Problems · by component
2023 Tesla Model 3 service brakes problems
54 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2023 Tesla Model 3 cite service brakes, 13% of all 429 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
54
13% of all complaints
Crashes
21
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
10
Reported by owners
What owners say about the service brakes
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I have a group of individuals that are hacking all of my accounts and trying to steal my car. They first hacked my emails then my Tesla account and now they are actually on the Teslas computer system and have been in the vehicle accessing the screen. After they hacked the system and stopped updates the car started having a bunch of safety concerns and alerts.The breaks were not working and the vehicle would freely roll when full pressure was applied. The collision system in the car was not working properly. Thinking it was possibly going to be hit by another car it would avoid nothing and jerk me out of the lane and nothing was around at all potentially causing an accident. Then the collision system stopped working all together. The steering system would not communicate properly with the system and kept requesting to be reconfigured with the system. The power train system kept throwing alerts. The tire pressure sensors stopped working and will not retrain now. They keep stopping the software updates now and have an IT admin portal device management program on the system and have complete control of the car’s system. Recently they were checking into enrolling in…”
“I was driving with plenty of distance between me and the car in front of me. The car in front of me had stopped and the Automatic Emergency Braking System on my car went on. Thankfully, there was no car behind me, otherwise, I would have been hit. The sudden stopping has caused me significant lower back pain.”
“On XXX at around 3:30 PM EST, I was driving my 2023 Tesla Model 3 on [XXX] about 10 miles outside of [XXX]. I had the adaptive cruise control set at 75 mph. I was driving in the right lane of the two available lanes of travel in that direction. I noticed an unattended car on the right shoulder about a 1/4 mile up the road and continued my drive as normal. The car was at least 5' to 6' off the highway. As i got about 30 yards from the car, my car suddenly slammed on the brakes automatically, which forced me to react in a corrective manner. Thankfully there was nobody behind me or the severity of the braking would have likely caused a rear end collision. To my understanding, this phantom braking is a known issue with Teslas, so I wanted to document my experience to add to the record.”
“-I was driving down into an indoor basement level garage very slowly as there is a steep incline. It descends from street level to basement level within a distance of approximately 30 to 35 ft. At the end of the incline is a sharp curve to the right, followed by a sharp left turn to proceed straight. -While on the incline, the car was slowing to a stop. I gently tapped the accelerator to keep it moving. -The car suddenly lunged forward, rapidly accelerating. The acceleration was not consistent with the amount of accelerator input I applied. -I quickly steered right to avoid hitting the wall, then immediately steered left to avoid hitting parked cars and garage columns. -I braked as hard as possible, pumping it. The brake pedal was stiff. The car kept moving forward despite my efforts and did not stop until I crashed into a parked car at the end of the garage. -My son was in the front passenger seat. We both had seatbelts on. Other than whiplash, there were no major injuries. -There were no warnings, messages or any indications that a problem was present prior to the incident. -There was no one in the parked vehicle that was struck and no other people in the…”
“Regen braking sporadically not working when going down mountain or steep roads. Sometimes they work and sometimes they won’t. This is after extensive driving on warm days while battery is between 70-80%. Support could not help me and they don’t have any technicians available. I’ve sent them videos and time stamps and they are ignoring the issue and unable to help due to lack of knowledgable representatives This is a serious safety concern”
“The vehicle’s brakes did not work, automatic emergency brakes and collision warning both did not work. I pressed on the brake for about 5 seconds but the brakes did not work, resulting in a collision with the car in front. Everything is available for inspection if needed. Both my safety and the driver of the vehicle in front of me was at risk. The problem has not been confirmed yet. The vehicle is currently at a shop, waiting inspection. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms.”
Showing 6 of 54 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.