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Service bulletins for the 2018 Tesla Model 3

A bulletin is a manufacturer's communication to its dealers, as NHTSA indexes it. The summary is NHTSA's. The document is the manufacturer's: read it at NHTSA. A bulletin is not a recall, and listing a model year does not mean every vehicle of it is concerned.

161 on file from NHTSA, as of 2026-10-19.

By type

By component

Bulletins, newest first
SB-23-20-002 R22023-04-10. Service bulletin. AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION; SEATS. Certain Model 3 and Model Y vehicles may need a different Occupant Classification System (OCS) installed in the front passenger seat before servicing its subcomponents.
SB-23-20-002 R12023-04-10. Service bulletin. AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION. Certain Model 3 and Model Y vehicles may need a different Occupant Classification System (OCS) installed in the front passenger seat before servicing its subcomponents.
SB-23-20-0022023-04-10. Service bulletin. SEATS. Certain Model 3 and Model Y vehicles may need a different Occupant Classification System (OCS) installed in the front passenger seat before servicing its subcomponents.
SB-23-20-0012023-04-10. Service bulletin. SEATS; AIR BAGS. When certain Model 3 and Model Y vehicles receive a different Occupant Classification System (OCS) in their front passenger seats during vehicle servicing, they may require safety vent type front passenger airbags to maintain compatibility between the front passenger seat and the front passenger airbag.
SB22330022022-06-13. Service bulletin. ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL:AUTOMATIC (ASC). Some Model 3 vehicles were built without a hydraulic control unit (HCU) wake-up wire, and in rare circumstances, braking and stability control related alerts may appear on the instrument cluster and touchscreen during the vehicle power-on process. Such faults can typically be corrected and the affected functionality restored with a vehicle power cycle.
SB21170052022-05-31. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT. Some Model 3 driver and front passenger seat electrical harnesses might get damaged from repeated fore and aft adjustments to the seat, which will trigger a restraint system alert.
SB1831005R12022-05-02. Service bulletin. SUSPENSION; BACK OVER PREVENTION. On certain Model 3 vehicles, the front stabilizer bar link ball joint studs might crack at the flange. As a result, the nut that attaches the stabilizer bar might lose torque. This might result in noise coming from the front of vehicle while driving on rough surfaces.
SB21170052022-02-28. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. Some Model 3 driver and front passenger seat electrical harnesses might get damaged from repeated fore and aft adjustments to the seat, which will trigger a restraint system alert.
SB-20-31-006 R32021-11-08. Service bulletin. STEERING; SUSPENSION. On certain Model 3, Model Y, and Model X vehicles, there may be a water ingress path to both front upper control arm ball joints that, over time, could possibly lead to surface corrosion of these ball joints. This may result in a creaking sound coming from the front suspension when steering at low speeds and under high loads. This is exclusively an NVH condition only and does not result in premature failure of the ball joints.
SB-20-31-006 R22021-11-08. Service bulletin. SUSPENSION. On certain Model 3, Model Y, and Model X vehicles, there may be a water ingress path to both front upper control arm ball joints that, over time, could possibly lead to surface corrosion of these ball joints. This may result in a creaking sound coming from the front suspension when steering at low speeds and under high loads. This is exclusively an NVH condition only and does not result in premature failure of the ball joints.
SB-20-33-0022021-02-01. Service bulletin. PARKING BRAKE; PARKING BRAKE:ELECTRICAL. Certain Model 3 vehicles may have sustained damage to the Electric Park Brake (EPB) housing during the vehicle assembly process.
SB-20-17-010 R12020-12-14. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. On certain Model 3 vehicles, an open electrical circuit or short to ground near connectors X950 or X952 may display a restart alert on the touchscreen, or prevent the vehicle from starting altogether.
SB-20-17-0102020-11-16. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. On certain Model 3 vehicles, an open electrical circuit or short to ground near connectors X950 or X952 may display a restart alert on the touchscreen, or prevent the vehicle from starting altogether.
SB-19-20-003 R22020-10-19. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; AIR BAGS. On some Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, the Occupant Classification System (OCS) signal might be affected by electrical interference in the seat harness, causing the airbag indicator to display on the touchscreen.
SB-20-16-0032020-08-10. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. Certain Model 3 high voltage batteries may not have a sufficient quantity of bolts for the contactor DC link busbars, which may prevent the vehicle from charging or powering properly.
SB-20-10-0012020-07-06. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. Some Model 3 and Model Y vehicles might have a charge port door that is overflush (protrudes in comparison) to the LH taillight assembly.
SB-19-20-003 R12020-05-11. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; AIR BAGS. On some Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, the Occupant Classification System (OCS) signal might be affected by electrical interference in the seat harness, causing the airbag indicator to display on the touchscreen.
SB-20-12-0022020-04-06. Service bulletin. VISIBILITY; EQUIPMENT; LANE DEPARTURE; STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS. On some Model S, Model X, and Model 3 vehicles, condensation might build up inside of the B-pillar applique, potentially obscuring the B-pillar camera. This condition might cause some Autopilot features to be temporarily unavailable until the condensation goes away, such as Auto Lane Change, Blind Spot Detection, and Lane Departure Warning.
SB-20-17-0012020-02-10. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY. When some Autopilot HW2 and HW2.5 Model S, Model X, and Model 3 vehicles are near airport ASR-9 radar antennae, the vehicle cameras might be affected by electromagnetic interference, and Autopilot/camera alerts might be displayed.
SB-19-20-0032020-01-06. Service bulletin. SEATS; AIR BAGS; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. On some Model 3 vehicles, the Occupant Classification System (OCS) signal might be affected by electrical interference in the seat harness, causing the airbag indicator to display on the touchscreen.
SB-19-16-004 R12020-01-06. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY. The clamshell graft inside the HV battery was not fastened to Tesla?s internal specifications. This condition might result in a reduction of vehicle driving range.
SB-18-33-005 R12019-12-09. Service bulletin. SERVICE BRAKES. Some Model 3 vehicles are equipped with rear brake dust shields that can trap road debris between the dust shield and brake rotor, causing loud grinding noises.
SB-19-44-009 R12019-12-09. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. Some Model 3 vehicles were manufactured with charge port latch actuators that could allow ice to build up and prevent insertion or removal of the charge handle from the charge port.
SB-19-44-0092019-12-09. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL. Some Model 3 vehicles were manufactured with charge port latch actuators that could allow ice to build up and prevent insertion or removal of the charge handle from the charge port.
SB1816013R32019-11-25. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY. Certain Model 3 vehicles might have too few HV battery positive contactor mounting nuts installed, which can allow movement that might affect the conductivity of the contactor terminals.

The summaries are NHTSA's. Each bulletin's page links NHTSA's copy of the manufacturer's document.