2021 Tesla Model Y Complaint Log

My wife and I were driving south on Interstate-93 in NH on Superbowl Sunday. Traffic was heavy and we were traveling about 65 mph when our 2021 Model Y Tesla started beeping and the following message came on the screen - “PULL OVER SAFELY, Vehicle shutting down”. My wife was driving and had just enough time to cross over three lanes to get into the breakdown lane before the car came to a sudden stop. The car did not want to restart. We called the Tesla service center and they were about to order a tow truck but we asked if there was a ‘ctrl/alt/del’ type option. She had us select Safety>Power Off. When our Tesla came back on everything was seemingly normal so the service center said ‘this is very rare’ and that it should be okay to drive. We drove another few miles down 93 and luckily took an early exit ramp because the car shut down again at the bottom of the ramp. My wife and I restarted the car again and managed to limp home in some sort of “Power reduced” mode (i.e. painfully little acceleration). This was potentially a very dangerous situation! Luckily we were able to safely get into the breakdown lane but there wasn’t much time to spare.

The Tesla Model Y had a software update at 12:05 am on Feb 13, 2022, which was complete. I drove the car to local YMCA at around 8:15 am on Sunday Feb 13, 2022, for my swim exercise and drove it home at around 9:30 am. I planned to park it by backing up to my driveway so that I can charge it. I positioned my car, with the front facing my neighbor's house. My foot was on brake and my right hand was moving the Drive Stalk towards R for reverse. The car all of the sudden flew forward on its own! It was only stopped after it hit my neighbor's house, making a big hole into her house, and causing severe damages to it outside and inside (smashed furniture and falling glassware), as well as to her landscaping. When this happened, my foot was still on the brake but pushing brake did stop the car. Additionally, hitting a tree also did not stop the car. Only the house and its strong frame stopped the car. The front of the car was totally damaged, including pieces falling out of the car and a big piece under the car falling down. Please come by immediately to take photos and examine damage. I called 911 immediately. The police and emergency trucks came. Since no one seemed to be visibly hurt (I had a whiplash and headache due to impact but was more was scared and shocked), the emergency medical crew left. The police said they are not making a report because the accident happened in private driveway and no crime was involved. I called Liberty Mutual to file a claim and was directed to file it online. I never bought the Tesla autopilot package but the new software update showed autopilot is an included package. This is a problem. I called Tesla customer service and reported this serious software malfunction. Thinking back, software problem caused another safety concern that started on Feb 6, 2022. Not only the right passenger door cannot be opened from outside, it also cannot be opened from inside. Someone could be trapped inside. This is a SAFETY alert!

Slams on the brakes without warning. Almost caused semi to hit me from behind. This is very dangerous and must be fixed.

Since receiving Tesla Model Y 2021.44.x software update, I've experienced phantom braking on the highway at least once every time I drive it using autopilot. This continues through the software currently installed 2022.4.x. The most common scenario is I'm in the second lane from the right, a car is entering the highway to enter the first lane from the right. Each car is in its own lane. My car sometimes brakes for no reason. On many occasions there are no cars anywhere near me, but the car breaks suddenly. Not a danger for others, but dangerous for the driver and upsetting for passengers. I now only engage autopilot when there are no cars close behind me and no one else is riding with me. I don't want to cause and be responsible for someone hitting me because my car braked for no good reason. I'd prefer regular old cruise control to this behavior.

Phantom breaking while driving with cruise control.

While driving at highway speeds I have recently had repeated unexpected breaking events occur while using adaptive cruise control. It happens without warning and for no apparent reason. The breaking is significant and could easily result in a rear end collision.

Several times (at least 4 times) on various trips, I was driving on the interstate going at least 70 mph and I had cruise control on. I DO NOT have autopilot. If the highway was blacktop and I approached a white concrete bridge deck, the car suddenly brakes. Also, twice I was next to a tractor trailer (I was in the left lane and the tractor trailer was in the middle lane to my right) and the car braked suddenly. I thought the car “anticipated” that the trailer was coming into my lane. Regarding the white concrete bridge deck, I wonder if the car “saw” a wall ahead and that is why it braked.

When using the cruise control (and, by extension, Autopilot) feature, the car often brakes unexpectedly and in some cases dramatically for no obvious reason. I often use cruise control on single lane undivided roads that have speed limits between 35-50mph. When using cruise control in this scenarios the car will often automatically apply the brakes for no obvious reason, often applying the brakes hard enough that the car slows down quickly. Many times the forward collision warning sound is played but there is nothing in front of me in my lane or in the opposite lane. Other times this happens when a car is approaching me in the opposite lane. There have been several cases where the car applied the brakes for no obvious reason so hard that had I not intervened (by pressing the accelerator) the car behind me would have been at risk of hitting me. It has gotten to the point where I am becoming somewhat conditioned to override the automatic braking anytime it happens. That is dangerous and can lead to an issue where the car legitimately has a reason to decelerate but I override it thinking it is braking for no reason. I see this behavior in both cruise control (which Tesla calls Traffic Aware Cruise Control) or in Autopilot. I don't currently have the Full Self Driving feature of the car. It occurs most often when I'm on a single lane undivided road using either cruise control or Autopilot. When I'm using cruise control or Autopilot on a traditional divided highway the unexpected braking happens much less frequently.

When driving with cruise control on I experience issues with sudden braking. Sometimes it seems like it may be an error due to on coming traffic (particularly trucks), but sometimes it’s due to blind curves or small humps (such as an interstate bridge/overpass) where the pavement is a different shade. Typically I’ll be at cruising speed 60-75mph and braking will be sudden and aggressive, to about 45mph. This has happened numerous times since purchase in June 2021.

The vehicle engages automatic emergency braking frequently and repeatedly without reason, especially on two lane highways with oncoming traffic. This occurs during the day and at night. The vehicle also engages phantom braking (without emergency braking notifications) during normal driving on freeways and highways. Video of this incident is also available.

Car on cruise control slammed on brakes and did so every time I lifted got off accelerater until I disengaged and reengaged cruise control

While using adaptive cruise control on I-25 making round trips between Albuquerque and Ft Collins, I have experienced numerous (dozens) phantom braking events. They are so frequent that I have stopped using adaptive cruise control. Almost all of these events occur when there is no traffic and no discernible reason for braking. In many cases, my first response is to look in the rearview mirror since I'm worried that if someone is behind me it would cause an accident since the stop is very unexpected. To date, there has not been a close call. The stopping varies between slight hesitations causing 1-2 MPH decrease to dramatic decreases of over 20 MPH. I have made numerous 'bug reports' using my voice in the car immediately after many of the events. I also scheduled a service call but was told that they examined the software and could find no problem. There is no warning of an impending braking event.

When the traffic aware of cruise control or auto pilot is engaged, particularly on two-lane roads with opposing traffic, phantom breaking occurs with about 90% of the approaching semi tractor trailers, and perhaps 25% of the approaching automobiles.

When using cruise control, the vehicle unexpectedly brakes on multiple occasions. This occurs when there are no other vehicles in the vicinity. It has also occurred when passing tractor trailers. I understand there have been hundreds of similar reports. No warning provided prior to the failure. This is a safety hazard that must be addressed. Tesla service will be notified.

I was driving south on Highway 101 on 2/8/22. I was using the self driving feature. The car abruptly slowed down and was appearing to stop even though there was no collision imminent. Traffic was moderate.

While driving with cruise control engaged my car has now on several occasion suddenly and without warning applied the brakes on its own when there was no reason for the brakes to have been applied. Sometimes it has done it when a truck is approaching in the opposite direction, but sometimes it does it for no reason at all. Recently it did it with such severity that it was clear to me that if a car had been behind me I would have been hit from behind. Also, it was startling to the point where I could have lost control of my vehicle.

PHANTOM BRAKING When cruise control is engaged (not auto steer or full self driving) the vehicle will intermittently slow down or apply corrective braking when no hazard exists. This happens more frequently on 2 lane roads but also happens occasionally on multi-lane freeways. On a 2 lane road, my vehicle will either slow down, brake or break HARD when anything larger than a SUV is coming from the other direction at normal speeds and in his lane. I have also experienced this when there is nobody for 1+ mile in front of behind me. If there are cars behind me, I find myself covering the accelerator and ready to floor it in case my car suddenly slams on the breaks. This make cruise control very unsafe and stressful. I have another Tesla vehicle doing the same thing and will post separately on that one. Thank you. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

on the 2022 Model Y, they have an Emergency Braking issue when the cruise control is set and you meet an oncoming car the Model Y will slam on its brakes.

car brakes while on autopilot whenever a truck comes in opposite lane, especially in single lane roads, more prominent on cloudy days. near collision by following cars due to unanticipated brakes.

This is another incident of "phantom braking" that affected my wife and I- which occurred on Feb. 7th, 2022. We were returning from a trip to Michigan and headed back to Chicago-area at about 2 PM ET. The same exact scenario unfolded as the incident on Feb. 1st ( when we were driving TO Michigan. ) This time we were on I 94 headed WEST toward Chicago. There was a truck approx. 150-200 ahead of us and in the lane to our right. I was driving in Autopilot. All the cars on my highway were headed in the same direction all headed west to Chicago. So the phantom braking was not triggered by a truck in an opposite-headed lane. It was triggered by a truck headed in the same direction and to the lane to my right- the same exact scenario as what happened on Feb. 1st. Almost identical configuration. I was doing about 60- frankly paranoid that the car could stop throughout our whole trip home. Sure enough, when we approached the arrangement where a truck was ahead and to the right of our lane, the car suddenly braked. Luckily there was no vehicle tailgating us. So that's it. It happened again. All told, this is about 8th incident of phantom braking on the expressway.

The vehicle will randomly brake with no traffic in broad daylight (shadows cast by trees?), or always at the same area (e.g. when entering or exiting Sumterville, FL from the south), or when a large vehicle is approaching from the opposite direction (such as a semi rig), often producing an audible alert but at times without any warning. My previous vehicle, a Model 3 equipped with radar and the old software still relying on it for input, would also produce phantom braking events, but only in small numbers. The new Model Y with vision only is unreliable and dangerous, and practically useless when adaptive cruise control is engaged. This has been occurring since day one. Never before have I experienced such dangerous behavior in any prior vehicle, let alone one as modern and expensive as a Tesla.

This is an ongoing issue. When using autopilot, I experience phantom braking, usually with large oncoming trucks on 2 lane highways. The problem is worse with logging trucks, but I've had it happen with vehicles as small as school buses. In the worst cases, the collision alarm sounds and the car slows up to 30mph immediately. I have this happen at least twice every morning on my 7 mile drive to town. I have videos that capture this event. Photos don't work

While driving on the interstate (divided) highway at 73 mph with adaptive cruise control engaged, the vehicle abruptly braked. There were no other vehicles or obstructions within 250' at the time of braking. No warning lights or messages appeared. To correct the situation, I immediately pressed the accelerator to increase speed. Conditions: daylight, dry road surface. If another vehicle was following close by this could have caused an accident. I've had the car about 7 months and this type of braking has occurred 7 times, all with no vehicles nearby. It has happened both in the daytime (6) and night (1) at similar speeds mention above. I brought car in for service at Tesla on two occasions for this problem and they could find no faults in the software or braking. Basically, I was told Tesla continues to update software.

I have already reported this to TESLA and they did nothing for the following except to ask for a "time stamp". As I'm driving in Auto or Full self drive mode the car will suddenly brake as though there is something on the road in front of the car and at the time there is nothing present on the road or coming out into traffic. The car will make an alarm noise (internally) as though I did something wrong and as I said will decrease in speed dramatically and scare the driver behind me if there is a driver present.

I have had issues since i purchased this vehicle in march of 2021 where driving down the highway with Adaptive Cruise Control enabled and it will suddenly slam on the brakes at highway speeds with no other vehicles around. This sudden braking is so severe at times that everyone in the car is thrown forward and bracing for a false impact. This has caused several close calls for vehicles following me. Also the severity of the braking in winter weather causes the vehicle to lose traction and potentially place all the occupants and others on the road at risk. During my time in the FSD Beta program i was able to report all of these events, sometimes dozens of times a day. Eventually I asked to be removed from the program as it seemed worse in the program than when on a standard build version of the software.

On a cross-country trip from Washington, DC to Oklahoma City on Feb 5th and 6th (Saturday and Sunday) I tried to use the "adaptive cruise control" for the first time. Terrifying. The car would be driving along at 80mph, and then it would suddenly slam on the brakes, seemingly without provocation... with a 30-35mph sudden deceleration (absolutely nobody/nothing in either of the lanes in front of me). This was not while using the "full self-driving" feature, as I did not pay the extra $10k for this functionality, only the adaptive cruise control. Another very disturbing thing was that when the adaptive cruise control was enabled, it would not allow me to turn off the windshield wipers... and every so often the wipers would just start frantically wiping despite only a small bit of rain hitting the windshield (again, disturbing, as it is very startling when it happens out of nowhere). Needless to say, after this happened 5 or 6 different times over these two days, I turned off adaptive cruise control and kept it off. Tried to contact Tesla service, but they kept dodging the issue so I stopped trying.

When using basic Tesla Autopilot (AP) on side roads or highways the car will experience “phantom braking” with no other vehicles around. Phantom braking is where the car will slam on the brakes because it sees a safety issue ahead. I was driving on a highway at 60mph and engaged AP after about 5 miles the car brakes hard and fast down to around 40mph and then sped back up to 60mph after about 50 yards. It did this twice on the drive home. If we have an 18 wheeler behind us and they’re not paying attention they would definitely rear end our car.

While using adaptive cruise control driving at the I-25 speed limit in northern New Mexico on Feb. 5, 2022, when I went to pass a tractor-trailer rig on a left-turn stretch of freeway, the brakes suddenly slammed on hard (phantom braking), though there was no endangerment in the driving situation. This happened twice on this trip. In both instances, it was while legally passing a big rig on the interstate at the speed limit, with our car in the left lane and the truck in the right. We've taken this vehicle on long interstate road trips through the Mountain West before, and never encountered this problem before in similar circumstances. There must have been some software upgrade that made the car more dangerous and unreliable to drive while using cruise control on freeways with tight bends. Now I don't trust the vehicle and won't be using cruise control until this problem is remedied.

Issue #1 When on autopilot, vehicle can suddenly brake on its own (phantom braking) without warning. This happens frequently on major highways and in some instances I have to respond quickly to prevent rear end accidents. Issue #2: Vehicle only alerts when another vehicle is suddenly stopping in front and does not automatically brake as required.

Numerous phantom breaking incidents. Dangerous

Phantom braking hard braking on freeway with no cars or objects around

While using the autopilot (not full self driving feature) on the highway, I have experienced multiple inatances sudden braking for no reason. No vehicle has been in front of me in these instances and it has occurred most often on undivided highways and highways where there is a hill. This has made engaging the autopilot dangerous as there are cars behind me and I could have been rear-ended on multiple occasions. Additionally, while driving manually on city streets where there are stop signs, there have been multiple instances where the vehicle has given me a forward collision warning because I am slowing down to a vehicle that is ahead of me at the stop sign. This has most often happened on uphill and downhill instances where there are stop signs.

I was driving on a 2 lane highway using cruise control and the car suddenly aggressively slowed down. I have owned the car since October 2021 and this is probably the 15th phantom breaking event that has occurred. Cruise control on this car is not trustworthy nor safe on a 2 lane non-divided highway.

Tesla slams on brakes for no reason. Causes a safety hazard with cars behind me. Was almost hit when my model y applied the breaks for no reason.

Vehicle abruptly applied automatic braking as I was cruising at 40 mph. Went to an almost complete stop in a short distance. No one was behind me but if there were it would have been dangerous. Also, there were patches of ice in the road which made it even more dangerous.

The defroster system is not able to keep the windshield clear of ice buildup when driving even in light snow. This is because this is an electric vehicle, so there is no engine heat from underneath the hood to radiate towards the wipers. Between wiper cycles, the wipers rest below the area of the windshield that is heated by the defroster. During snowfall ice builds up on the wipers from their resting position between cycles and that ice then propagates to the rest of the windshield as the wipers move. This is an extremely dangerous situation. I heard Tesla is installing a heater beneath the resting area of the wipers on the 2022 model year of this vehicle. However, NHTSA should issue a recall and require this heating plate be retrofit onto earlier model years. The country of Canada is aware of this issue as well and currently investigating it.

Phantom breaking while using adaptive cruise control. Happened 3 times in past two months. First two times were traveling on a major highway, both on a hilly section at the bottom of a hill, with no other cars nearby. The car apparently thought the hill was something that should cause the breaks to engage. Car went from about 70 to 55 in a few seconds. Very startling. The third time was on a residential road, going about 38-40. There were no cars nearby, and the breaks engaged abruptly. The safety implications are obvious, although luckily there were no cars behind us when the breaks went on. We reported these incidents to Tesla today and asked for a service appointment. A Tesla representative called us and said we had assumed these risks when we bought a Tesla, there was nothing they could do, and it was probably driver error. They did agree to make an “internal report.” We told them we would report this to you. This is our second Tesla. We had a 2018 Model 3 and never had any problem like this. We wanted more storage space and higher seating, so we sold the 3 and bought the Y in July 2021, not understanding that Tesla had changed to an “all camera,” no radar/lidar safety system. Add us to the growing list of evidence that the new system is dangerously faulty.

Phantom braking at all speeds both on city streets and on highways. On the highway 138 between Palmdale and Victorville California I was unable to use cruise control because the car would continually brake. I was the only car on the road at the time.

While driving on C-470 in Colorado, eastbound approaching the Quebec St. exit, I was in the right lane. A car was exiting the highway while I continued straight. I was 2 sec behind this car and the car was in the exit lane, while I continued on the right lane. However, the highway curves to the left here. A straight forward view shows this car mostly in front of me. The Model Y braked excessively, from 65 to 45-50 before I could press the accelerator to continue forward. I would be worried of a rear end collision if there were a car behind me.

Phantom braking, rapid deceleration occur without warning and randomly.

While driving on the freeway at 70 mph with cruise control activated, the Tesla suddenly braked hard. There was no emergency or vehicle entering my lane. This occurs on a regular basis, more so when passing a semi or large vehicle. Vehicles behind me have to brake or swerve to avoid hitting me. I have notified Tesla Service about the issue and their response was they know about the issue. I was told to keep my hands on the steering wheel and pay attention....UNACCEPTABLE!

Multiple times we have been on empty open roads traveling at 60-70 mph only to have the vehicle slam on the brakes and slow down to approximately 30-50 mph. There are no obstructions on the road or oncoming vehicles when this happens. This has been reported multiple times to Tesla and I have been told their are no issues and the the car “must have seen something on the highway”. This is totally untrue. The vehicle will also slam on the breaks in 2 lane highways if a large truck or semi is traveling in the opposite direction.

phantom braking, my car have driven 13.6K miles in the last 1 years. It happened once on the city street (early morning with no cars on the road and twice on the freeway, both time I was next to a big trailer truck, and no cars behind me, lucky.

While using Autopilot, the vehicle brakes when coming over the crest of any hill on the highway. It's not even occasionally, it's every single time I have Autopilot/CruiseControl enabled, it phantom brakes. To be clear, this is with just Autopilot, not FSD. My guess is the car can not see the road on the other side of the hill, so it freaks out. Also, this is a case of the car braking, it does not disengage Autopilot. After this happened about 20 times on a road trip I have just stopped using it. It's terrible. Also, another detail is this happens whether it's just on cruise control or autopilot. Even if I am in full control of the steering of the vehicle it still happens. Tesla doesn't have an option to just maintain speed with the cruise control where I control braking, it's the adaptive cruise control or Autopilot. Very frustrating to not be able to use something as basic as cruise control when driving across the vast expanse of West Texas without having my kids jostled awake at the crest of every hill (big or small).

After hearing of the "phantom braking" problem with the 2021 Tesla Model Y I thought I'd add my observations. My car has rapidly, unexpectedly, and without other warning decelerated several times but always when the forward sensors apparently picked up a car crossing in front of me. Normally, I'd appreciate the help but it has happened several times when the crossing car was well in front of me and there was no cause for alarm from me and no way a tailing car should expect such a dramatic braking action. Tesla should certainly be asked to review this system and modify the braking action so that it is more gradual for distant cars or preceded by a moderate sound alert for concerning but not immediately threatening front-crossing cars. I should also note that the warning sound seems to go off at appropriate times as I approach stopped cars and it doesn't brake inappropriately when I approach stopped cars. The only problem I've noticed is cars crossing in front of me, mostly from my left to right, when I'm still comfortably distant from that car. Hope this helps.

FSD, the design of FSD using the safety score is designed to defeat failure reporting to government agencies. If you allow the FSD system to drive on its own, it will crash, run into things, fail to stop, or stop at green lights constantly. What the driver score system does is force human beings to manage and mitigate its failures leaving a on paper result that the system is more safe than drivers driving on their own. This is 100% false, if you allow FSD to drive, it will fail almost 100% of the time in very quick succession. From lane change mistakes, to turning mistakes, not staying within its lane in a consistent manner, not putting the car into left turn lanes or stopping at green lights, which in itself is dangerous. The safety score system MUST be eliminated as it cherry picks those drivers willing to spend the time and energy to ANTICIPATE the failure/weakness of the software and mitigate its failure before it fails, thus providing the government with false "safety" numbers... Grab a car and drive it, it will not be long before it fails left and right!

The vehicle brakes out of no where when on autopilot. Phantom braking

Phantom braking. I can’t use the cruise control at all because it constantly brakes and swerves when nothing is in front of the car. I took the car to the device center and was told they can’t do anything.

This car is exhibiting random “phantom braking” incidents when cruise control or auto pilot is engaged. In EVERY incident the road is clear ahead and in the adjacent lanes, with no other vehicle traffic. The car will appl full emergency braking for no reason, and with no warning

The Tesla has been doing phanton breaking. For example on the highway using dynamic cruise control or autopilot. When a truck is merging to the right lane it will apply quite the break force. Almost got rear ended cause of this on the highway. Observed this a few times on drive from Ga to NJ. I also noticed going up and down hills with dynamic cruise control it will sometimes trigger the front collision warning or phanton break. This seems to be sporadic and doesn’t like one lane back roads. Last and it least I also noticed that using auto pilot the car forces you to use auto high beans. On the highway at night it will go off and on a lot to the point drivers on opposite side of the road would flash their lights to let me know about the high beans. The model teslas doesn’t use radar or laser sensors like previous year. It does seem to have a lot of impact cause I did not see these issues with my Lexus RX350 With dynamic cruise control, lane keep assist, auto high beans, and front collision warning.