2018 Tesla Model 3 window and wiper problems

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Incident / Safety Defect Summary: A certified Tesla mobile service technician improperly calibrated the low-beam headlights on my 2018 Tesla Model 3, causing a severe reduction in forward night visibility and creating an immediate roadway crash hazard in direct violation of FMVSS 108 illumination standards. Detailed Description of the Safety Failure: Improper Calibration Environment: The technician attempted to perform the headlight alignment procedure inside a closed residential garage with approximately 12 inches of clearance between the front bumper and the garage door. Standard automotive and manufacturer procedures require either a level 25-foot standoff from an aiming target or a dedicated optical aiming tool. At 12 inches, optical beam geometry and cutoff steps cannot be evaluated. Extreme Downward Misadjustment: The technician bypassed standard cutoff alignment and manually adjusted both headlights down to their absolute lowest mechanical limit using the vehicle interface. Safety Impact: The usable beam throw is now restricted to only a few feet in front of the vehicle's bumper. At standard driving speeds, especially during early morning and nighttime commutes, the vehicle completely overdrives the low beams, rendering road hazards, lane markings, and pedestrians invisible until impact is imminent. Manufacturer Failure to Triage Safety Rework: When reported to Tesla Service as an urgent safety-critical failure caused directly by their technician, the service center refused immediate safety triage/rework and scheduled resolution days out, leaving an unsafe vehicle in service.

NHTSA complaint #11758477 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

After downloading Tesla’s update (no. 2025.44.25.4) software my heater (with the window defrost functionality) in winter stopped operating. I made my update while at my nearest Tesla service compound (location verifiable per system location log) on 01/25/26 when that same day software began throwing HVAC error codes with blowing cold air, when previously my heat ran well. This is not coincidental; this is system design failure.

NHTSA complaint #11714886 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The front and rear windshields of my Tesla Model 3 developed long cracks requiring full replacement. For over six months, I have been unable to complete these replacements due to repeated failures in the replacement process. The vehicle and damaged glass are available for inspection upon request. My insurance claim was filed with Esurance, and Safelite AutoGlass, Esurance’s designated auto glass provider, has handled all replacement attempts. During this period, three shipments of glass arrived damaged and two shipments were the incorrect glass for my vehicle, resulting in canceled or rescheduled appointments. Safelite has documentation of these failed attempts. Driving with cracked front and rear windshields puts my safety and the safety of others at risk. The damage impairs visibility, especially in rain or low-light conditions, and compromises windshield integrity, which is critical for vehicle structural support and proper airbag deployment. The rear windshield damage also raises concerns about sudden glass failure while driving. The issue has been reproduced and confirmed multiple times by Safelite AutoGlass, an independent service center. While waiting for service, I personally spoke with several other Tesla Model 3 owners at Safelite locations who reported similar experiences, including multiple failed appointments, incorrect glass, and in some cases incorrect installations requiring return visits. This suggests a broader, systemic issue rather than an isolated incident. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times by Safelite AutoGlass, and the issue is documented through Esurance claim records and follow-up complaints I submitted regarding the prolonged lack of resolution. Tesla has not directly inspected the vehicle. There were no warning lights or system alerts prior to the issue. The problem presented as visible cracks that appeared and progressively worsened, prompting replacement attempts beginning approximately six months ago.

NHTSA complaint #11714297 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The center display (Vehicle Pad) on my 2018 Tesla Model 3 went completely blank while driving. This eliminated access to all vital driving information including the speedometer, gear selection, and safety indicators. Safety Concern: Without visible speed data and wipers the vehicle cannot be operated safely or legally. I attempted to reboot the system and power cycle the vehicle but the screen still failed.

NHTSA complaint #11694004 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

1. PTC Heater, old part is available for inspection 2. PTC heater failed while driving, experienced loss of power and slow loss of secondary electrical systems (the 12v battery was not able to recharge itself with the PTC heater not functioning). When attempting to restart car after pulling into a parking lot, the entire car died (12V battery was drained so it couldn't start up) and had to get towed to Tesla service center. PTC heater is critical for car to operate as it is closely linked to 12V battery. Additionally, without PTC heater car cannot defog windshield, resulting in potentially poor visibility. 3. Dealer replaced the defective part (PTC heater) and had to replace 12V battery as well. Was not covered under warranty and I had to pay the cost out of pocket. 4. Inspected by manufacturer and replaced. 5. Got warning signs about reduced power available, and secondary electrical features were limited.

NHTSA complaint #11652498 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

1. There is an open recall since Dec 2021 (21V-00D) which Tesla has still not fixed! 2. The automatic wiper system on the car is unsafe as it takes a long time to activate when its raining, and sometimes it activates without any rain!

NHTSA complaint #11591900 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

On automatic setting, windshield wipers are erratic. Rain can be heavy and wipers don't engage. Requires manually operating wipers that are supposed to engage when windshield becomes wet from atmospheric rain.

NHTSA complaint #11567634 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Live in Atlanta that seldom we get frost. We had an event in December and noticed my rear defroster would not defrost killing rear visibility. Got Tesla to check if connected which it is but doesn't work. They blamed the ceramic tint that was recently installed. Took car to film installer and he showed me how my car's rear window never had any embedded wire, just painted lines that do not heat up. Showed me newer tesla model 3's and showed how Tesla seems to have changed the design and you could feel the defroster wiring so seems I never got defroster wires. Going back to Tesla. All documented in you tube from statement from Tesla glass installer and film installer. Search for xpel vs Tesla defroster in youtube. My glass was recently replaced by tesla ln December 2022. Noticed the problem the first day we had frost in Atlanta

NHTSA complaint #11565231 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

I got into my car and turned on the climate control as normal. The vehicle is always parked in the garage. It was blowing cold air, no matter the temperature setting, or vent selection. There is a message on screen that reads “climate keeper unavailable due to system fault.” It’s not just that the cabin has no heat, which is uncomfortable, but terrible in much colder climates than mine. The heat not functioning means the defrost feature is useless. Water sprayed onto my windshield while driving this morning and froze! It stayed frozen because I didn’t have a functioning defroster or a warm enough cabin to melt it off that way either. It’s a known issue for Tesla’s, particularly with Model 3s. Tesla has never done anything to rectify it. My car has a resistive heat system, and this is the first time this has happened to me. There was no warning or indication this would happen. Non working in cabin heat may not be a direct safety flaw, but not being able to defrost my windshield for proper visibility while driving is!

NHTSA complaint #11564550 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Recently I noticed that the automatic windshield wipers are completely non-functional on my vehicle. Windshield wipers can still be turned on manually and work normally as expected in all speeds in manual control mode. But in auto control mode, they simply don't turn on at all, even in very heavy rain. This is critical because when driving the vehicle in Autopilot mode or Full-Self-Driving mode, the vehicle automatically puts the windshield wipers in auto control mode and the driver cannot change them to manual mode. So when driving using Autopilot in the rain, the windshield wipers just stay completely off all the time, even when Autopilot is displaying warning messages about severe weather. I contacted Tesla support about this and Tesla support immediately responded that this is a known issue and should be corrected via over-the-air update soon, but no ETA available.

NHTSA complaint #11561120 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The only cabin heating and defrosting mechanism in early model 3s, a PTC heater, is prone to failure leaving the vehicle without the ability to maintain clear vision through the front and side windows. This occurred on my model 3 in November of 2023 and Tesla was unable to source parts for several weeks, with a cost of $900. This failure is extremely common among model 3 in cold weather environments and is well documented online.

NHTSA complaint #11561206 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Software bug for sure. When car is in autopilot the windshield wipers start and cannot be turned off. This occurrs when the windshield is clean , not raining. The wiper off virtual switches cannot be turned off and the only option is to switch from auto to 1 to slow the wipers. If the car is not in autopilot the issue doesn’t not occur and the wipers operate as they should.

NHTSA complaint #11534038 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

I’ve called twice for Tesla to fix the part for this recall. They tell me they won’t fix because I have an aftermarket truck opener. The back up camera works sometimes but not all times.

NHTSA complaint #11528564 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The issue is with autostart, enhanced auto pilot and lane departure warning. I paid for Enhanced auto pilot. This car totally relies on cameras. 1. In the slightest occurrence of rain, it complains about one or more cameras malfunctioning or out of vision. This doesn't happen often in Full Self Driving version. For early adopters of Model3 FSD, manufacturer updated the cameras. However they did not do that for early Enhanced Autopilot customers. 2. For the same reason, on a 3 lane or more highway, on autopilot when one moves from speed most lane and if there is a truck on the slowest lane, the camera shows somehow that the truck is on the middle lane when it is not, and hence the software assumes an impending crash and pulls you back to the speed most lane, giving no time for anyone behind you to think anyone, and leaves yourself in a dumbfounded state. 3. Without the upgraded cameras, Autopilot is prone to accidents. 4. Car tent to automatically brake when sun directly shines on the driver or there is a bridge in front of you while on autopilot. I believe this has something to do with the older version of cameras.

NHTSA complaint #11512084 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's and passenger's side door panels made clicking sounds while the windows were rolling up and down. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA complaint #11511188 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The rear view camera in our Model 3 stopped working in April 2022. This is a known problem related to NHTSA Recall Number 21V-00D, which was issued in December 2021. It has been over a year & Tesla is still waiting for parts to become available to perform the repairs for this recall. Although our car is still drivable, it is very difficult to use Tesla’s Superchargers since they require the car to be backed into the parking space.

NHTSA complaint #11511090 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Tesla recently pushed out a significant software update version 2023.2.12. Like a similar software upgrade last year, the upgrade wipes out all user profiles and rearranges control settings. The sudden change makes it hard to find simple and necessary control features of the car. The driver is significantly distracted trying to find where the new controls are. Some are hidden. Some are no longer visible. Software update is inherently unsafe especially for older drivers. In addition, the controls panel font is so small that many of the controls cannot be seen by older drivers. We have complained to Tesla that this is inherently unsafe and poses a risk to motor vehicle safety. No response.

NHTSA complaint #11510184 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Heating has malfunctioned and car will not warm up defrost windows in snow storm. This happened shortly after charging the tesla at a supercharger and the car also seemed to suddenly require a software update. Having performed the update and reboot, the heat has not fixed. The weather is currently 14f and the car is essentially undrivable in the recent snow storms due to no heat. The system will blow air but this will not melt accumulating ice. Unsafe and random.

NHTSA complaint #11508964 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The electrochromic rearview mirror will not significantly darken or dim. There is no way to make the mirror less reflective. The vehicle is designed to automatically simultaneously darken the rearview and sideview mirrors at night. The sideview mirrors darken properly* but the rearview mirror only very slightly changes color and does not noticeably reduce reflected light. This appears to be a manufacturing defect with the mirror. From what I understand about how electrochromic mirrors work, I believe there is likely a slight misalignment within the layers of the mirror that result in the mirror providing less than acceptable contrast. I have another Tesla with the exact same mirror and it works as intended. According to various internet message boards, many Tesla owners have the same and the opposite problem (mirror gets too dark). This would lead me to believe this is due to lack of quality control during the mirrors' manufacture. This lack of functionality requires me to suffer temporary blindness (Troxler Effect) caused by the intense reflection of headlights of the vehicles behind me. My only remedy is to reposition the mirror such that the mirror becomes useless for its intended purpose. This defect has existed since I purchased the vehicle new in September, 2018. There are no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms associated with the defect. I reported this to Tesla multiple times. Tesla technicians inspected and tested the mirror on at least two separate occasions during daytime hours. Both times the technicians stated that the mirror appeared to work properly but the technicians were unable to replicate the issue because the vehicle will only darken the mirrors after sunset. *This is also problematic because the mirrors should also darken on dark, rainy, overcast days when the vehicles behind me are using their headlights. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA complaint #11508312 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Many states like Florida have a law that headlights need to be on when it is raining, My Tesla has automatic wipers that come on when it senses rain, when this happens, it should also turn on headlights for safety reasons but it does not, they need to be turned on manually, the car does also have automatic headlights, but the automatic headlights on the car only work when it gets dark in the evening. This is a simple programming change that Tesla could do, my repeated requests to Tesla to address this in the app has done nothing, that’s why I’m requesting you force Tesla to do this. Makes sense right?

NHTSA complaint #11507937 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Number 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention), 22V702000 (Visibility), and 22V798000 (Seat Belts) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The local Service Center was contacted and confirmed that the parts were 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 the failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA complaint #11507879 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

After software update 2022.44.30 PTC heating failed. No warning lights, just failure to keep cabin warm.

NHTSA complaint #11505777 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The automatic wiper does not always work. Set to auto but despite poor visibility on the windshield, it failed to start until I manually adjusted the wiper control on the screen. With poor visibility and having to look at the infotainment screen to adjust wiper while vehicle is in motion, my safety was put at risk. Every time it rains, the auto wiper is unreliable and often fails to start or is too slow to start as if there is a huge delay and does not keep up with in heavy rain as it sometimes wipes too slow and I have to look at the screen to find the settings for the wiper to manually override the wiping speed. Also, the adaptive cruse control accelerates too aggressively at stop and go traffic causing hard braking by the car and I worry this will cause rear end collisions. The blind spot side cameras are unusable at night when turn signal is on as the light blinds the camera image and can’t see anything from it, multiple visits to service center and they told me it is normal and refuse to replace but this cannot be normal as the image from the camera is blinded by the turn signal.

NHTSA complaint #11502514 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2018 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 not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that recently the rearview camera intermittently flickered while in use. The failure mileage was 49,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA complaint #11502200 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the front driver's side and passenger's side windows failed to operate as needed intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Tesla Service Center where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Additionally, the contact stated that he had been receiving notifications on the center display indicating that the visual ability of the camera on the front driver's side of the vehicle was faulty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA complaint #11498146 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while attempting to roll up the windows, the windows failed to respond as needed. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA complaint #11497456 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention) however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA complaint #11495356 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V702000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA complaint #11494431 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Water/liquid entering cabin from behind glovebox. Potentially affecting computer and other electronics. Also could affect the AC system and its intake air filtering. Possibly adding mold growth due to the excess moisture entering from the outside. When it rains, the water will gush through into the front passenger’s feet on occasion. This is possibly from pooling water in the intake within the front trunk. When activating the air conditioning in the car after sitting in the rain, it will spill over into the front passenger’s mat. This issue could additionally damage the floor with rust over time if a weather proof mat is not in place. Tesla Service will charge the customer when out of warranty, even though this is an issue that should not occur in any vehicle. Thank you. P.S. photos of puddling water taken from a video made during the occurrence of the issue

NHTSA complaint #11494242 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the Back Over Prevention camera intermittently failed to operate as needed. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V00D000 (Electrical System, Visibility, Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was taken to the service center where the back-up camera cable was reinforced as stated in the recall. Upon return of the vehicle, the contact stated that the back-up camera failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the dealer had not tested the cable and that the recall repair did not fix the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that since the failure was intermittent prior to the failure, they were not responsible for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000. The contact stated that the manufacturer had made a mistake and refunded the cost to the contact. The complaint has been resolved.

NHTSA complaint #11487871 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.