2022 Tesla Model Y complaints

While operating the cruise control on two-lane roads, the Tesla Model Y will frequently engage the emergency stop/warning function. NOTE: no autopilot has been used. There is no lane swerving or concern of the car approaching in the opposite lane or is the Model Y in any unsafe operating situation. This occurs in almost every driving situation with the cruise control engaged (two-lane roads) and has been documented with other passengers in the automobile. Obviously, this creates a panic situation for the driver and passengers while also creating a very unsafe operation for following cars. Multiple dates/times and weather conditions were mostly clear, i.e. no rain. As a note, we have owned a 2016 and 2018 Tesla Model S that did not have this problem.

At highway speeds using adaptive cruise or autopilot, vehicle suddenly brakes and veers towards the shoulder of the road. This occurs when a large vehicle such as a bus or semi is approaching from the opposite direction. Emergency break came close to causing a rear end collision today 2/17/22. Contacted Tesla service for investigation and repair.

As per many similar complaints, my Model Y while on cruise control will suddenly brake for absolutely no reason. I have almost been rear ended on the highway while traveling at 74 miles per hour. The car drops 20-40 MPH seemingly for absolutely no reason. I believe that this has been dubbed "Phantom Braking". Add me to the list!

While driving on a two lane highway at 70 mph on cruise control oncoming semi’s will cause the automatic braking system to drastically put on the brakes to 20 mph in 1 second, causing everyone in the car to lurch forward and pissing off the cars behind me to the point of almost rear ending me and causing road rage. I don’t want to neither be rear ended or shot at by these drivers behind me so cruise control is worthless and unusable on this dangerous car

The vehicle control system intermittently commands hard braking at highway speed when there are no obstacles or vehicles nearby. This sometimes happens repeatedly over a period of several minutes and sometimes doesn't happen for weeks at a time. The braking and deceleration is so rapid as to result in difficulty controlling the car and potential hazard to cars following behind. After repeated "bug reports" to Tesla, nothing has changed. They issue a software update with a new game, but don't fix the hazardous problems.

While driving in Autopilot, the car rapidly decelerated from 55mph to 35mph two times about 30 seconds apart, when two separate semi trucks were approaching me in oncoming lane, not crossing the lane or anything on a two way road. Seems to be well known as "phantom braking", but i just got the car yesterday and have put less than 30 miles on the car and already experienced this phantom braking twice. (Car currently has 60 miles on it) To note i did test drive a 2020 Model Y in December 2020 and did not experience this at all when using Autopilot on that car.

When using autopilot, the car brakes at all sorts of non-events incl curvy roads, shiny puddles, undulations, trucks going the other way without incident, and more.

When using the traffic aware cruise control the vehicle brakes hard suddenly for no reason. I have only had this model Y for 11 days and only have 280 miles on the car and it has braked for no reason over 20 times. I have had to stop using the cruise control and haven’t tried the auto pilot. I am concerned about being rear ended and hope Tesla finds a fix to this quickly. I know there are others having this same issue and wanted to report my experience on a newly purchased Model Y. I have also made Tesla aware of my concern but have not heard anything back from them.

Car stops in highway with alarm rear motor disabled. Took it to Tesla they say it is a fluke go head and drive. It happend last month and again multiple times on Feb 13th.

Car breaks hard suddenly when in cruise control- multiple times ands every time it’s in CC.

I was driving on a snowy narrow two lane road at 9:45am. There was no one in front of me and no oncoming traffic. The car suddenly applied the brakes, hard (along with an alarm and notice on screen that the emergency breaking system had been applied). It was only for a moment and the car dropped about 10 mph. What made the situation particularly troubling is that the road was very slippery in many areas as it was snowing and I was in a reduced salt area near a reservoir. If this had happened 500 yards earlier or later I would likely have gone off the road. This Tesla has the latest software update 2022.4.5. The dealer will be looking at the car in a week.

Phantom breaking happens consistently when cruise control is engaged. The phantom breaking happens every day and multiple times a day. Whether it be on a multi lane freeway or a two lane highway, serious breaking occurs and often can be quite dangerous when cars are following behind our vehicle.

Several times during our first long trip in our new Model Y, it slammed the brakes on for no reason with cruise control enabled. We were traveling on interstate 80, with speed limits typically 75-80mph. In some cases, we slowed from 80mph to 55mph due to these unexplained braking events and were in serious danger of being rear ended more than one time. Conditions were sunny, clear, and there was absolutely no reason the vehicle should have braked when it did. No objects on the road, no other vehicles next to or in front of ours. It was completely unexpected and dangerous!

I was driving on left lane of divided interstate highway in daytime with great visibility. There were no cars in front of me. I was using Tesla Autopilot with speed limit set to 75mph. Suddenly car applied brakes hard and within second of my reaction time dropped speed to 40mph, before I was able to press accelerator to override braking. Two cars behind me had to slam on the brakes and one had to swerve to avoid rear end collision. This phantom braking in very good conditions was totally unexpected and nearly ended up in high speed rear end collision with my wife and kids in the car.

Car phantom braked when in a 2 lane highway when there was an approaching car in the opposite lane. No danger of the other car colliding but Tesla braked for no reason. Happened multiple times while using Autopilot.

Multiple Occurrences - I use cruise control only - not Autopilot. Vehicle randomly applies the brakes with no traffic or obstructions. Most times it is momentary where the car drops 1 or 2 mph and then returns to set speed. Yesterday (2/11/2022) it twice initiated a hard brake and dropped the speed 10 mph before I could intercede. This is a very dangerous situation! Last week, another Model Y passed me on the highway and I counted 10 brake flashes in a mile. I then experienced 3 myself. Seems to happen more when the sun is low.

Phantom breaking. While on traffic aware cruise control, we have experienced several episodes of sudden hard breaking for no reason. Fortunately, no one was following closely. The car is available for inspection. Hard sudden unexplained breaking increases risk of rear end collision. No inspections have been performed. But I did discuss it with a Tesla mechanic. He was familiar with the problem and stated that even tho my vehicle does not have radar, it has the bracket and the wiring so it can be installed later. Supply chain issues was mentioned as a possible reason for its absence. No warnings prior to breaking. Simultaneous with phantom breaking is audible alarm. This last occurred yesterday Feb 10, 2022 mid morning. Good road conditions.

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH with the cruise control feature activated, the vehicle independently decelerated. The contact stated that while on a two-way street with another vehicle approaching, the vehicle abruptly stopped. The contact stated that the Forward Collision-Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control feature was not operating as designed. The contact stated that the safety scope feature of the vehicle was too close causing the vehicle to erroneously brake whenever another vehicle was nearby. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that the failure was a common failure. The contact was also informed that the manufacturer was aware of the failure and was in the process of implementing a software update to fix the issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 700.

Driving southbound on hwy 101 coming from Atascadero going to Buellton. section of highway had 2 lanes in each direction. center divider was narrow - no trees. there were no cars in front of me. car suddenly braked. i looked and saw a large truck traveling north bound. that was the only other vehicle on the road. the first time this happened (a couple of weeks ago) I swerved onto the shoulder so i wouldn't get hit. This time, knowing what was happening, i hit the gas and got back to my traveling speed. no collision or damage. but you have to tell Tesla to fix this

Adaptive Cruise Control Random hard braking while in use. Vehicles directly behind need to take corrective action to avoid collision. Not an isolated incident. 75% time I use cruise control, I have a random braking event. No / Maybe. It appears to be a common problem. No No

The infotainment/speedometer froze and went black. This caused the loss of the speedometer and turn signal control. The vehicle still accelerated,decelerated, braked and turned correctly but there was no indication of the current speed.

Multiple occurrences of phantom braking phenomenon with cruise control engaged. Happened while driving into setting sun or at night. The car seemed to confuse shinny spots in the road (ice patches and tar repairs particularly at the crest of a hill or bridge) as a vehicle and apply the brakes. The braking was usually very aggressive and in one case almost resulted in a high speed rear end. Adjusting control parameters as available form the software did not have any effect. Have not had the car inspected at this point. No warning was given by the system but you can see a phantom image appear on the virtual display during the episode.

Car consistently brakes unexpectedly when another large car is passing going the opposite direction. There have also been times they shadows cause the same result. I believe this is referred to as phantom braking and it makes the adaptive cruise control unusable and dangerous.

I do not have full self driving on my car. However, the cameras installed are active when I use just normal cruise control. Trying to drive between the Minneapolis area to Pipestone, MN on Christmas day the car several times hit the brakes for me unexpectedly while in cruise control. We were on various roads, mostly at night, and with many times no seeable vehicles nearby. Other times it would be a vehicle coming at us in the proper lane next to us. I cannot use cruise control on this car for fear that a car will rear end me.

When cruise control (called autopilot) is engaged, the car will slam on the brakes for no apparent reason, endangering everyone around us. Sometimes it happens as frequently as several times a minute. It is particularly bad on 2 lane roads when cresting hills and when trucks are in the opposite lane, but it’s not limited to those situations. When we took the car to the Tesla repair shop, they closed the ticket after informing us that it is a “known software issue” with no resolution currently. So the problem was not fixed, but the ticket was closed anyway.

While driving on a single lane road in Bismarck, ND in low light conditions the car did what we call phantom braking anytime a oncoming car would be approaching.

When coming home from the dealer, it phantom braked twice. I thought at first maybe it was a shadow across the road. There was a software update the next day, and I hoped it was fixed. It was raining lightly and there wouldn't be any shadows.. a box truck came toward us in the opposite lane and it panic braked. As soon as I turned the cruise control back on, a semi came toward us, and it panic braked again. I've been afraid to use the cruise control since then.. if someone was inattentive behind me, they would probably hit me. Tesla says they have checked the systems on my car remotely and there is nothing wrong with it. (!!) It now has 200 miles on it.

Phantom braking when cruise control activated. Car will randomly reduce speed and / or brake when driving on highway or 2 lane highways. Makes cruise control unusable as it’s dangerous

Driving on HWY 101 just north of Santa Barbara California with cruise control on, the car suddenly braked dropping from 70 to 40. I pulled onto the shoulder so no one would rear end me. There was nothing in front of me in either lane. Luckily, there was also nothing behind me. This had happened previously but the slowing was far less abrupt and recovered immediately. I sent an email to the person with whom I dealt at the Tesla showroom saying I wanted to report this to Tesla, but have not heard back. Please advise on how I can report this to Tesla.

The car does phantom braking and creates dangerous situation on the highway. Happened many times on cruise control and autopilot.

Phantom braking when on cruise control

On many occasions the car slams on the brakes when there is no reason. Sometimes there is a car approaching from the other direction but not encroaching in my lane.

When on auto pilot or even simple cruise control the car often forcibly brakes for no apparent reason. It will sometimes brake when another vehicle is in the other lane or for no reason at all. I have asked the service center about the issue and they claim they have never heard of the problem. This is a very dangerous problem as it could cause a vehicle behind me to rear end me and cause damage or injury. It is terrifying when it happens.

I was driving on the highway using Autopilot, and the brakes engaged very suddenly without any warning signal nor was there anything in front of my car. (Aka “phantom braking” event).

I was driving 75mph on a divided highway. I was in the left lane passing a slower vehicle in the right lane. There was nothing in front of me. A pickup truck was a couple of car lengths behind me passing the vehicle on the right too. As we were passing the vehicle attempted to stop for absolutely no reason whatsoever. My Tesla Model Y essentially slammed on the brakes going 75mph with a vehicle behind me. There was zero reason to do this and was dangerous as I could have been rear ended.

While driving on freeway car drastically brakes for no apparent reason, almost getting rear ended by car behind me. This happens while cruise control is on, several times! Very dangerous

While in autopilot (driver assistance feature which keeps the vehicle in the lane and keeps a specified distance from the car in front of you) the car braked multiple times with no obstacle in front of the vehicle. Often referred to as phantom braking, the safety of others and yourself is at risk if there is a car behind you and your vehicle brakes for no apparent reason on the highway. I believe this is a known issue with other similar complaints.

Multiple occasions while using autopilot on 2 lane roads when semi trucks are coming in the opposite direction the Tesla will brake hard saying impending accident when the semi is staying in its lane ….it happens about 80 percent of the time. It’s so bad I will not use this feature till it’s fixed as it’s dangerous

The car is experiencing PHANTOM BRAKING. The vehicle incorrectly detects objects and brakes vigorously dropping speed really quickly. If traffic is following we could easily get rear ended. This happened over 10 times in a 100mile journey.

Both the autopilot and regular cruise control system without autopilot engaged are unsafe. The vehicle will brake, often extremely hard, when there is no hazard present. This happens on two lane roads and highways (4 or more lanes). This has nearly caused multiple accidents to the point where I will not use the autopilot feature and use cruise control very sparingly. Most of the time this happens, there are large trucks (semis) present but it has happened when there are smaller vehicles present or no vehicles present at all. I believe that it is only a matter of time before this system causes a major accident hence I choose not to use it often if ever, and if I do use it I use it sparingly and disengage it when other vehicles are present on the road. I haven’t used autopilot since a short while after purchasing the car and again, I use the cruise control sparingly. The inability to use cruise control is a real issue as it not only increases driver fatigue, it drastically reduces the confidence in the other safety mechanisms of the car.

The car brakes are applied when a truck traveling in opposite lane drives by when the cruise control is engaged. This has also occurred when there was discoloration on the road surface in my travel lane. Fortunately, no auto was following my vehicle or there would have been an accident.

While traveling east and west on I-8 between San Diego and Phoenix the 2022 Tesla Model Y would suddenly brake. We could not reliably reproduce when or how the vehicle braked. On some occasions, we were near other vehicles. On other occasions there were no other vehicles or obstacles on or near the car. Others at risk. On the highway the vehicle rapidly decelerated and if there would have been a car behind us, there would have been an accident. After the first two incidents, we kept our foot on the gas pedal to accelerate if we felt a rapid deceleration. Reproducing the problem. We rarely drive the car, and have not had the problem in city driving. We tried to reproduce the problem during that trip, but we're unsuccessful. We have not taken the vehicle to Tesla. Inspection. The vehicle is not been inspected by an insurance company or Tesla. Warnings. We did not see any warning lights or alerts concerning the problem. After the first two incidents, we paid attention to the screen to see if any warnings appeared to help us identify the problem.

While on auto pilot, phantom braking at high speeds on highway with no cars nearby. No warning on the monitor when this happens. Long wait at the service center for appointment but this issue has been communicated to Tesla. Car resumes the cruise speed almost immediately after phantom braking. Also communicated to Tesla is that the wipers do not always automatically come on with moisture on windshield when set in auto mode.

When on Traffic-aware cruise control, the vehicle suddenly brakes without warning, instantly reducing its highway speed by 7 to 12 mph. It occurs on the interstate, often while passing large vehicles, and on two-lane roads, usually when meeting large vehicles. Recently, as I was moving in front of a vehicle I had just passed, my car slammed on the brakes, causing the other vehicle to brake sharply to avoid hitting me. We have had the vehicle serviced by Tesla twice with no improvement. The service rep indicated it is a known problem that they have not yet been able to solve (unlike the manufacturers of my prior six vehicles with adaptive cruise control). This is a life-endangering fault and needs to be fixed. It is as dangerous as the rolling-stop issue that prompted a recall.

Model Y exhibits "phantom braking" when adaptive cruise control is engaged. This happens every time a large truck is passing in the opposite lane on a two lane road. If another driver is behind our vehicle, they may not be able to stop to avoid a crash. Corrective action is to turn off adaptive cruise control or step on accelerator to override the braking. In addition, the car will also perform "phantom braking" when there is no discernible issue, with no traffic in front of our vehicle or sometimes on a left turn when there is a guard rail on the right.

Was driving using Autopilot eastbound on WA State Highway 970 about 10 am on January 15, 2022. The road is a 2 line state highway. We were driving about 55 mph. A semi trailer truck rig approached in the opposite lane headed west. Just before the truck passed by us, without warning, our car began to brake hard. The truck and our car were both well within our respective lanes. It had been wet and there was spray from the truck. I immediately disengaged Autopilot. Fortunately, there was no traffic behind me, so the sudden hard braking did not affect anyone else. I have not taken the vehicle in for any inspection as it was delivered less than a month earlier. Since this appears to be a software issue, I have not had the problem reproduced.

My Tesla has been braking for no reason. This weekend we took a road trip to Sun Valley. Once in a while when cresting a hill my car would go into hard braking. It would also do this when a semi or larger vehicle was coming in the opposite direction on a two lane road. The lane departure system would also become disabled for no apparent reason. The wipers are the worst. They have no concept of automatic, there will be no rain and they will start wiping on high. And sometimes when there is rain they won't even wipe, I have to operate them manually. This is very distracting and makes hard to focus on the road.

The Tesla Model Y and I believe the Model 3 have a problem with phantom breaking. The problem occurs when we set the auto to cruise control on a two-lane highway. When we meet a large object (semi, garbage truck, propane truck) the car breaks and swerves to the right. This can create a very dangerous situation. The first couple of times this happened we almost lost control of the car. There is no warning before this happens. This problem can be easily replicated on cars without radar. It took us some time to determine what was causing the problem. We picked up our new Tesla Model last week and were not made aware of what would happen if we used cruise control on a two-lane road. We have since discovered that this is a known problem in the Tesla community and has been known for some time.

Phantom Braking is real and out of control… I have owned this car only 6 weeks and the cruise control is DANGEROUS. The car has slammed on the brakes numerous times for NO reason ! Last week, driving down interstate, TACC on. Nothing near me. Relaxed, happy, enjoying the car…….WHAM! it slammed on the brakes so hard my wife and I were pushed into our seat belts, my hands came off the steering wheel and our heads were thrown forward. Almost instantly the brakes released, the car surges forward and our heads are flung back. A nerve was pinched in my neck during that whiplash and now my right shoulder muscle has been tensed up for days. Guess what? It happened again today. This system needs to be fixed, auto braking disabled, or pulled off the market. How can ANYBODY think this is OK?

Phantom braking concern with new Tesla model Y. While driving on two lane highway at night between Las Vegas and Phoenix both directions on separate days phantom blacking makes the adaptive cruise control unusable. Almost every time a vehicle is spotted approaching at a distance the car will suddenly hard brake. My concern is being rear ended by someone if they are close behind. This is not with FSD just adaptive cruise.