2018 Tesla Model 3 Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 29about this part
- Share
- 3%of 1,035 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 15,000miles
- Trend
- RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 29 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2018 Tesla Model 3, 3% of the 1,035 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 15,000 miles. 5 of these say a crash was involved and 1 a fire, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“Our car caught fire sitting in the driveway of my house. This happened around 4am in jan9, security footage from neighbors has been handed over to fd and Tesla engineering team. The last trip was 10 hours prior to parking the car. We are lucky it was not in the garage or charging, the damage could have been more than a few broken windows, as soon as we saw the fire we called the fd, they put out the fire within 15 minutes.”
NHTSA complaint #11397073, filed 2021-02, 16,675 miles“My wife ( driver for over 40 years, no accidents, no tickets) was stopped at a traffic light on a downgrade, foot on the brake, in our brand new Tesla MODEL 3 when it suddenly began to move forward and crashed into cars stopped at the light in front of her. My wife tried desperately to stop the Tesla with the brakes and emergency brake. Ou car was stopped by the car in front. I hate to think of what could have happened had there not been car in front. We purchased the Tesla in december of 2018 and the crash occurred in february of 2019. …”
NHTSA complaint #11207877, filed 2019-05, 2,400 miles“I was driving my MODEL 3(in motion) in the left lane of a 3 lane local road (3 lanes each direction). The car suddenly displayed 2 warning light, unable to drive and another warning about vehicle powering down, move to a safe location. The car stopped a few seconds after displaying these warnings. I did not have enough time to maneuver the car to a safe location. I was stuck on the left of the busy roadway. I was offered help by a police officer and a pedestrian to help push the car to safety. I was unable to engage the car in neutral to allow the folks helping me to push the car. …”
NHTSA complaint #11406279, filed 2021-04, 45,516 miles“On 04/13/2019 the car abrupt stopped in the middle of the road while I drove it along northbond santa rita road in pleasanton ca. . Cars coming from behind had to make urgent braking or lane change to avoid hitting us. My young child was crying in horror, and we have no way to get ourself to safety with the car totally unable to move. We called 911, and local police was dispatch to help other card avoiding hitting us, while we waiting for tow truck to arrive. The car was unresponsive for about 20 minutes, with the display showing messages: unable to drive, pull over to safety. …”
NHTSA complaint #11203847, filed 2019-04, 13,350 miles“While I was parking, the car it unexpectedly accelerated and jump over the side walk and crash itself into the building and destroyed the face of the building and the car. The air bags deployed from the impact of the car.”
NHTSA complaint #11383180, filed 2020-12, 13,830 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10250494Dec 28, 2023On certain Model 3 vehicles, the positive busbar nut under the power conversion system and additional bolts within the High Voltage (HV) battery ancillary bay were insufficiently…
- 10234998Apr 29, 2022Some Model 3 vehicles were built without a hydraulic control unit (HCU) wake-up wire, and in rare circumstances, braking and stability control related alerts may appear on the…
- 10153436Jan 26, 2019Certain Model 3 vehicles might have been manufactured without a rear drive unit (RDU) breather, and consequently might have contaminated gearbox fluid.
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
Other parts of the 2018 Tesla Model 3
203 complaintsSuspension
192 complaintsOther or unknown
175 complaintsElectrical system
168 complaintsAir bags
143 complaintsSeat belts
105 complaintsVehicle speed control
91 complaintsBrakes
89 complaintsSteering
83 complaintsSeats
74 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
61 complaintsBody and structure
60 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2018 Tesla Model 3
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 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