NHTSA has received 118 owner complaints about the 2025 Tesla Model 3, or 66.0 per year on the road — more complaints than typical (complaint index 1.64, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 86 model-year 2025 vehicles we track, it ranks #68 of 86 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Tesla models its rate is 11% higher; against other Electric vehicles it is 30% higher.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Complaints filed between 2024-11-06 and 2026-10-12. Median delay from incident to filing: 2 days.
118Complaints
66.0Complaints per year on the road
1.64Complaint index vs. all tracked vehicles
3Recalls
21.2%Share involving a crash or fire
57Last 12 months
Analysis
The previous model year (2024) drew 78.9 complaints per year, more than this one. The following model year (2026) drew 28.0 per year, fewer than this one.
The most common problem area is Driver-assist systems (21.2% of complaints), followed by Unspecified or other (19.5%) and Electrical (17.8%). Driver-assist systems complaints are 3.7 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 25 reports (21.2%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 9 injuries and 0 deaths.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 9 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was the first year (76% of incidents). In the last 12 months 57 new complaints were filed, versus 61 in the 12 months before — down 7%.
NHTSA lists 3 safety recalls for this model year. 4 NHTSA investigations cover this model year; the most recent is “FSD Collisions in Reduced Roadway Visibility Conditions” (engineering analysis, opened 2026-03-18, still open).
-Full Self-Driving (FSD) was engaged when my vehicle unexpectedly and abruptly deviated from its expected course and collided with a vehicle on the other side of the road.
Unspecified or other · 2026-09-16 · ODI 11764601 · Crash
While out on vacation in [XXX] on XXX at around 11 am I had just finished charging the Tesla at a supercharging station. I was headed to go eat breakfast at the intersection of [XXX] and XXX on the right lane.
Electrical · 2026-07-19 · ODI 11751359 · Crash
I am reporting concerns involving the high-voltage battery and battery management system (BMS) of my 2025 Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD.
Unspecified or other · 2026-10-12 · ODI 11770630
While driving on the interstate my passenger was attempting to connect their phone to the bluetooth when they accidentally selected the driver profile.
Other · 2026-09-19 · ODI 11765562
while waiting on left signal i changed my destination address when signal turned green car take straight on red signal .car is on fsd mode . happend on sep-19 at south ridding junction
Driver-assist systems · 2026-09-19 · ODI 11765570
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Summary: Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2025 Model 3 and 2026 Model Y vehicles. The battery pack contactors may fail, causing a loss of drive power.
Risk: A loss of drive power can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Tesla Service will replace the battery pack contactors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 9, 2025. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-25-16-005.
BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE Campaign 25V002000 · 2025-01-07
Summary: 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."
Risk: A rearview camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS Campaign 24V935000 · 2024-12-17 · Over-the-air fix
Summary: 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."
Risk: Driving with improperly inflated tires increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Engineering Analysis to evaluate Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta and Full Self Driving (Supervised) (collectively, FSD) degradation detection system. The focus of this investigation will be to assess the system’s ability, when encountering reduced roadway visibility conditions, to detect degradation and alert the driver with sufficient time …
Traffic safety violations while Full Self Driving ("FSD") is engagedOpen
The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) is opening this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety consequences of FSD executing driving maneuvers that constitute traffic safety violations. This investigation concerns versions of FSD that Tesla has labeled as "FSD (Supervised)" and "FSD (Beta)." Tesla characterizes FSD as an SAE Level 2 partial automation sy…
Compliance with Standing General Order 2021-01 Reporting RequirementsOpen
The Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) has identified numerous incident reports submitted by Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) in response to Standing General Order 2021-01 (the “SGO”), in which the reported crashes occurred several months or more before the dates of the reports. The majority of these reports involved crashes in which the Standing General Order in place at the time required a report to b…
Actually Smart Summon sessions resulting in low-speed impacts.Closed
On January 6, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation 24003 (PE24033) to investigate Actually Smart Summon (Summon) sessions resulting in crashes during active sessions. According to Tesla, Summon is a short-distance SAE Level 2 system, controlled by the user from a cell phone within a certain distance and intended for use in parking lots and on private prope…
