2022 Tesla Model 3 4 DR RWD
Safety Ratings.
NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings help consumers compare vehicle safety when searching for a car. More stars mean safer cars.
Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.
Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.
The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.
Rollover Risk: 6.6%
64 Complaints
Multiple times while driving using adaptive cruise control while approaching a semi(both oncoming and overtaking) the car will slam on the brakes(phantom braking).
On a four-lane divided highway and again on a two-lane road my Tesla 3 long range AWD phantom braked for no apparent reason several times over a 145 mile trip while on cruise control and/or on auto pilot . On the two-lane portion of the trip I assumed the braking occurred because of shadows on the road. On the four-lane highway it braked for no reason. If someone had been closely following me, I am sure a serious collision would have occurred. I will not use either cruise control or autopilot until a fix is made. This Tesla on cruise control makes for a dangerous driving situation.
Freeway driving on a clear day in low traffic on a straight road using Tesla’s TACC adaptive cruise control the car abruptly slowed from 73 mph to @ 50 mph with no vehicle in front of my car. This was a very brief deceleration. The braking released after @ two seconds and the car returned to the set max speed (73 mph).
While using adaptive cruise control or the autopilot systems, the car will unexpectedly brake very hard (dropping speed anywhere from 5-20 mph). This can cause a safety issue due to other cars behind that aren’t prepared for a car to randomly hit the brakes and drop up to 20mph quickly. The problem is easily reproducible by using the systems while driving anywhere. Complaints and requests to the manufacturer have gone unfixed and brushed off as not a concern. This happens every single time I use cruise control, not just the date I had to select for the incident.
When driving on two lane highways and using the "autopilot" cruise control, the car will occasionally panic brake for no valid reason. This occurs almost every time an oncoming semi passes in the oncoming lane as well as going over bridges with raised sides or when there is crack seal on the road that is slightly more reflective. This has happened several times when crossing a bridge with cars following closely, almost causing several accidents. Tesla service was contacted immediately and I was told that it was a "software issue" and that there was nothing I could do. I tried disabling emergency braking in the car interface however it had no effect on the issue.
I would like to add my voice to those complaining about the phantom braking problem in recentlly built Teslas. On more than one occasion, the car has slammed on the brakes, in broad daylight with good visibility, FOR NO GOOD REASON. At the very least, Tesla should be compelled to add plain-vanilla cruise control that permits the driver to switch off any traffic-aware assistance features. This problem is ongoing and occurs nearly every time I attempt to use the traffic-aware cruise control. The problem makes this feature too dangerous to use.
While using “Traffic-Aware Cruise Control” the car regularly sounds an alert and breaks rapidly in preparation for a forward collision despite no such danger existing. Most often this occurs on a two-lane highway when a large van or semi-truck is traveling in the opposite direction; in its own lane, nonetheless. This feature is marked as “beta” but there is no standard cruise control option. This issue can be easily reproduced and happens multiple times on any given day when said circumstances exist. Tesla service advisors have told me the only fix is to not use the feature. I am scared the sudden breaking may cause whiplash, a rear end collision, or other danger presented by sudden unnecessary breaking. When using the additional Autopilot feature, “Autosteer,” the incidents seem to happen even more frequently and invoke a slight swerve right - away from the vehicle in question. This could make it even harder to recover from the phantom breaking event.
This vehicle has frequent issues with phantom braking whenever cruise control is engaged. The brakes are suddenly applied automatically and sometimes severely. This occurs dozens of times on long drives and I purchased the car new 6 weeks ago. I have reported it to Tesla and was told this is a “known software characteristic”. I brought it in for service and provided date and time stamps for dozens of occurrences. The service manager confirmed with me that this is a known issue that Tesla is looking into and that even her own Tesla has this problem regularly. This is clearly a safety issue and makes me feel unsafe to drive this car, which is especially concerning since one of the biggest selling points for me was its rating as the safest car on the road.
Phantom braking issue. Usually occurs on two lane roads, sometimes there is a vehicle in the opposite lane, other times there is nothing in front of the vehicle in either lane. I have reported to Tesla, they say they’re aware but have no solution. I have kept a log of when it happens since the first time I reported it to Tesla and was told there is no solution. I commute 128 miles a day and the below log shows it happens on daily basis multiple times a day. 1/5/2022 5:32pm 1/5/2022 5:35pm (multiple times) cruise set at 65, speed got down to 45 1/5/2022 6:30pm 1/6/2023 5:59pm 1/6/2023 6:01 1/6/2022 6:33pm 1/6/2022 6:34pm 1/6/2022 6:37pm 1/10/2022 6:37am 1/10/2022 5:11pm 1/12/2021 7am 1/12/2022 5:49pm 1/12/2022 5:50pm 1/12/2022 5:53pm 1/12/2022 5:55pm 1/13/2022 6:13am 1/13/2022 6:15am 1/13/2022 6:16am 1/13/2022 6:18am 1/13/2022 6:21am 1/13/2022 6:09pm 55 to 38 1/13/2022 6:11 pm 55 to 44 1/13/2022 6:13 pm 55 to 46 1/13/2022 6:14 pm 55 to 42 1/18/2022 6:09 am 55 to 41 1/18/2022 5:39 pm 1/18/2022 5:43 pm 1/18/2022 5:44 would not resume speed on cruise control 1/18/2022 6:17 55 to 42 mph 1/18/2022 6:18 55 to 44 1/19/2022 6:14 55 to 37 1/19/2022 6:47am 70 to 32 1/20/2022 6:10am 55 to 47 x2 1/24/2022 7:32pm 70 to 53 1/26/2022 6:33am 1/26/2022 6:07pm 55 to 45 1/26/2022 6:06 55 to 48 1/26/2022 6:15 55 to 49 1/27/2022 6:48 55 to 47 1/27/2022 6:50 60 to 43
on 2-3-2022 on a 200-mile day trip I had two false braking events one while passing a large truck on a divided AZ Hwy 260 and one for no notable reason what's so ever on the same Hwy. I do not have FSD just autopilot this is my second compliant to NHTSA thank you. Mike
Twice now the car abruptly slowed down from about 75 to 50 in the left lane of the highway with nothing in front or next to my car. Falsely thought there was something in front of the vehicle and it quickly decelerated. Oddly happened both times in the same spot on the highway. Seems to be an issue with that area on how it looks in the "Tesla Vision" software. Both times almost caused an accident with the car behind me.
Random "phantom braking" while on cruise control. Unexpected and significant braking. On icy or wet roads, this could cause a departure from the vehicle path and road. It happens often enough that I'm rarely using it anymore. And fora feature that is supposed to be a safety feature (reducing driver fatigue, backup to emergency braking, safe following etc.) this is very bad.
Driving on a two lane rural road with a 55mph speed limit, I had traffic aware cruise control engaged with the speed set to 55 mph. A truck crested a hill coming the opposite direction, fully within their lane, and the car engaged the emergency breaking system. Fortunately, no one was behind me at the time as this could have resulted in me being rear-ended.
I was driving on a two lane road using auto pilot. I was going 55mph when all of a sudden my car slammed on the brakes down to 32mph as a school bus approached us. There was no reason to brake. The school bus never entered my lane. If a car had been following me closely I would have been rear ended for a system malfunction. Very scary.
Vehicle frequently brakes hard to prevent a collision with an object that does not exist. Also known as phantom breaking that is a commonly known issues with Teslas autopilot.
Cruise control is completely unusable on two lane roads. Automatic braking ensues every single time a car is in the opposite lane. Sometimes it only slows 5-10 mph but other times the car gives the warning for an imminent collision and tries to brake to zero. This is exceedingly dangerous on the highway when other cars are behind me. It generally functions fairly well on the interstate but it does happen occasionally there as well.
When using cruise control (TACC) with or without using lane centering (Autosteer), my vehicle will often brake suddenly (and harshly) for no reason at all. It's worse on undivided highways (with no median). I've noticed the phantom braking occurs most often when an oncoming tall vehicle (18-wheeler, RV/motor home) approaches, or I approach an underpass, or I approach a large shadow on the road (from a building or large tree). During a 90-mile trip last weekend, my car phantom braked almost a dozen times, sometimes severely. Fortunately, no one was following close to me. I feel this is a safety hazard and should be fixed.
Traffic aware cruise control is dangerous to use. Automatically slams on brakes on 2 lane roads with large vehicles in oncoming lane. Brakes at the top of any sort of hill, brakes for shadows of overpasses on the highway. System is dangerous and has caused several situations where I would have been rear ended on 2 lane roads and larger highways. Recent road trip had almost a dozen phantom braking events on a one hour drive on a straight 2 lane road during the day.
The TACC (traffic aware cruise control) applies sudden, hard braking especially on two lane roads and almost always when meeting a large truck (semi-tractor trailer). This is commonly referred to as “Phantom Braking“. Drivers should be allowed to disable automatic braking while using cruise control on two lane roads. It is very dangerous in that it may cause a rear end collision. The cruise control as currently implemented in Teslas is unusable and without a doubt a safety hazard. I have experienced phantom braking events every time I have used cruise control on a two lane road. It will hard brake 9 out of 10 times it meets a large truck and sometimes when meeting small cars.
On February 2, 2022 at approximately 8:00 a.m., MST, I was driving north at 50 mph on a stretch of two-lane highway with moderate traffic. Adaptive cruise control was engaged. A large truck was approaching, traveling in the opposite direction. Suddenly, and without warning, my vehicle’s brakes were applied, without my involvement, slowing my vehicle to approximately 20 mph and causing the driver of a vehicle traveling behind me to slam on its brakes to avoid a rear-end collision. No collision occurred and no one was injured. It could have been a lot worse, but this problem needs to be identified and fixed.
Our Tesla is experiencing a Phantom Braking that appears to be a known issue. We drove the car from eastern KS to western CO and experienced multiple occurrences (more that 10) of unexpected braking while using either the adaptive cruise control or the auto pilot feature. The car would dramatically slow from 75 to perhaps 65 and then accelerate back to 75. My wife also takes the car to work on a 20 mile commute and she has also experienced this. I have not discussed this with Tesla Service yet, but have read many posts about this and that we should report. So....here it is!
Vehicle applies 100% braking sporadically when traveling at highway speeds on cruise control, causing loss of control and risk to vehicles behind it. It seems that the vehicle’s forward sensors mistakenly interpret an imminent collision and apply full braking force, without any potential collision risk present. This happens in all scenarios, single to multiple lane highways, dense traffic to no traffic. This is commonly referred to as “phantom braking”.
I received my 2022 Tesla Dec. 3, 2021. I have experienced approx. 100 phantom braking incidents in roughy 3,000 mi. Driving. The system causes a loud alert and extreme braking which is extremely concerning while driving. This has happened in all conditions (daytime sunny, cloudy, night, etc.). Several camera warnings though I have cleaned them and alerts still happen. It happens on 2-lane roads more often than multi-lane highway. Happens at residential and highway speeds. The extreme braking could easily cause rear end collisions if traffic were close. As a driver the abrupt alerts and braking could cause driver errors. This is a “safety” feature which is extremely disruptive to drivers is in fact a safety issue in my opinion. The data below is the most recent incident and it happened 3-5 times in a 300 mile drive. Tesla Service cancelled an appointment to look at my car. In a chat exchange they deflected it as environmental, driver error, dirty cameras, etc.
Phantom braking is real. The car slams on brakes randomly while in cruise control. So much so that I will not use cruise control when another car is behind me.
Issue is consistent on 2 way lane roads but sometimes occurs on Highway roads going in the same direction. Whenever I travel with autopilot or cruise control if there is a semi-truck on the opposite lane driving towards me the car will slam on the brakes for no reason. This has also happened a few times on the highway when passing a semi-truck on the same flow of traffic as myself. This has not only terrified myself but also my family and other passengers. It makes this feature almost unusable.
While traveling on a two lane highway while using Traffic Assist Cruise Control I have had several collision alarms and emergency braking situations that were severe enough to cause my unprepared wife to say that she could have gotten whiplash. Luckily there was no one following us closely enough to cause a rear end collision. I have notified Tesla and they said that since it is actually in beta that the system is working properly. With the software capabilities that Tesla has I feel that they should provide a workable basic cruise control that can be used.
When driving with cruise control on the car will suddenly apply brakes if it detects a car coming at me from the opposite lane. This is a safety hazard as the cars behind me would have no idea I would be stopping and poses a serious rear end threat.
On a recent road trip while driving on highway 70 in CO and UT at speeds of around 70mph with Autopilot or Cruise Control engaged, the car phantom braked multiple times in response to nonexistent hazards on the road. Fortunately there were no cars nearby in both instances, as I am positive we would have gotten rear-ended in both situations (the car braked to around 40mph). These were both really scary scenarios and undermined my trust in those systems in the car, I have been hesitant to use them since
Autopilot and Traffic Aware Cruise Control systems are basically unusable on two lane highways. Almost every vehicle that passes on the opposite side of the road triggers an alarm, disengages Autopilot/TACC, and results in an abrupt, jarring deceleration. This occurred 10 times in a 160 mile trip, but would have happened many more times if I had not given up trying to use either system. Holding my foot on the accelerator for such a long drive was inconvenient, and the repeated sudden slow downs resulted in a strained, tired neck. It seems unethical for a $60,000 vehicle to lack basic cruise control capabilities.
The autopilot feature which keeps the car in it's lane and speeds up or brakes the vehicle based on its surroundings is not functioning properly. It slams on the brakes whenever a semi-truck or large vehicle is driving in the opposite lane on a two-lane road. Especially if there is a bend in the road. It thinks that a forward collision is going to take place.
Every once in a while (once per 100-200 miles) I experience "phantom braking" when using Adaptive Cruise Control with Autosteering (not sure if Autosteering matters – I always use ACC with Autosteering together, so hard to tell). That is when ACC decides to quickly reduce speed significantly for no apparent reason (no cars or other obstacles in front). It could be dangerous as it could lead the car behind me to crash into me.
Phantom braking, almost caused a car to rear end me. This was on a straight two lane road a tractor trailer was coming the other way. This has also happened on a right hand curve with smaller auto where the software thinks I'm going to run into the car even though I'm turning right into the curve. Very dangerous. Same thing happens with the forward collision warning.
When the ADAS is active, during normal driving on a two-lane highway, where there is never any question of an obstruction in front of the car, the car unexpectedly and violently brakes; often the collision warning alarm sounds. This usually happens when the car meets traffic in the oncoming lane, but sometimes there's nothing else at all on the road. This is a new car (since January) and it has happened ever since I first used the ADAS. For example, last night, on a trip of about 50 miles it happened at least thirty times, nearly every time I met an oncoming vehicle of any size. Service personnel tell me this is normal behavior and they cannot do anything about it! The system is supposed to have switches to turn off the collision warming and braking so that it can be used as a normal cruise control, but setting the switches to off has no effect. This behavior is not only extremely annoying but also distracting for the driver and potentially hazardous when an inattentive driver is following closely.
The car brakes SEVERELY on two lane highways when passing another car. Mainly occurs when passing semi trucks. It is going to get someone rear ended if this is not fixed. The cruise control is not usable.
When i drive on highway, it out blue slam brake several time i am not sure what trigger it. it was out blue from 70 mph to 50-60mph. i don't see anything around car to trigger phantom braking or brake. also on one lane highway, when semi truck or some car/trucks pass by me it slam really hard few time from 60 mph to 30 mph instant, some car almost hit my rear because of instant slam brake. I had to brake quick to undo it. it happen on cruise control only, also happen during auto pilot. the road was fine, other vechile wasn't going toward me.
Sunday, January 2nd, on the way back from Vegas back to Sacramento, on the highway with Lane assist driving, the car suddenly braked going from 70+ miles to almost a complete halt. I was able to steer it into the oncoming lane to avoid the pick up truck from hitting us from behind. The braking system again slowed the car down significantly a few more times on this trip and wee have not used this feature since. Car was bought on December 26th and we are fairly new owners of a Tesla.
My vehicle brakes suddenly when auto pilot is actuated for no reason. Often times, this is a very abrupt brake. This happens many times every time driven
While driving on an undivided highway at night using either traffic aware cruise control or autosteer, about every minute the car would aggressively decelerate up to 15mph. Every time a car would pass in the other direction, the deceleration would be abrupt and would slow to ~10mph below the speed limit. This occurred at least 3 times within a ~7 minute window. The road was straight, unlit, with a 50mph speed limit, and was sufficiently wide to safely pass oncoming cars. Random deceleration with no oncoming cars would be less severe but frequent. I contacted Tesla about this and they confirmed these occurrences but stated it was in response to a curve in the road or a vehicle being detected. They claimed the system performed appropriately. Despite being alert, these decelerations are startling in the absence of visible explanation to the driver. If I was being tailgated, a rear end collision would have been highly probable. I owned a 2018 Tesla Model 3 and have driven the same road at night and never experienced this.
The vehicle is having a very serious problem with phantom braking whenever the cruise control is engaged. The problem occurs randomly regardless of road conditions or traffic conditions. While driving at any speed with cruise control engaged the car with randomly brake hard and sound an alert. The road has always been clear of obstructions and debris. It will also engage braking abruptly when a large truck or bus is coming towards me in the opposite lane on a two lane road. At first I thought it was an anomaly. But now after 3400 miles of ownership I fear for my safety while driving because of the conduction. To the point that I have stopped using the cruise control and auto pilot because of the issue. Considering that autopilot was one of the main reasons for me to purchase the vehicle, it seems like I have been missled and sold a vehicle that is unsafe for public roads.
On multiple occasions, my car has slammed on the brakes while using adaptive cruise control when nothing is in front of my car. It’s concerning because drivers behind me have almost rear-ended me and have gotten road rage at me because they think that I am brake checking them.
The car on a day basis exhibits random braking incidents when utilizing traffic aware cruise control (TACC). These have happened since the car was new (now has over 2,500mi) and can range from mild to severe. All of them happen without an obstacle ahead. Some times it seems the vehicle reacts to shadows from trees or larger structures, other times there's no obvious reason behind the reaction. The braking happens both on interstate highways as well as county two and four lane roads, and isn't related to elevation change or curves (happens straight and level). Several of these instances have been close to causing accidents due to traffic behind me getting caught off guard, which is usually followed by some sort of road-rage-like reaction. I no longer use the system when there's any traffic behind me due to the fear of getting rear-ended. I have recalibrated the cameras 3 times to no avail.
Driving on two lane road with oncoming semi truck traffic causes adaptive cruise control to abruptly apply brakes. As this has happened numerous times, I called Tesla who advised me to not use adaptive cruise control. I do most of my driving on two lane roads over long distances to shop or see a doctor, etc. Not having ANY cruise control is better than causing an accident, but why cant Tesla program a simple non-adaptive cruise control?
On 1/24/22: 9:11 am eastbound Redden Road east of Bridgeville, DE. This is flat terrain with mostly open fields on east side of the road. On a straight Regular 2 lane road, center yellow strips and white edging. West bound truck triggered braking and swerve to left. 9:14 Another truck and same circumstances further east and same result. Turned off steering assist and cruise control. 10:42 westbound on Redden Road roughly same area. Truck eastbound. Slight braking 150 yards in front of me then brakes slammed on while passing each other. Braking reduced speed by 10 mph or more and swerve to right. Hard braking and a swerve to the right for no reason. Anyone behind me would have hit me. Basically I have to make sure road behind me is completely clear before turning cruise control or auto steer on! Anyone within 5 car lengths would hit me. Not safe. Can they remotely download these events from the car? TESLA VIRTUAL DIAGNOSTICS Reviewed the logs and confirmed the phantom braking and confirmed it was due to not having a forward facing radar. System overly sensitive to err on the side of caution. They hope to fix it eventually via software updates. In my opinion, it isn't safe and should be de activated and money refunded.
Phantom braking in city and highway with no obstacle in vehicle path. Sudden and strong emergency braking enough to cause a rear end collision if being followed. Very scarry in one 700 mile road trip we had 11 such occurrences . Thank you for your help. Mike
Dangerous or phantom braking of vehicle on two lane road at highway speed.
Last night I plugged in the car (2022 Tesla Model 3 Long Range) as I normally do and, via the Tesla app, scheduled the car cabin to be heated and the battery to be pre-conditioned by a specified time. When I entered the car at that time, the cabin had not heated up - the message on the display screen stated that the cabin heater was not functioning properly and that I should seek service. The temperature here in northern Wisconsin at the time of this incident was -13 F. Since I had planned to take a long trip across Michigan's Upper Peninsula this morning where there are few charging opportunities, and since I cannot assume that the battery pre-conditioned (which extends the range of the vehicle), if I had not aborted my trip I feel I could have been in a life-threatening situation due to extreme cold.
I took delivery of my Tesla Model 3 in mid December and have have driven approximately 2,000 miles, almost all highway commute miles. I have had horrible experiences with the Autopilot cruise control slamming on the brakes for no apparent reason. Nothing in front of the vehicle, sometimes nothing around the vehicle at all. Behavior is sometimes a quick deceleration of 10 mph or so; however, in some cases FULL brake is applied, coupled with an audible collision warming. Again, these things are happening with NOTHING present in front of my vehicle, and sometimes with nothing around me at all. During my daily commutes, I experience, on average, 5 to 10 instances of this unsafe slowing/stopping procedure. In one instance, the vehicle decelerated from 64mph down to 37mph, for no reason, with a line of other vehicles following me. We narrowly avoided a multi-vehicle collision, caused by a completely unnecessary braking application. Needless to say, as the line of cars passed me, each of the other drivers were very unhappy with me, probably assuming I had “brake checked” them, considering there was no one in front of me and no reason to quickly decelerate from 64mph to 37mph. Had they been following closer or not paying attention we surely would have all be involved in a collision. I reported the issue to Tesla and was told “the vehicle detected a ghost object…This is currently a normal characteristic of autopilot…” There is no other “normal” cruise control feature on the vehicle, it’s either use Autopilot and risk being involved in a collision, or drive the vehicle myself (which defeats the purpose of purchasing the vehicle for commute reasons). Very unhappy that Tesla did not offer to even look into my issue, considering it’s not an occasional problem, it occurs several times per commute trip,
@ 1:36pm, while driving on US State Route 50, in IL, I had adaptative cruise control engaged, but autosteer unengaged. While a semi-truck was passing in the opposite incoming lane, the forward collision warning system falsely activated with warning chimes, and applied full braking. There is another vehicle that was following me, which had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid an accident. This was reported to Tesla Motors for which they responded that the vehicle log shows no hardware errors, and a software bug report need to be created when this happens. This happens daily, more than six to eight times a day, and is very dangerous.
The heating system gave out on my 2022 TESLA Model 3 on the coldest day we've had here so far. -5F - Gave an error code on the screen VCFRONT_a447 - with message - Cabin climate control system requires service cabin heating / cooling limited or unavailable. - The problem has occurred to many people who have complained online in the facebook owners groups that I am a member of. Surprisingly the system is working again after it had some time to thaw out. It appears to be a design flaw with this heat pump system which should include a recall of sorts so that TESLA can retrofit some sort of heating or thawing element onto the valves that are icing over and preventing the HVAC system from working properly.
As widely reported by Tesla owners, I have also experienced issues with the TACC - traffic aware cruise control - feature of this vehicle. I have owned it for almost 2 weeks and in that time on both highways and city streets the 'cruise control' feature has initiated braking for no reason. The system is supposed to be 'traffic' aware however in these instances there was no vehicle in front of me in any position to cause a braking event. This type of erratic behavior could easily cause an accident (being rear ended). This is happening when the 'autopilot' feature is not engaged, but rather just using the only available cruise control feature the vehicle provides: TACC. It seems as though the software is interpreting shadows, changes in painted line/lane markings, or other environmental stimuli as 'traffic' and reacting, but that's just a guess. All I know is that it is very annoying at a minimum and potentially quite dangerous!
Traffic-aware cruise control unexpectedly decelerated and/or activated collision warnings and automatic braking approximately 20 times during a 300 mile, 5 hour drive. All incidents occurred on undivided highways and state roads. This unexpected braking reduces speed by 10 to 30 miles per hour on 60 mile per hour roads. This braking issue greatly increases risk of accident, specifically if another vehicle was following too closely. Braking events occur sporadically, usually attributed to large vehicles driving well within the opposite lane. Some events happened for no reason. Occurrence of unexpected braking is higher at night. This vehicle has been inspected by Tesla in the past due to this same issue and the cruise control and autopilot system was confirmed by technicians to by working properly. The ability to disable adaptive cruise control to standard “dumb” cruise control may solve this issue. This issue instills no confidence in Tesla’s so-called “full self-driving computer” and has me avoiding using these features for my safety, as well as other drivers’ safety. This vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Dashcam video is available on request.
The cruise control and 'autopilot' features will panic brake when oncoming traffic passes car. It is more common on two lane highways. There are no overrides and the issue occurs in all modes of cruise control. Through research on forums, this is an issue with all Tesla vehicles model year 2017+ The car brakes hard, enough to lock passenger seatbelts. Sudden hard braking with no reason can cause a rear end collision or loss of traction in inclement weather. I have notified the manufacturer of the issue, their suggestion is to recalibrate the cameras and reset the on board computer. Neither has solved the issue No warning lamps, no symptoms.
Driving on a two lane road with no other cars in front of or behind me the car would randomly brake at different levels and in the most recent incidence slammed on the brakes. This issue is noted by many other drives online as Phantom Braking and Tesla will not repair it as they claim it is a software related issue but not deemed as dangerous or a real issue to be concerned with. Tesla will not service the vehicle and closed my tickets without further response.
VERY AGGRESSIVE phantom braking on two lane highways and at night with oncoming headlights. Car will reduce speed by 30mph or more in seconds. This is a new car, a month old. Tesla says cruise is part of autopilot, but we turn autopilot off and just use cruise and it still does it very often. It is extremely unsafe. The internet is full of similar complaints. We need NHSTB to pressure Tesla to fix this. It is a major safety hazard.
Using the cruise control frequently results in the autopilot system abruptly applying the brakes, risking a rear-end collision. This happens even when no car is in the lane in front of me. The cruise control is integrated with the autopilot system, which apparently is mistaking oncoming traffic with a car in my lane. The cruise control is integrated with autopilot and its traffic-awareness feature. The cruise control cannot be disconnected from autopilot, and the following distance feature cannot be turned off as with other makes of cars. I reported the issue to Tesla service and was told other drivers have reported the issue, yet the issue has not been brought to the attention of all Model 3 owners.
Three incidents within 5 minutes of what Tesla owners call "phantom braking" whenever the car has cruise control on. For no predictable reason and no warning the car brakes suddenly and forcefully - could be shadows, reflected lights, oncoming traffic, who knows. It is a scary phenomenon and caused me to get in very dangerous situations - almost got rear ended at 60 mph. This is after owning the car for only 10 days. Called Tesla and they had no answer except to say that the car "will learn."
Car brakes randomly when using traffic aware cruise control. Dozens of events every hour of driving, some of which caused the car to brake to the point of losing traction.
When on adaptive cruise control, random and sometimes severe automatic braking incidents occur when no obstacles exist in front of the car. It is as if the car is getting confused as towards what is ahead, and frequently applies the brakes as if it was going to crash into something. This is always unexpected, and requires driver intervention to correct/override.
**Im well aware that Tesla's AutoPilot system is not autonomous** There is no 'dumb' cruise control option on Tesla Vehicles, only Traffic-aware-cruise-control (TACC). TACC is unusable, and quite frankly dangerous, on any single-lane divided road. Anytime a large vehicle, such as a semi or box truck, passes by in the opposite lane, my car abruptly and aggressively brakes while TACC is engaged. This poses a danger to myself and others behind me. Im filing this complaint in hopes that it will coerce Tesla to address this issue faster.
On at least five occasions since purchasing this car new on 12/07/21, the car, while on Autopilot (non-FSD), has suddenly and unexpectedly braked on clear roads. On each occasion, there were no vehicles in front of me nor any objects visible on or near the roadway. On two occasions, a car following me nearly collided with my car. All the incidents occurred AFTER camera calibration was completed. The car has 143 miles at this writing.
While driving on freeway at 75mph the car for unknown reasons applied braking and steering and brought the car down to 45mph before I could disengage the autopilot function. This has happened multiple times with just cruise control and both cruise control/steering. All instances happened for unknown reasons, sometimes on a 2 lane highway or multiple lane freeway with nobody around except behind me. I had a very difficult time controlling the car when this happens and the vehicle behind me had to slam on their brakes and swerve around me. This is a very scary and extremely dangerous issue. Issue has been reported to Tesla and awaiting fix.
While using TACC on a 2 lane road the system mistook a vehicle approaching in the opposing lane as a threat and braked hard. This could have easily caused a collision had someone been following closely.
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the vehicle would independently brake with the Forward Collision Avoidance warning chime being audible. The contact stated that the failure would occur when passing large vehicles or as another vehicle in the opposite lane would drive past the vehicle. The contact called a service center where an appointment was made; however, the contact received an email that informed him that the appointment was cancelled. The contact was informed that an internal diagnostic was performed and that no defect was discovered. He was informed that over time the vehicle would adapt and improve its performance over time. The contact stated that the failure had persisted, and no improvement had been made. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 16.
Forward collision avoidance system triggered 4 separate times in a 70 minute/60 mile drive on a stretch of highway and rural roads. The highway consists of 40 miles of divided and undivided highway, with up to 2 lanes per side. Occasionally, the undivided section has center turning lanes. Junctions and turnoffs are common. 3 incidents of forward collision detection automatic braking were triggered by semi trucks in the oncoming lanes on 1 lane per side undivided highway. The vehicle automatically applied the brakes, taking the vehicle from roughly 60mph to 30mph quickly during each instance. The trucks were not particularly close, nor were they appearing to leave their lane into mine. The 4th automatic braking incident occurred seemingly randomly on a rural, undivided 1 lane per side state road. All of these had the potential to cause an accident if I were being closely followed. All incidents occurred using the Autopilot cruise control feature. The auto steer lane keeping feature was activated for at least 1 of the 1st 3 events, but I do not recall which. In all of these instances, the vehicle did not perform any other evasive maneuvers. The 1st, 2nd, and 4th incidents were completely unexpected. The 3rd occurred during a particularly narrow, curvy section of undivided highway, which we were actively anticipating. Due to a configuration issue, the onboard dashcam was not functioning during these events and no video of these events was recorded. This vehicle is expected to go into the service center late December for this and other trim quality issues. Customer service indicated interest in these events and advised me to file bug reports when these occur. For issues with lane keeping, the autopilot auto steer feature regularly under-steered during most curves (narrow canyon driving) and often strayed closer to the lanes to the left of me than I would under my control.
3 Recalls
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. The "rolling stop" functionality available as part of the Full Self-Driving (Beta) software may allow the vehicle to travel through an all-way stop intersection without first coming to a stop.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. The audible chime may not activate when the vehicle starts and the driver has not buckled their seat belt. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Model 3, Model S, Model X, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A software error may cause a valve in the heat pump to open unintentionally and trap the refrigerant inside the evaporator, resulting in decreased defrosting performance. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
Get started for free
Get a free preview of the report
Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.