AutoUtility currently tracks 213 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2024 Tesla Model 3. Driver Assistance & Safety Tech issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 66 complaints (31% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 23 filings cite a crash, 12 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 213 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (66 reports • 31% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (43), Steering System (36)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 23 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 12 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
213
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
23
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
0
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
12
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2024 Tesla Model 3

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 31% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

66 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 12 crash reports 🩹 11 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 20.2% of complaints

Electrical System

43 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 5 crash reports 🩹 6 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 16.9% of complaints

Steering System

36 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🩹 4 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 12.7% of complaints

Exterior Lighting

27 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report
#5 Problem Area 4.2% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

9 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2024 Tesla Model 3

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech 3.8% of complaints

Unexpected / Phantom Automatic Braking

8 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2024 Tesla Model 3

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11758408
Filed: 08/21/2026

"Muffled or significantly quieter horn during rain. Users on Reddit generally agree that the sound typically returns to normal once the area dries out. Why This Happens: Speaker Design: Newer models (such as recent Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y versions) utilize electronic pedestrian warning..."

Incident Date: 08/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11757620
Crash Cited Filed: 08/18/2026

"On June 16, 2026, while operating the "Autopilot" self-driving system, my vehicle autonomously activated the right turn signal to enter a parking space. Subsequently, the vehicle experienced an unexpected acceleration. Despite my immediate application of the brakes, the vehicle collided with a..."

Incident Date: 06/16/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11757541
Filed: 08/17/2026

"Tesla’s replacement of physical steering column turn signal stalks with capacitive touch buttons on the steering wheel face creates an active safety hazard. First, the capacitive sensors frequently become entirely unresponsive. If a driver rests a finger near the buttons, the system triggers a..."

Incident Date: 08/03/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11757257
Filed: 08/16/2026

"Date: XXX, Time: 5.09.2026 State: [XXX] Location: [XXX] We were on Full Self Service Driving Mode A [XXX] came and hit my car in the passenger side behind the front wheel and front buffer. We were on left/fast moving lane and two semi-trucks were in the right lanes slight ahead of us (one had..."

Incident Date: 08/10/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11757248
Filed: 08/16/2026

"I have been driving Tesla using FSD from [XXX] to [XXX] and passing [XXX] (XXX around 5 pm). We took an exit for rest room break near Gas Station. As soon as Car took exit using FSD, the car completely stopped suddenly in the middle of the road without any reason and warning. There was not any..."

Incident Date: 07/31/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Tesla Model 3

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2017–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2017 Tesla Model 3 26 1 16 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Tesla Model 3 1007 101 19 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Tesla Model 3 608 58 22 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Tesla Model 3 447 53 21 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Tesla Model 3 656 45 22 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Tesla Model 3 759 53 18 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Tesla Model 3 416 71 12 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Tesla Model 3 Current Page 213 23 5 Current
2025 Tesla Model 3 113 24 3 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Tesla Model 3 0 0 1 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2024 Tesla Model 3

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 63 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 49 3 0 1 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 18 1 0 2 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 16 1 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 14 1 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 7 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5 0 0 0 0
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 5 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 3 0 2 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 3 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
STEERING,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 0 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE 2 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 2 0 0 2 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 2 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 1 0 0 0
LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
PARKING BRAKE 1 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 3 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 1 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 3 0
STEERING,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE 1 1 0 1 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 1 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,WHEELS 1 1 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY/WIPER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (213). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (7)

4 OPEN 3 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
OPEN Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA26002
Opened: 2026-03-18 • Currently Active

FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Engineering Analysis to evaluate Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) degradation detection system. The focus of this investigation will be to assess the system’s ability, when encountering reduced roadway visibility conditions, to detect degradation and alert the driver with sufficient time to respond. ODI will evaluate the performance...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
OPEN Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE25012
Opened: 2025-10-07 • Currently Active

Traffic safety violations while Full Self Driving ("FSD") is engaged

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS

The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) is opening this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of FSD executing driving maneuvers that constitute traffic safety violations. This investigation concerns versions of FSD that Tesla has labeled as "FSD (Supervised)" and "FSD (Beta)." Tesla characterizes FSD as an SAE Level 2 partial automation system requiring a fully attentive driver who...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
OPEN Audit Query (AQ) ODI Action #AQ25002
Opened: 2025-08-20 • Currently Active

Compliance with Standing General Order 2021-01 Reporting Requirements

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS

The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) has identified numerous incident reports submitted by Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) in response to Standing General Order 2021-01 (the “SGO”), in which the reported crashes occurred several months or more before the dates of the reports. The majority of these reports involved crashes in which the Standing General Order in place at the time required a report to be submitted within one or five days of...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
OPEN Recall Query (RQ) ODI Action #RQ24009
Opened: 2024-04-25 • Currently Active

Recall 23V838 Remedy Effectiveness

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:DRIVER MONITORING:SOFTWARE

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening a Recall Query to assess the remedy adequacy of Recall 23V838. On December 12, 2023, Tesla filed a Defect Information Report (Recall 23V838) applicable to all Tesla models produced and equipped with any version of its Autopilot system, which Tesla described as an SAE Level 2 (L2) Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). Autopilot is the simultaneous engagement of Tesla’s Traffic-Aware Cruise...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE24033
Opened: 2025-01-06 • Closed: 2026-04-03

Actually Smart Summon sessions resulting in low-speed impacts.

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING

On January 6, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation 24003 (PE24033) to investigate Actually Smart Summon (Summon) sessions resulting in crashes during active sessions. According to Tesla, Summon is a short-distance SAE Level 2 system, controlled by the user from a cell phone within a certain distance and intended for use in parking lots and on private property. ODI analyzed complaint data provided by Tesla...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE24031
Opened: 2024-10-17 • Closed: 2026-03-18

FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS

On October 17, 2024, NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24031) of Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) to assess: the ability of the FSD system to detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions; whether any other FSD crashes had occurred under degraded roadway visibility conditions that are similar in nature to the four SG...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE22002
Opened: 2022-02-16 • Closed: 2026-06-29

Unexpected Brake Activation

Affected Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL:SOFTWARE:SIGNAGE/SIGNAL RECOGNITION

On February 16, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE22002) to investigate reports of unexpected deceleration while driving with the adaptive cruise control system engaged in Model Year (MY) 2021 – 2022 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles manufactured by Tesla. The subject systems include Autopilot (all versions), Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC). These complaints have been c...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.