2018 Tesla Model 3 cruise control problems
90 of the 1,028 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2018 Tesla Model 3 name the cruise control (NHTSA’s “Vehicle Speed Control” heading — cruise control, adaptive cruise and unintended-acceleration reports). Filed under the same heading: 2 NHTSA investigations. Every figure below is a document in a federal file, linked; none is a failure rate, and none is a verdict on any one car.
What owners filed about the cruise control
Source: NHTSA complaint database30 of the 90 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 8 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2018: 7 · 2019: 7 · 2020: 18 · 2021: 10 · 2022: 25 · 2023: 10 · 2024: 9 · 2025: 3 · 2026: 1
Half of the 33 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the cruise control problem between 4,000 and 17,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
1,028 complaints in all about the 2018 Tesla Model 3, 1 filed in 2026. The whole picture, every system →
Counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many of these were sold; nothing here is a rate. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so “Vehicle Speed Control” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.
Across model years: Tesla Model 3 cruise control problems, every year on file →
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the cruise control. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.
On 4/17/2019 at approximately 2:40pm I pulled into a small shopping center parking lot and turned right to park in a parking space facing a store front. I was going to a nail appointment, was early and not in a hurry. The car was moving very slowly under the car's own power as I entered the parking space.
I went to large grocery store and pulled into the parking spot and parked in an empty spot next to another car. As soon as I parked, my car Tesla Model 3 suddenly accelerated at a high speed and sharply turned right on its own without any prompting. It went fully on top of the plant beds and hit two other cars from the front.
Oct 15, 2019 at 12:30 PM I was going to park the car, was rolling to a stop between parking lines in front of the curb when car suddenly accelerated and crashed into a style fence. Reported the problem the same day to Tesla and took the vehicle to the service center and complained.
I own a 2018 Tesla Model 3 mid-range (non-autopilot, non-self-driving, software update v10.2 - 2019.40.50.7). I experienced a cruise control related safety defect on my non-self-driving, non- autopilot Tesla Model 3 several times since 2019.40.2.1 update. First time it happened at highway speeds.
I was driving northbound on ca hwy 101 when I initiated a lane change from left to right with autopilot engaged. After beginning to make the lane change to the right, the car abruptly veered back into the left lane, then slowly started to move back into the right lane. It was at that time that I disengaged the autopilot
What is on file about the cruise control
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNHTSA investigations
- DP23002 Sudden Unintended Accelerationopened Jun 29, 2023 · open
- The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition requesting that ODI reevaluate its decision to deny DP20-001 on the basis that intermittent high electrical current demands on the vehicles' 12VDC systems may have caused some or all of the incidents examined by ODI in DP20-001. The petitioner bases this information on a review of open-source research and the DP20-001 denial. The petiti…
- DP20001 Sudden Unintended Accelerationopened Jan 13, 2020 · closed Jan 8, 2021
- On December 19, 2019, NHTSA received a petition from Mr. Brian Sparks requesting that the Agency recall all [Tesla] Model S, Model X, and Model 3 vehicles produced from 2013 to the present due to sudden unintended acceleration (SUA). In his petition and follow-up submissions, the petitioner identified a total of 232 non-duplicative complaints to NHTSA, including 203 reporting crashes. On January 1…
Other systems with a record on the 2018 Tesla Model 3
Source: the same files- automatic emergency braking problems 286 complaints
- suspension problems 187 complaints
- electrical problems 169 complaints
- airbag problems 146 complaints
- seat belt problems 105 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre cruise control problems common on the 2018 Tesla Model 3?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 90 owner complaints naming the cruise control on this model year (9% of everything owners filed about it), and 2 NHTSA investigations are filed under the same heading. Whether it is a problem on one particular car is a diagnosis, not a count, and a count says nothing about how many were sold.
Is there a recall for the cruise control on the 2018 Tesla Model 3?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 19 filed under other headings). A bulletin is not a recall: it carries no federal duty to repair for free.
When do cruise control problems show up on the 2018 Tesla Model 3?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 9,999 miles; half of them between 4,000 and 17,000. That is when reports cluster, not the life of a part.
What does NHTSA's "Vehicle Speed Control" heading cover?
Cruise control, adaptive cruise and unintended-acceleration reports. Owners choose the heading when they file, so it says which area of the vehicle the complaint is about, not which part failed.