Recalls, complaints, and safety data from NHTSA
The 2021 Tesla Model 3 has 21 recalls, 645 complaints, and a 5-star overall safety rating from NHTSA.
21
Recalls
645
Complaints
★★★★★
Safety Rating
Data source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) · Last updated July 3, 2026
22V037000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING:SOFTWARE
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. The "rolling stop" functio...
21V834000
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2021, 2023 Model 3 vehicles. The left and/or right side curtain air bag may have been improperly secure...
21V835000
SUSPENSION:CRITICAL FASTENERS
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Model Y and 2019-2021 Model 3 vehicles. The front suspension lateral link fasteners may loosen, al...
22V045000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. The audible chime may not ...
21V387000
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Model 3 and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles. The brake caliper bolts may be loose, allowing the brake c...
21V846000
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Model S, Model 3, Model X, and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles operating software version 2021.36.5.2. ...
22V050000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Model 3, Model S, Model X, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A software error may cause a valve in t...
22V063000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model S, Model X, Model Y, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to b...
22V235000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model Y, Model X, Model S, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to b...
22V263000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Model 3 Performance vehicles. The unit of speed (mph or km/h) may fail to display on the speedomet...
22V317000
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Model 3 and 2021 Model Y vehicles. The fisheye and narrow camera cable terminals were incorrectly ...
22V702000
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2022 Model 3, 2020-2022 Model Y, and 2021-2022 Model S and Model X vehicles. The window automatic rever...
22V798000
SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:ANCHORAGE
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The second-row left seat belt buckle and second-row center seat belt anchor may...
23V085000
STEERING:AUTOMATED/ADAPTIVE STEERING
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016-2023 Model S, Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving...
23V838000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING:SOFTWARE
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2023 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with all versions of...
24V051000
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2023 Model S, 2016-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, 2019-2024 Model Y, and 2024 Cybertruck vehicles. An...
24V153000
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS:EXTERNAL/PEDESTRIAN ALERT
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2013, 2018-2021 Model S, 2020-2021 Model X, 2018-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A factory res...
24V376000
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WARNING LIGHT/DEVICES
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2024 Model S, 2015-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. In the event of an ...
24V554000
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH
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 det...
24V935000
TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3, and 2020-2025 Model Y vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system (TPM...
26V283000
BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017, 2021-2023 Model 3, 2020-2023 Model Y, 2021-2023 Model S, and Model X vehicles operating software versio...
Overall
★★★★★
Front Crash
★★★★★
Side Crash
★★★★★
Rollover
★★★★★
Rating for: 2021 Tesla Model 3 4 DR RWD Later Release
| Date ↓ | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 2026 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving my car on full self driving. I press the brake to stop full self driving the car immed... |
| Jun 21, 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The outside part of the glove box is coming off. It could prevent air bags from working properly. It... |
| Jun 4, 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | This is my fourth high voltage battery failure on this vehicle. Battery replacements occurred at app... |
| May 30, 2026 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | BMS_a079 error. Battery is no longer able to charge. High voltage battery will need to be replaced. ... |
| May 18, 2026 | SEAT BELTS | The driver-side seat belt buckle/receptacle failed during normal use. There was no collision, impact... |
| May 7, 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2021 M3 138,000 miles Alerted error code BMS_a074 & BMS_a079 After reading forums, this seems to be ... |
| May 1, 2026 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The forward-facing camera and Autopilot computer system on my 2021 Tesla Model 3 has failed. The das... |
| Apr 29, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | My RWD motor completely went out and lost power on the highway off ramp. Could have turned into a da... |
| Apr 24, 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was set to Self-Dri... |
| Apr 24, 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I am filing a complaint regarding my inability to receive a safety recall remedy without first payin... |
| Apr 20, 2026 | LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Component/System Failure: Total failure of the Autopilot ECU (DAS Computer) and the Front-End Module... |
| Apr 20, 2026 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When using the cruise control or self driving function the car will, unprovoked, brake suddenly and ... |
| Apr 18, 2026 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When using cruise control, there has been 4 times that the car has engaged in “phantom braking”. We... |
| Mar 23, 2026 | AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The components involved are the automatic emergency braking (AEB) system and the airbag system. Duri... |
| Feb 23, 2026 | SEAT BELTS | - The rear middle seatbelt became locked and will not unwind or extend. The seatbelt remained stuck ... |
| Feb 13, 2026 | POWER TRAIN | HVAC system which provides cooling/heating for all the systems including the powertrain, battery, in... |
| Feb 3, 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The vehicle is undriveable due to a high‑voltage enable safety lockout triggered by ECU identity/MAC... |
| Jan 30, 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Full self driving system (fsd) has ran a red light twice. It slows almost to a stop then takes off. |
| Jan 20, 2026 | BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The rear camera malfunctions intermittently and causes other errors to happen, like Automatic emerge... |
| Jan 14, 2026 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | HVAC system went out at 7500ish miles. It was repaired under warranty, and a "fix" was administered... |