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

I purchased my Tesla Model 3 six months ago and I have experienced the phantom braking event while on autopilot four times that I can recall. The most recent occurrence was this past Saturday afternoon, May 28th, 2022 southbound on I-35W around 2pm . I was driving on a clear sunny day and there was no traffic in front of me. There was a white pickup truck behind me about 5-10 car lengths. While traveling on auto-pilot at 70mph the car suddenly slammed on the brakes and created a situation where the truck behind me could have rear ended my vehicle if I had not disengaged the autopilot quickly. The forward collision warning sensor did not activate indicating any type of potential collision risk. The vehicle simply slammed on the brakes and decelerated from 70 to about 35mph before I could get the autopilot disengaged by tapping the brakes and taking manual control of the vehicle. This was by far the most startling incident but it has occurred on more than one occasion.

NHTSA ODI 11467455

While driving at high speed on a freeway the car started braking without driver touching the brake pedal. Adaptive cruise control and lane departure were on. Fortunately no one was following close or it could have cause a serious accident. This happened twice on one day.

NHTSA ODI 11467490

Phantom braking occurred multiple times while driving on hot days in the Desert. Traveling at around 70 mph, the car would apply the brakes hard and slow down until the driver takes over and disengages autopilot.

NHTSA ODI 11467532

Was driving at highway speeds with adaptive cruise control on. The speed was set around 75mph. Came around a turn and was going downhill when all of a sudden the car slammed on the brakes to 55mph or less. My husband began to manually hit the gas pedal to bring the car back up to the proper speed but there was no response from the vehicle. The car all of a sudden corrected itself back to the proper highway speed. Luckily there was no one behind or in front of us.

NHTSA ODI 11467540

My car while in auto pilot will sometimes randomly on highways at highway speed, slam on the brakes. It’s dangerous because you will be doing 75+ mph and the car will just slam on the brakes and you have to take over control quickly to keep up speed. It has happened to me on I-25 in Colorado and I worry sometimes that I could get rear ended. It doesn’t happen all the time just randomly.

NHTSA ODI 11467552

Driving on interstate with autopilot on. I was cresting a bridge overpass when the car suddenly braked on its own even though no other cars or obstacles were in either lane.

NHTSA ODI 11467576

When using Adaptive Cruise Control, my vehicle has experienced phantom breaking when cars are approaching from the opposite direction. It is so disconcerting, that I don't want to use the cruise control ever again. There is definitely a problem.

NHTSA ODI 11467316

While driving on the highway and using the tesla version of cruise control, the car abruptly brakes with no obstacles in the area and the car is within the lane. The braking so abrupt that I think the car is about to cause an accident. This happens consistently in both the cruise control and the autosteer function engaged. Today I had the car set to 75mph with autosteer and no other car on the highway (4 lanes wide) and me traveling in the hov lane. Suddenly the car slowed to 65mph in less than a couple seconds before I was able to deactivate the cruise control. The feature is not stable and frightening to use.

NHTSA ODI 11467364

When driving down the highway with autopilot active the car will randomly slam on the brakes. This seems to happen especially when going under or driving on overpasses with the autopilot feature enabled. When this happens the display indicates the max speed available for autopilot is 25 or sometimes 50mph which causes the car to slowdown rapidly from cruising speeds of 70-75mph. I understand there are limitations with the new vision only autopilot system but in these situations this rapid braking could cause someone to rear-end me or cause other drivers to think I'm brake checking them which could result in a road rage incident.

NHTSA ODI 11467365

I have a 2022 Tesla Model 3, VIN # 5YJ3E1EBXNF115096, and anytime I use adaptive cruise control or auto pilot on a 2 lane road, I run into issues with phantom breaking. It also happens on 4 lane divided highways, but not as consistent. I’ve submitted “bug reports” via the voice commands every time it happens, but have not gotten a response. This is extremely dangerous as it can cause my car to be rear ended, or cause me to react incorrectly to the phantom breaking.

NHTSA ODI 11467376

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving approximately 80 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,200.

NHTSA ODI 11467383

Multiple Phantom Braking incidences Nearly rear ended Have reported to Tesla on several occasions. First time reported Tesla replied back that the problem has be remotely solved. Not at all. Have experienced Phantom Braking many time since. Manufacturer has repeatedly replied with “our engineers are working on it”. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. Been happening for several months

NHTSA ODI 11467389

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Autopilot; yes. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? On several occasions while using "Autopilot", the vehicle attempted to come to a complete and sudden stop on the highway while driving at highway speed. On each occasion I've either had to quickly intervene by disabling "Autopilot" and accelerating or overriding the system by utilizing the accelerator pedal to keep moving then disabling "Autopilot" to avoid being rear-ended by the vehicles behind me. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No.

NHTSA ODI 11467432

When using the cruise control or assisted cruise control, the car will brake suddenly and without warning as if there’s an obstacle in front of the car. In every case (more than 20 times) no obstacle is present yet it brakes regardless. In one recent case we were being closely followed and the trailing car had to suddenly maneuver around us into the oncoming lane. Thankfully there was no oncoming traffic. When I reached out to Tesla they acted like it was not common yet now I’m reading that it’s becoming extremely common.

NHTSA ODI 11467444

We are on a cross country trip departed Rancho Mirage Ca on May 25th) for Hobart Indiana We have experienced phantom braking using cruise control at least 4-10x a day) On return trip while in ColorDo on I 86 June 1st @ 2pm the most serious and dangerous phantom braking occurred I had cruise control set att 75 ( speed limit) Road well marked, flat with no car ahead of us within a mile. The car had been experiencing phantom braking for last hour bringing speed down to 69-70 for no apparent reason A car was traveling immediately behind us when my Tesla suddenly braked to 58 mph. The car traveling behind us had to make a sudden and violent swerve around us, barely missing our car The other car quickly passed us as we stayed slow at 58 mph for a few seconds after the other car passed us This car needs to be recalled and use of cruise control suspended until recall remedies problem If this was my gasoline Escalade exhibiting such repeated cruise control malfunction , it would be taken off the road I am not new to owning a Tesla. This is our 3rd Tesla but we never had this problem with our Tesla S and only a few times with our X. This issue is a major safety problem and I am notifying media and newspapers of this problem, to ensure the NTSB addresses this serious problem. All data should be in cars computer system for verification

NHTSA ODI 11467018

Frequent incidents of phantom braking when autopilot is engaged at highway speeds. Usually occurs on 2 lane roads, but has also happened on divided highway as well.

NHTSA ODI 11466602

Hello. My name is [XXX] and I need to speak to someone from Tesla or somewhere about the horrible customer service and service that I have received by the Tesla dealership in Littleton Colorado who the supervisor is [XXX]. I refuse to pick up my car because I am very concerned about the consistent safety issues that I have been experiencing that have not been addressed after four times bringing my car in and Dwayne told me that this will not go past him in refused to give me anybody else’s number who is in charge of him or the dealership or the district or the region or anything. Can somebody who is in charge of either the dealership or higher up than the manager at the dealership in Littleton please give me a call Or anyone who deals with safety concerns with vehicles that are not being addressed by the dealership. I am currently using a loaner right now and feel unsafe to bring that back in until I get a phone call from someone higher up in this company. I have never been more disappointed in a car company ever in the service that I have received. I have plenty of documentation as well to show that they refused to fix anything and consistently blame me for all of the issues that are going on with this car. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11466523

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - Touchscreen goes black while driving. It can be inspected, but Tesla has not fixed the issue in the last 2 months. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Can't tell what speed I am going and can't hear turn signal active sound since screen is black and I have to wait 2-5 minutes after doing the steering wheel reset to see what speed I am going and if turn signals are on/off. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - Had two appointments so far for the issue and the issue is confirmed by me but cannot be reproduced by the service center after two separate appointments even with detailed accounts of when the issue appeared. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? - Yes, the result was that a software update is required and after two updates the issue keeps happening more frequently. This is with the active recall fix update and one more update after that. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? - Only warning sign that sometimes happens is when playing music through the bluetooth audio, there would be 1-5 second period of a "buzzing" sound before the screen would shut off. Other than that, the screen would shut off randomly with no warning at all.

NHTSA ODI 11466323

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at 40-60 MPH and making a turn using the self-driving mode, the brake pedal was depressed. However, the vehicle accelerated inadvertently at a higher speed. The contact depressed the brake pedal several times but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle crashed into the front passenger's side door of another occupied vehicle. The air bags deployed. The contact briefly lost consciousness. The contact sustained soreness on the nose, the throat, the upper back shoulders, and increasingly on the back. Additionally, the contact sustained emotional trauma. The contact stated that she was in the process of seeking medical assistance. The two passengers occupying the front driver's seat and the front passenger's seat of the other vehicle sought medical assistance. There was no further information provided. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 3,500.

NHTSA ODI 11466129

The vehicle while in adaptive cruise control or autopilot will brake hard at high speeds on wide open highway. It has always done this from day one but while on a Kansas open highway it almost caused a major accident 3 times in a short period of time. After the third incident I discontinued any driver assistance. The speed limit was 75mph, the autopilot was set at 75mph, in under 2 seconds we were at 35mph for no reason 3 times in row. I contacted Tesla after a few days after purchase and they said they know about it and it will get fixed in the future but its been 4 months. I had my 4 year old in the car and this is a very concerning issue.

NHTSA ODI 11465741

Driving at 80 mph down divided highway, with emergency braking disabled on system and using only adaptive cruise control, when car slams on brakes so hard speed goes from 80 mph to 65 mph, causing the tires to screech from breaking so hard, and nothing in the road ahead of me, and nothing on the sides of the road.

NHTSA ODI 11465298

When in cruise control and no obstacles in site, about every 10 minutes the brakes come on in varying degrees, sometimes a very hard brake. Once a vehicle was behind me and it nearly ran into me. It does not happen when anything is in front of me, such as following behind another vehicle, which I found I need to do to stop this from happening.

NHTSA ODI 11465223

Vehicle brakes randomly when in autopilot or cruise control. It happens at least every 15 miles. There seems to be no cause or current emergency which would cause this to happen. Vehicle brakes hard, which is dangerous to myself and all traffic behind me. Was reported to manufacturer as a warranty item. Was told that this is not a defect or broken component, and could not be fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11464951

Tesla alpha numeric data & instrument function icons are fearfully too small on giant screen. Returning Saturday nite on unlit Merritt parkway in CT suddenly began to rain. My eyes glued on dark winding highway, unable to look away to Tesla screen. My wife in front of screen could NOT find dimly lit 3/8” windshield wiper icon too small, dimly lit, arrayed along bottom with five other tiny icons. Was forced to exit hiway barely able to see road. AT full stop searched bottom to find & press icon. Luckily not hit or crashed. Tesla is only computer screen does not provide user to customize font or icon size! One cannot reach any responsible person by phone, email or Tesla service app to appeal this needed software upgrade. Many driver complaints online Tesla chat rooms pleading for improvement. Tesla instrument control icons worst visual presentation of any car. A significant safety hazard for driver in all conditions but magnified terribly at nite in rain storm. Please report & seek correction.

NHTSA ODI 11464870

In the past month, I've experience at least four sudden breaking experiences: 1. About a month ago I experience a sudden dramatic deceleration on Interstate 70 driving 67 mph. No vehicles in close proximity. 2. 5/8/22 on Hwy 7 driving 65 mph when car suddenly hard breaked. There were no vehicles near by. 3. A few miles later a red car driving 75-80 mph, at least, pasted me and as as soon as the car was ahead of me, the Tesla breaked. This was not as hard as (2) 4. A few minutes later a white car passed much like (3) above. Again a sudden break as (3) Other info: Mid nineties, bright sun, strong headwind and dry pavement.

NHTSA ODI 11464303