2021 Tesla Model 3 Fuel system Problems

BMS_a079 error. Battery is no longer able to charge. High voltage battery will need to be replaced. Basically rendering the vehicle useless unless the battery is replaced.

NHTSA ID

11741063

Incident

May 30, 2026

The vehicle is undriveable due to a high‑voltage enable safety lockout triggered by ECU identity/MAC mismatch after a software/update window; local service instructed me to ‘safely disregard’ active safety alerts contrary to vehicle telemetry, creating a safety risk. Chronology (key timestamps) • Jan 28, 2026 — Low‑voltage undervoltage precondition recorded (DIF_a018). • Feb 2nd, 2026 — Low‑voltage undervoltage precondition recorded (DIF_a018). • Feb 03, 2026 08:46 — Identity/MAC invalidation alerts (CP_a089 / CP_a077); HV‑enable blocked cascade. • Feb 24, 2026 — Service app: estimate approval prompt; supervisor instruction to ‘safely disregard’ active HV alerts captured via screenshot. • Feb 27, 2026 — Persistent handshake stall (CP_a066, State B1) despite ‘successful’ software job and new firmware update to patch the 2026.2 tree branch software. Vehicle remains grounded. Safety Concern Vehicle telemetry states HV contactors are blocked to protect the vehicle; service staff advised to disregard active alerts. Inconsistent guidance risks unsafe operation. I grounded the vehicle pending engineering review. Troubleshooting and A/B Tests My home EVSEs successfully charge a different Tesla (Model Y). The subject VIN charges at DC fast charging (Supercharger) and once on a third‑party EVSE, but fails on my two home EVSEs thereafter. This localizes the issue to vehicle‑side AC charge path/charge‑port logic rather than the EVSE. Request OEM to provide CP waveform under load + Toolbox logs. Please log this safety‑related defect; aggregate with similar complaints, and, if appropriate, open an investigation into identity/integrity faults causing HV‑enable lockouts and conflicting service guidance

NHTSA ID

11721572

Incident

Feb 3, 2026

I have been very cautious on charging my Tesla Model 3 and have followed all of the manufacturer's recommendations. The HV battery recently failed at 105,050 miles. South Korea has noted a battery reliability issue for this year car and model, so I am reporting this to you so if a recall is needed, you can track this. I believe my battery is a Panasonic NCA.

NHTSA ID

11698493

Incident

Nov 9, 2025

My 2021 Tesla Model 3 shuts/powers down WITHOUT warning while driving with a battery charge >0%. This unsafe event has occurred twice now! While the battery gauge displayed 10%, I was driving about 60mph when all of these warning messages appeared prompting me to pull over. As soon as these messages displayed, my car lost all propulsion and I was left stranded in the middle of the road. Both times I narrowly avoided being hit by other vehicles traveling at high speeds since my car died in the roadway. The car was towed to Tesla on both occasions, and they weren't concerned about my safety issue in the slightest. Instead, they said the battery just ran out; however my car displayed that I had about 6-10% charge remaining. So, if the battery were completely depleted (like Tesla says), then the meter should have displayed a 0% reading at the time of the breakdowns or, there is something defective with the battery/computer. Tesla service has refused to investigate the cause of the safety issue and, thus, refused to replace the EV battery (even though my car is still under the manufacturer's warranty). Electric vehicles should not die/run out of battery at 10% charge. However, my EV has done so TWICE! Tesla says that I just ran the car out of battery but has no response when I show them the pictures and video proving that the car died when there was, in fact, a decent amount of charge remaining on the vehicle (PLEASE SEE ATTACHED VIDEO AND PICTURES). If your phone died at 10%, then you would take it back to the manufacturer and demand that they fix the defective product. However, Tesla refuses to help fix my defective vehicle and just tells me that it is "operating as intended". EVs should not just lose all propulsion mid-drive. This creates an unsafe vehicle for me to drive, for my two young daughters in their car seats, and for other drivers who might hit me. I can provide other Tesla owners who have had a similar experience. Please force Tesla to take action!

NHTSA ID

11559885

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

I was driving home from work on a two-lane highway when my car suddenly (and without any warning) lost all driving power and shut down while there was still battery left on the vehicle (roughly 10%). I could no longer maneuver the vehicle due to lack of propulsion, so my car died in the middle of the road. It was towed directly to Tesla service center where diagnostics were supposedly run. Their conclusion was the car died due to insufficient charge (even though there was about 10% battery left at the time of the incident). About a week later, the same EXACT thing happened! The car lost all power and shut down mid-drive without any warning with about 7% remaining. Both times, I had my home address in the car GPS (so it knew the exact distance I was traveling) and it never indicated once that I needed to stop and charge the battery. Again, I had the car towed to the service center where they reached the same "conclusion" that the car died due to simply running out of battery. When I showed them proof (pictures and videos) that the car died with charge left on the battery, they did not investigate the issue further. They simply stuck to their original conclusion and no longer wanted to help remedy my defective battery. I have video and pictures proving that my car dies without warning (on multiple occasions) while there is still charge left on the battery, but Tesla refuses to fix/warranty my car (let alone try to investigate or replicate the issue). They tell me that my car is "operating as intended" and is safe to drive, all the while knowing it is definitely not safe to drive. I'm especially concerned due to the fact that I drive my two daughters in my car. They both are very young and use car seats. What happens in the event that I am driving on the interstate with them in the backseat and my car randomly dies without warning? There would be no way to safely remove them from the vehicle (let along myself) before being involved in a serious high-speed accident.

NHTSA ID

11553755

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

This is a complaint about the unacceptable fire risk that affects all Teslas due to the dangerous battery chemistry and the vulnerability to impact damage that can trigger an instantaneous fire . The VIN of a random Tesla has been used. This problem affects every Tesla. Here is a video of a test conducted by a European testing authority which shows the Tesla igniting almost immediately after a deliberate crash that only caused a minor strike to the underside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRDCKfCdh90 When NHTSA and many other testing authorities perform crash tests on Teslas they should do so with a fully charge battery that is warm from charging or from having being driven. This is a much more realistic scenario than using cold depleted batteries that are less prone to instant ignition. By comparison with a Tesla the Pinto was just a damp squib. And yet it was recalled and grounded. Please do the right thing before even more people get burned alive. Thank you

NHTSA ID

11481466

Incident

Jul 31, 2022

Vehicle displayed "no capable drive units" error at 106 miles on 10/08/2021. System shut down and stranded me in downtown Tampa traffic less than a mile from my home and fewer than five minutes after I started the car. All propulsion was lost and I did not have sufficient warning or time to process the situation and safely handle the vehicle. Tesla Tampa Service Center diagnosed a failed drive unit and took approximately 27 days to repair the vehicle. The service center invoice described the drive unit replacement as a goodwill repair and not a warranty failure. This seemed odd to me as goodwill repairs are generally special accommodations to satisfy customers. I was told there were parts delays. Tesla seems to be managing its supply chain to get these cars turned around to avoid lemon law exposure (my wait was just under one month) and to suppress the number of warranty failures by calling them goodwill repairs. All at the expense of customers. The service center was generally arrogant and noncommunicative in resolving the issue. Happy to gather records and discuss further.

NHTSA ID

11447867

Incident

Oct 8, 2021

At around 5:30pm on 5/16/2021 We were entering our garage when our tesla accelerated on its own into our garage extremely quickly and nearly brought the garage down.

NHTSA ID

11417368

Incident

May 16, 2021

THE CAR SUDDENLY POWERED OFF WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET. THE CAR REMAINED BROKEN DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC AND NEEDED TO BE TOWED TO THE SERVICE CENTER. THE SERVICE REPORT INDICATES THAT THE DRIVE UNIT FAILED.

NHTSA ID

11398463

Incident

Feb 23, 2021

Mileage

1,661 mi