2021.

NHTSA ODI 11403795

WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY TESLA SUDDENLY HARD BRAKED OUT OF NOWHERE. MY SPEED DROPPED FROM 70 TO 30 IN A COUPLE OF SECONDS. THERE WAS AN 18 WHEELER BEHIND ME AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN A DEADLY COLLISION IF I HADN'T INTERVENED. THIS IS A KNOWN TESLA BUT THAT SOMEDAY WOULD KILL SOMEONE.

NHTSA ODI 11402908

UNINTENDED ACCELERATION RESULTING IN A CRASH WITH A TREE. MY CAR WAS TOTAL. THE CAR WAS WAS STATIOANARY WAITING TO PUT AIR IN MY TIRE.

NHTSA ODI 11396564

CAR WAS ON DRIVEWAY GOING5MPH. APPLIED BRAKE BRAKE PEDAL WAS LOCKED IN POSITION CAR CONTINUED GOING 5MPH.WENT THROUGH GARAGE DOOR. CONTINUED AT 5MPH HIT WALL. PUT HOLE IN WALL CAR STOPPED. WE WEREN'T INJURED. CAR NEVER SLOWED OR SPEEDED UP. REPORTED TO TESLA THE NEXT DAY. THEY SAID THE CAR HAS A DATA RECORDER. I ASKED FOR THE DATA. AFTER NUMEROUS REQUESTS 7 WEEKS LATER THEY HAVE FAILED TO CONTACT US

NHTSA ODI 11341143

MY TESLA WHEN ON AUTOPILOT ON A FREEWAY RUNNING LESS THAN 5 MPH DUE TO TRAFFIC WAS RIGHT BEHIND A BIG TRUCK AND THE CAR NEVER STOPPED AND BUMPED INTO THE TRUCK. AN ATTEMPT TO BRAKE MANUALLY WAS DONE BUT THE AUTOPILOT WOULDNT DEACTIVATE AND GIVE US BACK THE CONTROL TO STOP THE CAR. I HAVE A VIDEO FROM MY FRONT CAM WITH THE INCIDENT. I WAS LUCKY MY CAR WAS NOT DRIVING AT A HIGHER SPEED IF THE SAME INCDENT COULD HAPPEN AS LIKE MAY OTHERS WHO GOT KILLED.

NHTSA ODI 11299698