2024 Tesla Model 3
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Forward collision avoidance is the leading concern among 217 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 7th highest complaint count among 9 Model 3 model years with reports.
Of the 2024 reports, 25 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 19 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Structure, body, bumpersJul 7, 2026
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2026 Model Y and 2024 Model 3 vehicles. The vehicles were originally built for a foreign market and do not have knee air bags, may not be equipped with certain interior safety countermeasures, and may not have been tested for bumper impact resistance procedures. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers, 208, "Occupant Crash Protection," 201, "Occupant Protection in Interior Impact," and Part 581, "Bumper Standards."
A noncompliant vehicle may have reduced occupant protections, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Tesla will repurchase noncompliant vehicles currently registered in the United States, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 5, 2026. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752 or resolutions@tesla.com. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-26-00-004.
Campaign 26V445000 on NHTSA.gov
Back over prevention, softwareJan 7, 2025
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Model 3, Model S, 2023-2025 Model X, and Model Y vehicles. The computer circuit board may short, resulting in the loss of the rearview camera image. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Tesla will also identify any vehicles that experienced a circuit board failure, or stress that may lead to a circuit board failure, and replace the affected computers, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 7, 2025. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-25-00-001.
Campaign 25V002000 on NHTSA.gov
Tires, pressure monitoring and regulating systemsDec 17, 2024
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3, and 2020-2025 Model Y vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) warning light may not remain illuminated between drive cycles, failing to warn the driver of low tire pressure. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
Driving with improperly inflated tires increases the risk of a crash.
Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 15, 2025. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-018.
Campaign 24V935000 on NHTSA.gov
Latches/locks/linkages, hood, latchJul 24, 2024
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Model 3, Model S, Model X, and 2020-2024 Model Y vehicles. The hood latch assembly may fail to detect an unlatched hood condition after the hood has been opened.
An unlatched hood can fully open, obstructing the driver's view and increasing the risk of a crash.
Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-012.
Campaign 24V554000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, side/window, thoraxApr 19, 2024
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling one 2024 Model 3 vehicle. The driver seat side air bag module was assembled without a deflector that directs gas flow during deployment.
Without a deflector, the air bag may deploy improperly, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Tesla service replaced the side air bag, free of charge. The affected vehicle was repaired April 12, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-13-001.
Campaign 24V284000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: other or unspecified
70 reports, newest first. Show all
Other or unspecified, Aug 15, 2024
Blinkers fail to activate intermittently.
Other or unspecified, Aug 9, 2024
Turn signal buttons on steering wheels. Place finger over turn signal toggle area continuously without pressing on the steering wheel for less than a minute or longer, unable to engage the turn signal after when pressing. Able to reliably and repeatedly replicate the event. Could be a hazard if unable to signal turn direction when needed.
Other or unspecified, Aug 7, 2024
The right turn signal button was disabled while highway driving. I tried pressing the top/bottom/left/right and center of the turn signal button and could not engage the right turn signal to indicate a lane change. Google search suggests this is a common issue for this model/year.
Other or unspecified, Aug 7, 2024
This vehicle lacks a stalk for turning signals. Instead, there are two buttons on the steering wheel that are used to activate the turning signals. When the steering wheel is far from its regular position (i.e. with the front wheels pointed straight ahead), it is difficult to quickly figure out where the buttons are and which is which. This is dangerous in avoidance maneuvers. It also makes using the signals difficult in other situations, such as roundabouts. I believe that this lack of a stalk will eventually lead to accidents as users will occasionally have to change lanes or turn without signaling because they can't quickly activate a turning signal.
Other or unspecified, Aug 6, 2024
The turn signal buttons on the steering wheel stick at random. It is extremely dangerous and doesn’t allow for communicating to other drivers when needing to quickly turn or merge. You also have to feel around for these buttons as they’re very small and are not user friendly. You often need to take your eyes off the road to find them, and it’s increasingly dangerous.
Other or unspecified, Aug 6, 2024
When I indicate to turn right, the indicator sometimes indicates to turn left. This happens randomly but approximately once every eight times that I indicate to turn right. I reported the issue to Tesla in April 2024 and they replaced the steering wheel to verify if there was a hardware issue. This did not fix the problem. Tesla Service then informed me that it was a known software issue and that I would have to wait for a software update to fix the problem. I have been waiting for four months but no software fix has been forthcoming. I took the car back to Tesla today, and they told me that they had no ETA on the software fix. This is a dangerous issue because if I indicate to go into a right hand lane and the car signals left, then another car can turn into me from the right hand lane, which has happened on one occasion.
Steering, Other or unspecified, Aug 5, 2024
The turn signal buttons on the wheel frequently fail to turn on the turn signals when pressed. It always seems like when I most need to use them, they fail. I already had the wheel replaced by tesla and was told "this is just how they are" To be clear, when I press the turn signal button on my steering wheel, it will feel like the button will not depress, the turn signal will not turn on, and attempting to lift my finger and place it in other locations to try to press the button will not enable the turn signal. Pushing extremely hard does not work either. It seems like I need to press the opposite direction turn signal button or randomly wait sometimes for it to resolve itself and for the turn signal buttons to work again
Other or unspecified, Jul 26, 2024
Turn signals are not reliable. They get stuck from time to time and I've already had a couple of close calls
Other or unspecified, Jul 25, 2024
In addition to the previous problem I reported concerning the intermittent failure of the back-up camera (which was replaced but the problem continues to this date) leading to Park Assist not working, the touch screen freezing and showing no movement of the car, and the speed control not working, I've also discovered on a freeway trip after putting the car into reverse first that navigation was not usable and the turn signals failed to automatically turn off when the lane change was made. After a rest stop, though, everything worked just fine again. This time I'm writing about the pedestrian warning sounds which do not play when reversing or driving forward at a slow rate of speed. Two of my neighbors have Tesla Model Ys that sound properly; it dawned on me that even with the windows open, I'd never heard the sounds coming out of my car since I took delivery of it on March 30, 2024.
Steering, Other or unspecified, Jul 18, 2024
The steering wheel buttons on the left include left/right signal indicators buttons that get stuck. This is a problem that is discussed by multiple drivers on online forums. Others are indicating that there isn’t a fix when reported to Tesla. The left/right indicator design is distracting at best and dangerous when not working properly. The approval of the design should be revoked.
Steering, Other or unspecified, Jul 18, 2024
Tesla removed the physical stalks for turn signals and replaced with buttons on the steering wheel that get stuck when pressed preventing you from indicating at all. Further, putting turn signals on a steering wheel means that the orientation can change when trying to indicate in any situation other than driving on a straight away. This is incredibly dangerous for the driver and other surrounding vehicles. There are numerous blog posts out there with similar driver experiences. Most people who report this issue also report that after Tesla replaces their wheel, the same problem happens again.
Steering, Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Jul 18, 2024
Occasionally the turn signal button cannot be pressed down to make a turn signal. This event has happened quite a few times during some urgent moments when I need to exit the highway and gives us a big concern. I heard from many other owners that Tesla just replace your steering wheel, but it dose not fix the problem. It is not because of pressing on the wrong area of the button. This should be a systematic issue.
Other or unspecified, Jul 16, 2024
The right turn blinker button on the steering wheel freezes in many occasions while the vehicle is in motion. Unable to signal right turn when the button freezes randomly. It happened four times to my vehicle during a 40 minute driving trip on Sunday [XXX]. Prior to the incident on [XXX], the same issue had occurred occasionally while driving but with less frequency compared to [XXX]. This issue was brought to the attention of Tesla service center in Syosset NY on [XXX] and I have been told that it was a firmware issue and there was nothing they could do at the moment other than waiting for firmware update. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Other or unspecified, Jul 13, 2024
Right turn signal doesn’t not work properly. I will press the button where the icon is and nothing happens. The issue is intermittent but apparently all model 3 2024s are affected and tesla doesn’t have a real fix, they’ve replaced peoples steering wheels and they have the same exact issue. It causes distraction and panic when the turn signal doesn’t work as expected. People are complaining on a ton of forums online here’s a link to a reddit post: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Other or unspecified, Jun 27, 2024
The new Tesla 3 Highland has eliminated the driving wheel stalks and in order to signal a turn, one has to press on one of two side-by-side areas of the steering wheel. After many years of pushing the stalks to indicate a turn, it's not easy to determine which part of the wheel to press to signal a turn or lane change. I have to look at the wheel to do this, which is clearly a safety issue. Better to have Tesla reprogram the wheel to have a left turn signal on the left side of the wheel and the right of the steering wheel to signal a right turn. The windshield wiper area of the wheel an be move to the left side and the right turn signal can go in its place . I assume that it's all computerized and after the coding done, Tesla can send out new decals to indicate the change on the wheel.
Other or unspecified, Jun 27, 2024
1. Blinker button trim/keycaps occasionally become physically stuck in the default (unpressed, open) position. Clicking the buttons at an angle sometimes remediates the issue but not consistently. As a result, the blinkers are physically inaccessible for lane changes. 2. The blinker buttons occasionally signal the incorrect way when depressed. For example, clicking the left signal results in a right-sided signal. Seems to also be a physical issue. These defects can be a hazard to other drivers because of improper use of blinker signals. Component has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer. Malfunctions have been occuring since receiving the vehicle and occurs seemingly at random.
Other or unspecified, Jun 13, 2024
This car has a new, unique design for activating turn signals. The right and left turn signals are buttons on the steering wheel. The buttons need to be pushed to activate the left or right turn indicators for the car. But the buttons do not work all the time. I thought it was a finger placement issue, but have confirmed it is not that. Instead, the buttons simply become stuck and cannot be depressed. This is very dangerous when I cannot signal to change lanes on the road or freeway, or signal to indicate when I will make turns. An Internet search has revealed this is a common problem for this vehicle model, according to various message boards.
Other or unspecified, Jun 13, 2024
The horn stops working after rain. Took the vehicle to Tesla and they stated that this was expected after heavy rain. This is a safety issue because you cannot honk to warn other vehicles or pedestrians as an issue issue, even after the rain until the whole thing dries out
Other or unspecified, Jun 10, 2024
I took delivery of my ordered 2024 Tesla Model 3 LR 3/30/2024. Later in the day when I put the car into reverse, I had no back-up view on the touch screen. When it occurred, it also froze the illustrated car on the touch screen when car was put into Drive. There was also no movement of the vehicle on the touch screen's map. After contacting Tesla two times and rebooting the touch screen, I was asked to do time stamps on the date and time when the problem occurred, which I did. The problem comes and goes which, in addition to the noted problems, also results in Park Assist being unavailable. I had an appt on Memorial Day to bring the car to my Service Center so it could figure out what the problem was. I was given a loaner older model Model 3 to use while it was in the shop. When I picked up the car, I was told it "may be" the rear-view camera, which was not in stock and had to be ordered. I was scheduled for a Mobile Service visit to have it installed while working from home the following week, which it was. Later in the day when I was going to the grocery store, I encountered the exact same problems after putting the car into reverse: no back-up view; frozen illustrated car on the touch screen; no movement on the right-side map; and no Park Assist availability. That evening (Friday, 6/07) I contacted my SC to let it know what happened, and asked "What's next?" I'm still awaiting a response. Today I contacted my SC by phone and was told to bring it in again, but that such appt would be weeks away. I contacted the Tesla Consumer Assistance # later this morning and was told it would contact my Service Center about expediting an appt; I'm to hear from it within 24 hours about setting an expedited appt. As of this writing, it's only been about 10 hours since my call. Hopefully I'll hear from the SC tomorrow morning. I'm very discouraged as I had hoped to show the car off in the coming weeks to friends and family and go on a mini-vacation. Nearly 2.5 months & counting.
Other or unspecified, May 13, 2024
The left and right turn signal indicator buttons gets stuck sometimes. But I noticed on my vehicle it is the left turn indicator button is the one gets stuck most. When it is stuck I cannot make left turn signal. Before I asked Tesla to fix it the issue happens every time on my 8 mile trip. After Tesla attempted to fix it it happens a lot less now but this could mean it can go worse as the component wears out. This can put me and others at risk as sometimes I get panicked and depending on the situation.