Tesla Model 3 - Reliability and safety

​The Tesla Model 3 has proven to be a hit with owners, according to the latest 2024 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. The Model 3 has jumped from 22nd place in 2023, to second overall out of 50 models in the 2024 list of the best cars to own. Owners have ranked it seventh out of 50 for day-to-day reliability, but the brand still has some work to do, because it featured amongst the bottom 10 positions in the categories regarding the quality of exterior finish (50th out of 50), and the quality of the interior (44th out of 50).

Crash safety experts Euro NCAP put the Tesla Model 3 through its paces in 2019 and awarded it the maximum five-star rating, along with very impressive 96 and 84 per cent scores in the adult and child occupant protection categories, respectively.

The Model 3 also received a rating of 94 per cent in the safety assist category. Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot technology did not contribute to this rating, but the system incorporates autonomous emergency braking and sophisticated adaptive cruise control, among other systems. 

Every Model 3 features a basic version of Autopilot, but buyers can upgrade to either ‘Enhanced Autopilot’ or the misleadingly named ‘Full Self-Driving Capability’. The former allows – provided the driver is paying attention to the road ahead – the car to maintain lane position with steering, acceleration and braking, and it can also change lanes. It has several features yet to be activated, such as auto parking tech and an ‘Actually Smart Summon’ feature, which should allow the car to navigate to you in a car park. For now, it does feature something called ‘Dumb summon’ where you can drive the car via the Tesla App on your phone or the car’s key out of a tight parking space. However, that feature, self-parking, and highway driving assistance are standard on the Ultimate trim Hyundai Ioniq 6, and not a nearly £3,500 option as in the case of the Model 3.

Used - available now

2021 Tesla

Model 3

54,427 milesAutomaticElectric

Cash £17,900

View Model 3

2023 Tesla

Model 3

26,881 milesAutomaticElectric

Cash £21,000

View Model 3

2023 Tesla

Model 3

74,848 milesAutomaticElectric

Cash £16,063

View Model 3

2021 Tesla

Model 3

30,618 milesAutomaticElectric

Cash £18,000

View Model 3

The mislabelled Full Self-Driving builds on this by recognising and reacting to traffic lights and speed limit signs. However, it still needs the driver to pay attention and be ready to take over, and it doesn’t have the autosteer feature activated for driving on city streets. Until these additional features become available, it isn’t worth spending nearly £7,000 for a suite of assistance systems you can’t use at the moment, especially when these can be added to the car later.  

Warranty

The Model 3 comes with a four-year/50,000-mile warranty. This beats the industry standard three-year warranty, and should provide plenty of cover for those planning to lease a Model 3. However, it can’t match the mileage allowances of other premium manufacturers like BMW. 

The battery pack is covered by a separate warranty of eight years or 120,000 miles.

Servicing

There are no set servicing intervals for the Tesla Model 3, with the car itself alerting the driver as and when a service is required. Over-the-air updates and remote diagnostics help make some smaller maintenance jobs more convenient, as do Tesla’s Mobile Service technicians. 

Fixed-price Tesla Maintenance Plans are available and can be transferred from owner to owner when required.