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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2021 Tesla Model 3 — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 667 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

667
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
46
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
5
Involved Fire
owner-reported
19 / 8
Injuries / Deaths
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Tesla Model 3 — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

0 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

26 complaints

1,030 complaints

615 complaints

451 complaints

667 complaints

765 complaints

428 complaints

218 complaints

0 complaints

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Forward Collision Avoidance 408 reports
Service Brakes 127 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 123 reports
Unknown Or Other 94 reports
Electrical System 78 reports
Lane Departure 32 reports
Visibility/wiper 31 reports
Steering 27 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Forward Collision Avoidance ODI 11562820 12/31/2023

After the latest update the Tesla autopilot feature is very unsafe to use. The screen constantly pings and nags the driver to pay attention drawing my attention away from the road. The system has become so sensitive that adjusting the AC down a degree causes the warning to pop up which distracts the driver and in my opinion is significantly less safe than the older version. Th…

Suspension ODI 11633279 12/30/2024

My car experienced a problem with the control arms and based on my research this is a known problem with Tesla Model 3 yet a recall hasn’t been issued

Electrical System ODI 11499129 12/28/2022

The supermanifold failed, causing the front defroster to not work properly, resulting in loss of visibility in freezing temperatures. This is a common problem with 2021/2022 model 3/model y with the new heat pump that was supposed to be fixed with a software update, but was not. I now have a $3900 repair bill on a 1 year old car with 56,000 miles. The warranty expired at 50,…

Forward Collision Avoidance ODI 11499238 12/28/2022

Adding our vehicle to the list of those affected by what seems to be commonly known as "Phantom Braking". The most recent occurrence was on Interstate 25 southbound in northern Colorado when the "Autopilot" (Adaptive Cruise Control) suddenly braked and reduced our speed from 75 to 51 mph, with no vehicles or other obstructions visible. We were almost rear-ended by a car follow…

Unknown Or Other ODI 11445298 12/28/2021

Tesla in the December 2021 V11 software update as made the car's common control user interface unsafe. Critical controls, such as defrost and climate control, as well as many others (like trip, tire pressure, heated seats, windshield wipers) , are now only accessible by hunting through menus - - all which require the driver to turn their eyes off the road for longer periods of…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2021 Tesla Model 3, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2021 Tesla Model 3 reliable?
Owners have filed 667 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2021 Tesla Model 3, most often about forward collision avoidance. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Tesla Model 3 years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.