NHTSA Complaint #11479435 — 2018 TESLA MODEL 3
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL issue reported to NHTSA
Crash
Complaint Details
| ODI Number | 11479435 |
| Vehicle | 2018 TESLA MODEL 3 |
| Component | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL |
| Date of Incident | |
| Date Filed | |
| Mileage | N/A miles |
| Crash | Yes |
| Fire | No |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Vehicle Towed | No |
| State | CA |
Consumer Description
I was driving in rain with lane keeping assistance enabled. As the car followed a curve, my tires began to hydroplane and the front end began to lose directional control and drift to the right of my direction of motion. I overrode assisted steering and attempted to keep the front end aligned with the rear so as to avoid a spin. At this moment, I felt the adaptive cruise control add torque to the rear wheels which pushed the rear tires out from behind and aggravating the planing, and defeating my effort to keep the car aligned. I suppose I then fully disabled the cruise control, but the car had already rotated too far to recover directional control, and it spun 180 degrees (front wheels trailing the rear wheels.) This continued briefly until turning tail first up an earth embankment before coming to rest. There were no cars immediately near me at the time or it might have resulted in a multi-car collision in a hydroplane zone, with a good chance of multiple serious injuries. The vehicle was inspected by the insurance adjuster and repaired. The car is available to examine. There were no indications of a system failure and Tesla did not concede to any. I contacted Tesla service and requested to examine the control system data to assess if the adaptive cruise control had contributed to the loss of control. After providing a Tesla agent with the time of the event he asked for, he reached back to me and stated that they were able to archive the data from the time of the accident. However, since I had claimed that the design might have contributed to the crash, Tesla had prohibited him sharing that data with me and custody of the data had been taken over by Tesla legal department. He added that for me to see the data, I would have to obtain it through Tesla Legal. I emailed Tesla Legal with my request on 5-25-22. I have received no response. Tesla claims the car has electronic traction control. I think this accident demonstrates flaws that can make situations worse.
Related Complaints for the 2018 TESLA MODEL 3
Other FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL Complaints
#11718114
There is no checkbox for Full Self Driving (Supervised): 3 times in the last 4 weeks, my Tesla has become impatient a...
#11716395
Description of the Defect: While driving with Full Self-Driving (FSD) engaged, the vehicle's primary computer shuts ...
#11695523
Repeatedly and randomly, with cruise control (not FSD) engaged, the car would brake, sometimes aggressively. The last...
#11684449
Main incident: Time: 2025-08-28 ~12:41 PM PST What happened: After searching for a parking space, the driver was pre...
#11679549
Too fast and too close to stop sign to red light or other cars while in Full Self Drive (supervised).I had to disable...
Recent Complaints for the 2018 TESLA MODEL 3
#11716395
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Description of the Defect: While driving with Full Self-Driving (FSD) engaged, the vehicle's primary computer shuts ...
#11716395
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Description of the Defect: While driving with Full Self-Driving (FSD) engaged, the vehicle's primary computer shuts ...
#11716455
STRUCTURE:BODY
The rear doors are not equipped with manual door releases. In the event of a crash or fire the rear seat passengers w...
#11716305
SUSPENSION
2018 Tesla model 3 front chassis subframe welded nut to the chassis is come off now left side control arm keep gettin...
#11715637
SUSPENSION
My 2018 Tesla Model 3 started squeaking at 36k miles at the end of 2023 (5 year old) I took to the Tesla service cent...