2023 TESLA MODEL 3 Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings Problems

On [XXX], my 2023 Tesla Model 3 (VIN: [XXX] ) suddenly accelerated on its own and the brakes failed to respond despite repeated pressing. To avoid hitting other vehicles, I turned into a property driveway and struck a tree. The airbags deployed. This was a case of sudden unintended acceleration combined with complete brake failure, creating a serious safety hazard. Forward Collision Warning also did not prevent the impact. A police report was filed by the Dekalb County Police Department, GA, USA (Report #[XXX], Case #[XXX]), which specifically documented brake failure as the cause of the accident. The report also notes that the driver was injured by the airbag and that the vehicle had to be towed from the scene. A copy of the police report can be provided upon request. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Autopilot (adaptive cruise control) will freak out and slam on the brakes when a motorcycle passes by splitting lanes. This is a serious safety issue as cars and motorcycles behind me may not be able to react in time and cause a rear end collision or into the wall or vehicles next to them. It is impossible to override the braking with the accelerator as it will be too late by the time the car accelerates. Flooring the accelerator is also not a safe option.

Description of Problem: While driving under normal highway conditions on July 2, 2025, my Tesla suddenly and violently phantom braked — meaning it rapidly and without cause applied the brakes forcefully. There were no obstacles, vehicles, or hazards present. The sudden deceleration caused a severe flare-up of a recent cervical disc replacement surgery I had undergone. I experienced extreme neck and spinal pain and had to seek emergency medical attention. I am now under medical supervision, on pain medication, and unable to work. I contacted Tesla requesting the logs from the incident and have received no response. I’m deeply concerned about the safety of this vehicle and the lack of accountability for this known and previously investigated issue. I am in the process of retaining legal counsel and intend to pursue this further as a product liability and injury case.

If a Tesla software update fails it causes an APB version mismatch causing all safety features to become disabled until you schedule service for repairs. It is not covered outside of warranty even though it’s an issue caused by their update. If you google APB Version Mismatch, a lot of people have experienced it. Out of warranty repair is $2-3k for a computer replacement even though it was working fine before the update.

Brake Feature Malfunction Vehicle Details: •Model: Tesla Model 3 •Year: 2023 (approximately 1 year old) •Mileage at Incident: ~11,000 miles Incident Description: On 10/29, while manually driving my Tesla Model 3 on a public roadway, I experienced a critical braking failure. As I approached a vehicle in front of me that was decelerating, I initiated regenerative braking, then immediately applied the brake pedal forcefully. Despite pressing the brake pedal hard multiple times, the vehicle did not decelerate as expected and ultimately collided with the vehicle ahead. Throughout this incident, no collision warning, automatic braking, or other safety features activated, despite having all safety features enabled. This failure significantly impacted my confidence in the vehicle’s braking and safety systems. After the accident, I reviewed the Tesla incident report, which shows I attempted to brake but that acceleration was not reduced until the collision occurred. Despite the report documenting my attempts to...

With the TACC system activated when traveling on a 2-lane road with a right-hand curve, if there is a semi-truck in the opposing lane, the emergency braking engages with a hard brake application. It can be overridden with accelerator pedal, but it endangers the car from collision with a following vehicle. There have been multiple incidents. I attempted to report the condition to Tesla customer support.

Since I purchased my car in July 2023, I’ve had multiple false forward collision warning resulting in my insurance premium increasing by sizeable amounts and has caused me undue stress. I’ve reported this problem to Tesla but to no avail. Today 8/9/2024, between 5:17 and 5:21 pm, while driving my cars forward collision warning was activated while no vehicle was in front of my but instead to a parked car on the pavement. This has happened multiple times and Tesla denies being aware of any issues.

Full self drive FSD took car in opposite road direction, sudden lane changes, almost crash in upcoming traffic. Sudden stops in middle in road. FSD autopilot very dangerous driving that could cost crash. I can’t trust FSD

I was driving behind someone when a suv came over from left lane into the right lane in front of the cars that were in Front of me and made a sudden turn into a business. I was already applying the brake and was the 3 second rule behind the car in front of me, however the car did not stop as I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could. There have been other times that the car will automatically slammed brakes on because it feels that it need to…when it’s not necessary at all. But the other day when I needed the brakes to help me stop abruptly…they failed to do so. I hit the car in front of me and was cited as well. If I had been going faster..this could have been way worse. This definitely needs to be evaluated on Teslas. I have a...

As I was approaching my off ramp (which has a very tight turn), my automatic brakes failed which caused me to slam onto the brakes, and skid into one of the off ramp signs. All 3 of my children were in the back, the back driver side window shattered, I lost my driver side mirror, and there was damage done to the back door and wheel well (all on the driver's side). Although the damage looked minimal, no one was willing to work on the vehicle and I was strongly encouraged by my insurance company to claim it as a total loss. Granted, I had this vehicle for approximately 2 months, and had put at least $4,000 into it.

I am writing to report several safety issues that I have experienced with my Tesla Model 3. These issues pose a significant risk to my safety and the safety of other road users. I kindly request that you investigate these matters thoroughly and take appropriate action to address them. 1. Steering Wheel Failure: On three separate occasions, the steering wheel of my Tesla Model 3 suddenly stopped working. Two of these incidents occurred while driving on the highway, which made it extremely difficult for me to maintain control of the vehicle. This sudden loss of steering functionality is a serious safety concern and could potentially lead to accidents and injuries. 2. False Forward Collision Warnings: The car's forward collision warning system has been providing false warnings, which has had a negative impact on my insurance premiums. Despite the fact that my insurance company is aware of the issue and acknowledges...

Driving down the highway on a clear day with nothing in front of me, with adaptive cruise control turned on, the car suddenly started braking as if it was in full regen braking. I had to hit the accelerator pedal to override the braking.

When using Cruise control the car will brake suddenly even when there is no obstacle in front. This happens often. The phantom braking can be dangerous if someone is following at freeway speeds and not expecting the car ahead to brake. Also, when using cruise control the windshield wipers are automatically placed on auto. The windshield wipers will then go on and off as the sunlight changes, when no precipitation is evident. We often have to pause cruise control because the windshield wipers will not stop.

The car lost all adaptive driving features and power steering.

Will Randomly slam on the brakes saying that there is something in front of cars on the highway. This has caused me to almost get into a few accidents suddenly slamming on the breaks at 75 mph. It has happened numerous times and the car feels unsafe to drive. One example it slammed on the brakes in front of an 18 wheeler causing it to almost hit me but I had to slam on the gas very rapidly. There is usually a warning light on about parking break not working when these happen.

While on a cross country trip and while on the highway using the Tesla auto pilot and/or adaptive cruise control, we experienced numerous phantom braking incidents. Several while driving during the day with no other vehicles around and several while passing semi trucks in the other lane. At night the same thing occurred and on one occasion, with no other vehicles around, suddenly braked from 70 mph to near stop. Had we been on a wet or icy surface, there is the possibility of control issue.

The car makes unintended braking when there is no vehicle in front. The car made a sudden brake from 75 mph to near 0 mph such that the driver felt that the vehicle almost flipped.

Car accelerated forward unexpectedly while making a turn and hit a telephone pole. Brakes did not engage nor did the forward collision warning sound or engage. Was manually driving. Car is non-driveable and repairs from Tesla are backlogged so we waiting 8+ weeks to get our car back.

I was driving on a rural, two-lane highway with no other cars around and with cruise control engaged. Without warning, the car decelerated suddenly and rapidly from about 60 MPH and continued to decelerate until I pressed on the accelerator pedal (at about 40 to 45 MPH) to stop the deceleration. It happened at least 5 times during a drive from Spring Grove, IL to Champaign, IL on July 7, 2023, between 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM. If there had been a car following close behind me it would have been very dangerous. I had the Basic Autopilot engaged with Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (but not Autosteer). Weather conditions were bright sunlight with a few clouds. The problem has occurred several times (at least 4 times) since then. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. I have not had the vehicle inspected by...

The vehicle applied sudden and strong braking in clear road for no reason. It has done it on many occasions in the 2000 miles we have had the vehicle.

I was stopped before turning left into a parking space. I was driving slowly. The car stopped but I did not engage the brake as a Tesla will stop once the foot is removed from the accelerator. At that point the car leaped forward at full speed hitting parts of a building and a fence. I did NOT step on the accelerator. No one was injured. The airbags did not deploy even though there was $17,000 damage to the front of the car. There were no warning signals. The person inside the building was waiting for me and saw the car come to a stop.

Multiple times the car while on cruise control has slammed on brakes due to seemingly nothing. It's without warning our alert and it is extremely violent. It happens at least once every week.

I was driving from Palmdale, CA up to Mojave, CA at 7:05PM on June 16. The car was close to Rosamond, CA on the highway when it engaged FULL brakes. I started in the right lane, the autopilot was ON and set to 79MPH. The only cars visible on the highway were my car and the car in front of me. There were no other cars immediately visible to me or autopilot in front of me or behind me - other than us two. My car was traveling faster than the car in front of me, so at ~3-5 car lengths I started a left turn signal to merge into the left lane, and overtake the small car (silver Toyota?) in front of me in the left lane. When I started the left turn signal the autopilot disengaged as expected. I got in the left lane then stopped the signal,...

On a clear sunny day driving on the freeway at 75mph on a 70mph speed limit, the regular cruise control(not Autopilot) was engaged. Experienced 4 separate incidents of strong emergency brakes being activated by the vehicle automatically for 2-3 secs, dropping speed by 10-15mph. As the driver I disengaged the cruise control by strongly accelerating the vehicle. Also multiple incidents of brakes engaging slightly for 1 second , always when driving on a straight freeway, with zero other vehicles present in the front or rear. The road had a slight incline then a slight decline. Just as the vehicle reaches the top of the incline the brakes activated. No warning lamps of sounds, just immediate sharp braking one all incidents. As the driver I felt very unsafe, and glad there were no vehicles close behind, which could have resulted in a rear collision. Vehicle has not been inspected by any...

The vehicle gives false forward collision warnings which increases my insurance premium. This happened multiple times in the last month.

The undercarriage shield of my car disconnected and started dragging while I was driving in the rain. I did not collide into anything or hit a bump. I inspected my wheel well to discover a set of screws that were bunched up and not installed during manufacturing. I had to pull the shield from under my car so that I can continue to drive the vehicle. the shield is connected to the forward warning and pedestrian warning collision system which became inoperative. The faulty manufacturing that caused the shield to disconnect caused a dangerous condition while operating. After I removed it, a second dangerous condition was created since all of the safety senors were disconnected.

This model doesn't have parking assist, so every time I park there is a danger of collision. All modern cars have parking assist. Tesla promised in Nov 2022 that software update enabling parking assist will be available within "next couple of weeks". 3 months passd since then and there is still no parking asist.

While moving car to DRIVE mode, Cruise Control was activated accidentally, which resulted in car moving on its own from a stopped position in garage. By the time it was learnt what has happened, the car rear ended another parked car. Luckily no human was in front of the car and thus grave body injury was avoided. The car speed might have been less than 20mph. The front collision avoidance warning was not there and neither did Emergency brakes got deployed.