2020 Tesla Model 3 Electrical problems

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the safety features independently deactivated. The contact purchased and replaced the battery. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with ECU failure. The contact was informed that the ECU needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that an unknown software update was completed in June 2026. In addition, the contact stated that the unknown software update caused the...

I was operating my Tesla with Full Self-Driving (FSD) engaged when the incident occurred. I was turning right onto [[redacted]] from [[redacted]] and was positioned in the left right-turn lane approaching a railroad crossing. The railroad crossing gates were already fully lowered, indicating an approaching train. Despite the lowered crossing gates, the vehicle accelerated forward into the crossing rather than stopping. The vehicle drove through the lowered crossing gate, which struck and shattered the windshield....

The wiring in my trunk harness was severed due to the repeated opening and closing of my trunk. This caused my reverse lights to fail and my trunk latch to stop working. This issue is part of a known recall: Campaign 21V-00D. Tesla attempted to fix the issue in 2023 but the poor repair did not work. I took my Tesla to the dealer and they refused to remedy the issue unless I would pay $1300. I persuaded them to lower the feet to $300 but still feel that I should not pay anything because this issue was due to the recall.

The screen (which controls all functions of the vehicle) starts to go haywire. It's almost like there is a phantom touching the screen and pressing buttons. The screen will start zooming in and out - changing your navigation destination. The air controls will turn on full blast and then you are unable to shut them off because the screen will not respond. It becomes a giant distraction to the driver (imagine a screen that large malfunctioning) and tesla does not think this is a safety issue. We reported it to...

My Tesla Model 3 was brought to Tesla Princeton Service Center on February 27, 2025 for a 12V battery replacement. During the service visit, Tesla also replaced the rear glass, citing the rear defroster as the root cause of the battery drain - a repair that was added without prior discussion and increased the total invoice from an original estimate of $180 to a final charge of $1,730. Upon picking up the vehicle, the rear backup camera, blind spot cameras, navigation system, Sentry Mode, and windshield wiper sensor...

After loading our two children ages 2 and 5 in to vehicle and securing in car seats, the car doors were closed and would not reopen. The children were unable to open the doors themselves. The trunk and other entries did not open. There was no obvious way to open the doors or the issue the car was experiencing. The battery cover would not open. Eventually after I searched the Internet I determined that the 12V battery died (no warning whatsoever, doors worked before loading children) and this caused all occupants to...

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the trunk became inoperable. The contact stated that the trunk latch failed to open when the trunk release was engaged using the mobile application, the instrument panel, or the trunk release button. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed. The contact was informed by the dealer...

Software update was pushed onto my car, after the update the car autopilot ECU no longer works. When the ECU finally failed these features were stuck or are completely broken/not working: - Auto dim rear view mirrors (these were stuck in dim mode, preventing me from seeing in rain or darkened environments such as at night or under shade, 0% visibility under these conditions when changing lanes or reversing) - Rear view camera completely stopped functioning, as did all cameras on the car - Forward collision...

Car radio goes so loud it damaged my ear nerves. This results in pain especially when exposed to loud sounds

Back and buttocks area suffered electrical burns and pain from Tesla Seat Heaters (in heated seats) twice 1. Happened in 2024 on temperature level 3 2 Although I turned it down it happened again in 2025 on temperature level 2

My Motor Control Unit failed. No reason given by Tesla Service Center. It simply just died. They cannot find a reason, and they also said I didn't do anything to cause the MCU to fail. Service Center agrees this is a rare event. Likely got a really faulty MCU to start with. I bought my car in 2020, so just over 4 years later my MCU died.

Found the front body controller to be internally faulted

The Tesla is reflecting an error "DIR_a126" that is reducing the speed below the speed limit and with no rhyme or reason. Tesla services are not available and the problem is intermittent. Additionally, based on research it is found to not have consistent resolutions and reasonings

I am still waiting for tesla to make this repair. I have contacted a service center several times and tried to make an appointment once. Tesla cancelled the appointment and keeps telling me they have not received the parts to make the repair. It has been over a year and a half since tesla announced the recall and it has failed to repair my car. My understanding is that the harness can short out and cause a fire.

Braking and Stopping - Braking system - Improperly functioning braking systems. I experienced a problem with the brake pedal, brake calipers, and/or any component of a Model 3 braking system. "Model 3 has an anti-lock braking system (ABS) that prevents the wheels from locking when you apply maximum brake pressure. This improves steering control during heavy braking in most road conditions...Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking do not operate when driving at very low speeds (see Collision...

The Rear Drive Unit of our Tesla failed on our Tesla Model 3 2020 (2 years at the time of incident). It is no longer available for inspection as it was replaced by Tesla. We had our drive unit fail for our 2020 M3 driving in the middle of what is considered one of the most dangerous freeways in [[redacted]] . After all the warnings came online, we had 30 seconds before the entire car stopped. Of the warnings (Power Reduced, Acceleration and Top Speed Reduced, Automatic Emergency Breaking is Disabled) there was no...

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving 75 MPH at night with self-driving assist mode, the auto high beams lights engaged three times within 20 seconds. The contact stated that the driver ahead of him then decelerated and veered to the side of the road because it appeared that the contact was sending him an alert through the activation of the high beams. Additionally, the contact was pulled over by a Police Officer. The contact stated that the auto high beam feature was...

On August 2, 2023 at 0400, the Tesla M3 was charging in the garage using a home charger. Smoke indicative of an electrical fire likely originated from the vehicle and eventually triggered a smoke alarm in the kitchen. The driver was unaware the source of the smoke was the Tesla, disconnected the Tesla and moved it out of the house to protect the vehicleb assuming a fire was in the house, and called firefighters who searched the home without success for a source of the fire. The driver now believes the Tesla was the...

12v battery failed without warning. Car was parked. Was unresponsive. Could not unlock the car. Able to open trunk and passenger side door only. Drivers side would not open. Touchscreen black no power to Do anything car essentially dead with no warning. There should have been on screen display informing driver of the need to replace 12v battery. There was none. Car needed to be towed. If this has happened while we were in the car we would have been locked in. Tow operator jumped the battery to open...

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

I got a "power reduced dir_a126" error code that limited my speed to 55 mph. This is dangerous on the highway as 55 mph is significantly under 70 mph and cars were almost rear ending me.

Left headlight blinker and windshield wiper not working. Happened twice once in 2022 and now. Repaired once in 2022 and when happens is dangerous because can't signal and can't use wipers in the rain

The problem is my car has been in the shop six times for an issue that Tesla claims it is unable to fix. I started smelling a burning smell (smoke coming from my air vents anytime the air is on) and brought it in. The first three times they were unable to find anything the fourth time they noticed debris That was embedded in the heating fins. They replaced that unit. The fifth/sixth time they actually took the HVAC unit out and noticed the entire plastic underneath was melted and warped. Since the smell has...

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated he was not able to operate the rear windows in the vehicle. The contact referenced his concerns about regulation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard: 571-6; not allowing him to open or close the rear windows. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure through the App. The failure mileage was approximately 44,300.

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed on the highway, the vehicle was experiencing phantom braking. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving at various speeds with the cruise control or while using the autonomous self-driving feature. The contact stated that the battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.