I recently purchased this vehicle less than a month ago and i have more than 15 Forward Warning collisions that come from nothing. Vehicles will be 100 yards out and my tesla thinks i am about to collide prompting the forward warning signal. I am driving passed the mailman and it thinks i will hit, my neighbors cars parked on the side of the road also prompts the message. This has caused my tesla insurance to rocket 30% more. I reached out to tesla, the car had a problem with the cameras pitch, alignment, and angle. However, they will not adjust my insurance despite the service center agreeing that the issue was with the vehicle.
2023 Tesla Model Y complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2023 record →
While backing the vehicle out of my driveway the steering wheel completely froze and would not turn in either direction. The vehicle reported a fault, so I turned the vehicle off then back in and it returned to normal. There was an error reported in the app under the service section however it has now disappeared.
Unable to steer. Received the power steering error mentioned in reports, I don’t remember the error code. Happened in my driveway, so no issues with respect to time or place. Rebooted the car and the error went away, but still scheduled service due to error code. It resulted in bringing the car to a service center where the steering rack was replaced.
Two phantom braking incidents on road trip from CA to UT Both on cruise control - NOT autopilot - No road obstacles or other vehicles present in both incidents 1st incident had road go from gray, older asphalt go to black new asphalt, which triggered a strong abrupt braking , jolting passengers 2nd incident - absolutely no obstacles or vehicles - random strong abrupt braking of vehicle stopped using cruise control after those two events - no more incidents
The car will sometimes brake hard for no reason, nothing in front of it
I have had many incidents of my Tesla Model Y Phantom braking. Traveling down the road using cruise control on a clear dry sunny day with proper lane markings not next to center dividing wall and no other vehicles in front of mine or to the sides my Tesla will suddenly apply the brakes for no apparent reason as if the car is detecting another vehicle or object ahead. The braking is sudden and aggressive with no warning. This could be extremely hazardous putting me at risk for a rear end collision at highway speeds. This has been a issue since the vehicle was new in February 2023. On a long trip you could get a few incidents in a hour then go for a long stretch with no problem. There does not appear to be a detectable pattern or situation for the phantom braking issue.
Problem: unintended acceleration On 05/30/23, the Tesla Model Y was parked in a parking spot, southbound facing a building. The car suddenly began to drive forward on its own and struck the curb, an AC unit, and a business office wall. No injuries, but the driver and people in the building (a dental clinic) panicked.
Location: car wash tunnel Symptom: ghost braking/shifting While in car wash mode and neutral, Tesla shifted inexplicably from neutral to park, causing Tesla to be rear-ended by the car behind in the car wash tunnel. My passengers and I could have been injured. Tesla engineers completed a technical review of the safety incident but refused to provide the full report instead directed me to consult lawyers. On the day of the service appointment, they did not even inspect my vehicle but instead told me to request vehicle data online. It turned out to be a waste of time to download vehicle recorded data that only Tesla engineers understand. The service invoice says, “Verified proper operation of the vehicle.” That is false. They did not even admit my car into the service entrance. This crash is preventable, but Tesla is not taking this defect seriously and refuses to share the full report of technical review.
Vehicle suddenly break hard without any reason at any speed when you activate the cruise control. Can cause a serious accident. I can experience this any time numerous times during my daily driving.
Car decelerates while on auto pilot 4-5 times while driving from Chicago to Alberta,CA vice versa.
While driving on the interstate at 85 mph on a straight flat road, with no other vehicles around, the car suddenly and violently braked. Car was in autopilot beta mode. However, this has happened before while only using cruise control. This happened twice only minutes apart. This issue is typically called phantom braking.
I was using autopilot on the car. A truck with a long truck bed was in front of me. I was getting really close to the truck bed and realize the my Tesla Model Y was not identifying the truck bed. There were no collision warning so I braked 3-4 feet away from the truck bed when I saw that the car was not braking on its own. I submit some pictures that shows the Tesla identifying that the truck is a car that is further away.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at a slow speed in the automatic braking mode, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated that his wife used the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The contact was concerned that the failure could cause injury or an accident. The contact stated that the tire pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,800.
I was traveling on the 8 freeway in Az going around 80 passing a tractor trailer. I had the cruise control on. Then the car breaks for no reason dropping me to 50 mph. It happened maybe 3 other times on that trip. Maybe 10 times since I purchased the car 5 months ago
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15–20 MPH, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact then depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle stopped immediately. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that no failure was found after reviewing the computer data. 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 3,000.
Approximately half a dozen times this year on highway journeys between California and Las Vegas, when the vehicle is on cruise control at approx. 70-75 mph, I have experienced brief instances of unnecessary, automated braking. Each time apparently in response to large black patches in front of the car, either a mismatched repair of the highway or a dark mirage type reflection of the sun on the highway. It appears to me that the vehicle cameras are occasionally mistaking these dark patches as an obstacle. Presumably lidar sensors would not react because the radar would not bounce back off anything, but I believe my car does not have lidar sensors. In each case there was an approximate 10 to 15 mph reduction in speed and then the vehicle quickly recovered. Fortunately, no other vehicle was tailgating me at the time but if one had been, I believe there is a realistic risk of being rear ended. Alternatively, the driver behind would, presumably, apply the brakes, which may cause a chain reaction when the highway is in fact, clear ahead. I have not contacted Tesla. Based on other reports online, it appears to be a waste of time.
To whom it may concern I was driving in a 2023 Model Y around 7:30 in the evening at less than 30mph. There was light rain in the area. As I was driving down a street in the metro Boston area, I noticed the car ahead of me had slowed and was stopping behind another car at a crosswalk. I had taken my foot off the accelerator and noticed that the car did not slow down at all and the regenerative braking did not function properly. Even as I attempted to brake, it seemed like the car would not stop in time. To avoid hitting the car in front of me, in a split second decision I swerved to the left so that I would avoid hitting any other car. My Tesla Model Y went over the median and struck a crossing light pole before coming to a stop. During the seconds leading up to this no preventative warning sounds came from the cars safety systems (eg.collision alert warning, emergency braking) although on most other days it often beeped even when there was nothing directly in front me. Thankfully I did not hit anyone else and we were not injured. However, this was a shocking and highly disconcerting event and could have been worse had the car been traveling at a higher rate of speed or if I had been on a different street without an option to swerve. A preliminary verbal report from Tesla in a phone call stated that "all systems were working as intended". I have made a formal request for driver and video data for that incident from Tesla and am still waiting to receive it. As of now, my Tesla
On a recent 800 mile road trip, there were no less than 7 incidents of the vehicle suddenly braking on its own while on cruise control with no vehicles in front of us. one incident occurred with a semi truck behind us that almost caused an accident. the car went from 80 mph to 45 mph before I had time to react and press the gas pedal.
I was in Tesla charging station when I noticed this steering issue happened. I wasn’t be able to turn the steering as usual and had to make call to Tesla and had it towed to their repair shope. It took four days to replace the rack and pinion. I am not happy having just three month and this happened. Shape on Tesla. Thank God I was not in the free way.
The issue started on the third day as I moved to Maryland from Charlotte, NC. August 2014. Now it is my 8 car. The problem is all those cars have either hardware or software installed device, like microwave or Radio Frequency. I used to be Uber & Lyft driver, then August 2019 started to drive my own limo & black car with those ride-share corporations. The group which installed this devices run this device externally & cause a very distractive pain on my brain & my customers brain. It damages a brain, cause fatigue, distract vision, & impair brain functioning. Since it started I have been complaining from the local office to the FBI & Maryland Department of Justice. Even though as they suggested me keep changing my cars I couldn’t stop this issue. Now it is publicly running in my car. The customers & the citizens know very well. The low enforcement agencies still didn’t acknowledge the dangerous of the problem. I am extremely disappointed & asking you to help me & other citizens. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Tesla Model Y purchased on 06/23/2023 from Springfield NJ center. I had 2 accidents on the same day. I having been driving in the US from more than 5 years and never had a scratch on my vehicle nor even a parking ticket. i drove approx 600 miles in 2 weeks. So I was very comfortable in driving the tesla model y. Date of incidents - 07/07/2023. At Tinton Falls NJ. I was trying to take a K turn on a flat road at around 9:30 a.m. I put the car in Reverse. When I pressed the accelerator pedal the car went forward and hit an Electric Pole. I then pressed the brake pedal . Made sure the car is on Reverse Gear . On leaving the break pedal the car was automatically moving forward towards the pole. This should never had happen. I put the car in Park mode and waited for 5-10 mins approx. Then after some time when I put the reverse gear and left the brake pedal the car didnt move and on pressing acceleration it reversed. I parked my car at the site where I had my work. Police were called and they gave me a ticket. I had a sprain in my neck. Later by 2 pm I drove with the same car Home at Edison NJ. (1 hr drive) I called Tesla Customer Service and they advised me to take the car to Springfield NJ dealership as it could be a software glitch. I decided to drive the tesla with my family in other car to the dealership incase they decide to keep the car. I was about to enter into Fadem Rd when lifted my feet off the acceleration pedal to slow down. The car all off sudden accelerated with no s
While driving down I-5 South between Bay Area and LA, the vehicle applied brakes and sounded a collision warning when there was no apparent vehicle/obstruction in front of the car. Tesla's Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) was engaged at the time and the max speed was set to 75MPH. The speed reduced to ~60MPH before I intervened and pushed on the accelerator pedal.
I just purchased a new 2023 Model Y and took my first road trip. Traveling from Broomfield, CO to Santa Fe, NM, and then on to Mesa, AZ on July 16th and 17th. Traveling south on [XXX] I experienced nearly a dozen hard emergency braking events when using cruise control. The hard braking events happened without warning and without stepping hard on the throttle to overcome the sudden braking I believe the car would come to a complete stop. It is just dangerous and I do not understand why it is happening and why it has apparently not been corrected. I currently own two GM products with adaptive cruise control and have never experienced anything like this. The last 3 Audi cars I have owned with adaptive cruise never experienced any sudden braking. This needs to be addressed as soon as possible. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was traveling on IH-10 from San Antonio and El Paso, when I had multiple hard braking incidents for no reason at all. I had adaptive cruise control on. Multiple incidents also happened on my return trip. I took out emergency brake on my return trip and it seemed to work ok, except it resets the emergency braking after each stop and I forgot to take it out. That is when I had multiple incidents of breaking for no reason. On one segment of the trip, I had taken out the emergency braking but It did it again. It occurrs at speed limit speeds of 80, 75, and 65 MPH. Luckily, there were no accidents but they could have happened very easily. I do not feel safe at all in this vehicle.
Sudden unexplained Phantom Braking. Travelling on The Chisholm Trail Parkway tool road and while approaching an underpass the car suddenly applied brakes with no cars near me in front or to my sides. Fortunately there were no vehicles behind me. This similar situation also happened to me in my 2022 Model 3, so it is apparent that Tesla has not been able to resolve this long standing potentially serious traffic safety hazard.
While driving my 2023 Model Y, the electronic power steering suddenly stopped working. Luckily there wasn’t a vehicle behind me, which avoided any accident. I had to use immense manual power on the steering to make the vehicle move to the side. Upon resetting, the steering was back to normal again. However, this seems to be a serious safety hazard and I cannot fathom the fact if it had happened on a busy freeway.
Phantom braking occurs in cruise control for no reason and with no warning. The car is available for inspection. Many other Tesla drivers have described the same situation. On a recent cross country trip phantom braking happened frequently. We made sure there was no one behind us when we engaged cruise to avoid being rear ended. We were in NV when it happened again- this time a big rig had safe distance behind us when the brakes engaged ( we were driving 75). The rig driver swerved into another lane to avoid us. We have not taken car to service center yet. Social media is full of these accounts. This is still happening. There is no warning whatsoever. It’s hard to describe how terrifying this is.
While using cruise control there are sudden and unexpected violent decelerations even though there are no cars other obstructions. also the visialization sofware cuts out or does not come one leading to no blind spot warning, forward collision warning, or may safety features requiring the software.
I was about to park in car space in a parking lot. Instead of stopping in the car space, it has accelerated suddenly into the lawn in front of the car space. Tried to stop and it accelerated again and then hit the tree. The left front part of the model Y is damaged and is still in the body shop even after more than a month. I thought the only explanation is I have pressed accelerator instead of break. But as I think about it, I don't think I pressed the accelerator. It did sudden intended acceleration twice during that incidence.
While traveling on I70 from Columbia, Missouri to Grand Junction, Colorado and back, we experienced at least 30 incidents of sudden braking while in adaptive cruise control. Some of the incidents were rapid, causing the car to lose 20 to 30 mph within a second. For the most part these occurrences of sudden braking happened on open highway with no other vehicle within 1/2 mile in front of us. We discussed this issue extensively with Telsa and no resolution was provided by Tesla. In fact, one service agent stated that we should just be happy that we were driving a Tesla and that eventually Tesla may solve the problem.
The adaptive cruise control malfunctioned while engaged on the highway/interstate. On a recent trip of approx. 1,000 miles, the vehicle experienced "phantom braking" (aggressive emergency braking for no reason) on three occasions while the adaptive cruise control was engaged on the highway/interstate at approx. 65-75 mph, with no obstruction/vehicle in front and the weather was clear sunny skies. No warnings or messages were prompt by the vehicle. This abrupt phantom breaking could have caused serious injury from a rear-end collision or cause vehicles behind to take unnecessary unsafe emergency maneuvers/braking.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while reversing out of a parking space, the audible alarm and collision avoidance system did not activate as the vehicle drove closer to a nearby pole. The vehicle struck the pole causing minor damages to the rear pumper. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,000.
Hard braking on its own while using cruise control. Nearly rear-ended multiple times.
Unintended Acceleration. I was driving back from a place in brand new Tesla, drove around 11-12 miles and was fine. We went to ice cream place and I stopped my vehicle in parking spot. Car was completely stopped at that time. To fix parking I put steering in reverse (don’t remember putting my foot on acceleration at all) and car went back at fast speed. I was completely taken aback and before I could realize and put brake, it hit red pole. Thankfully all family members were safe and no car or any one was hit while car was reversing. All happened within just few secs. Car was towed away to home and then to body shop, police did come to check on scene but there was no police report as it didn’t involve any other Car/person and no damage was caused to property. Car is damaged in rear but motor and battery is all fine. It’s in body shop but maybe totaled based on claim. I still don’t remember putting foot on accelerator while reversing but was blaming myself, then this morning I came across article so wanted to share the incident with you. https://www.autoevolution.com/news/breaking-nhtsa-petition-shows-tesla-s-sudden-unintended-acceleration-is-real-and-curable-217525.html
Cruise control settings are such that the driver engages and sets the cruise control speed based on the current speed of the vehicle. That speed setting should then never change unless the driver changes it. The vehicle unexpectedly and spontaneously resets the speed setting on its own when passing by certain specific landmarks e.g. specific exit ramps on the interstate and where an intersecting road crosses over the interstate on a bridge. The change in the speed setting can be quite large based on the speed limit of the interstate which then causes the vehicle to dramatically slow to meet the new speed setting. For example the speed setting was set at 70 MPH. The vehicle passed by a specific exit ramp on an interstate and the speed setting unexpectedly and spontaneously reset to 55 MPH. The vehicle then goes into a dramatic deceleration to slow down to the new speed setting creating a high risk for a rear collision from a following car.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving approximately 65-75 MPH with the Autonomous Self Driving feature and the Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control activated, the vehicle jerked and drifted into another lane. The contact stated that the message to manually drive the vehicle was displayed. The contact turned off the Autonomous Self Driving and Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control however, the vehicle experienced phantom braking 30 minutes later while driving. The contact continued driving to her destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 398.
Have experienced 2 major “phantom braking” incidents almost causing 2 accidents. There has also been several other incidents but not as severe as the 2 almost causing accident. Called Tesla and they said it is a known problem, service person said he has had his car for 5 years and still having issues. Evidently he said it was software related. He reported there is nothing they can do as solution has not been found.
While driving in cruise control, the car suddenly decelerates periodically from 75 mph to 50 mph. No immediate safety issue but if a car had been following, we may have had a collision. We logged this with Tesla using “bug report”. No warnings. No inspections yet.
Drove thru multiple states in spring and Tesla autopilot would come to abrupt sudden slow down without warning. Bad enough that I would disable the system and drive manually. This problem occurs regardless of one lane or two lane roads. With or without cars in front or behind me. Sunny or cloudy skies. Hot or cold. Straight or windy roads. With autopilot or even adaptive cruise control. I have no faith in the system. At one point it even changed lanes without warning almost hitting another car.
Backing up in a parking lot with direct sun behind the car, lost sight via the mirrors, dashboard camera and parking assist and collided with parking bollard approximately 3' high causing extensive damage to the left, rear quarter panel and wheel well. Parking assist didn't beep, blare or other as it does and has for our yard waste bins and garden cart at the edges of our driveway (backing up in the dark). I believe the fact that cameras only and sun exposure is a bad mix and was sure glad we weren't in FSD and going forward. I think that removing the radar function via software and or removing the connector plug (at a service visit) is both unsafe and a fraud against the purchaser of such a vehicle and radar systems should be reinstated for the consideration of safety whether going backwards or forwards. Wanted to make the complaint first as we also can't get a service appointment for this incident until the end of July. Happy with the overall vehicle but this safety function is fallible and unsafe.
My Tesla has experienced several phantom breaking occurrences while on the highway where autopilot engages break aggressively when there is no collision possibility and almost caused rear end collisions into my car. Very terrifying and this needs to be addressed.
I am filing a complaint about 2 separate issues. The first issue is water leaking inside of the center console. I drove my vehicle through the car wash for the first time this morning. Apparently the process of receiving an undercarriage wash left soapy water inside my center console. I have taken a photo. The second issue is that I can't operate cruise control (which is branded as Traffic Aware Cruise Control) without worrying about the vehicle brakes being aggressively applied in situations where they shouldn't be. I was almost rear ended on the highway last week when I had TACC set to 70mph and the vehicle decided to slam on the brakes for no reason.
I had a very dangerous phantom breaking event while driving on the interstate. The car slammed on the brakes for no reason and I nearly had a rear end collision. There was nobody in front of me, sun was not a factor, road was flat and straight, weather was clear. Car was on cruise control only. I was driving Interstate speed, about 70 mph, and without warning the Tesla Model Y slammed on the brakes and the only reason we didn’t get rear ended was because I quickly hit the accelerator to get out of the braking action. My dogs also went flying forward in the back seat and my passenger was wretched forward and scared b/c it came out of nowhere. There was no indication from the car before, during our after that there was a problem. I have notified Tesla of the incident, but don’t expect they will do anything. This happened Thursday June 29, 2023 at 4pm CT.
While driving on the freeway at a speed of 72 MPH thr speed limit was 75 MPH used cruse control no vehicles are onfront of me and it did a sudden brake and went to 0 luckily escaped from life threat behind me other vehicle was their that driver handled well if not it would have effected worse. Happend couple of time since I was new Tesla I thought I was not handling properly serious life threat issue scared to drive
The auto wiper system of the Tesla Y failed miserably in a torrential downpour while traveling on a major highway on the east coast. The wipers were working fine but after the downpour they simply stopped working. Fortunately, we were able to pull to the side of the road, get on the touchscreen and manually turn them on. We did not use the “auto” mode of the wipers again on our trip. There is a serious defect on the auto mode on our Y!
Vehicle experienced phantom braking while on the highway. Vehicle was travelling at 85mph while Autopilot was engaged - hands were on steering wheel and no warnings were flashing. Vehicle experienced rapid braking/deceleration with no objects in front of vehicle - road was empty and no other vehicles were around. Incident occurred on 07/04/2023 @ 0544hrs MST. Vehicle displayed no warning signs during incident. This has occurred multiple times in the past while Autopilot was engaged.
Phantom braking issue- Brakes were automatically applied while driving on open highway with no other vehicles around. Autopilot was in use, speed set to limit of 75 mph.
I live in Fremont, CA. A few hours ago, I was driving from Mountain View to my home. When I was in the left most lane of CA-237 driving at like 70 mph on adaptive cruise control, the car started to brake really hard all of a sudden. There was nothing ahead of me as far as I could see at that point, there was no car close to me in the right lane either, and there wasn’t any kind of sharp turn or something. The braking was so sudden, forceful, and above all unexpected that we were really shocked and scared (and of course experienced a horrifying jerk). The same kind of thing has happened once before with the same car when the car began to brake suddenly and forcefully even though there was no one in sight on the highway.
Tesla's Autopilot feature regularly experiences "phantom braking". A typical scenario is while traveling on an interstate highway in Idaho, Oregon or Washington state at the speed limit (70 to 80 MPH), the car will suddenly and violently decelerate. The severity can vary between annoying to so extreme that the passenger is thrown forward hard enough to engage the retention mechanism in the seat belt. This happens under seemingly perfect conditions-- mid-day, clear skies, clear lane markings, smooth pavement in good condition, straight section of road. The deceleration can be overridden by pressing the accelerator or disengaging autopilot but by that time the risk of being rear-ended by anyone traveling close behind is very high. For this reason I've been using the feature less and less which leaves me without any form of basic cruise control. In two different trips of around 500 miles, phantom braking has occurred between 10 and 20 times each. In two different service requests, Tesla has confirmed that my car, including the vision system, is operating within normal specifications. Beyond that they're unwilling to engage in any form of diagnosis or investigation. There are two fundamental problems here: 1) Tesla's Autopilot feature in unreliable and dangerous 2) The car I purchased was advertised to have Cruise Control, implemented by Tesla with their Autopilot feature. Because of 1), it effectively has no Cruise Control.
While driving highway speeds in autopilot (cruise control) I experience sudden heavy breading for no reason. No cars around on a flat road. Once while in front of another car which scared me enough not to use it anymore.
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
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