2018 Tesla Model 3 body & structure problems
Owners reported body & structure problems in 61 complaints for the 2018 Tesla Model 3, 4% of the complaints on file.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 61 4% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 16,000 miles 30 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When body & structure problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 17 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 30 body & structure complaints that report mileage, the median is about 16,000 miles, and 90% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 16 crashes, 1 fire, 10 injuries.
What owners wrote
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.
I was involved in a car crash with the autopilot activated. The autopilot has a flaw where it cannot detect when a large vehicle like an 18 wheeler or cement truck in merging into the lane. It sees a large gap and while the front part of the vehicle is slowly snaking into the lane it starts to accelerate. I hit the side of a cement truck and had 8k in damages. I reached out to tesla without any response.
Other problems reported for the 2018 Tesla Model 3
- Forward collision avoidance 287 complaints
- Suspension 190 complaints
- Electrical system 169 complaints
- Air bags 146 complaints
- Seat belts 105 complaints
- Cruise control 91 complaints
- Brakes 90 complaints
- Steering 82 complaints