Vehicle Data Hub

2018 Tesla Model 3 air bags problems

Owners reported air bags problems in 146 complaints for the 2018 Tesla Model 3, 8% of the complaints on file.

At a glance

Complaints
146 8% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
20,000 miles 20 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
15 and 0
Injuries and deaths
9 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When air bags problems show up

Air bags complaints by mileage, 2018 Tesla Model 3 Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 20,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 10 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 3 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 3 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 2 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 2 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 0 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 0 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 20,000 miles
Based on 20 complaints that include mileage. 80% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles10
20k to 40k miles3
40k to 60k miles3
60k to 80k miles2
80k to 100k miles2
100k to 120k miles0
120k to 140k miles0
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 20 air bags complaints that report mileage, the median is about 20,000 miles, and 80% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 15 crashes, 9 injuries.

What owners wrote

I was at a stop at a red light and was rear-ended christmas eve night, causing my car to be pushed into the vehicle in front of me at the red light. I remember my abdomen hitting the steering wheel and complaining of stomach discomfort immediately following the accident (I've since gotten x-rays and will need 12+ months of chiropractor therapy). I noticed a burning smell inside the cabin, similar to the smell after firing a pistol. I figured it was the airbag, however, there was no deployment of an airbag.

Reported at 300 miles, December 2018 CrashInjury

I was driving on auto pilot mode when I was going to make a right hand turn when in order to slow down at the traffic ahead of me, I applied the brakes but there was no brake action whatsoever. This was not a panic situation, it was just normal braking. When the brakes failed to actuate and the vehicle accordingly wasn't slowing down, in order to avoid hitting pedestrians or the vehicle in front of me, I swerved to the right and ended up hitting a tree.

Reported at 8,137 miles, January 2019 CrashInjury

Other problems reported for the 2018 Tesla Model 3

Air bags problems in other years

Air bags problems across all Tesla models