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Tesla Model 3

Every model year 2017–2027: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

11 Model years 2017–2027

139 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

4,375 Complaints owner reports, all years

A^* Newest grade 2027 Safety Signal

2017 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2027 Model 3 →Which years to avoid Compare it

Tesla Model 3 — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Tesla Model 3 · Photo: Alexander-93 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Every Tesla Model 3 model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2027	Electric	A^*	0	0	—	316 mi
2026	Electric	A	1	29	—	363 mi
2025	Electric	B	3	122	—	363 mi
2024	Electric	C	5	221	—	363 mi
2023	Electric	D	12	428	★★★★★	358 mi
2022	Electric	F	18	771	★★★★★	358 mi
2021	Electric	F	22	672	★★★★★	353 mi
2020	Electric	F	21	452	★★★★★	330 mi
2019	Electric	F	22	620	★★★★★	310 mi
2018	Electric	F	19	1,033	★★★★★	310 mi
2017	Electric	D	16	27	—	310 mi

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2017

On the filed record so far, the 2017 is the cleanest Model 3 year we hold, and the 2022 the one to check hardest.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2017	D	1.8	3
2018	F	2.4	129
2019	F	3.1	89
2020	F	3.5	75
2023	D	4	143
2021	F	4.4	134
2022	F	4.5	193

Which Tesla Model 3 years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2021 electrical system complaints at 0.25× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 7,000 miles). Latest: 2020 electrical system at 2.02× (20,000 miles).

Year	Electrical System	Suspension	Vehicle Speed Control	Forward Collision Avoidance	Steering
2022	1.28×	—	—	0.52×	—
2021	0.25×	—	—	1.3×	—
2020	2.02×	0.33×	0.29×	—	0.75×
2019	0.96×	0.56×	0.6×	1.48×	0.68×
2018	1.24×	1.18×	0.71×	—	0.83×

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the Tesla Model 3, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

automatic emergency braking problems 2,485 complaints, every model year cruise control problems 635 complaints, every model year electrical problems 567 complaints, every model year brake problems 564 complaints, every model year suspension problems 319 complaints, every model year steering problems 272 complaints, every model year airbag problems 250 complaints, every model year seat belt problems 111 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2027: best range 363 → 316 mi; 5 → 1 EPA configurations
2026: 4 → 5 EPA configurations
2025: 5 → 4 EPA configurations
2024: best range 358 → 363 mi; 3 → 5 EPA configurations
2022: best range 353 → 358 mi
2021: best range 330 → 353 mi; 8 → 3 EPA configurations
2020: best range 310 → 330 mi; 6 → 8 EPA configurations
2019: 4 → 6 EPA configurations
2018: 1 → 4 EPA configurations

Compare

All Model 3 head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2027 Model 3 vs Nissan Sentra · Midsize Sedan	Model 3 +28.9
2027 Model 3 vs Hyundai Ioniq 6 · Midsize Sedan	Model 3 +8.4
2027 Model 3 vs Kia K4 · Midsize Sedan	Model 3 +28.9
2027 Model 3 vs BMW 3 Series · Midsize Sedan	Toss-up
2027 Model 3 vs Porsche Taycan · Midsize Sedan	Toss-up
2027 Model 3 vs BMW 5 Series · Midsize Sedan	Model 3 +31.3
2026 Model 3 vs Toyota Camry · Midsize Sedan	Model 3 +6
2026 Model 3 vs Honda Civic · Midsize Sedan	Civic +5
2026 Model 3 vs Toyota Crown · Midsize Sedan	Model 3 +4
2026 Model 3 vs Hyundai Elantra · Midsize Sedan	Elantra +8.1
2026 Model 3 vs Nissan Altima · Midsize Sedan	Altima +8.1
2024 Model 3 vs Toyota Prius Prime · Midsize Sedan	Model 3 +7.7

In the studies

Source: computed from the same record, method on each page

Odometer at first complaint · rank 13 of 79 0.5× the mileage of same-age vehicles Tesla Model 3 owners reported problems to NHTSA at a median 13,000 miles across 2018–2022 (fleet 23,512), earlier than vehicles of the same model year. 518 readings.

Common questions about the Tesla Model 3

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Tesla Model 3 year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2017 Model 3 comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade D (60/100), 16 recalls and 27 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Tesla Model 3 years should I avoid?

2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 have the weakest recall records in this range. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every Model 3 model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Tesla Model 3 have?

Across model years 2017–2027, NHTSA has posted 139 recall campaigns for the Tesla Model 3. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.