What 748 owners told NHTSA about the 2022 Tesla Model 3 Bev

While driving on 4 lane Pkwy at 45 mph then slowing down to move into left turning lane, my model 3 gave warning of "parking brake failure" and stopped working at the same time. This means it slowed down to a stop on its own. I was "manually driving" the vehicle when this occurred. Luckily for me I was able to be in a "slower" left turn lane and I knew where the emergency blinker button was located and turned them on. The vehicle didn't even go into coast mode to allow me to move over to side of road. It just decided to stop where it was at. After reading about Tesla's stopping on their own in traffic and people crashing into them I knew this is a serious problem. Weather was clear, my car and its cameras were clean.

NHTSA ODI 11552051

On October 20th, 2023 around 3:00 pm I was driving eastbound on the highway 69 in Michigan. A friend of mine was seated on the front passenger side (no more other passenger). Autopilot was not installed on the car and the driver had both hands on the steering wheel. I was driving on the most left lane at speed about 75 mph. At about Exit#131, Suddenly, I felt the steering wheel turned right a little by itself and the car slowly drifted to the right a little, then the steering wheel quickly turned to left by itself and the car quick turned to the left. I tried to control the steering wheel but couldn't. The car zig-zagged forward and hit the center guardrail at about 45 degree angle. The car was pushed away from the guardrail and stopped in the middle lane. After the crush, the left side of the car tilted to the ground. The left side airbag was deployed and my head hit on the airbag (not injured). The bottom of the drivers side was steaming. At this point I thought the car was going to explode or catch a fire since EV's are known for doing that. My friend and I exited the car immediately and we called the police. No other car was involved and no people get injured. The wheel axle on the front left side collapsed and the wheel fell down on the ground but the tire did not blow up. There were severe damages on the left side of the vehicle: the lamp, the mirror, doors and charging port. The accident report can be retrieved at www.flinttownshippolice.org, report # [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11551204

I have been forced to stop using cruise control on my Tesla Model 3. Over the past few years, the car will repeatedly slam on the brakes for no good reason when I am driving on the highway. I understand this behavior is known as "phantom braking." The car will suddenly and unexpectedly drop speed by 10-20 mph on the highway. I am so worried that someone will rear-end my vehicle that I cannot use cruise control anymore. For some unexplained reason, the Tesla Model 3 does not currently have a "dumb" cruise control that I could use instead.

NHTSA ODI 11548709

My car was purchased Aug 2022. In Nov. 2022 we took a short trip. I believe 5 or 6 times the car braked for no reason. I believe it is called phantom braking. One or two times it was a hard brake that I believe could cause an accident if someone was behind me, or the wrong person driving. It was sudden and hard in those two situations. I took the car in and after they drove it two miles they told me there were no issues. Then in June 2023 we went on a long trip. I do not use autopilot, this is only cruise control. On this trip probably between 35 to 45 times we experienced the same issues. At least 5 times they were hard brakes and could cause an accident. I again opened a service visit to Tesla. Again, they drove the car 5 miles and claimed there is nothing wrong. I did not accept this answer and asked for the GM. Finally after demanding this for 20 or so minutes a man came and said he was the manager. He also argued in the beginning but when I told him I have found accidents caused by this he finally admitted that it was something called "phantom braking" and that that it should be fixed very soon with an update. So then again, in August my wife and I went on another trip. It still is happening and probably 6 or 7 times this occurred. It seems to mostly be on smaller 2 lane highways and occurs usually when there are no cars, trucks, or anything nearby. But all it would take is a tailgater to cause a wreck. In August when we returned I made another warranty appointment her in Las Vegas and immediately they cancelled the visit on my app. They are lying about what is occurring and telling me that it is usually when I am following too close or some garbage like that, which is absolutely not true. I just made another appt today but I am sure they will cancel it. What do I do. I really want to go through Nevada Lemon law at this point. My name is [XXX] and my phone is [XXX] . Below I am putting in the most recent incident and mileage then. Happens many time INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11545244

I was in the carpool lane when traffic came to a complete stop. I pressed on the brakes but they were heavy as if I was not able to press it down all the way. There was no information prior to the accident from the Tesla trying to warn me about an incoming collision. It wasn’t until after the accident the Tesla acknowledged that there was damage done to the car. Prior to the accident there was a service required for the front passenger safety restraints. This accident could have been much worse as I tried to swerve out of the way to avoid traffic but wasn’t able to make it back in time.

NHTSA ODI 11544619

We took our first long-disance trip (Albuquerque NM to Arlington TX, round trip) in our 2022 Tesla Model 3 and experienced multiple (4-5) phantom braking episodes to and from Arlington when engaging adaptive cruise control or autopilot. The car had been driven 5,760 miles before the trip. There were no warnings before the braking. The car was travelling at 70-77 mph on interstate highways and suddenly the brakes would engage slowing the car to 40 or 50 mph before we pressed pressed the accelerator. It was a clear day with temperatures in the 90-100 range. One time the phantom brake episode occurred while passing. Fortunately, there no cars travelling close behind us or there could have been a serious multi-car accident. We contacted Tesla service and they told us the car had no discernable problems (attached message).

NHTSA ODI 11543853

Car brakes hard on cruise control when no other cars are around.

NHTSA ODI 11538534

Driving at speed limit (70MPH) on Interstate 5. Was using cruise control. On 5 occasions, driving N, then S 4 days later, car braked suddenly with no obstacle or vehicle within 50 yards.

NHTSA ODI 11536068

During high speed vehicle would do sudden brake with no visible obstacles or cars ahead of vehicle

NHTSA ODI 11531147

I was driving on Interstate 25 north towards Santa Fe NM at about 75mph with the cruise control engaged. The car abruptly slowed down to about 60 mph for no apparent reason. The slow down was so quick that passengers were pushed forward in their seats. This has happened before when cruise control was engaged. I had hoped that this was resolved by Tesla. There was not any vehicles in front of me for the car to believe a slowdown was necessary. I reported this to Tesla for repair and they replied that a repair was not necessary. They gave me instructions to override the action by pressing the acceleration pedal. I don't believe that is the solution to the problem and fear that if another car was following to close behind me that an accident could have happened. This car was purchased with cruise control but I cannot utilize it for fear of this braking problem

NHTSA ODI 11525481

"Phantom braking:" Vehicle has braked Multiple times on the freeway while using adaptive cruise control, when no objects were In the vehicle's path. Typically occurs when driving on curved section of freeway at speeds above 50 mph.

NHTSA ODI 11524758

My car engaged the automatic emergency braking (AEB) when the car in front of me lightly tapped on their brakes-- When the AEB engaged, my car come to a complete stop... I tried to accelerate to prevent being rear ended, but my accelerator was disabled and I had no control of my car... Nearly causing me to get rear ended and probably causing a 5+ car collision. MANY Tesla drivers have experienced this, and it is absolutely TERRIFYING and NEEDS SERIOUS attention because lives are absolutely endangered due to this, and Tesla will not take responsibility, nor have they acknowledged the problem, at all. I've had this happen several times in the last week and I am just waiting to get in an accident at this point. This is unacceptable.

NHTSA ODI 11524180

In about a dozen incidences with my 12,000 mile model 3 the breaks come on unexpectedly. In one case i was on I-70 being followed by an 18 wheel truck / trailer when the phantom breaking occurred. Except for the attention of the truck driver and him slamming on his breaks to avoid rear ending me, I wouldn’t be here. I’ve opened 2 service complaints with Tesla and their response is that it is a learned correction for the car - Well it isn’t working.

NHTSA ODI 11524148

While driving in cruise control, NOT AUTOPILOT, my car phantom braked. The road was clear, the weather was clear. I'm thankful there was not a car behind me. I was doing the speed limit at the time 70mph when the incident occurred. the date lised below is an approximate date. It has occurred several times. I drive 45 minutes to work Mon-Thurs and cruise control helps for the long drive

NHTSA ODI 11523625

CAR HAS PHANTOM STOPS ON CRUSE CONTROL THREE TIMES IN SIX MONTHS

NHTSA ODI 11523027

When we're traveling on the highway at 55 mph plus and have cruise control engaged, the car will unexpectedly and suddenly brake for no reason. The problem is happening more often. This has even happened when there are vehicles behind us, but thank God they were not following closely. We may end up with whiplash, or worse, being rearended. We have complained to Tesla at least 3 times since February 2022 about this problem. The first time, they changed the front camera and said they thought that might help. It didn't. The next time, the service dept. said that there was no fix for the problem, but Tesla was working on it. Most recently in April 2023, the service tech., said there was no fix and he did not expect that there would be one anytime soon. This is unacceptable.

NHTSA ODI 11521234

I was driving my car north on I15. Suddenly the car applied full breaks when there was no objects on the road. I could no longer control the car. Even when my foot was on the accelerator the car automatically depressed the break pedal. Luckily there was no vehicle behind me. I was also fortunate that we were going on a straight section of road. If this happened mid turn I would have completely lost control. These cars are a danger to society. It is impossible to drive them safely when they take control away from the driver.

NHTSA ODI 11518954

While driving on the highway on a clear day using what I call cruise control that also adapts to the speed of vehicles in front of my vehicle, as well as to extreme weather conditions, with no other vehicles around me, the car randomly decided to apply the brakes without provocation which slowed the vehicle from the setting of 74 mph to 49 mph before I could react and correct the aberrant braking. This is the 4th time this has happened in this vehicle. Previous incidents occurred in heavier traffic, so I suspected the aberrant breaking was an overcorrection relative to the other vehicles around me. After this most recent occurrence, I am confident there was no other reason for the car to suddenly brake other than due to a fault with the car.

NHTSA ODI 11517071

Our 2022 Tesla Model 3 has "phantom braked" three times on the highway. During each episode, the vehicle slowed from 75mph to 45mph in about half a second - with no vehicle or obstruction in front of us. This was a 4-lane highway all three times. If a car was behind us, it likely would have collided with us. No precipitation, the car was clean and cameras clear. I took the car to the Latham Service Center at 326 bOld Niskayuna Road near Albany, New York, to have the sensors and car checked. The tech took the car for a 10-minute drive, didn't experience phantom braking, and said that since he "could not duplicate the concern" no repairs were needed. After several messages expressing concern that this did indeed need to be fixed, neither the owners Scott and Carolyne nor the tech responded.

NHTSA ODI 11515933

Nearly every time I use the "Traffic-Aware Cruise Control" on my Tesla, I experience a phantom braking event. Nearly all the time it is when the road is clear, in the daytime. I use this feature infrequently because I cannot rely on it at all and I'm concerned it will cause someone to hit my from behind.

NHTSA ODI 11515465

On a two lane road with no traffic approaching and no traffic behind us on us95 in the Nv desert, the model 3 slammed on the brakes and slowed from 60mph to 30 or less. This is with the adaptive cruise control engaged, not auto steering. This happens several times. There were several times when large semi trucks were approaching in the opposing Lane and the model 3 slammed on the brakes also when adaptive cruise control was engaged. When we reported this to Tesla they said they need the exact date and time of each incident, or they could not help us. These breaking incidents happened during a 12 hour trip between Carson City and Rancho Cucamonga. This is an unbelievable safety hazard as if someone is following too closely and the car suddenly decide to apply the brakes. The person behind you is going to be caught off guard and crash into you. I cannot believe this is been going on for over a year as I have read several articles about the problem. There is no warning whatsoever when the car does this.

NHTSA ODI 11513862

During normal operation vehicle suddenly engages braking system l. This has nearly caused 2 accidents. Tesla insists there is no fault with the car.

NHTSA ODI 11513060

TESLA MODEL 3 DUAL MOTOR-WITH AUTOPILOT ADDITION TO PURCHASE VEHICLE HAS REPEATEDLY DEMONSTRATED ABERRANT BEHAVIOR WHEN IN “AUTOPILOT” MODE. DURING FREEWAY DRIVING THE VEHICLE HAS “MISSENSED” LANE SPACING AND UNEXPECTEDLY ATTEMPTED TO DIVERGE OR SWERVE, EXIT OR TURN OUT OF OR OFF OF THE LANE WE HAVE BEEN DRIVING IN. THIS HAS OCCURRED WHEN AN OFFRAMP OR CHANGE IN THE LANE DEFINITION OCCURS AND IS NOT “REGULAR”. SUCH AS A LANE THAT FOR SOME REASON IS NOT MARKED WITH A NORMALLY DEFINED WIDTH, OR A BREAK IN THE LINES THAT DEFINE THE LANE. DURING FREEWAY DRIVING THIS VEHICLE HAS SUDDENLY AND FOR NO APPARENT REASON, DRASTICALLY REDUCED ITS SET SPEED DURING AUTOPILOT DRIVING. WE WERE DRIVING IN RELATIVELY STRAIGHT, CLEAR AND UNOBSTRUCTED LANES ON OPEN HIGHWAY WITH NO TRAFFIC OBSTACLES. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS OUR VEHICLE HAS ACCELERATED BACKWARDS WHEN SET IN DRIVE. THIS HAS OCCURRED WHEN WE ARE BACKING UP TO MAKE A 3 POINT EXIT UP OUR DRIVEWAY. AFTER BACKING UP, STOPPING WITH OUR FOOT ON THE BREAK, AND SETTING THE CAR IN DRIVE, IT REPEATEDLY MOVED BACKWARDS. WE HAD TO RESET THE POWER, ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, PHYSICALLY GET OUT AND PUSH CAR FORWARD IN NEUTRAL TO AVOID BACKING INTO OUR GARAGE. THIS CONCERN WAS REPORTED WITH VIDEO EXAMPLES TO TESLA REPAIR CENTER. WE TOOK THE CAR THERE, THEY EXAMINED IT AND DID NOT FIND OUT WHY IT WAS DOING THIS. SINCE IT WAS EXAMINED, THE CAR HAS REPEATED THIS BEHAVIOR. I HAVE NOT YET REPORTED THE REPEATED INCIDENT, AS I HAVE 0 CONFIDENCE THAT THEY WILL SOLVE THIS CONCERN. I COULD NOT UPLOAD VIDEOS THAT I HAVE OF THE CAR BEHAVING THIS WAY.

NHTSA ODI 11508356

Cruise control thinks it detects a pending collision and abruptly brakes. Following cars almost rear ended us. This happens every time at exactly the same bridge overpasses on the NJ Garden State Parkway south.

NHTSA ODI 11505645

While driving, had cruise control on, not full self driving, the car suddenly breaks. No one was around us. This happened on two occasions a few hours apart.

NHTSA ODI 11505587