2018 TESLA MODEL 3 — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 998 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE (167 complaints · 16.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 100
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 42
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2017 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE appears in 167 of 998 owner complaints (16.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 167 complaints, 16.7% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 167 · 16.7% · 19 crash reports SUSPENSION: 148 complaints, 14.8% of reports SUSPENSION 148 · 14.8% · 10 crash reports 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 85 complaints, 8.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 85 · 8.5% · 4 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 68 complaints, 6.8% of reports SEAT BELTS 68 · 6.8% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 58 complaints, 5.8% of reports AIR BAGS 58 · 5.8% · 3 crash reports STEERING: 45 complaints, 4.5% of reports STEERING 45 · 4.5% · 2 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 43 complaints, 4.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 43 · 4.3% · 23 crash reports LANE DEPARTURE: 38 complaints, 3.8% of reports LANE DEPARTURE 38 · 3.8% · 5 crash reports VISIBILITY: 36 complaints, 3.6% of reports VISIBILITY 36 · 3.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 440 complaints, 44.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 440 · 44.1% · 48 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 167 16.7% 19 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 148 14.8% 10 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 85 8.5% 4 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 68 6.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 58 5.8% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 45 4.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 43 4.3% 23 crashes · 0 fires
LANE DEPARTURE 38 3.8% 5 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 36 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 440 44.1% 48 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 2018. 2018-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2018-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2018-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2019-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2019-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2019-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2019-Q4: 22 owner reports 22 2020-Q1: 28 owner reports 28 2020-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2020-Q4: 17 owner reports 17 2021-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2021-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2021-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2021-Q4: 22 owner reports 22 2022-Q1: 78 owner reports 78 2022-Q2: 44 owner reports 44 2022-Q3: 52 owner reports 52 2022-Q4: 48 owner reports 48 2023-Q1: 55 owner reports 55 2023-Q2: 53 owner reports 53 2023-Q3: 52 owner reports 52 2023-Q4: 59 owner reports 59 2024-Q1: 66 owner reports 66 2024-Q2: 47 owner reports 47 2024-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2024-Q4: 35 owner reports 35 2025-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2025-Q2: 22 owner reports 22 2025-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 2025-Q4: 23 owner reports 23 2026-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2026-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2026-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 Owner reports Apr 2018 Jul 2026 Investigation DP20001 ● Investigation DP20001 Investigation PE21020 ● Investigation PE21020 Investigation PE21023 ● Investigation PE21023 Investigation PE22002 ● Investigation PE22002 Investigation EA22002 ● Investigation EA22002 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation DP23001 ● Investigation DP23001 Investigation DP23002 ● Investigation DP23002 Investigation RQ24009 ● Investigation RQ24009 Investigation PE24031 ● Investigation PE24031 Investigation PE24033 ● Investigation PE24033 Investigation AQ25002 ● Investigation AQ25002 Investigation PE25012 ● Investigation PE25012 Investigation EA26002 ● Investigation EA26002 Investigation PE26006 ● Investigation PE26006
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2018-Q2 Owner reports 7
2018-Q3 Owner reports 13
2018-Q4 Owner reports 10
2019-Q1 Owner reports 17
2019-Q2 Owner reports 11
2019-Q3 Owner reports 13
2019-Q4 Owner reports 22
2020-Q1 Owner reports 28
2020-Q2 Owner reports 6
2020-Q3 Owner reports 13
2020-Q4 Owner reports 17
2021-Q1 Owner reports 16
2021-Q2 Owner reports 17
2021-Q3 Owner reports 15
2021-Q4 Owner reports 22
2022-Q1 Owner reports 78
2022-Q2 Owner reports 44
2022-Q3 Owner reports 52
2022-Q4 Owner reports 48
2023-Q1 Owner reports 55
2023-Q2 Owner reports 53
2023-Q3 Owner reports 52
2023-Q4 Owner reports 59
2024-Q1 Owner reports 66
2024-Q2 Owner reports 47
2024-Q3 Owner reports 38
2024-Q4 Owner reports 35
2025-Q1 Owner reports 20
2025-Q2 Owner reports 22
2025-Q3 Owner reports 19
2025-Q4 Owner reports 23
2026-Q1 Owner reports 17
2026-Q2 Owner reports 20
2026-Q3 Owner reports 23
Defect investigation 1 DP20001
Defect investigation 1 PE21020
Defect investigation 1 PE21023
Defect investigation 1 PE22002
Defect investigation 1 EA22002
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 DP23001
Defect investigation 1 DP23002
Defect investigation 1 RQ24009
Defect investigation 1 PE24031
Defect investigation 1 PE24033
Defect investigation 1 AQ25002
Defect investigation 1 PE25012
Defect investigation 1 EA26002
Defect investigation 1 PE26006
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 998 complaints · page 1 of 40

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources