2018 TESLA MODEL 3 — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

There is no checkbox for Full Self Driving (Supervised): 3 times in the last 4 weeks, my Tesla has become impatient at long red lights and lurches out into the intersection. I am very concerned because one of those times (first time) it did not creep forward, but just took off thru the red light. I had to accelerate thru to get ahead of those cars that still had the green light. Fortunately, nothing untoward happened, except scaring me! The other two times, I recognized what was happening and put on the brakes and removed from FSD mode. I have complained to Tesla and am asking for them to verify my FSD is up to date and this issue will be fixed. Needless to say, I have stopped using the FSD (Supervised) until this is all addressed.

Description of the Defect: While driving with Full Self-Driving (FSD) engaged, the vehicle's primary computer shuts down and reboots, causing a sudden loss of all safety features, including Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, and the driving visualization. The cameras go black while the vehicle is in motion. The Trigger: The failure is triggered by high electrical load. If the Cabin Heater (HVAC) and Seat Heaters are active while FSD is fully computing, the 12V power supply to the computer drops below critical voltage, causing a "Turbo A" processor lockup and system crash. Evidence of Defect: Service Center diagnostics confirmed the specific error code APS_w169_TurboA_SCS_LKUP (Computer Crash) occurred at the exact same timestamp as VCLEFT_a302_blowerGeneralFault (HVAC Blower Failure). This proves a common-mode voltage drop affecting multiple critical systems simultaneously. Manufacturer Response: The manufacturer (Tesla) acknowledged the logs but refused to inspect the wiring harness or ground connections, instead recommending a replacement of the computer unit. However, the failure can be mitigated by unplugging external cameras to reduce load, proving the root cause is an insufficient power delivery design (Wiring/Grounding) rather than a component failure. The computer is running at full load with the newest FSD software and it can no longer keep up with additional loads. Safety Risk: This defect causes a sudden, uncommanded loss of driver assistance and situational awareness tools (cameras/visualization) while the vehicle is maneuvering in traffic. The vehicle’s power distribution system appears insufficient to support the electrical load of the software (FSD) and the hardware (HVAC) simultaneously.

Description of the Defect: While driving with Full Self-Driving (FSD) engaged, the vehicle's primary computer shuts down and reboots, causing a sudden loss of all safety features, including Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, and the driving visualization. The cameras go black while the vehicle is in motion. The Trigger: The failure is triggered by high electrical load. If the Cabin Heater (HVAC) and Seat Heaters are active while FSD is fully computing, the 12V power supply to the computer drops below critical voltage, causing a "Turbo A" processor lockup and system crash. Evidence of Defect: Service Center diagnostics confirmed the specific error code APS_w169_TurboA_SCS_LKUP (Computer Crash) occurred at the exact same timestamp as VCLEFT_a302_blowerGeneralFault (HVAC Blower Failure). This proves a common-mode voltage drop affecting multiple critical systems simultaneously. Manufacturer Response: The manufacturer (Tesla) acknowledged the logs but refused to inspect the wiring harness or ground connections, instead recommending a replacement of the computer unit. However, the failure can be mitigated by unplugging external cameras to reduce load, proving the root cause is an insufficient power delivery design (Wiring/Grounding) rather than a component failure. The computer is running at full load with the newest FSD software and it can no longer keep up with additional loads. Safety Risk: This defect causes a sudden, uncommanded loss of driver assistance and situational awareness tools (cameras/visualization) while the vehicle is maneuvering in traffic. The vehicle’s power distribution system appears insufficient to support the electrical load of the software (FSD) and the hardware (HVAC) simultaneously.

Description of the Defect: While driving with Full Self-Driving (FSD) engaged, the vehicle's primary computer shuts down and reboots, causing a sudden loss of all safety features, including Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, and the driving visualization. The cameras go black while the vehicle is in motion. The Trigger: The failure is triggered by high electrical load. If the Cabin Heater (HVAC) and Seat Heaters are active while FSD is fully computing, the 12V power supply to the computer drops below critical voltage, causing a "Turbo A" processor lockup and system crash. Evidence of Defect: Service Center diagnostics confirmed the specific error code APS_w169_TurboA_SCS_LKUP (Computer Crash) occurred at the exact same timestamp as VCLEFT_a302_blowerGeneralFault (HVAC Blower Failure). This proves a common-mode voltage drop affecting multiple critical systems simultaneously. Manufacturer Response: The manufacturer (Tesla) acknowledged the logs but refused to inspect the wiring harness or ground connections, instead recommending a replacement of the computer unit. However, the failure can be mitigated by unplugging external cameras to reduce load, proving the root cause is an insufficient power delivery design (Wiring/Grounding) rather than a component failure. The computer is running at full load with the newest FSD software and it can no longer keep up with additional loads. Safety Risk: This defect causes a sudden, uncommanded loss of driver assistance and situational awareness tools (cameras/visualization) while the vehicle is maneuvering in traffic. The vehicle’s power distribution system appears insufficient to support the electrical load of the software (FSD) and the hardware (HVAC) simultaneously.

The rear doors are not equipped with manual door releases. In the event of a crash or fire the rear seat passengers would be trapped and would only be able to exit over the front seats and front seat passengers. If the front doors were damaged or front passengers incapacitated the egress for the back seat passengers would be severely impacted. If a fire would occur the situation would be exacerbated. Tesla corrected this condition in later models by installing cable releases for the rear doors. Tesla has not responded with any positive response to our request to provide an upgrade and manual rear door releases.