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Exterior lightingPart report

2022 Tesla Model 3 Exterior lighting Problems

Complaints
7about this part
Share
1%of 773 total for the year
Median mileage
100,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 7 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 2022 Tesla Model 3, 1% of the 773 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 100,000 miles. 1 recall campaign on record is 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.

“My car just made 50k and is out of warranty and the headlight fail. I contacted Tesla and they quote $1800 to fix it. When I went on the internet and found out that this is very common and seems to be a bad design. Can you do anything so they redesign and recall so we consumers are not ripped off by Tesla? I know is a long shot now that Elon is running the government but I have nowhere else to complain. Thank you”

NHTSA complaint #11641101, filed 2025-02

“Less than a month after I purchased my car, the whole diver's side headlight assembly stopped functioning, no blinker, no headlight, no running light. It's been over a month and Tesla keeps moving my service appointment to a later date. Tesla states it's a part issue, yet you continue to build cars with headlights ignoring current customers. I still have no working Headlight assembly.”

NHTSA complaint #11451876, filed 2022-02

“I am filing a safety complaint regarding water intrusion into the rear tail lamp assembly of my 3-year-old Tesla Model 3. The rear tail light has progressed from minor condensation to active water accumulation and visible pooling inside the sealed housing. This is not light fogging — there is standing moisture inside the assembly. The vehicle has not been involved in any collision and there is no visible external damage to the lamp. I have already been pulled over, and drivers behind me have indicated that the affected tail light is not clearly visible. …”

NHTSA complaint #11719385, filed 2026-02

“i was driving after dark on a country highway with my wife. She was choosing music while I was driving. An oncoming car went by and afterwards I flipped to high beams... at the exact same moment she tapped to play a song on the display. Turns out the skip/play songs menu is exactly where the headlight adjust menu pops up when you switch from high to low beams. This caused her to turn the headlights off on the car while we were travelling at highway speeds. This causes an obvious significant safety risk because of a poorly thought-out UI design and could cause a crash very easily. …”

NHTSA complaint #11597267, filed 2024-06

“The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a loss of camera and safety feature functionality for eight hours daily. The message Adaptive Headlights Feature Unavailable was displayed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a complaint was filed. The contact was referred to a service center that was over an hour away. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the cost. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.”

NHTSA complaint #11755531, filed 2026-08, 100,000 miles

Related recalls

Exterior lighting: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202576%
20242712%
202310%
202271%
202181%
2020143%
201961%
2018162%

Other parts of the 2022 Tesla Model 3

Forward collision avoidance
535 complaints
Vehicle speed control
171 complaints
Brakes
169 complaints
Other or unknown
94 complaints
Electrical system
60 complaints
Lane departure
45 complaints
Steering
39 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
23 complaints
Air bags
13 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
13 complaints
Wheels
13 complaints
Seat belts
12 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2022 Tesla Model 3

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 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