Tesla states that the Model 3 is engineered for safety. However, a growing number of complaints issued to the NHTSA by consumers express concern about a lack of safety. The automaker highlights its Autopilot feature, adding that this advanced driver assistance system and Full Self-Driving (which is still in beta) reduce the overall workload of drivers. Even though Tesla states that these features are intended for use with fully attentive drivers, and the FSD should be supervised (which owners acknowledge and obey), complaints indicate that drivers are frustrated by safety risks relating to these and other components, systems, and Tesla Model 3 features.
The most common complaints about the 2025 Tesla Model 3 to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) relate to full self-driving (FSD) and various forward collision avoidance and lane departure issues. Steering and brakes are also said to be problematic, and there are numerous complaints about faulty indicator buttons. Electrical system problems are high on the list too, which is always a worry with an electric vehicle.
Other components and systems implicated in complaints include the airbags, engine, exterior lighting, fuel/propulsion system, vehicle speed control, and wheels.
Additionally, many of the complaints highlight serious safety issues.
There are also two recalls that affect the 2025 Tesla Model 3.
696,281 Tesla vehicles, including 2017-2025 Model 3 cars, have a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) warning light that may not remain illuminated between drive cycles, failing to warn the driver of low tire pressure. If the tires are not properly inflated, this increases the risk of a crash.
239,382 Tesla vehicles, including the 2024 and 2025 Model 3 have a computer circuit board that may short, resulting in the loss of the rearview camera image. When the camera doesn’t display an image, this reduces the driver’s rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
2025 Tesla Model 3 Issue Summary
Complaint Category
Number of Complaints
Unknown Or Other
16
16
Lane Departure: Assist
6
6
Steering
6
6
Service Brakes
5
5
Electrical System
4
4
Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature remains in beta and is not fully autonomous, which is why the automaker warns that drivers must stay alert and attentive. Nevertheless, while Tesla reports safety improvements and frequent updates, independent studies and regulatory reviews have raised concerns about inconsistent behavior, misinterpretation of road signs, and crash risks, especially in complex environments. Complaints about FSD and the 2025 Tesla Model 3 echo these reports.
Half of the forward collision avoidance complaints cite issues.
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Forward Collision Avoidance Related
An owner from Virginia with a Model 3 equipped with Supervised FSD has experienced several problems. For example, whenever the vehicle stops at a light, “the system recognizes the red light and stops, but shortly after it wants to keep advancing forward although the light is still red and has not changed.” It also has a problem staying in its lane at certain intersections. “The image in the screen is correct and the lines are in place, but the vehicle has trouble staying within the line and needs to be corrected.”
An owner from Maryland finds that the follow-distance is too close to the vehicle in front when in FSD mode. There are also many false alarms from overhead tree branches and cars that aren’t ahead of the Tesla — which are issues that also occur when in auto cruise control. Additionally, “the car takes turns too late and at unsafe speeds when autosteer and cruise control are both activated.” This also happens in FSD.
Engaging emergency brakes for no reason is another issue with FSD, says an owner from California.
Another Californian owner, recognizing FSD as a “supervised system,” used it every day. While great on city streets, “it consistently caused a serious safety risk on the freeway, (as) it habitually tailgates cars at high speeds of 70-80 mph on the freeway. It does this even when there is no traffic and the other lanes are wide open.” Having been ignored when opening service tickets, this owner’s concern is, “If Tesla is to launch an unsupervised version of their FSD system, this problem MUST be addressed first!”
Lane Departure
There are two complaints that state FSD malfunctions that result in the system taking the 2025 Model 3 into oncoming traffic.
An owner from Pennsylvania was using FSD using the Avoid Highways option turned on for the first time. “This is a route I know well and usually follow using Google Maps. At one point, FSD turned on the left indicator, and I thought it was taking a regular exit — the road it chose looked like a narrow side street, so I didn’t question it. But within 5 seconds, I realized it had actually taken me into the oncoming traffic lane. It was shocking and totally unexpected. I immediately took over, stopped the car, and when the road was clear, safely steered back into the correct lane. This happened around 3 PM on a bright, sunny day, with normal traffic.”
An owner from Georgia, describes this experience as a “critical malfunction,” even though it was declared “fully functional” by the Tesla dealership. The issue is that the “Yellow double lines were not recognized around a turn, causing the car to steer towards oncoming traffic.”
Reported Crashes
Most, but not all of the crashes reported to the NHTSA were attributed by owners to the FSD feature.
While driving 30 mph at night with FSD Supervised Mode, a Tesla Model 3 suddenly made a left turn. According to the complaint, the vehicle drove over a curb and onto the grass, and then into a residence’s driveway, where it crashed into the rear passenger’s side of three unoccupied vehicles that were parked in the driveway. The front passenger’s side and driver’s side airbags deployed, and the driver was not injured.
While driving with Autopilot and the most updated version of FSD engaged, an owner from Virginia attempted to parallel park into a parking space when it made a sudden left turn and crashed into a curb. He took over manually and depressed the brake pedal to avoid the entire vehicle driving over the curb. The front passenger side bumper was damaged and there were scratches underneath the vehicle. “The Tesla Software did not detect the crash.”
Attributing a crash to land departure and steering, an owner from California was making a wide right turn at an intersection, when he heard three warning beeps before the steering wheel locked. “I was unable to correct the steering. When I realized it wasn’t allowing the steering to correct, I began to brake, causing me to drive over a curb, ultimately stopped by a fence and a cactus in someone’s yard.” A major concern is that the issue has occurred multiple times.
A Florida owner crashed while in Autopilot and FSD while driving on a U-shaped highway exit road. “Everyone in the car could be dead if I didn’t pull the steering wheel at the last minute to avoid a fatal accident. It was horrifying.” Yet, Tesla ignored his report and claim.
Steering & Brake Problems
These complaints are varied, but several address safety concerns. Some of them state that automatic emergency braking and steering are unavailable along with a few other features. A Florida owner states, “Service center and car manufacturer not doing anything about it.”
An owner from California states: “I have had this happen twice, once on city streets going to work the car was not in Auto Pilot and it went from 40 mph to 0 mph instantly. If there was a car behind me I would have gotten slammed into. The second time, my mother was in the passenger seat and I was on the freeway going about 75 to 80 mph, it was on Auto Steer, and the car went from the speed I was going to almost 0 and I instantly took control of the vehicle. We both could have been killed because of the last incident and I thought the cameras saw something on the road but there was nothing there. No cars were near me when either event occurred.”
An owner from Texas states that Steering Assist is reduced, Traction Control disabled, and Stability Control disabled. “When trying to drive, (the) steering is heavy, and the car coasts unless (the driver is) holding the brake pedal, which is unusual for a Tesla as it normally auto holds. Traction Control and Stability Control are also disabled, unsafe to drive.”
Another Crash
Sudden acceleration appears to have been the cause of another crash in California. It happened about 100 yards from the owner’s house while he was traveling at about 20 mph. The Tesla accelerated to over 40 mph and crashed into the garage.
“Since I have the regenerative braking with my Tesla, the car should have decelerated but, instead, it sped up. I continued to press the brake pedal but I could not mitigate my car’s continual acceleration. It eventually crashed through the lowered garage door, went through the right side of the garage wall about halfway out, and came to a stop. I was driving myself and not engaged in the self-driving feature.”
He appealed to Tesla to investigate the incident.
“The car’s power was on and it automatically turned on the emergency light for about 30 minutes after the accident before it eventually powered off. I am also curious to know why none of the airbags were deployed in this accident. I have many photos available of the accident. The fire department and police came and assisted.” He also said he wondered why auto-braking did not engage against the house.
Turn Signal Issues
Problems relating to issues linked to indicator buttons are listed as electrical or unknown or other problems. Most complaints state that the turn signal buttons simply fail to work.
An owner from California has found that having indicator buttons on the steering wheel rather than a turn stalk results in them jamming. “Sometimes, when I push the button, it is already ‘jammed in’ and nothing happens. I have to kind of randomly push around the button a few times, or push the opposite turn signal direction to unjam it. This causes a few problems:
Lane changes are dynamic and accident-prone. Having the signal indicator button jam on me is distracting and that’s dangerous.
Sometimes the reason I need to change lanes is urgent, to avoid a potential collision ahead of me. If the button jams on me while I’m signaling the lane change, my instinct is to abort the lane change until I figure out what’s going on. That’s dangerous itself since I might end up colliding.
When I’m trying to unjam it, my turn signals visible to other drivers can be kind of erratic. They sometimes see me signaling the opposite way briefly or on-and-off.
He states that Tesla isn’t interested. They say when people take their cars in with this problem, they can’t reproduce the issue, so can’t do anything about it.
Another owner from California states that the turn signal buttons cannot be engaged. “They appear to be stuck and eventually become operative again. Also, I believe the placement of the turn signal operators on the steering wheel instead of on stalks is a safety hazard as they are often difficult to engage like when the steering wheel is being turned and the buttons are therefore not in a position where they are easy to engage.”
Tesla Says Turn Signals Aren’t a Problem
Yet another Californian owner states that the indicator buttons randomly disable and also disable if the user rests their finger lightly on an indicator button for several seconds.
“Tesla looked at it and said it’s ‘normal’ and ‘expected’ for the buttons to disable if you simply rest your finger on the button for too long prior to clicking it in. When this occurs, BOTH indicator buttons will be disabled for upwards of 12 seconds. Neither button will physically click, and the indicators themselves will not activate no matter how many times you try pressing the button.”
At first, the automaker refused to “fix” the problem, but eventually replaced the entire steering wheel.
“The new steering wheel exhibited this same behavior this morning — nearly resulting in a car smash as I was trying to navigate around an existing car smash on the highway. No warnings, messages, or anything. I’ve only owned the car for a month.”
So Do You Have a Lemon?
If you’re dealing with recurring issues, or if your 2025 Tesla Model 3 has been out of service for 30 days or more, you may have a lemon on your hands. Each year, automakers including Tesla buy back, replace, or offer cash settlements to thousands of consumers facing these kinds of problems.
In accordance with the law, the manufacturer (not you) must cover the legal fees for lemon law cases. That means pursuing a settlement with the help of a lemon lawyer won’t cost you anything.
Lemberg Law has successfully helped many vehicle owners secure settlements from major manufacturers. If you’d like a free case assessment regarding your 2025 Tesla Model 3 call our Helpline or complete our online contact form. We’ll respond as soon as possible to discuss your options. We’re on your side!
About the Author:
Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
