There are 18 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2020 Tesla Model Yin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
When I went to my local garage to have a wheel rotation and wheel alignment done, they discovered that my rear driver side break hose was leaking. They also discovered that the rear passenger side break hose was showing similar wear/damage. I had the car towed to Tesla repair center because the replacement parts were backordered for the local garage. At the Tesla repair center, I asked if this was a potential build quality issue or something else, which they couldn't answer. Besides tire related items, like new tires and wheel alignment, all my other servicing was done thru Tesla. They noticed that they had done some half-shaft lubrication work that would have required them to disassemble the breaks. Of course they are not going to speculate or admit wrong doing. Therefore, in my mind, the issue was either original build quality from the factory or maybe the Tesla service mechanic not properly reassembling the breaks during one of the service visits. Just incase this was a factory build issue, I wanted to put in this incident so it can be counted towards any tally that NHTSA maybe keeping.
We’re getting errors for traction control, reduced traction, control, disabled automatic emergency, braking is unavailable, ABS disabled. This is a manufactures defect, and Tesla is requiring us to pay.
Phantom breaking
On the last road trip, my car emergently braked for no reason when using cruise control and autopilot causing safety issues for cars behind my vehicle. This happened at least 6 times on my 500-mile round trip. I reached out to Tesla service and was told there is no fix at this time. in my opinion this is a dangerous problem that needs addressing in an urgent manner.
Vehicle was on FSD and suddenly excessively braked almost to a stop when driving at 65mph causing occupants and cargo to fly forward and Injured our pet in the rear seat
Have had several issues with phantom braking. When in cruise control or auto drive there are times nothing is in the roadway but the vehicle will brake in middle of hwy. very dangerous
Driving 1400 miles Santa Fe-Austin TX-Santa Fe, experienced phantom braking over 15 times. Generally happened while cruising on autopilot at 70-80 mph. Phantom braking occurred with no warning and for no apparent reason. The car suddenly jerked and lost 5-10 mph, and the autopilot went off.
I noticed a screeching sound from the rear of the vehicle when brakes were being applied in September 2022. I took the vehicle to a local tire/ brake store where the mechanic informed me that a brake caliper nut is missing and that brake caliper is bent. He strongly advised me against driving the vehicle any further until the nut bolt is replaced. Since they did not have Tesla brand bolt they used a similar bolt from their supply and asked me to have the original bolt replaced by Tesla. I am planning to take the vehicle to the Tesla repair center to have the vehicle inspected. The component that failed is not available for inspection as it is missing from the vehicle however the brake caliper is deformed The brake caliper can apparently cut into the wheel and place the occupants at risk as per an article by CNET available on line The issue was identified by an independent service center which is a national chain The manufacturer has not inspected the vehicle yet There was no warning about the failure other than the abnormal sound on braking
On 9/15/2022 around 12:15pm right before exit 180 on I40 East at Bermuda Run NC 801 in North Carolina, during moderate to heavy rain, our Tesla Model Y hydroplaned and spun twice doing two full 360 spins from the left most interstate lane and ending up in the right shoulder. Fortunately we made no contact with anyone and nothing was damaged and no one was hurt. We believe the car started to hydroplane causing me to let go the accelerator. This caused the Tesla Regenerative braking to kick in and made matters worse and caused the car to spin. Popular wisdom seems to be to tun off or reduce regenerative braking during rain or slippery conditions. We did not know this. Tesla should do this automatically or provide an option to do this. We think many people may not know this and this could get them to have a similar incident with more tragic results. We were lucky but many others may not have been.
When using the "Tesla Autopilot" feature phantom braking has been more frequent and aggressive following the recent software upgrades. Many times, phantom braking occurs when approaching an intersection or when lane lines intersect. The phantom braking concern was minimal when I first purchased the car. Strange enough it would happen going under an overpass or an elevated crosswalk. With time and software upgrades this concern was resolved but now the phantom braking events are more pronounced and sometime so quick it is difficult to implement corrective action and prevent possible rear end collisions, especially in highway traffic conditions.
While driving from Boston to Raleigh NC, I experienced several instances of the issue known as "Phantom Braking". While driving with the systems Autopilot driver assistance system engaged the car without warning, and without any visible reason (nothing in front of the car that should have caused such a response), did engage the brakes of the car excessively. In each of the situations the car was mostly alone on the he interstate, was driving in clear conditions, and was in daylight. This occurred more then three times oaths trip down and back up to RaleighNC from Boston MA.
With car in cruise control on freeway, sudden and hard application of brakes by vehicle, no human input.
Phantom braking happens frequently. On March 24, 2022, the phantom braking was out of control. It was very difficult to continue safe driving. I have a video of the screen that shows a person in front of my car. The video is a minute long and shows at least 5 such occurrences. Each time the person occurred on the screen the phantom braking happened when the FSD or cruise control was on. I received contradictory information from Tesla when I requested the service. Finally they said that the issue would be corrected in the future probably via several software updates. How can I drive safely until then??????
While traveling on RT 27 South in Florida on a bright sunny day with no traffic around the car and on adaptive cruise control my Tesla Model Y "phantom" braked twice within a mile or two of these incidents. This has happened several times before while on Full Self Driving mode but the first while on cruise control.
It's called phantom braking and it's absolutely dangerous. It happens when on auto pilot.
I was driving East on May 7, 2021, on I-94 toward New Buffalo, MI, on a clear day; no rain. A semi-truck was going 60 mph in the center lane of three lanes. I moved to the left lane to pass as I was going about 70 mph, the posted speed limit. There were no cars ahead of me in my lane for as far as I could see. Another car pulled up behind me very close—way too close—tailgating me. I was passing the truck and was parallel to the truck when suddenly the Tesla automatically slammed on my brakes!!! The idiot who was tailgating me fortunately reacted quickly and also slammed on his brakes and simultaneously swerved hard left onto the shoulder—thereby averting what could have been a fatal accident!! My car could have been pushed into the wheels of the truck on my right and we could have been killed!! I was badly shaken but, fortunately, we were not injured and there was no crash. When we arrived at our destination I phoned the salesman at the Chicago Tesla sales office and described the incident. I asked him if I could disable the automatic braking feature and he talked me through the procedure. The Tesla has a rear-facing video camera. I believe Tesla should program that camera to see a tailgating car and make certain that no automatic braking be engaged if a car is following too close!! I believe Tesla should investigate why this happened and should reprogram the software yo prevent it from happening again. I sent the Tesla Company two electronic messages through the Tesla Phone App as the Tesla salesman suggested, but I have not received any response more than one week later. This is irresponsible!! We could have been killed yet Tesla has ignored my two messages! If Tesla does not fix this problem, it is certain that people will die in a parallel situation. We were just very lucky.
The contact owned a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking space, the vehicle rolled back and crashed into a concrete wall. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. Additionally, on October 17, 2021, the contact slightly depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle accelerated abruptly and crashed into another vehicle. A police report was filed. The other driver in the second vehicle required medical attention. No air bags were deployed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to World Collision at The Mall of Georgia (4641 Harrison Run, Buford, GA 30518), where it was repaired. In addition, on January 9, 2022, the contact was pulling into a parking space when the vehicle unintendedly accelerated from 0 to 60 MPH, crashing into a brick wall. The contact stated that all the air bags were deployed. The contact and the passenger were injured and had to seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled. No warning lights were illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving at various speeds with the adaptive cruise control activated the vehicle would erroneously reduce speed. The failure occurred on multiple occasions. On another occasion, while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle abruptly decelerated to 50 MPH. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026