Tesla Model 3 cruise control problems, 2017–2027
633 of the 4,336 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the Tesla Model 3 2017–2027 name the cruise control (NHTSA’s “Vehicle Speed Control” heading — cruise control, adaptive cruise and unintended-acceleration reports). The loudest years: 2022 (171), 2021 (123), 2018 (90). Filed under the same heading across these years: 2 NHTSA investigations. Every figure is a linked federal record; none is a failure rate, none a repair cost, and none a verdict on one car.
Tesla Model 3 cruise control problems by model year
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsOne row per model year on file, newest first. A year marked in depth has its own page: the complaints, the owners’ words and every document under this heading for that year.
| Model year | Complaints naming the cruise control | Share of the year’s | Typically at | On file under the heading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 0 | — | — | — | the year → |
| 2026 | 2 | 8% | — | — | the year → |
| 2025 | 14 | 12% | — | — | the year → |
| 2024 | 20 | 9% | — | — | the year → |
| 2023 in depth | 69 | 16% | — | 1 investigation | the record → |
| 2022 in depth | 171 | 22% | — | 1 investigation | the record → |
| 2021 in depth | 123 | 19% | — | 1 investigation | the record → |
| 2020 in depth | 69 | 15% | 2k | 1 investigation | the record → |
| 2019 in depth | 71 | 12% | 5k | 2 investigations | the record → |
| 2018 in depth | 90 | 9% | 10k | 2 investigations | the record → |
| 2017 | 4 | 15% | — | 2 investigations | the year → |
Two things the counts carry that are not the car: how many of each year were sold, and how long each has been on the road — an older year out-counts a newer one before anything is wrong with it. The share column is the honest comparison across years: what part of that year’s complaints named the cruise control. Nothing here is a rate.
When the cruise control complaints were filed, and at what mileage
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled per calendar year, every model year together: 2018: 7 · 2019: 15 · 2020: 51 · 2021: 44 · 2022: 246 · 2023: 140 · 2024: 64 · 2025: 42 · 2026: 24
Across the model years, half of the 98 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the cruise control problem between 2,000 and 13,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the cruise control, from the model years with the most to say. 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).
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle decelerated, and the brakes activated erroneously. The accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle returned to normal driving operation. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times.
Constant “phantom braking” when using autopilot on the freeway and other roads. When the pavement changes color, the car slams on the brakes in the middle of the freeway. When a truck is in the opposing lane, the car slams on the brakes. When a truck is merging into a lane to my right on the freeway, the car slams on the brakes.
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.
What is on file about the cruise control, across the years
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 Tesla Model 3
Source: the same files- automatic emergency braking problems
- steering problems
- electrical problems
- brake problems
- airbag problems
- suspension problems
- seat belt problems
Every system, every model year: Tesla Model 3 problems by year →
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsWhich Tesla Model 3 years have the most cruise control complaints?
2022, 171; 2021, 123; 2018, 90. Raw counts, and an older year has had longer to collect them; by share of each year's own complaints the loudest is the 2022 (22%).
Is there a recall for the cruise control on the Tesla Model 3?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading on any of these model years. A bulletin is not a recall: it carries no federal duty to repair for free.
When do cruise control problems show up on the Tesla Model 3?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 5,100 miles across the model years; half of them between 2,000 and 13,000. 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.