2022 Tesla Model 3 cruise control problems
171 of the 765 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2022 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: 1 NHTSA investigation. 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 database14 of the 171 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 12 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2021: 2 · 2022: 110 · 2023: 35 · 2024: 14 · 2025: 5 · 2026: 5
Too few of these complaints carry an odometer reading to say when the problem shows up.
765 complaints in all about the 2022 Tesla Model 3, 5 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.
Vehicle frequently brakes hard to prevent a collision with an object that does not exist. Also known as phantom breaking that is a commonly known issues with Teslas autopilot
When using cruise control (TACC) with or without using lane centering (Autosteer), my vehicle will often brake suddenly (and harshly) for no reason at all. It's worse on undivided highways (with no median).
Traffic aware cruise control is dangerous to use. Automatically slams on brakes on 2 lane roads with large vehicles in oncoming lane. Brakes at the top of any sort of hill, brakes for shadows of overpasses on the highway.
Vehicle applies 100% braking sporadically when traveling at highway speeds on cruise control, causing loss of control and risk to vehicles behind it. It seems that the vehicle’s forward sensors mistakenly interpret an imminent collision and apply full braking force, without any potential collision risk present.
While traveling on a two lane highway while using Traffic Assist Cruise Control I have had several collision alarms and emergency braking situations that were severe enough to cause my unprepared wife to say that she could have gotten whiplash. Luckily there was no one following us closely enough to cause a rear end collision.
What is on file about the cruise control
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNHTSA investigation
- 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…
Other systems with a record on the 2022 Tesla Model 3
Source: the same files- automatic emergency braking problems 790 complaints
- electrical problems 59 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre cruise control problems common on the 2022 Tesla Model 3?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 171 owner complaints naming the cruise control on this model year (22% of everything owners filed about it), and 1 NHTSA investigation is 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 2022 Tesla Model 3?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 18 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 2022 Tesla Model 3?
Too few of the complaints carry an odometer reading to say. The model year's page shows the mileage curve across every system where it can.
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.