Ask the seller for proof the repair was completed, or run the free VIN check. Recall repairs are done at no cost by a dealer.
Recalls
Safety issues the manufacturer must repair for free. A recall means confirm the fix was done, not walk away.
Exterior lighting recall
Headlight low beams that are too bright can reduce visibility for oncoming drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- The remedy is currently under development. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 3, 2026. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-17-003.
- Status
- Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Safety recall
A delayed rearview image reduces the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 3, 2026. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-26-00-001.
- Status
- Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Electrical system recall
A defective battery disconnect may not isolate the vehicle's high voltage battery after a crash or fault detection, increasing the risk of electrical shock and injury.
- Remedy
- Tesla Service will replace the pyrotechnic battery disconnect, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 18, 2023. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-23-16-005.
- Status
- Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Airbags recall
A twisted side curtain air bag may improperly deploy, increasing the risk of injury or occupant ejection during a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla Service will inspect and realign the left and right side curtain air bag as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 23, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-20-006.
- Status
- Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Steering recall
A loss of power steering assist can require greater steering effort, especially at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 25, 2025. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-25-00-004.
- Status
- Corrected automatically through an over-the-air software update.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Tires recall
Driving with improperly inflated tires increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 15, 2025. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-018.
- Status
- Corrected automatically through an over-the-air software update.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Safety recall
An unlatched hood can fully open, obstructing the driver's view and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-012.
- Status
- Corrected automatically through an over-the-air software update.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Seat belts recall
A seat belt warning system that fails to alert occupants of an unbelted seat belt can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update. Owner notification letters were mailed July 26, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-008.
- Status
- Corrected automatically through an over-the-air software update.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Electrical system recall
Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla began releasing an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-003.
- Status
- Corrected automatically through an over-the-air software update.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Electrical system recall
In certain circumstances when Autosteer is engaged, and the driver does not maintain responsibility for vehicle operation and is unprepared to intervene as necessary or fails to recognize when Autosteer is canceled or not engaged, there may be an increased risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-23-00-008.
- Status
- Corrected automatically through an over-the-air software update.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Steering recall
FSD Beta software that allows a vehicle to exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 15, 2023. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-23-00-001.
- Status
- Corrected automatically through an over-the-air software update.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Exterior lighting recall
A taillight that fails to illuminate may reduce the visibility of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2023. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-016.
- Status
- Corrected automatically through an over-the-air software update.
- What to do
- Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.
Owner complaints by system
Unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA, grouped by the part of the car. Useful for spotting patterns. Open a group to read recent examples.
Engine & powertrain
72
Most reports here involve software faults. Of these, 26 mention a crash, 15 mention an injury.
Read full complaint
Im using full self driving (fsd) and it scans the lot and chose to pull into an empty spot half way in and reverse almost smacking a car in the rear. It didnt appear it was gonna stop even though the car was showing on the screen. I do have the dash cam from where i had to step on the break for it to disengage.
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11764243 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Electrical & infotainment
41
Most reports here involve software faults. Of these, 1 mention an injury.
Read full complaint
The rear doors intermittently will not unlock. Even after hitting the unlock button from menu or short or long press of the driver unlock button or from the app unlock button. The driver only unlock feature is disabled. I have video that would not upload. Snapshots of video included.
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11722702 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Brakes
129
Most reports here involve software faults. Of these, 20 mention a crash, 10 mention an injury.
Read full complaint
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 to fleet developer API to interact with the vehicle at code level. I have tried everything to get them off the account and they live at my apartment building. They are using illegal hacking tools and devices to gain access spyware and malware on all my devices.Tesla has done little to nothing to fix this problem and reports have been made. This is a major safety concern.
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11764076 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Steering, suspension & tires
109
Most reports here involve loss of steering. Of these, 17 mention a crash, 12 mention an injury.
Read full complaint
Bought a 2023 Tesla model 3 from Carvawna on aug 30th drove car steering wheel was shaking at 70 mph or more; took to tire shop 3 tire were bad and unsafe,tires were worn below 3/32nds in the center, 2 tires foam was detached and broke tire sensor 4th tire was barley legal cannot believe vehical passed 150 inspection; silver rock only paid 1300,00 bill was 1714.00 left me with 396.00 out of pocket tires were very bad should never be sold Carvawna refuses to reimburse me for out of pocket completely unaccepticl from a car sales company pls help will try to send copy of repair order they would only pay for what they can buy for and were not ev rated
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11764595 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Airbags & seat belts
18
Most reports here involve software faults. Of these, 5 mention a crash, 4 mention an injury.
Read full complaint
During a major car accident the airbags for my Tesla, Model 3, 2023 did not deploy airbags although other impacted cars had full airbags deployed. This posed a risk to my safety as a driver due to not having the proper equipment deployed during a major accident. This was noticed by the emergency personnel on the scene who stated that based on my impact the airbags should have been activated from my collision. According to the safety records associated with my car to date there are no safety reports regarding the airbags for my car. There was no warning of my airbags not being able to be fully functioning at the time of impact. This incident happened on November 1st and is in the process of being investigated by the Harris County sheriff's department.
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11697029 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Structure & body
40
Most reports here involve software faults. Of these, 3 mention a crash, 5 mention an injury.
Read full complaint
Vehicle: Tesla Model 3 Issue: Power trunk failed to detect obstruction Date of incident: July 5, 2026 Location: Surprise, AZ During normal use of the vehicle, my child pressed the “close trunk” button while I was leaning into the trunk area. The powered trunk began closing and did not stop when it made contact with my head. Instead of reversing direction, the trunk continued applying downward force until I moved out of the way. This indicates a failure of the trunk’s obstruction detection system, which is supposed to prevent injury by stopping or reversing when an object or person is detected. This malfunction poses a significant safety risk, especially to children who may accidentally activate the trunk or to adults loading items. A powered trunk should not be able to continue closing on a person’s head. I request that NHTSA investigate whether this is a defect in the Tesla Model 3 trunk sensor system and whether similar incidents have been reported.
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11748682 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
Other systems
15
Most reports here involve software faults. Of these, 1 mention a crash, 2 mention an injury.
Read full complaint
My pant leg got caught on the plastic seat trim under the seat. Kept my leg trapped so I fell out of the car on the ground in the parking lot. Happened again the same day, but I caught myself before I fell. The incident caused a hole and rip in my clothing, but the rest of my body went to the ground leaving my knee and other leg caught until the end. Had a different outfit on today and it caught again! I did not fall this time either. The time I did fall I hyperextended my wrist and landed on my hip and leg, creating bruising and a sore pelvis, knee and back. Went to massage therapist soon after. Currently, following up with doctor
Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11662611 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov
How does it compare with other years? The 2023 has 424 complaints on file, fewer than the 2022 (764) and more than the 2024 (216). Of the 10 model years of the Tesla Model 3 we cover, the 2018 has the most (1,021). Older model years have had longer to collect complaints.