2019 TESLA MODEL 3 Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings Problems

22 NHTSA complaints on file

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Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings Issues in the 2019 TESLA MODEL 3

22 forward collision avoidance warnings complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2019 TESLA MODEL 3. Of these, 7 involved a crash, 0 involved a fire, and 1 resulted in injury.

22
Complaints
7
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

All Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings Complaints

#11690831 | Crash
Vehicle in front stopped suddenly. The car gave NO alert AND did NOT stop whatsoever. The tesla collided with the vehicle in front. **I have dashcam footage of the incident
#11690186 | Crash
Vehicle: 2019 Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor VIN: [XXX] Mileage: ~84,041 Software: v12 (2025.32.6 e575ed98d527), FSD Supervised v12.6.4 Date/Time: [XXX], ~[XXX] Location: [XXX] Incident Description: While operating Autopilot, I was stopped at a stop sign preparing to turn right. I lightly pressed the accelerator to prompt the turn. At that moment, the vehicle would not respond to steering or braking input. Despite applying full force on the steering wheel and brake pedal, the car continued straight ahead and struck a street sign. This represents a loss of manual override — I was completely locked out of steering and braking. Prior Behavior at Same Location: On prior occasions using Autopilot at this same intersection, the vehicle would attempt to make the turn but then immediately steer itself into the breakdown lane. I had learned to expect this and was prepared to take over. However, in this most recent incident, the vehicle...
#11625893 | Crash
Driving on Hwy 8 (Houston Beltway), going west, dog came out from left side, Tesla auto pilot was engaged and did not detect collision with the dog. Car did not stop, did not alarm, dog was hit, my front bumper was damaged, and car kept on going.
#11614689 |
Tesla Model 3 with FSD (Full Self Driving) package. Engaged FSD to drive home today but vehicle failed to recognize ALL traffic control signals (stop signs, red & green stoplights. The first time this occurred, I had to brake emergently to avoid collision with cross traffic that had a ‘green’ light. Subsequently reactivated FSD to check the issue and vehicle attempted to run several more red lights and stop signs.It did, however recognize and stop for stopped traffic ahead and performed fairly well with autosteer. This is the first time we have had this potentially-fatal issue. We have, for several months had an issue where some or all of the Tesla cameras fail intermittently. This usually happens at the beginning of a drive and the vehicle alerts us ‘Automatic braking temporarily unavailable.’ Sometimes it recovers on a subsequent drive the same day and rarely recovers on same drive. When cameras...
#11584617 |
The following recalls have been pending on my vehicle: 23V-838; TC2023-657, 24V-051 Tesla is unable to push over-the-air (OTA) updates to my vehicle to remedy these recalls due to an issue with the onboard computer being unable to receive updates. This issue arose when Tesla pushed a software/firmware update to my vehicle which effectively "bricked" the Advanced Drive System portion of the computer. In other words, I am unable to safely receive an update to resolve the issues (solved by the recall) because Tesla's failed software update damaged the onboard computer.
#11542469 |
I experience frequent "phantom" braking while driving north or south on highway I-75. Many times this happens near state route 70 traveling north, but I have had this phenomenon happening driving south or headed north on 275. Cruise control is on, autopilot may or may not be on (I have had it happen in both modes). It's a frightening and very dangerous problem. Speeds decelerate from 75 or so to about 35 or 40. It's sudden and scary and potentially life threatening. I have immediately hit the gas in the multiple times this has happened.
#11526340 |
Driving on a clear, sunny day in Arizona on interstate 8 at highway speed with the Tesla AutoPilot engaged. There were no vehicles in front of me and no obstructions in the road when the car did heavy braking (aka phantom braking) for no known reason. I immediately had to override the braking with pressing on the accelerator. This occurred multiple times on the same road. If a vehicle had been traveling behind me when this happened, it would be highly likely that a collision would occur because of the random nature of the extreme braking. I did not use the adaptive cruise feature the rest of the trip in fear that a collision would occur. No warning messages were/are present. The Model 3 I drive is equipped with sensors on the front bumper that (I believe) Tesla has deactivated to use vision-only instead. I drove for years using the...
#11524965 |
Unintended acceleration during public street and highway while approaching a stop to make a right turn on November of 2022 in Orange County California onto a highway I let go of the pedal ready to press the brake and while turning it made a unnecessary acceleration to speed up making steering difficult, another incident where I believe in February 2023 as I was driving in the right lane a truck made a sudden stop and the accident avoidance never deployed nor warn me and the acceleration maneuver my steering pedal as I felt it degrease on the brake and increase on the acceleration pedal this was very traumatic and scary knowing I might have bodily injuries or even death also while setting the speed limit I notice while using the regenerative braking the brake pedal would vibrate very aggressively also while using the back up cam and side views it...
#11523712 |
There is one spot on HWY 29 near me in Lake County CA where the car while driving on autopilot always sees an obstacle ahead and warns of an immediate collision. There is however, nothing in the road it is just the road dips down (a bit like a helter skelter) and the car does not recognize it. It is replicable and happens every time that highway is driven.
#11519809 |
False warning while passing a parked vehicle that I have video of
#11503661 |
Tesla knowingly disabled the hardware sensor suite in a recent update of the software in their push toward "Tesla Vision". Unfortunately the disabling of the hardware sensor suite has made the car more dangerous to drive in certain conditions such as dark roads and inclement weather where the camera cannot detect a danger situation in advance the way it could with a hardware sensor suite. The disabling of this sensor is costing me $6000 in damage due to Tesla Vision not seeing a large, dead deer in the middle of the highway causing me to drive over it and damage critical components. Tesla's decision to use a plastic shield instead of a metal shield to protect the components lead to the piercing of the battery coolant line and damage to other components.
#11502306 |
Vehicle came to abrupt stop so hard the seatbelt locked and my head hit the seat rest once fully stopped in highway traffic. I was traveling in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway at night, with clear skies, and dry road. There nearest car ahead of me was about 40 feet, and I was traveling with the flow of traffic at around 20 mph. “Autopilot” was enabled and set to 35mph. I believe the ADAS camera system of my vehicle momentarily determined a nearby car in the left or right lane had suddenly moved into my lane when in reality none had crossed the white line and the road ahead was clear.
#11502516 |
Since disabling the radar, the car very frequently brake checks on the highway when there are no cars in front of it, due to the reflection off the surface of highways that are very flat. This happens at least every hour or 2 when driving.
#11498887 | Crash
My Handicap Son, Devdutt Srivastava, on Cushing Parkway and Fremont Boulevard. Fremont, CA, on US October 24 Evening with no Auto Pilot or FUSD engaged. At threshold the light had turned Orange and my son proceeded with same pace as usual, without accelerating. A cross car with an Autistic Kid, most likely as my son is a Special Ed Masters and trained to spot one, rammed into the Tesla 3 which was fully wrecked. The Auto Collision Emergency Detection and Braking should have worked as it was Stop and Go Traffic at Peak Evening Hours between 3:50 and 4:30 pm. I have seen Toyota Prius Auto Collison Braking Work. Someone needs to stop Elon Musk and Tesla charging premium on false promises and taking toll on lives of innocent people trusting their marketing false propoganda and constant spinning on Auto Pilot and FUD with new additional confusion creating packages and...
#11467815 |
Phantom braking. During Basic autopilot (steering, braking in one lane) at times system applies brakes for no reason, which could cause rear-end collision with the following car. Usually happens at freeway speeds, with NO cars around the vehicle and the road is unevenly sightly with small grades or going past the crest of a large grade roadway happens when the vehicle peaks grade and descends down.
#11461569 |
While streaming Bluetooth audio, the forward collision warning fails to activate sometimes until after a few seconds. What happens is when it is supposed to sound, all audio in the car stops and there is a clicking for a few seconds. Then after a few seconds, the alert goes off. The alert is very dangerous because it severely reduces the time for a reaction. Secondly the backup camera has ghost images and stutters. When placing the vehicle in reverse, a ghost image appears for a second or two then goes into the live view. The live view is very laggy and non responsive. The image freezes and does not update. This causes issues when backing as any sudden movements may not be recorded and will cause an injury because the driver will not be able to see what is going on.
#11451561 |
My radar-capable Tesla Model 3 is in the FSD beta program. As part of the program, Tesla disabled radar functionality. Unfortunately on vision the car brakes aggressively (10+ mph decrease) approximately one time per five miles on the local undivided highways of Central Oregon. This is not safe for me or for other drivers. I have contacted Tesla repeatedly to opt out of the FSD beta program and reenabled radar, but they have not responded. Customer service and service centers are not empowered to fix the situation. This situation puts me and other drivers at risk and could be easily remedied by Tesla by adding a process for FSD beta program removal. Clearly their current approach is not working.
#11447687 |
The screen on my Tesla fails routinely (everyday) while driving and then reboots after about 3 minutes. This happens abruptly with no warning. Tesla has told me (verbally) that it was reproduced in their service location in Palo Alto. During this time, I have no idea of my speed or any other vehicle status, such as lane keeping, collision warning, navigation, heating, etc. I have tried to remedy this issue with Tesla service repeatedly over two months, and the interactions have been unsatisfactory. Tesla does not seem to appreciate the potential seriousness of this issue and the risk to ourselves and others. Tesla Service at Sunnyvale, CA, encouraged me to continue driving, even though I pointed out the risk of "driving blind". My family is very wary of this vehicle now.
#11440630 |
We have two Tesla Model 3s - 2019 and 2020. Both vehicles are experiencing increased issues with phantom braking where the car unexpectedly applies the brakes for no apparent reason when using cruise control or AutoPilot. Often times the braking is sever and abrupt. There have been incidents where we were nearly rear ended by the car behind us because of this. This is a major safety issue and I am asking the NHTSA to investigate.
#11440421 | Crash
June 2021 I had an accident while Tesla Auto Pilot was engaged. I was paying complete attention to the road, there was vehicle merging to the highway from right. Neither Tesla slows down neither it have any warning and vehicle collided. Tesla Auto Pilot is misleading, and have serious safety concerns. I reported this issue to Tesla, its been months I have not heard back. I am enclosing the incident video below. https://youtu.be/orB5qq3XsJU I will be happy to share more details. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
#11429366 | Crash
We were driving our Model 3 on autopilot on the LIE from Southampton to New York. We have the “Full Self Driving” software from Tesla. We drove past a parked SUV about halfway through the ride, but the Tesla did not notice. It drove straight through the side of the SUV, ripping off the side mirror and skullcap from our car. We checked and the SUV driver was totally fine, scared. We called Tesla immediately and told them that in our opinion, our car had gone crazy and did not see the but my wife and I were other car stopped in the shoulder as we drove by at 60 mph. We have the invoices from Tesla service documenting this issue and their repair of it, but we were then and remain now really scared when a car has its hazards on in the shoulder.
#11388392 | Crash
MY SON WAS DRIVING ON THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE WHEN THE AUTO PILOT APPLIED THE BRAKES. HE SAID A TRAFFIC CONE APPEARED ON THE SCREEN. THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC CONE OR ANY OTHER OBJECT IN THE ROAD. THIS ISSUE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT BEHIND HIM BECAUSE OF THE SUDDEN BRAKE APPLICATION. THIS ALSO HAPPENED TO ME WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. I HAD THE CAR ON CRUISE CONTROL. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE BRAKES WERE AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED WITHOUT ANYTHING IN THE ROAD.

Other 2019 TESLA MODEL 3 Problem Areas

Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control 122 complaints Electrical System 82 complaints Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking 75 complaints Suspension 73 complaints Unknown Or Other 73 complaints Air Bags 70 complaints Vehicle Speed Control 69 complaints Lane Departure Assist 58 complaints Service Brakes 58 complaints Steering 51 complaints Seat Belts 45 complaints Seats 38 complaints Visibilitywiper 24 complaints Structurebody 19 complaints Lane Departure Warning 17 complaints Back Over Prevention 11 complaints Power Train 10 complaints Visibility 10 complaints Fuelpropulsion System 8 complaints Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection 8 complaints Exterior Lighting 6 complaints Back Over Prevention Sensing System Camera 5 complaints Electronic Stability Control Esc 4 complaints Forward Collision Avoidance 4 complaints Wheels 4 complaints Tires 3 complaints Electrical Systemadasautonomousself Driving 2 complaints Electrical Systemadasautonomousself Drivingsoftware 2 complaints Engine 2 complaints Lane Departure 2 complaints Air Bagssrs Malfunction Warning Lamplight 1 complaint Back Over Prevention Rearview System Braking 1 complaint Back Over Prevention Warnings 1 complaint Carry Handle Shell Base 1 complaint Chest Clip Buckle Harness 1 complaint Electrical Systemwiring Rear Compartmenttrunk 1 complaint Equipment Adaptivemobilityvehicle Controlsspeed Control 1 complaint Firerelated 1 complaint Lane Departure Lane Keep Steering Assist 1 complaint Latcheslockslinkages 1 complaint Service Brakes Hydraulic 1 complaint Service Brakes Hydraulicfoundation Componentshoses Linespiping And Fittings 1 complaint Service Brakes Hydraulicpower Assist 1 complaint Suspensionfrontcontrol Arm 1 complaint Tiressidewall 1 complaint Vehicle Speed Controlaccelerator Pedal 1 complaint Visibilitydefrosterdefoggerhvac System 1 complaint
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