UNKNOWN
NHTSA ODI 11628595
Home · 2021 Tesla Model 3 Bev · Complaints
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.
10 of 650 complaints match · Steering · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters
UNKNOWN
NHTSA ODI 11628595
1. Autosteer/Lane assist failure, yes its available for inspection upon request with Tesla 2. Due to above failure met with a crash which led to severe medical issues 3. The car has been totalled and the car is not functional, waiting on Tesla to inspect and confirm 4. Police has filed a crash report but manufacturer, insurance yet to inspect the vehicle or component 5. Absolutely NO WARNING lamps/messages prior to the failure.
NHTSA ODI 11620683
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle made a violent right turn inadvertently crashed into a ditch, and rolled on the driveway. The contact sustained a concision. Medical attention was needed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a lot. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,410.
NHTSA ODI 11585174
Please note that the VIN I have used is not the VIN of the actual vehicle which is the subject of this complaint. There has been a fatal crash in San Diego. Here is a video of the aftermath. [XXX] I have taken stills from that video that show the Tesla wheel lying on the roadway well before the crash site and marks on the road that show the car slewed sideways after the wheel fell off and then crashed and burned incinerating the young driver. Photos are attached. You know full well that Tesla has defective suspensions. You have blood on your hands for failing to take action against Tesla. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA ODI 11572238
I was driving my car on the highway I275 approximatley 5 miles North of St Petersburg Florida. When without reason the car spun to the left very quickly, I did not have any steering control at that moment. If the car had hyro plained it would not have spun out of control so quickly. The road was slightly wet as there was a drizzle but not to any extent to allow the car to spin out of control due to heavy water. My vehicle hit the highway guard rail and was badly damaged.
NHTSA ODI 11545162
The steering system malfunctioned. Yes it is available for inspection. The car turned across oncoming traffic turning the vehicle 180 degrees leaving me facing oncoming traffic during rush hour. I could have died in a horrific accident. The service center for the vehicle sulfate they will not evaluate vehicle until body damage to vehicle are repaired. The vehicle had no notifications or warnings prior to the incident.
NHTSA ODI 11483586
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while reversing the vehicle from her residence at 3 mph and attempting to turn to the left, but failed to turn. The contact stated the vehicle continued to go straight and ran into a chain link fence. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention but she was frightened. The contact attempted to straighten the vehicle by turning left again and drove into a railing. The contact stated the instrument cluster screen when blank after the second crash. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact towed the vehicle to local dealer and was being serviced at the moment of the call. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 12,297
NHTSA ODI 11475766
The contact's son owned a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that his son was involved in a fatal collision while driving at an undisclosed speed with the autopilot activated. The contact was informed by his son's friend, who was a passenger in the vehicle, that the autopilot malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to inadvertently drive off the road, hit a tree, and then catch fire. An unknown bright orange light was seen on the windshield right before the failure occurred. The contact's son's friend was able to exit the vehicle, but the contact's son was unconscious and was not able to exit the vehicle. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A fire department report was filed. The contact's son's friend received medical attention for burns and bruises on his legs. The contact's son's autopsy report stated that his son died as a result of intense thermal heat and smoke inhalation. The vehicle was towed and remained with the Highway Patrol. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA ODI 11466262
Hello, Driving on a snowy road around 20 MPH. Attempted to slow down in a straight line, used the brakes to try and slow vehicle to go into a driveway. Vehicle would not respond to any inputs. The brake pedal seemed frozen, coming off and back on the brake pedal did not change anything. There sounded like an ABS pulsing but it was not working. Post accident pictures showed it looked like the car was dragging one axle like it was locked in the snow. Car ending up grazing a mailbox post and afterword said 'take control'. I believe the car tried to do an automated braking maneuver which did not work. The road was covered in 1-2" of snow and the mailbox would have been a reference point in the distance. When turning the steering wheel away from the object that was hit, the car continued to go straight like the wheels were not attached. The car never veered left or right during this whole event even though i tried to turn.
NHTSA ODI 11449562
I was pulling up next to a curb inside a neighborhood to park my car. I released my foot on the accelerator pedal to slow and stop my car. I slowly stepped on the brake pedal to switch the gear into reverse and my vehicle sped up very fast and hit the parked car in front of me and ran over the curb, my steering wheel also shifted to the right as if it was trying to dodge an obstacle on the road. It happpend so fast that I could not avoid the impact. I could have ran into a pedestrian and put their life at risk, or injured the person in the car that was parked, and even hurt myself badly. I've been getting neck pain and headaches. This incident was very terrifying and traumatizing. I tried to reach out to Tesla Service Center, but my tesla app was not working after the incident. The Tesla app was frozen for 10-15 mins after the incident. I kept trying to reach out to Tesla Service center and kept getting an automated response to utilize the Tesla App. Finally, the app started working again, I left them a message regarding the accident and photos, and they responded two days after, but did not address the issue about unintended acceleration until I kept asking why are they ignoring my concerns about the uninteded accerlation, and then I received a phone call from a technician. He said that I do not have to bring my car for inspection, instead they will just check the logs and could take up to 8 weeks to see what happened. Estimated cost for exterior damages according to Geico Insurance is 5344.74. Tesla Service Center denied having the car inspected physcially for any sensor issues and malfunction issues, states that I don't have to bring my car in at all, they will submit a report for engineering team to review the driving logs at the time of the accident only. My car is currently towed to a 3rd party body shop that is Tesla certified. No warnings from my car screen alerts or anything prior to the accident.
NHTSA ODI 11430930
Working with the data? Download all 650 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026