Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Tesla Model 3 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Car speed control malfunctioned. There was a sudden acceleration when car was below 10 miles in the parking lot. The driver lost control on braking and car keep accelerating even no force was applied to pedal. Dribe had to steer out of parking lot and crash through a wood en fence on next door neighbor. Car still keep going thru front yard of two houses cross the street and eventually hit a concrete barrier on front porch of the house. Several parts breakoff underneath the car , fluid leaked and all wheels are severely damage. Severy damage to front body side of the of the car and battery system , has occurred . There was near miss body injury to pedestrians in the area and neighbor hood. No physical injury was reported at the time of accident. but driver reported psychologycal distress. Currently CAR is towed away per Instruction from Insurance company for evaluation. …
My car left the road traveling at 60mph, and after leaving the road it was quickly approaching a metal pole. At this time it seemed that the breaks were not able to stop the vehicle. After totaling the car, and what I thought would be the loss of my life, my airbags did not deploy. To further explain the extent of the accident: the front bumper is destroyed, the hood is destroyed, the windshield is destroyed and caved in onto me, the roof was destroyed, the back glass was also destroyed, along with much more extensive damage to the build of the car. The pole involved in the accident came out of the ground and through the car. It is unfathomable how I am still alive with manageable injuries. Yet- no airbags. This could have ended much differently.
I was driving (~42 m/h) my Model 3 Tesla on a freeway and the traffic in front of me suddenly slowed down. The driver in front of me (she was a new driver with a new car) braked hard and came to a complete stop even though the traffic in front of her was moving. I ended up colliding with her as a result. I would have expected the Tesla Forward collision system or the Automatic Emergency Braking system to have activated and prevented this crash. Further, it seems Tesla brakes behave differently when it is fully charged as the engine braking does not engage. In fact the car seems to accelerate instead. If the Tesla Forward collision system and the AEB do not work and prevent such accidents, what is the point of having these systems?
I was at a stoplight behind a Toyota Tacoma. I must have stopped around 8 feet behind it. I was not using FSD and I was not one-pedal driving. My foot was on the brake. I must have been at a complete stop for approximately 10 seconds when my Model 3 suddenly accelerated full throttle on its own and rear ended the Tacoma, directly hitting its trailer hitch, causing my car's driver-side airbags to deploy. When it happened, the light was still red and my foot was still on the brake. I never touched the accelerator. Luckily I was driving alone. After the inital contact, my car sort of bounced off of his hitch then slowly lurched forward before it stopped. After that, it was immobile, leaving me stuck in traffic until it was towed away.
Sudden Unintended Acceleration: While pulling forward onto our driveway (with incline) at a very slow speed, the car suddenly accelerated and brake was not working. Automatic emergency braking also failed.
Our model 3 was purchased with Tesla's "full self driving (FSD)" software installed in 2018. Throughout our entire ownership period, whenever FSD is active, there are specific locations known to us - mostly at certain points on freeways - where the car will "phantom brake," in other words suddenly decelerate the vehicle very rapidly and require *immediate* driver intervention. For instance, there is a freeway interchange ramp that passes under a bridge and doglegs to the left. The car will always phantom brake about 200 feet before it reaches the bridge. This has been happening for years, and we've reported this defect and this specific location to Tesla many times. There are other locations known to us as consistent phantom brake triggers, but there are of course times where this occurs when we are not expecting it as well, and that's when it's most dangerous. …
The car brakes by it and accelerates by it. Some time it says I am not holding the steering wheel and it cancels the autopilot in the middle of the long distance driving. The defective cabin camera does not see the hand position at all and randomly keeps on distracting from the front road view to the screen which is not in the same line as the road. Too many errors of auto pilot are very frustrating and distracting. The Tesla's team tries to repair something and keeps on blaming their own departments not to fix things correctly. I have tried many times to make an appointment thru their app which is very buggy and it's like one way communication. I have multiple recalls on my car but they don't have time or parts to fix it. They will not allow making any weekend or within 20 mile radius service center. …
My Tesla got stuck in a McDonald's drive-through because the EPB (Electronic Park Break) refused to disengage. I believe it got stuck as the vehicle was pulling up to the window to pay and I had to reach out with my phone to tap their payment terminal to use Apple Pay. Then the park brake engaged I believe because I possibly lifted up from my seat, yet had my foot on the brake, but when I put it into drive, it refused to disengage. So my car got stuck for about an hour until we force skidded it out of the drive way. Now I've been stuck at this McDonald's parking lot for days, unable to drive it to get repaired or charged. Tesla Temecula refuses to schedule service and canceled the service appointment. Other further away Tesla Service Centers want to charge me hundreds of dollars for diagnosis that I don't have. This is the 2nd time the park break got stuck. …
Main incident: Time: 2025-08-28 ~12:41 PM PST What happened: After searching for a parking space, the driver was preparing to reverse into the spot, the driver pressed up the stalk to shift the gear into reverse, a sound was heard and something showed up on the screen, the vehicle once again started accelerating and running forward suddenly and sharply (3 mph to 28 mph in 3 secs), driver tried to steer the vehicle away from cars and buildings to minimize danger, the car rushed onto a concrete curb, hit one blue Tesla, then hit the side of a concrete utility pole, and ran over a plant and last crashed into the chain-link french before it finally stops Injuries: * Spine pain for one passenger Damages: ** All tires blown out, tire falls off ** Severe damages throughout the vehicle body * One Tesla parked on the parking lot was severely damaged * The utility pole's base box was scraped and …
As others have reported, please add my 2018 Model 3 to the list of reports of the vehicle having constant phantom breaking issues that Telsa needs to address. I'm glad you are conducting this investigation. Most times phantom breaking occurs I submit a "Bug Report" using the voice button in the car that sends car logs directly to Tesla so they will have records of these phantom breaking issues at the exact time and location my car experienced it. While it is random it also is very predicable at certain spots on highways I drive in the Bay Area. Namely 680 South in the HOV lane right before the Mission Blvd. exit. At least 90% of the time even I'm the only car in that stretch of road the car breaks hard for no reason. …
Brake complaints in other Model 3 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2018 Tesla Model 3?
NHTSA has 89 complaints about the brakes of the 2018 Tesla Model 3, 9% of the model year's 1,032 complaints. The component named most often is electrical (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2018 Tesla Model 3 brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2018 Tesla Model 3, though it has 19 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2018 Tesla Model 3 brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 5,000 miles, and 79% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 19 crashes, 0 fires and 5 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.