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What 434 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Tesla Model 3 Bev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (434)Crash / fire / injury (57)Driver assistance (154)Speed control (68)Brakes (47)Steering (45)Electrical system (40)Suspension (38)Lane Departure (34)Airbags (29)Visibility & wipers (28)Seats (23)

29 of 434 complaints match · Airbags · clear filters · page 2 of 2

Jan 27, 2022AirbagsElectrical systemCrash2 injuries

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving on the right side of the road at 35-45 MPH, on autopilot mode with a passenger in the front passenger seat, the vehicle drove off the road independently and crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact's face hit the steering wheel. The contact sustained a black eye with laceration, bruised ribs, head, neck and back pain, sprained left ankle, bruises on her thigh, may have sustained nerve damage on the right side of the face that hit the steering wheel and sciatic nerve damage on the right side of her body. The occupant of the front passenger seat sustained neck, back and clavicle injuries. The contact sought medical assistance the next day. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot, then it was towed to a Tesla certified specialist body shop. A police report was filed. The contact has not been able to get a hold of the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 55,000.

NHTSA ODI 11449119

Nov 1, 2021Electrical systemAirbagsBody & structureCrash1 injury

While turning into a parking spot in a covered parking garage the car seemed to speed up and lurch. It hit the cement wall and pushed the car back with such force the air bags deployed. Thank God it was just a wall. The car is now at the repair garage and have not heard back regarding how much damage and if the car is going to be "totaled". When I mentioned this at a party we were at, a friend of mine said she had the same problem. There were no collision warnings. It happened in a split second. The parking garage was at my Doctors office so I was able to have my wrist x-ryed right then. No serious injury. Just a little leary of driving this model car if not any electric vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11438921

Apr 24, 2021Airbags

I HAVE PURCHASED A 2020 TESLA MODEL 3 BACK IN SEPTEMBER 2020 IN CASH. ONLY FOR THEIR TO BE MULTIPLE ISSUES. THE MOST RECENT ISSUE IS A FRONT RIGHT SAFETY RESTRAINT FAILURE. IT HAS BEEN LOOKED AT AND UNSUCCESSFULLY FIXED BY THE TESLA SERVICE CENTER FOUR TIMES NOW. UNDER THE LOUISIANA LEMON LAW, I AM REQUESTING FOR A WHOLE NEW VEHICLE. I HAVE TRIED CONTACTING SOMEONE FROM MY SERVICE CENTER AND EVEN STRAIGHT TO CONTACTING TESLA. NO ONE WILL RETURN MY CALLS OR HELP WITH MY CAR ISSUES.

NHTSA ODI 11413662

Apr 4, 2020AirbagsCrash2 injuries

1 DAY AFTER TAKING DELIVERY OF MY MODEL 3, I WAS T-BONED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF MY CAR WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN BY A DRIVER WHO BEAT THE RED LIGHT DUE TO BEING DISTRACTED ON HER PHONE. I BLACKED OUT AS SOON AS I HEARD A BANG AND WOKE UP AFTER I REALIZED WHAT HAD HAPPENED. AS I LOOKED AROUND THE CAR, I NOTICED THAT NO AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED. I DID MY RESEARCH AND FOUND OUT THAT NO AIRBAGS WILL BE DEPLOYED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AREA IF NO ONE IS ON THE SEAT, WHICH I UNDERSTAND. MY CONCERN IS THAT WHY DID NO AIRBAGS DEPLOY ON MY SIDE. THE CAR MIGHT NOW BE CONSIDERED TOTALED DUE TO THIS ACCIDENT. I ALREADY CONTACTED THE CAR COMPANY TO DO AN INVESTIGATION. I'M SURE I HIT MY HEAD ON THE WINDOW BECAUSE THAT NIGHT, THE LEFT SIDE OF MY HEAD AND NECK WERE HURTING. AND ALSO, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S AIRBAGS ON THE SEATS AS WELL, BUT SADLY, IT DID NOT DEPLOY. NOW, I HAVE BACK PAINS AND MIGHT NEED OUTPATIENT PT. IF I'M PAYING CLOSE TO 60K ON A VEHICLE, I WOULD HOPE THAT THE MAIN SAFETY FEATURE OF A CAR WILL BE ACTIVATED IN A CRASH OF THAT MAGNITUDE.

NHTSA ODI 11320208

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Working with the data? Download all 434 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2020 Tesla Model 3 Bev verdict →