2018 TESLA MODEL 3 — Complaint #1940679
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE filed November 3, 2023
NHTSA complaint #1940679 (ODI reference 11553466) concerns a 2018 TESLA MODEL 3 and was filed on November 3, 2023. The owner reports the failure occurred on October 3, 2021. The vehicle had 58,900 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to California based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as air bags: air bag/restraint control module:software, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same TESLA MODEL 3 cohort independently describe similar air bags: air bag/restraint control module:software failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2018 TESLA MODEL 3 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the Front Passenger Safety Restraint System (FPSRS) fault warning illuminated. The contact continued driving and later contacted the manufacturer. The contact was advised by the manufacturer that he had the option to repair the Safety Restraint System by a mobile technician or the vehicle could be driven to a dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the Restraint System fault warning failure was intermittent at first but had become a recurring failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to the FPSRS wiring located under the seats, which was being damaged by the seat auto adjustment feature. The seat adjustment feature moved both seats to an upright and back position to allow ease of entry of the driver and passenger. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,900.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1940679 |
| ODI Number | 11553466 |
| Date Filed | November 3, 2023 |
| Failure Date | October 3, 2021 |
| VIN | 5YJ3E1EB8JF |
Similar AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE Complaints for 2018 TESLA MODEL 3
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.