2019 Tesla Model 3 cruise control problems
71 of the 615 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2019 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 database19 of the 71 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 6 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2019: 7 · 2020: 18 · 2021: 6 · 2022: 22 · 2023: 14 · 2024: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2026: 1
Half of the 27 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the cruise control problem between 3,000 and 10,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
615 complaints in all about the 2019 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.
When parking the car, the car accelerated without the driver depressing the pedal causing the car to run into a building and cause damage. Despite the speed, the airbags did not deploy
Car turning and pull up to the garage drive way, it suddenly unintended accelerate and crash into the garage gate. (videos available)
Sudden unintended acceleration in driveway was I was pulling into carport. Slammed on brakes to prevent impact into carport wall
I was pulling into a parking spot at the grocery store and as I tried to ease to a stop, the care accelerated quickly and aggressively and I smashed into the parked car a few feet in front of me. Air bags went off and burned a hole in my pants and burned the skin on my left thigh. Substantial repairs were required.
The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, while depressing the brake pedal to make a right turned, the vehicle experienced an unintended acceleration. The contact quickly depressed the brake pedal and was able to slow the vehicle. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated.
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 2019 Tesla Model 3
Source: the same files- automatic emergency braking problems 231 complaints
- electrical problems 91 complaints
- airbag problems 86 complaints
- suspension problems 83 complaints
- brake problems 63 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre cruise control problems common on the 2019 Tesla Model 3?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 71 owner complaints naming the cruise control on this model year (12% 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 2019 Tesla Model 3?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 22 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 2019 Tesla Model 3?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 5,300 miles; half of them between 3,000 and 10,000. 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.