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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2023 Tesla Model 3 — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 428 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

428

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

50 / 1

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.

2016 Tesla Model 3

0 complaints

2017 Tesla Model 3

26 complaints

2018 Tesla Model 3

1,030 complaints

2019 Tesla Model 3

615 complaints

2020 Tesla Model 3

451 complaints

2021 Tesla Model 3

666 complaints

2022 Tesla Model 3

765 complaints

2023 Tesla Model 3

428 complaints

2024 Tesla Model 3

218 complaints

2025 Tesla Model 3

0 complaints

2026 Tesla Model 3

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Forward Collision Avoidance 179 reports

Steering 88 reports

Vehicle Speed Control 69 reports

Unknown Or Other 59 reports

Service Brakes 57 reports

Electrical System 51 reports

Lane Departure 28 reports

Structure 22 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Suspension ODI 11562742 12/30/2023

Car at low mileage started having suspension issues and felt out of alignment. Took car to Goodyear where they found car was out of alignment as of car was not set up correctly at factory when made. Goodyear spend a few hours fixing alignment and tire setup. Car is having issues again

Air Bags ODI 11562430 12/28/2023

I was rear ended and pushed into the car in front of me. My car was totaled and no airbags went off.

Engine ODI 11562401 12/28/2023

The contact rented a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50-60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The Engine Lost Power message was displayed, instructing the contact to pull over immediately; unable to drive, exiting and re-entering the vehicle may restore operation. Following the directions, the contact was able to restart the vehicle …

Steering ODI 11707074 12/26/2025

There's a problem with the airbags, and the steering wheel is hard to turn.

Electrical System ODI 11707201 12/26/2025

The blinkers do not respond to the change in blinkers when I initiate the blinker (right or left) by using the stalk. There has been numerous times that I fully pull down or push up the blinker stall and it would not engage the blinker but today I am reporting it because now I almost changed the lane after engaging the blinker but it didn’t happen

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2023 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 2023 Tesla Model 3 reliable?

Owners have filed 428 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2023 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.