2017 Tesla Model 3 Forward collision avoidance Problems
- Complaints
- 8about this part
- Share
- 30%of 27 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 39,800miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 8 complaints about the forward collision avoidance of the 2017 Tesla Model 3, 30% of the 27 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 39,800 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“Shortly after purchasing the car it received a software download called emergency lane departure avoidance which is Tesla's fancy name for a lane departure warning system. I have taken the car into their service centers 3 times to have it repaired because it only works <50% of the time - never works during rain, shadows on the road, and various other normal road & weather conditions. Each time I get the car back from the service centers I'm informed that that system is working normally. …”
NHTSA complaint #11414426, filed 2021-04, 39,800 miles“Feb 25 around 4pm PT we were driving north on US Hwy 101 using the basic cruise control feature of our Model 3. Based on our settings I believe this would be considered adaptive cruise control, but I'm not sure. Enhanced Auto-Pilot was not in use. On a largely open highway, in particular with no one in front of us, and thankfully, no one close behind us, the car suddenly started to lose speed, not brake, just lose speed. I pressed the right-hand button on the steering wheel and called out report bug so there should be an incident record with Tesla I believe. …”
NHTSA complaint #11509183, filed 2023-02“Essentially all of the safety and convenience features repeatedly shut off. Lane departure, autopilot, regenerative braking, VSC, emergency braking, airbags, traction control, automatic vehicle hold, stability control, and a few others stopped working on multiple occasions. This definitely put my life and my family's life at risk. The problems were reproduced and confirmed by the dealer and the vehicle was inspected by the manufacturer. All of the warning lamps and messages only popped up when the failure occurred. Tesla initially fixed all of these issues by doing a wheel alignment. …”
NHTSA complaint #11446684, filed 2022-01“Many phantom braking incidents both on autopilot and in adaptive cruise control mode result in surprising (and frightening) sudden braking for no reason. In high traffic conditions, this could lead to a possible rear-end collision. The adaptive cruise control has become so unstable in the last few months we will not use it. As this is a mature feature that used to work nearly flawlessly this is very frustrating to go backwards with an update.”
NHTSA complaint #11450215, filed 2022-02“Within a week of posting a complaint here about phantom braking while in autopilot, my autopilot was disabled. Does the NHTSA share VIN numbers with the manufacturer? Because that sure felt like retaliation by Tesla”
NHTSA complaint #11540903, filed 2023-08Related recalls
- 22V063000Feb 4, 2022Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model S, Model X, Model Y, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to be played…Covers: Tesla Model 3 2017–2022, Model X 2020–2022, Model S 2020–2022 +1 more
- 21V846000Oct 29, 2021Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles operating software version 2021.36.5.2. A…Covers: Tesla Model 3 2017–2021, Model S 2017–2021, Model X 2017–2021 +1 more
Forward collision avoidance: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7 | 24% |
| 2025 | 30 | 25% |
| 2024 | 49 | 22% |
| 2023 | 179 | 42% |
| 2022 | 535 | 69% |
| 2021 | 411 | 61% |
| 2020 | 157 | 35% |
| 2019 | 170 | 27% |
| 2018 | 203 | 20% |
| 2017 | 8 | 30% |
Other parts of the 2017 Tesla Model 3
7 complaintsSeat belts
6 complaintsSeats
6 complaintsOther or unknown
5 complaintsLane departure
4 complaintsVehicle speed control
4 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
4 complaintsBrakes
3 complaintsElectrical system
2 complaintsSuspension
2 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
1 complaintsFuel system
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2017 Tesla Model 3
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology