2019 TESLA MODEL 3 — Complaint #2173145
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION filed February 4, 2026
NHTSA complaint #2173145 (ODI reference 11715496) concerns a 2019 TESLA MODEL 3 and was filed on February 4, 2026. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 11, 2026. The report was geocoded to California based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension, 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 suspension 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 2019 TESLA MODEL 3 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
At approximately 30,000 miles, the front left suspension lateral link/control arm separated while driving due to a missing mounting fastener (bolt), resulting in sudden steering instability and abnormal front wheel movement. Vehicle handling became unpredictable and felt unsafe to control, creating risk of loss of steering control. I stopped driving immediately. There was no collision, curb strike, pothole, or road hazard at the time of the incident. No warning lights or messages appeared prior to the failure; it occurred suddenly without advance notice. Tesla Service inspected and confirmed the separation and missing fastener. Suspension components and the front subframe assembly were replaced â$4,400 out of pocket. Tesla documented they could not make a formal cause determination. The recovered bolt is intact and available for inspection upon request. Insurance also reviewed the incident and classified it as mechanical rather than collision-related. Because this involves a safet
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2173145 |
| ODI Number | 11715496 |
| Date Filed | February 4, 2026 |
| Failure Date | January 11, 2026 |
| VIN | 5YJ3E1EA6KF |
Similar SUSPENSION Complaints for 2019 TESLA MODEL 3
While driving, the front driver-side suspension collapsed due to a complete detachment of the front lower lateral link. The fastener (bolt) backed out entirely and fell onto the road/under-shield. Thi
I am reporting a safety defect involving a welded rear subframe component. The welded section snapped under normal driving conditions, and this is a safety-critical structural suspension component. T
After 3 prior repairs 2 of which were recalls of the front suspension, control arms. I was driving when me and my 3 childrenâs lifeâs were almost taken. While driving on the expressway immediate l
The two bolts that hold the front lower control arm on fell out (driver side). Luckily this happened when we were backing out of the driveway and not at speed. There were no warnings lights, just a
Lower lateral link , and front lower compliance link and upper control arm assembly all broken and needed repair. Tesla service shop confirmed lower links were broken on both side, causing major safe
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.