2023 Tesla Model 3 cruise control problems
69 of the 427 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2023 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 database21 of the 69 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 16 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2022: 3 · 2023: 37 · 2024: 15 · 2025: 9 · 2026: 5
Too few of these complaints carry an odometer reading to say when the problem shows up.
427 complaints in all about the 2023 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.
The ADAS regularly brakes suddenly for no apparent reason. There does not seem to be a consistent reason. Yesterday, during a 90 mile drive EB on the interstate in the afternoon it braked (scaring us) suddenly so often that it made cruise control more of a hazard than a help.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while parking, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, jumped the curb, and crashed into a building. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. The passenger's front seat occupant sustained injuries to her hand.
While traveling on the interstate using cruise control, my vehicle abruptly started to break which caused the vehicle behind me to brake as well. I did not touch the brake, accelerator, or the cruise control itself during this incident. And there were no cars in front of me or to the right of my position (I was in the far left lane)
2023 TESLA MODEL 3 -The attached letters are for a Defect Petition. January 8, 2021, NHTSA denied a defect petition alleging 232 complaints of sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) in Tesla vehicles. Petitioner has sent updates which include a detail abstract with design details, along with 3 Defect Petition to Recall docs
Car unexpectedly brakes while using the cruise control. This can occur multiple times on a long drive without warning and for no apparent reason
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 2023 Tesla Model 3
Source: the same files- automatic emergency braking problems 243 complaints
- steering problems 87 complaints
- electrical problems 51 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre cruise control problems common on the 2023 Tesla Model 3?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 69 owner complaints naming the cruise control on this model year (16% 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 2023 Tesla Model 3?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 12 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 2023 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.