Verified government source

NHTSA complaint #11506905

This page summarizes an official U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration owner complaint. Use the verification links below to confirm the record directly with NHTSA.

Vehicle

2020 TESLA MODEL 3

Manufacturer

Tesla, Inc.

Components

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Dates

Incident: 01/14/2023
Filed: 02/13/2023

Owner complaint summary

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 continued and I’m worried that it’s dangerous, I had the air quality tested. The formaldehyde levels were 50 times higher than the EPA recommends as a safe level. (HCH0 level of 6 ppm) I’ve submitted all this to Tesla and they said they are currently working with their legal team to figure out if a buy back as possible. The New York Attorney General told me that the car is not viable for a lemon law due to the fact they didn’t do three chances to fix it in 90 days. (The first 2 appointments were in the 90 days but the 3-6th were just past it) The car is not safe to breath air in and my lungs hurt from even spending a few minutes in the car. I’m worried about the effects it has on my health and I feel morally wrong to sell it to anyone else. Please help.

This is an owner complaint filed with NHTSA (ODI #11506905). It is not automatically an official recall, investigation outcome, or manufacturer admission unless the complaint text itself describes one.

Official record ID (ODI): 11506905. This page is the human-readable source link used across afterwarranty. The raw JSON link proxies NHTSA's public API for machine verification; prefer this page when reading the complaint.