2023 Tesla Model Y complaints

While day driving on a 4 lane divided highway during light traffic, we experienced phantom braking several times. We were at the posted 70 mph speed limit while autopilot was engaged. Phantom braking also occurred when cruise control was only engaged. No problem occurred with surrounding traffic. Our car has yet to have a Tesla service center look at our car. No car warnings occurred during these events. These events occurred on July 16th and 24th, 2023 and earlier since we’ve owned this car. Thanks.

The car engaged breaks multiple times on an empty freeway while driving on the adaptive cruise control. There were no cars nor any objects on any lane. The breaking was so hard that I almost lost the control of the car. Luckily there were no cars behind. The problem might be sun related as it didn't happen at night

Last night the steering totally failed right after starting the car. An alert popped up saying “steering assist reduced”. Total loss of power steering and the car is inoperable.

While driving in the city on under construction road, the car started showing notifications that the steering power will be reduced. 30 sec. later the steering wheel froze and the car was drivable only forward and backwards. This safety system malfunction put me and my family at risk while in active driving mode, luckily there was no much traffic and i was able to reset the car in order to be able to drive it again. Bumpy road shouldn’t cause the system to malfunction and limit the driving capability, especially not while active driving. I wasnt using any cruise control or auto pilot features.

I have had the car 5 months and have had no problems. This week while driving there was a jerk of the steering wheel to the right and a second later I lost all power steering. I could not turn the wheel without using great force. Luckily I was in the far right lane and could pull over. Car behind me almost rear ended me. The warning on the Tesla screen said "steering assist reduced". I called Tesla and they sent a tow truck to get the car. I did try restarting the car and the steering came back for 10 seconds, but again there was a jerk the right of the wheel and then NO power steering again. Was very upsetting to say the least. I have a home in the mountains and had I been driving down a winding mountain road I could see myself having driven into a tree or off the road! The car is in the shop and they are saying they will likely replace the steering column. I see that others have experienced this and wanted to make sure my voice was heard. I will not be surprised if there are MANY more similar incidents with this car. I hope that it does not lead to deaths.

While driving my Tesla model Y, an error message "Power assist reduced" popped up on the computer's screen. I couldn't turn the steering wheel in either direction in a parking lot. This incident happened on 8/11/2023. I reset the car's computer and walked away for 5 minutes and returned. The problem went away. I drove to another place and encountered the same error message while backing up a car into a parking space. I reset the computer system and got out of a car for a few minutes. The error message disappeared and I drove home within 2 mile radius. I have scheduled an appointment on Tuesday 8/15/2023 with Tesla Service Center.

Steering wheel locked up while driving under normal conditions at 45 MPH. I was exiting the highway at this time and was luckily able to come to a complete stop. The car had to be towed to the Tesla service center. This is a brand new 2023 Tesla Y purchased a month ago. The steering wheel has been locking up from time to time; and the steering of the vehicle sometimes feels unwieldy, uncontrollable, and simply undrivable. The issue is very dangerous. I Googled the issue and came across Reddit posts and other Tesla forums where other Tesla drivers have reported the same issue. There are also YouTube videos that discuss the same issue. This seems to be a common enough problem that warrants a total recall. The Tesla service agent acknowledged that the problem seems routine and pervasive, but downplayed the issue. There have been tragic accidents involving Teslas in the news recently (including a mother/daughter who crashed into a tree and both died en route to a doctor’s appointment—and this crash is still under investigation in California). But having experienced this steering issue with my own car, it makes me wonder whether the cause of these accidents is this steering issue. And I wonder if Tesla is covering up some of their data regarding these fatal accidents. This is an urgent issue and should be addressed and investigated thoroughly.

When in cruise control my car experiences phantom or ghost braking seemingly out of nowhere. It violently applies the brakes without any obstacle in sight. This has happened to me many times and always on the freeway in sunny conditions. Tesla needs to address this as it’s a common complaint and has likely led to or will lead to many rear end type accidents. Thank you.

The car randomly brakes dangerously hard at overpasses while at highway speed for zero reason while in cruise control mode. This has occurred four times during our brief ownership. I have to imagine these events WILL lead to an accident as the braking is so hard (as if you applied brakes in an emergency) that a driver caught off guard could easily loose control of the vehicle. We have attempted to contact the manufacturer several times, but no one answers calls and their website will not accept inquiries into these highly unsafe incidents to know if there is a problem with our car or software. In fact they hide behind technology so well I do not believe thee is a way to ever talk to a real person or file a written complaint. Please help!

Having issue with steering getting stuck and not allowing to rotate. Happened 2 times today and I am ending up powering off and starting the car. I am worried about getting stuck while driving. This is a safety concern for me.

While using adaptive cruise control on 2023 Tesla Model Y we experienced multiple instances of emergency braking (rapid deceleration w/o touching brakes, accelerator steering column, etc.) without any warning during multiple scenarios - dusk, daylight, sunny and cloudy weather. Occurred on both straight and curved sections of highway with no other vehicles in front of vehicle.

When driving 60+ mph, the driver side view mirror vibrates. This causes the mirror to show a blurry image and impacts the safety of seeing vehicles on the left side/rear. There isn’t a current issue with passenger side view mirror. I brought this to the dealer and they acknowledge that it is an issue they are aware of, but there is no fix.

Steering locking up. Based on what I am reading it is the same as others have experienced.

When traveling on the highway at cruising speeds of 65mph or higher while in "cruise control" the car will suddenly slam the brakes on. Luckily there has not been any one close to me to cause a rear end collision. It seems to be random but there are times when it happens more often. On a two lane highway or if a car in front of me is slowing down to make a turn. One time a car entered the highway going in my direction from the shoulder and kicked up dust and debris. That seemed to confuse the cruise control and then it finally decided to slam on the brakes.. The only way to correct it was to press the accelerator. Sometimes the braking is severe and other time mild but always unpredictable.

When using cruise control at freeway speeds the car randomly brakes without warning and without and other vehicle, object or obstacle in front of the car, causing the car to come to a screeching halt with other traffic behind the car. Although reported to Tesla, the Tesla service team merely claimed they inspected the system and found no errors in the performance of the cruise system, pointing instead to the manual that claims the cruise control is a beta system for which no warranty is given. Neither Tesla nor its manual givews notice or warning that the cruise control is subject to sudden braking without objewcts in front of the vehicle, which creates a significant risk of injury and/or damage in high traffic areas.

I was driving on the street and all of a sudden steering lost control. The screen shows "steering assist reduced" but the steering got really really heavy to the point it couldn't be turned. It was a dangerous situation where we were in the middle of the street, and there were oncoming traffic on both ways. I called Tesla Road emergency assistant but in the first call was told they couldn't help me unless i move to a safe spot. They asked me to call 911 and get a towing service and could only help after doing so. So we called 911 and asked them again. This time they asked us to reboot the system and it worked for 2 minutes. Afterwards it failed again. It is a very threatening and dangerous situation, as we lost control of the car! I would not want to imagine what would happen if this was on a highway. What's more frustrating is Tesla's emergency road assistant denying help in a timely manner. Now my Tesla is towed to a service center, and I've inquired what my options are. The service center person did not apology at all about the situation and said can only change the steering rack. They also mentioned there is no guarantee that this wouldn't happen again in the future. This is becoming such a common issue and Tesla should take responsibility to recall.

On 30th July 2023 while driving on interstate 8 freeway while using the FULL self driving our vehicle applied auto brake without anyone around. This air rake was so strong that it slowed the vehicle from 75 mph to less than 50 mph in seconds. It scared everybody in the car. We took off the autopilot and applied the regular autopilot and it happened again two more times. Each time there was no vehicles around us and luckily no one was behind us.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering failed and with three error messages displayed on the instrument panel. The contact was able to safely drive the vehicle to the residence. The contact stated that after the vehicle had sat for several minutes, the power steering functionality returned. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,170. The contact stated that Tesla replaced the steering rack under warranty.

Hi, I was on cruise control (not autosteer) on highway and I just applied turn signal and my Model Y suddenly applied brakes and speed was reduced to around 50MPh from 70MPh. We might get into some serious accident if there was a car behind us. Need someone to look into issue please.

While driving at 09:07 August 6, 2023 on the I4 in Orlando Florida using cruise control, the vehicle suddenly slowed from 55mph (the posted speed limit is 60) and the car behind had to swerve before I could accelerate back to traffic speed. Uncommanded, the vehicle dropped the cruise speed to 25mph and started decelerating to that speed. Attached pictures show normal cruise at 09:07:02 and slowing at 09:07:07.

While driving the steering wheel got locked. It occurred 2-3 times consecutively. I call the tesla center and they arranged a tow. When the tow arrived the steering wheel started to make weird noises (it initially worked again) and it got locked again. When the steering wheel was locked there were warnings appearing on the screen (photo attached). The car is now at the tesla service center but it has not been processed yet as they are not open on Sunday. I have video recording of when the second wheel lock happen and can send it if needed

My car is Tesla Model Y -2023. Purchased on 11/2022. Not even 1 year the car battery range went down not as Tesla announced. With Model, Y Performance range of 303 miles for 100%. But my car after updating the new Sft on July/2023 a battery range max charge of only 285 miles for 100%. Please have a solution to fine Tesla company by fraud and lying to consumers badly. I cant contact Customer Service. The person who works in customer service never tells a customer their name or introduces themselves. Tesla live chat agent when Heard I mentioned complaining about the battery Range try to run away and gave me to call the the customer service. But I can't reach out to service team.

As I was exiting my parking space I notice the steering wheel was stiff as I tried to navigate a left turn. I could not pull the wheel for a successful turn and to not block traffic I reverse slowly back into the parking spot. I rebooted the vehicle and was successful with no issues. Sent a message to Tesla service regarding incident. Mechanic says to have it towed the next time it happens again. Today for the second time (5 days later) as I try to leave for work the same problem appears. This time a reboot to the vehicle did not solve the issue. Rebooted 2 times and steering wheel was still frozen. Called for roadside assistance. Prior to this, there were warning signs that stated power steering reduced and lane departure off. With those warning signals I have a tesla service appointment scheduled.

This was a brand new vehicle delivered in March 2023. Soon after delivery, we noticed difficulty with the steering - more resistance than expected and a feeling that the wheel was turning through notches as you turned the wheel. Please note, we have owned other Teslas and are familiar with the normal steering effort required and software adjustments available. The problem continued to get worse, until one day in May while out, my wife got into the vehicle to drive and the screen displayed an error "Steering Assist Reduced" and the steering wheel would not turn at all, regardless of effort. She reset the vehicle a few times and got out, then re-entered and after a few minutes the problem went away on its own. She drove it home immediately, and then we had it towed to a service center. The service center determined that the vehicle had a steering rack failure and replaced the steering rack. We asked a service manager for compensation for the issues and Tesla then decided to purchase back the vehicle at the full purchase price.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? On July 17, 2023, while driving on a highway in the state of Texas, my Tesla suddenly and unexpectedly engaged in a hard braking maneuver for several seconds while I was under Full self-Driving activated, despite there being no vehicle directly in front of me. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? As a result of this abrupt action, the two cars behind me were forced to swerve abruptly to the right to avoid a collision. I cannot stress enough how dangerous this situation was, and I am immensely thankful that no one was injured. This incident has shaken my confidence in the safety and reliability of the vehicle. As a responsible driver, my utmost priority is the safety of myself, my passengers, and others sharing the road. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I have raised a formal complaint with tesla by email on July 17th and Also, raised a formal complaint by sending a letter on the initial date of July 18,2023 and by sending the evidence of vedio.. And, called them 2 times - But, I haven't received any proper response from tesla. ups tracking no: 1Z8880yw0346327053 Address i sent the mail: Tesla Motors, Inc. 3500 Deer Creek Road Palo Alto, California 94304 Attention: Vehicle Service 1-877-77-TESLA(1-877-778-3752) Email Address i sent complaint: [email protected] Ticket Number Created on Tesla Side: C

Vehicle was parked on the street. Put car in Drive, loud noise came from steering column, and warning message shows steering assist reduced and lane departure avoidance features unavailable and at that point the car had no power steering. Car was reset 4 times. Every time the vehicle was reset, loud noise came from steering column, both warning messages appeared, and no power steering. On 4th reset, power steering came back, but both warning messages still appeared.

I bought the vehicle and after one day the cars power steering went off while driving and I couldn’t steer. As Tesla has an autopilot function it did not come with the car and no adaptive cruise control and I had to take it to service and leave the car for two days to resolve it.

After a software update I lost all power steering and could not drive the car. It had to be towed and the power steering motor replaced

Loss of power steering making vehicle very hard to steer. The day before power steering was lost, steering became step like - not turning smoothly but in incremental steps. The problem was confirmed by Tesla service and repair has been performed.

All of a sudden, steering wheel control was lost. Steering wheel was so hard to rotate that it was even difficult to park the car. Also, I was getting lots of pop up messages from tesla vehicle operating system.

Steering is locking up while driving. This happened 5 times in the past three weeks. Vehicle is scheduled for service.

Steering got locked and stiffened in middle of the road in traffic.had to call 911 to help me to move my car.this was scary as it could have lead to crash or accident.some time front wiper is automatically wiping in dry summer days which is sometimes blocks the view while driving. Had to switch off the auto mode for wiper.

On 8/1/2023, driving between Mojave, California and Inyokern, California on highway 14, a newly paved and striped highway being followed by a Mercedes Van, I was doing 70 in a 65 zone. No traffic in front of us. No road signs. No turn outs. No side roads. No bridges, overpasses or underpasses when suddenly the car braked from 70mph to 48mph before I pressed down on the accellerator to keep the Mercedes from hitting us. the front end of the Mercedes dipped as he hit the brakes hard and he honked his horn which is what I would have done under similar circumstances. In the next half hour we experienced the phantom braking phenomenon five more times before my wife found complaints about "phantom braking", a phenomenon we'd never heard of or had been warned about. We turned off the Automatic Emergency Braking and experienced no more events until after stopping in Lone Pine for charging. When we reentered the highway we experienced one more event before turning off the Automatic Emergency Braking system, once again. Hours before we'd been in Southern California driving on Highways 5, 101 and 405 cruising along at 70 with traffic close in front and behind us. If the phantom braking had occured there, we might not be here today. Calling the Tesla dealership in Reno the salesman was non-plussed about our experience and informed us we should be ready to hit the accellerator at all times. This is not an acceptable response to what could easily have been a major accident.

In a church parking lot ( while I was about 30ft away from my car with the phone key in my hand) somebody was able to drive my car away ( she has a same color Tesla Y as me).

While driving about 75 mph on an expressway using autopilot or just cruise control, the car decelerated to about 40mph within a few seconds. Thankfully there were no other cars behind me. They likely would have crashed into me if so. I believe Tesla calls this problem “phantom braking.” There were no other cars or objects in front of me when this happened. This happened all within 2-3 hours on a road trip in sunny and dry weather on a pristine road. The first time was on “auto pilot.” After that scary experience, I only used cruse control and it happen twice more on the same trip. Again, weather was clear, it was during daylight and there were no other cars or obstacles in front of me when the “phantom breaking” occurred. Tesla said to hit the car icon on the car’s control screen if it happens again. Frankly, I feel it is unsafe to use autopilot or cruise control to do so to try and duplicate the experience to report it for Tesla.

Summary: Loss of power steering/inability to steer the vehicle occurred twice (7/16/23 & 7/29/23). Issue appears consistent with Investigation PE 23-014. Other functionality was also lost on each occurrence. Details: 7/16/23 - Driver entered the car and immediately received several alerts including Steering assist reduced, stability controlled disabled, traction control disabled, Lane departure avoidance features unavailable, and Vehicle hold disabled. Steering wheel could not be turned and regenerative braking was not functioning. A video of the issue was created and is available upon request as it could not be loaded in its current format. Tesla was contacted on 7/17/23. They stated that a firmware update failed on the evening of 7/15/23. The vehicle was towed to service center and firmware was updated. the invoice from the service center as also attached. 7/29/23 - Driver entered the car and immediately received several alerts including Steering assist reduced and Lane departure avoidance features unavailable. The steering wheel could not be turned, but only with extreme force. There was no firmware update at this time. I was able to drive the car 3 miles to my home at very slow speeds. 2 videos of the issue were created and are available upon request as they could not be loaded in their current format. Tesla was contacted on 7/30/23. The vehicle was towed to service center where they determined that the steering rack needs to be replaced. The vehicle remains at the servic

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request?: I got delivery of my new Model Y and odometer was reading 3 miles, i took the delivery and drove 10 miles and it stuck the steering wheel , "rear motor got disabled alert" and vehicle went to slow speed on freeway all of sudden, i had truck behind me it would ended up very bad for me and family, i had to immediately put emergency signal and stop on road side, i tried to call tesla road safety helpline and they were totally busy and did not receive call. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? ; this car "rear motor disabled " twice in middle of freeway , Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center?: Yes they confirmed but unable to give me more details . Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? : No they kept it secret with less info. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear?: No warnings, just stopped over in middle of freeway . so scary specially to new car. I would like NHTSA to inspect all new model Y car which have problems reported please check online and see the percentage of people received this kind of risky issues.

I received delivery of my new 2023 Model Y at the end of June. About 2 weeks ago, I was driving with my child in the car and at a left turn light. When the light turned green, I attempted to turn and the steering wheel almost completely stopped working. It felt like it was totally locked and with all my force, I was able to turn the car about 10% to avoid running into oncoming traffic. There was an alert for steering assist reduced. However, this was basically a locked steering wheel. The vehicle was towed to the nearest Tesla service center and per their notes, they replaced the steering rack and after test driving, they found an HVIL alert. Per their following notes, vehicle kept HVIL faulting and they had to pull logs and check signals and found that OSC kit was needed at VCFront. Installed OCS kit and alert stopped popping up. When I picked up the vehicle, I emphasized my great concern and how scary the incident was. They told me that if the issue continues, it's a hardware issue.

Vehicle completely lost the ability to steer. Warning message appeared that said power steering assist had been reduced. In fact, the steering was "locked" and a tremendous amount of force was required to simply steer the vehicle slightly to the side of the road. I could have been killed if this had happened on anything but a very straight low speed section of road. The vehicle was taken away on a flat bed truck to Tesla.

Within two weeks of taking delivery of the car, the power steering locked up when I was driving on the highway. Luckily I was on the right lane and was able to pull over. Once I got out, locked the car and came back in, it started working. It happened twice after that on my drive home from Wilmington NC. I had to take it to Tesla and they replaced the steering rack to fix this but this seems to be a common problem.

The cruise control for keeping the car in the lane never worked correctly . The car had to be towed to 1805 N Pepper Ln, Liberty Lake, WA 99019. Tesla had our new Tesla for two days and fixed the problem. When the car steering when out I was in restaurant parking lot and only drove less than a mile to our Spokane hotel . Waiting two extra days in Spokane was a major pain and loss of two days of work .

I experienced multiple dangerous phantom braking instances on Eastbound I10 between Van Horn and Ozona, Texas when the TACC system was in use. The car is on firmware 2023.20.9. There were no obstructions in the road and no traffic in front of the vehicle when the car suddenly braked going from 80mph to 50mph in a second before I could take control and accelerate. In two instances, cars were behind me creating a dangerous situation both in terms of an unexpected slow down on a barren stretch of interstate and possible road rage if motorists believed I was brake checking. There were no warning messages on the screen and no audible warning sounds. This is a consistent problem with this vehicle and seems to happen regularly on desert interstates or other highways where there are not many trees on bright sunny days. These events seem to happen on stretches of highway in which there may be a loss of cell signal so I wonder if that is a contributing factor. Regardless, Tesla needs to fix this issue as it is unsafe.

While on the highway i lost all power steering and acceleration and breaking power. no blinkers or access to my cars screen would not put car in park while on the side of the highway. i had to cross 4 lanes with no power, blinkers, minimal breaking. The control computer completely broke and stopped working. this was a week after delivery. Telsa towed my car for free and fixed the issue. But did not give anything for almost killing me on the highway. what repair notes say they fixed/replaced. Steering Colum control module bolt Rc Airbag harness Faulty SCCM,CAN

Had car less than a month. After a Tesla software upgrade, error message that power steering assist was disabled. Unable to turn steering wheel. Reset software twice with no change. Left the car for awhile. When I came back, steering worked. No issues since.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while pulling into the driveway, the vehicle accelerated at high-speed causing the vehicle to strike a wall at the contact resident. The contact stated the brake assist did not activate. The vehicle had major front-end damages. The contact's resident wall was damaged. Both the contact's wife who was driving and the passenger suffered concussion and whiplash. The contact's wife suffered neck injuries but neither the driver nor the passenger sought medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a repair center. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the vehicle data. The failure mileage was 3,746.

Loose power steering control while driving. Mostly happens when car is backing but also has happened while driving. Twice, we narrowly avoided accident. We called Tesla and they said to reset the software upon which it did not show for a day and again started showing up. We are taking the car to be looked up by Tesla service center. This is extremely dangerous situation as loosing power steering makes car really hard to steer!!

Steering wheel locked up one morning and immediately reported it to Tesla and they corrected it, but it seems like they just did a flush of the system. Not sure if there is still some fundamental flow. Charging port also kept on not responding either which basically makes the vehicle unable to move if it can't be charged.

The car completely stalled on the freeway. Giving less than 20 secs of warning that the vechicle will shut down. I got over from the fast lane to middle lane and car shut down. I had to call 911 and tow truck. I towed it to tesla and they said the rear unit failed… car was just purchased new a few months before this.

The steering wheel on my 2023 Tesla Model Y, brand new with only 800 miles on it, kept on locking up out of nowhere, in the middle of the drive, and even on the highway, posing a major safety concern for me and everyone driving around me. My safety was put at risk since I could not steer my vehicle off the road and into a safe area, posing a risk-prone of a severe accident through rear-ending. The problem was notified to Tesla Service, which responded super late to this incident where I had to call them and wait on hold for 1 hour to speak to a representative who then followed up and told me to drive it to the closest service center, which I declined since the steering wheel locking up at random is a major safety. Tesla stated that I would need a new steering rack installed on my brand new 2023 Model Y. I don't understand how these vehicles are inspected and pass quality control on such a major issue. This issue is not just about a broken part but a LIFE or DEATH SITUATION and should be dealt which severely. I got multiple lights and messages when the failure occurred while driving, with steering assist required being the last notification which I have attached in the pictures.

Service pushed a software update intended to fix a parking assist issue, and after that the power steering failed with a "steering assist reduced" message. I did a full power off and waited a few minutes, and since then it has worked fine. Also of note I mentioned this in my service ticket and they didn't respond at all. I attached a screenshot of the conversation from the Tesla app.