2024 Tesla Model 3 exterior lighting problems

“Tesla’s replacement of physical steering column turn signal stalks with capacitive touch buttons on the steering wheel face creates an active safety hazard. First, the capacitive sensors frequently become entirely unresponsive. If a driver rests a finger near the buttons, the system triggers a timeout/lockout, rendering the signals non-functional for several seconds when pressed. They also fail to register inputs under normal pressure or when wearing gloves. Second, because the buttons rotate dynamically with the steering wheel, it is structurally impossible to signal by muscle memory during sharp or sequential maneuvers, like navigating roundabouts. To signal while the wheel is turning or when buttons fail to respond, the driver must repeatedly look away from the road to visually target the wheel. This defective layout causes delayed signaling, severe driver distraction, and elevates the risk of a collision.”

“The push type turn signals for the model 3 almost caused when accident when I had to enter and exit a roundabout. The orientation wasn’t clear and I was trying to signal to not exit instead - another car misunderstood my intent. this miscommunication lead to a close call. I’ve been driving for over 20 years - this is an unsafe implementation of something basic.”

“To whom it may concern, I am reporting an incident regarding my Tesla Model 3 (2024) that occurred on June 30th around midnight. My partner was using FSD (full self driving) and driving down i5 towards Vancouver, WA and I was attempting to turn on Bluetooth to listen to music when the exterior lights completely shut off. The section of the freeway we were on had no lights, so it was completely dark. The FSD made my partner take over the wheel and we careened off the road because there was zero visibility. Thankfully and luckily we only hit a traffic reflector. What followed has been a few concerning months of back and forth with Tesla. I reported the incident to them immediately and requested data from that night. The data that they eventually sent over was from the previous day and following days, and conveniently missing that crucial period of time. The service appointment I had with them produced a multiple thousand dollar bill to fix the damage caused by the traffic reflector which I did not pay. I have not heard back from them since then. I am reporting this incident because I don’t think lights should be able to shut off completely at night, whether it…”

“Tesla has removed the turn signal stalks on some of their vehicles in favor of buttons on the steering wheel. While Tesla may argue that these buttons work fine, they are unsafe and they do not work in all driving situations (roads with multiple tight turns, roundabouts, etc). The buttons are also prone to sticking, which renders them inoperable. I have been pulled over due to failure to signal on a tight roadway in San Francisco, the officer did not write a ticket when he saw the design defect and advised that I remedy the issue with Tesla. I have also almost gotten into an accident several times in roundabouts because of failure to signal -- it was impossible to signal via the button on the steering wheel while in the roundabout. Tesla has acknowledged that this design is a safety issue and has brought back turn signal stalks on newly manufactured vehicles. Due to the immediate safety issue and Tesla having no retrofit available, I have purchased a 3rd party accessory that fixes the issue. The accessory is from a company called Enhance Auto and it is called "S3XY Stalks". It is a bluetooth enabled turn signal that connects to a device that is attached to the…”

“The indicator controls on the steering wheel are unreliable. Soon after purchasing the car, I returned it for warranty repair because sometimes the right indicator fails. When pressing the indicator area in the steering wheel, one can usually feel a button click, but at times it’s like pressing a brick wall, no give and no click. It seemed ok after the repair, but now it’s back to doing exactly the same thing. In addition, sometimes when I press near the bottom of the right indicator area, the left indicator turns on instead. It’s bad enough that I often can’t indicate when turning as I can’t always keep track of directions when the buttons turn upside down and the visuals on the buttons are backwards. It’s much worse that this bad design is so poorly implemented. Now writing this, I noticed when uploading the warranty invoice that they said the indicator works as intended. This after I gave them a video I took, while driving, of my fingers repeatedly pressing the indicator area as hard as I could, while describing how the indicator wasn’t turning on. I see you don’t allow videos to be uploaded here, but I still have that video and can supply it if needed.”

“The contact owns a 2024 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while using the right turn signal, the signal seized and failed to turn off and remained engaged. The vehicle was taken to the Tesla Service Center; however, the service tech was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The Tesla Service Center declined to provide a steering wheel replacement. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 1,800.”