2024 Tesla Model 3: What to check before buying

Power steering assist cuts out, showing "steering assist reduced" warnings and leaving a wheel that takes heavy force to turn. Other reports describe sudden steering inputs nobody asked for while driver-assistance features are on, including crashes into a tunnel wall and off the road. A new car pulling hard to one side despite repeated alignments also appears. Most complaints in this category, though, are about turn signal buttons that stick or ignore presses. Several say a new steering wheel did not help and service called it normal. Of 34 complaints, 3 involve crashes, with 4 people injured.

Sudden loss of drive power is the most serious pattern. The rear motor fails with only seconds of warning, in one case under 4,000 miles, and other cars lose power repeatedly on freeways, taking power steering with it. Blank touchscreens also appear, including in one crash. Turn signal button failures come up again, and Tesla confirmed a known software issue in at least one case. Smaller patterns include a horn that quits in rain or freezing weather, a high-pitched front drive unit whine in the cold, and rear display glass that cracks with no impact.

Phantom braking leads this category. The car brakes hard at highway speed or in the middle of a turn with nothing in its path, and some drivers report neck pain afterward. The front camera fogs inside its sealed housing, which shuts down or weakens automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, and adaptive cruise. Other reports describe no reaction to near head-on collisions at night, and Full Self-Driving lurching forward at red lights or speeding after software updates. One crash with 2 injuries involved an unexpected turn on Autopilot.

Turn signal buttons stick, feel locked solid, or give no click, so the signal never comes on. In one case a signal stuck on and would not cancel at about 1,800 miles. Several reports say the problem came back after a steering wheel replacement and software update. Some drivers get the button working again by pressing the opposite signal or pushing straight down firmly. Separate reports describe a driver-side tail light filling with water and a brake light that sometimes fails, with weeks of waiting for parts. In one crash, all exterior lights shut off at night on an unlit freeway.

Cruise control slows the car hard on its own, with drops of 15 mph or more at highway speed and no message on the display explaining why. Following drivers get caught off guard. Slowdowns also happen on rolling hills, long curves, and when flashing lights appear far ahead. A second pattern follows Full Self-Driving version 14 software, which took away the driver's maximum speed setting. Drivers say the car now goes over posted limits. Other reports describe sudden acceleration from a stop at traffic lights with FSD on. None of the 16 complaints involves a crash.

Airbags fail to deploy in crashes, and safety restraint warnings keep coming back. In one car, service found damaged wiring at the passenger occupant sensing module and replaced the steering column control module. The buyer blames crash damage that was not disclosed at sale. In another case, service called the restraint warning a known issue but could not say what the fix was or when it would come. With only 5 complaints, this is a small category, but it bears directly on crash protection.

Parking proximity alerts stay silent while reversing even though the on-screen warning works, and one report describes backing into a pole as a result. Other complaints are unrelated: Full Self-Driving choosing the wrong lane at intersections, and an alarm that only stops when the driver swerves the car. One filing has no detail beyond an attachment. The 4 complaints here do not share a common fault.

Unintended acceleration at low speed appears in two crashes, one pulling into a driveway and one in a drive-thru. Together they injured 4 people. A third report describes the rear motor making a noise and locking up at about 10 mph, followed by a pull-over-now alert and the car stopping on its own. There are only 3 complaints here, but each involves a sudden loss of control over the drivetrain.