2021 Tesla Model Y Complaint Log

I encountered the issue where my car would lose all power steering and the following warning would present itself in 3 different errors "power steering reduced". The typical fix I came up with to resolve the issue was to put the car in park, exit the vehicle and then open a.nd initiate the vehicle with the physical key. The problem was first noticed in April of 2023 and an initial review of the vehicle by Tesla was done on May 9th after the vehicle encountered this issue while I was at a traffic stop. Issue was not resolved as it returned 2 weeks later which prompted me to send it back to Tesla on June 11th. Vehicle was kept for 14 days. As of August 1, 2023 the issue has not returned

Driving I-80 on May 9 between 2 - 4 pm going approx 70mph using autopilot. Sudden, unexpected, rapid deceleration causing back seat contents (suitcases & my dog) to fly forward. Nothing in front of me, no visual obstruction, weather clear and sunny. Luckily no one behind me. It felt like I had slammed on the brakes. I did get off highway shortly after to get dog out of where he lodged in back seat.Tesla rep via text messaging said I caused this by tapping accelerator & no need for inspection, but I do not recall doing that. I did receive a message/warning around the approx time I think this occurred stating “Driving visualization temporarily degraded” (I have screenshot.) They did send me the spreadsheet data of that day but I can’t decipher it.

Phantom Braking while driving interstate 15 on May 8, 2023 at 11:15 AM. No other cars were within a half mile in front or behind. Car went from 70mph with hard braking until I took control to regain speed. Had there been other vehicles behind me, it could have resulted in a rear end collision. Reported to Tesla today, May 15th, but told there is no fix. I have not used the Autopilot feature much at all, since most driving is short city trips. I do not intend to use this feature for safety concerns.

Over the past 2 weeks there have been multiple (5+ times in one day) instances of phantom breaking both using adaptive cruise control and autopilot. This often happens when approaching a bridge but also in areas where bridges are not present. Sometimes the sun may be towards the front of the car, sometimes not. Luckily no collisions, but the sudden breaking is a safety hazard and prevents the use of the car’s advanced features that are meant to reduce driver fatigue.

For the FSD beta, it does not currently parse and respect road signage such as “No Turn on Red” and “Detour”. This constitutes a material safety risk and also a moving violation.

I experienced multiple instances of ghost braking while driving at highway speeds, one that resuled in a near collision with the vehicle behind me.

I was driving down the highway. The weather was clear. Sunny. The road was dry. Middle of the afternoon. I was using the Adaptive Cruise Control. I was driving the speed limit, 70 MPH after driving for a couple of hours, the car had about three different times when it felt like the brake was tapped, the car slowed a bit and then regained speed. I stopped at my destination for about 4 hours and then returned home. Same roads conditions, sunny, dry road, etc. Same road, 70 MPH, the car suddenly hit the brakes HARD. Slammed might be too strong of a word because it's not like the car left skid marks on the road, but the brakes hit very, very hard. The car slowed to 25 or 30 MPH. Fortunately there were no cars behind me or me and my wife could had been killed right then.

Last weekend, during a 600-mile road trip, I experienced at least 20 instances of phantom braking when using the traffic-aware cruise control. A rapid deceleration of the car for no apparent reason is dangerous and needs to be fixed. I have complained to Tesla on a couple of occasions and there now seems to be more instances of the braking issue occurring since my last highway trip.

On the evening of April 18, 2023, I was driving on the southbound 101 in Northern California using autopilot, and despite the surrounding area being clear of other vehicles, pedestrians or debris, without warning, the autopilot system forced the vehicle to suddenly and harshly brake. It was completely unwarranted and unexpected and really gave me and my passenger a scare, and this ain’t the first time it occurred. We purchased our vehicle in November 2022 and in December we were using autopilot on the 405 south in Los Angeles, traffic was moving at a steady 70MPH when the vehicle abruptly braked, thinking it was a one-off we didn’t report it but after reviewing several complaints of similar issues by other Tesla owners, this is a real problem. I saved the event on my Tesla dashcam.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in Autonomous Self-Driving mode driving 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to stop as another vehicle was approaching, causing the other vehicle to swerve. The contact stated that the vehicle responded insufficiently after the speed was set to 30 MPH. The contact then stated that a week later she received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V085000 (Steering, Electrical System). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was able to perform an OTA software update; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20.

Phantom braking of Tesla: While using the AutoPilot feature to assist driving, on April 13, 2023 between 10 am and Noon while traveling on US Highway 2 on a clear sunny day on a 4 lane highway with excellent visibility and no traffic, the Tesla suddenly and unexpectedly slammed on the brakes for no apparent reason. I placed a service request to Tesla the next day and the texting Tesla service tech said he need a timestamp within 5 minutes of the incident. Because I could not define the time within 5 minutes of when it happened, there was no further information available. We finished the texting episode by cancelling the service appointment and I will not use the AutoPilot feature on the Tesla until Tesla says it is safe. I feel the phantom braking issue, if traffic had been present, could have caused a chain reaction collision by other cars trying to avoid the rapidly braking Tesla.

Vehicles continues to make random unwanted and dangerous sudden braking at highways speeds while the cruise control is engaged.

There are two concerns-first the phantom breaking using cruise control and the other is poor functionality of using the windshield wipers. I have experienced the phantom braking since shortly after ownership to as recent as 2 weeks ago. This has caused me to no longer use the cruise control. It is very difficult to engaged the windshield wipers. During nighttime driving and sudden heavy rain I could not locate how to turn the wipers on so I used the voice command button to do so. Thus had verying results it may not work at all, maybtake obe swipe or make continue to have wipers work until returning home. Thank you for your time.

Suspension has a defect from factory that prevents proper alignment. Per alignment shop the car cannot be aligned to factory specifications. Premature tire wear is potential safety hazard.

The car started to malfunction its ability for regenerative braking (regen.) upon release of the accelerator. The car felt as if the regen feature was slipping - so instead of a constant brake and deceleration, the car could be felt moving forward as if accelerating. Then while driving on freeway at 65-70 mph, car lost its ability to brake when I pressed on the brake twice, instead of slowing it felt as if the car just continued at its current speed. Then the car cut its power and flashed an alert "Power Reduced - exiting and re-entering vehicle may restore operation" it then flashed an alert "PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY - Unable to drive". According to Tesla, they said it was the "LH body harness. Found that the harness was not creating an efficient connection" but they never directly addressed why it felt as if the car was accelerating when I pressed on the brake. Safety was critically comprised for myself and others who I could have hit in a vehicle collision since the brakes did not respond accordingly and felt as if it accelerated or continue to maintain its speed. The problem was confirmed by Tesla but they only addressed the car going into what they refer to as "limp mode". Car was inspected by Tesla and diagnosed the problem to a faulty/bad body harness that caused an improper signal. No warning lights or messages prior to the failure. Symptoms started the morning of the incident with the noted regen not fully engaged/working correctly. I did not have any feature setting which would have caused or replicated the lack of regen. I can provide the dealer invoice if needed.

Right side passenger door doesn’t open. Since I purchased the car Tesla has fixed the problem but it keeps reappearing. My concern is that if I get in to an accident passengers in the rear seat can get stuck as the door doesn’t open either from inside or outside.

I was backing up from the parking lot and heard a clank. I immediately got out to check what happened and saw that the suspension had completely detached itself from the wheel (see pictures). The wheel immediately started to go sideways. If I was on the highway or on the road this would have 100% caused an accident and quite possibly my life. Tesla says there is no recall and is blaming the problem on me. If this isn't recalled and fixed on other Tesla models, this will cause a crash and serious injury or even death to the driver/passengers and other drivers. This is a major safety issue and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. I am lucky, but others may not be. I don't know why there was not a recall. Tesla needs to take responsibility.

Easy Entry resulted in fractured/ broken toe of back seat passenger. Foot was resting in seat rail when driver exited vehicle which caused the seat to auto position to rear and crushed passenger toe. Driver jumped back into vehicle and engaged park to auto move seat to forward position

While utilizing the ADAS features including the adaptive cruise control, the vehicle unexpectedly applies its brakes while driving at highway speeds.

My wife was driving in moderate rain on the freeway. We were going about 70mph which was the same speed as the rest of the cars. We were going around a gentle turn in the road. Then without warning, our car started to slowly spin around. My wife instantly and completely lost control. We spun almost 180 degrees, crashed into two other vehicles, and came to rest against the cement barrier. Luckily nobody was seriously hurt, but we totaled two vehicles and damaged another. If the spin had happened along a different section of road we frequently drive on, we would have slid into oncoming traffic and people could have been killed. I requested that Tesla send the full data logs of the accident. It shows that my wife released the accelerator pedal right when the spin started. In most cars, releasing the accelerator causes the car to gently slow down. But Teslas, on the other hand, do aggressive regenerative braking when the accelerator is released. So it was as if my wife had pressed the break. HERE IS THE PROBLEM: THE REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM APPLIES THE BREAKS TO THE REAR WHEELS ONLY. On dry pavement this is fine, but on a wet road, going around a turn, hitting only the rear breaks was enough to cause the back of our car to slide out from behind us. Here is more detail: 1. Our car was All Wheel Drive. But the Tesla has published that for increased efficiency, they don't actually use the front motor except during high acceleration. This means that most of the time the car is only rear wheel drive. 2. Our car had under 25,000 miles on it, and the factory tires. The rear tires were worn more than the front tires, likely due to the car's acceleration being mostly applied to the rear tires. I believe that Tesla could fix this issue with an over-the-air recall. The recall would need to either reduce regenerative braking when wet roads are detected, or apply braking across both the front and rear wheels while on wet roads. Thank you!

Vehicle began showing the below warning messages, followed by loss of power steering and abnormal braking behavior (brakes did not work properly). This is a recurrence of an issue that previously resulted in the vehicle being towed to Tesla, but whom were unable to diagnose the problem. -Automatic Emergency braking disabled -Lane Departure Avoidance features unavailable -Traction control disabled -Automatic vehicle hold disabled -Stability control disabled -Steering assist reduced -Front motor disabled -Power reduced

Sudden deceleration and braking while at interstate speeds and crossing over a bridge. I was using cruise control only, overcast day, dry pavement with moderate traffic. Cruise control strongly applied the brakes from interstate speeds while crossing over an overpass bridge. There was no danger or traffic ahead of me that should have triggered the emergency braking. This needs to be investigated, it will get someone killed.

Defective battery, wont charge past 30%

ON MARCH 18, 2023 WE WERE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 80 FROM Winnemucca NV TO FERNLEY NV. At 3pm and about 3:10pm the car suddenly decelerated from ~82mph to ~50mph. The road ahead was clear of obsticles. Luckly there were no cars following close behind us, if there had been the unnecessary and unexpected deceleration could have been dangerous.

We recently traveled about 300 miles on a roadtrip in this Tesla and while using the adaptive cruise control, the car would randomly slam on the brakes for no apparent reason. There was nothing in the road or any hazards at all. Also, it was not just a one time thing. It happened multiple times before I decided to not use the cruise control because it to dangerous.

The windshield wipers are difficult to engage. Doing so while driving requires me to take my eyes off the road

While driving the vehicle on a 2 lane highway in sunny conditions, the vehicle suddenly braked while using cruise control. There was no traffic on the road ahead, no oncoming or traffic in my lane. Car slammed on the brakes slowing from 55 to 30 in about 2 seconds. If there was a vehicle behind me this would have caused a serious accident. This is NOT an isolated incident on my vehicle. The exact scenario has been reported a multitude of times by other people. This will kill someone and needs a recall. This is the standard equipment cruise control provided on all Tesla models. This isn't self driving or any other advanced feature. This is a critical issue that needs to be resolved.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the middle seats were unlatched independently. The middle seat's unlatched warning message was displayed. No one was injured. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted, and the manufacturer stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The failure mileage was 24,917.

Severe phantom braking incident - 12:18 CST, March 12th 2023, followed by less severe braking problem at 1:16, 1:23, 2:18 on the same day and road. No forward traffic, no hazards, just bright sun. The car with a less experienced driver applied hard braking nearly causing a rear end collision with a truck approaching from the the back. The truck moved into the shoulder and passed to avoid hitting the car.

This car is unsafe. 70K+ purchase price with the inability to use basic cruise control, must-less the 10K FSD purchase that is USELESS. The phantom braking is constant while trying to use the basic cruise control, auto-pilot/FSD. Driving this car makes me a nervous wreck and I am beginning to HATE it and regret my purchase. I am seriously concerned for the safety of myself and other Tesla owners based on the current radar-less autonomous features. NHTSA should get involved and force Tesla to address the phantom braking issues before more people are involved in an accident that could be avoided.

There are multiple issues: 1. When trying to back up slowly, or move forward slowly, the car goes automatically on park "to prevent roll". I am intentionally trying to slowly back out of parking, and the car keeps stopping 2. When I try to change lanes, in many cases the car gives a solid "beep" which is equivalent to me almost crashing to another car. But there are no other cars! 3. The car keeps giving forward collision warnings when there is no immediate danger to collide with anything, and in most cases there is nothin in front.

Multiple "phantom braking" events while using adaptive cruise control (no full self driving, just basic adaptive cruise). First time while going at interstate speed and crossing a bridge, vehicle saw a shadow on the road and slammed on the brakes thinking it was a vehicle. Obviously this is a startling and dangerous situation especially for vehicles behind you. This has also happened on the highway, flat terrain, roads were clear of any obstacles and it slams on the brakes thinking there is something in the road. Every time it does this, there appear to be shadows on the road (from street signs, light poles, trees, etc.). The sudden braking is of course bad, but there's also nothing in the vehicle that tells you why, no chime, it just hits the brakes. It still appears that cruise control is active, but it won't resume speed after an event like this until you turn cruise off and back on again. I know this isn't an isolated incident and it absolutely will cause a crash, if it hasn't already.

It seems like this is a common problem if you search "tesla phantom braking," which very obviously needs a solution. I commonly experience the phantom braking when there is a shadow like passing under a bridge. The car will slam on the brakes thinking the shadow is another car, which is obviously extremely dangerous especially on the highway. A simple solution would be to add a legacy cruise control option, while fixing the phantom braking. This would cause a lot less wrecks and deaths.

FATAL TESLA BRAKE FAILURES. The brake of Tesla suddenly failed while I was driving, it has happened multiple times even after the service center claimed the issue was fixed. When the issue happened, the brake was not effective and made huge noise while I pressed it. Meanwhile the steering got pretty heavy, other components failed(front motor disabled, traction control disabled and stability control disabled) at the same time as well. Tesla Service Center has tried to fix this issue once, but the issue happened again after ONLY ONE WEEK since they fixed it. Luckily I was driving slowly on a local road both times, but it was apparently fatal if driving on a highway. I've uploaded the error message on Tesla screen and repair invoice as attachments.

The vehicle heating/defrost system is not functioning in cold weather. It only functions in my heated garage. In cold weather it cannot defrost causing visibility issues, driver distraction (trying to get the heat/defrost to work while driving) and a reduction in blood flow to the extremities. The heating system blows freezing cold air into the cabin when on. I have written a lemon law letter to Tesla, demanding the vehicle be replaced under Alaska law, and they have not done so after 80+ days. The vehicle’s supermanifold was damaged the day we took delivery. Tesla has not honored Alaska law and I’ll be filing paperwork with the state’s attorney general’s office. Tesla should not be allowed to operate in the State of Alaska due to committing an unfair trade act in the State of Alaska and endangering the lives of their customers.

On today’s day 2/24/23 approximately 13:18 hours. While I driving my 2021 Tesla Model Y ,the rear suspension failed. The steering wheel is not responding and I was unable to turn it or control it. This resulted in the rear tire and rim pointing to the left. This caused the tire to become unseated on the rim. The metal rim hitting the pavement and the angle of the Rim/wheel make me lose control of the vehicle and cross 4 lanes of traffic in a few seconds until I could get the car stopped. There was no prior noise or notice. It was raining lightly. I purchased the Tesla due to its reliability and all the safety features. As I know Tesla had been described as a high safety level with full automation engaged vehicle. However, I feel there is an issue with the suspension manufacturing defects of Tesla model Y which did not activate or warned me to avoid a simple collision. There was also no automatic breaking which occurred to avoid the collision. Luckily, there were no injuries on my accident. In fact, what if the driver had severe injuries, unconsciousness or even fatal during the impact of accident ? What if I was on autopilot? I am very concerned about the fact of Tesla manufacturing system. The dealership said this is common and caused by the rain which is an entirely dumb statement as I'm sure teslas are designed to be driving in all types of weather. I have seen numerous recalls and issues with the rear suspension and I am asking Tesla to take ownership of this issue and fix the problem. I look forward to your response on next steps to remedy this situation and repair my tesla. Thank you

While driving the all functionality was lost and the screen went black

On February 20, 2023, my infotainment system console and screen completely failed as I was backing up to a Supercharger. This started with the typical lag I have filed service complaints for before, the camera occlusions, and then nearly caused an accident with the barrier pole in front of the Supercharger. This is the eighth near miss in over a year of ownership and the 27th occurrence of issues related to the infotainment system console and screen. Often, it is burning hot, other times it is woefully underpowered to accomplish anything in a timely manner (if at all) when these incidents occur. I have been to the Tesla service center twice about this very issue. Each time, I was told software update would be issued that would fix the problem(s). That has never been the case. With everything so reliant upon that center-mount display and its associated computer in this model of vehicle, it HAS to be considered a must-not-fail component to the extent humanly possible. I am taking this vehicle in for a third time for this and multiple other issues that seem to some degrees associated with the issue. After badgering the Tesla helpdesk personnel with demands to replace or fix the issue, they have told me on February 23, 2023 that they will be replacing the computer next week (whether this is to evaluate the device for issues or to hide evidence to their culpability in an incompetent design flaw, I cannot be sure).

On February 19, 2023, I was driving my 2021 Tesla Model Y on I-5 from LA to Sacramento on a clear afternoon. I was using adaptive cruise control (ACC) set at 78 mph, but not using auto-pilot, in the fast lane with a car following me. My car suddenly braked aggressively without anything in the roadway ahead of me. I then applied the foot brake and veered off onto the gravel left shoulder to avoid having the car behind me hit me. I saw in the rear-view mirror the following car swerve to the right to get around me, entering the slow lane. I believe that when I stepped on the brake, the ACC turned off and the car's automatic braking ceased. I then got back into the fast lane as there were no other cars approaching and resumed my drive. I didn't notice the speed my car had decreased to during the incident before I resumed speed, but I guess it may have been about 40 mph. Phantom braking happened one other time on I-5 on my way to LA from Sacramento two days previously (Feb. 17) also while in ACC, but there were no other cars around me and the automatic braking stopped when I tapped the brakes and I resumed my speed. In the year and a half we have owned the car, we have experienced approximately 10 instances of phantom braking, but fortunately, no accidents.

I have been driving long distance 418 miles today from Phoenix, AZ through Las Vegas, NV and north. In my 6 hour journey today my breaks were applied randomly by the computer around 20 or more times on autopilot and on cruise control. It is an extreme safety hazard. I want this on record because this is day one of a cross country trip and in case anything happens. The phantom breaking was so frequent in the last hour I could not drive with autopilot on anymore for fear of a car following me would crash into me at highway speeds above 65mph.

I was in 2 accidents with this car within a span of less than a year all with the same problem. I had not been in any accident over 40 plus years until this car. First incident was at a drive through when creeping up to the next window the car took off hyperaccelerating. I was able to avoid the truck in front of me from back ending her however scraped her tailpipe causing extensive damage to my car. She then hit the car in front of her. Second incident was approaching my home in my 20-30 mph neighborhood and went to go from 20-30 when car accelerated at a fast speed and was unable to control it being it happened so fast. Hit a tree. All the airbags went off. I could have been seriously injured as anyone who had been on bikes or walking .

Numerous times we have experienced phantom braking when the cruise control is engaged at highway speeds. We think it occurs when you are close to cresting a hill and a vehicle is detected in the distance. The vehicle is quite distant, perhaps 500-1000 ft, but the auto braking system only see a short distance of lane lines (because they are out of sight on the other side of the crest) and interprets the vehicle to be much closer. This generally occurs about once every 100 miles of highway driving. Because of this, we are reluctant to use the cruise control. The date provided below is just the latest occurrence.

Much like SB-23-13-001 recall my rear seat bolt became lose. However it does not seem to be included in the current recall. Tesla is trying to charge me to resolve this issue.

The contact's client owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while they were driving approximately 50-55 mph with the vehicle in self-drive mode, the vehicle veered to the left and crashed into a guard rail. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment, or fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

Experienced phantom braking twice today on I 5. Almost crashed or got rear ended. Car was on auto pilot. This needs to be fixed

The car brakes at highway speed with no safety hazards in sight. This phantom braking occurs while on cruise control or when using the accelerator pedal. We don't use auto pilot. It is very upsetting and could cause a rear-ending accident.

While driving on the highway at 70mph, on two separate occasions while using autopilot and cruise control, the car suddenly braked for no apparent reason. There were no vehicles immediately behind me at the time, however this was terrifying because I was scared that I was going to be rear ended at a high speed. I can no longer trust this safety system due it has happened twice randomly now.

I would like to report a safety issue with the Tesla Model Y 2021 about its "phantom braking" behavior in FSD-Beta mode. While driving on I-94 E, I was overtaking a Semi trailer, when suddenly the brakes were deployed and the the speed went from 76 MPH to 63 MPH in the blink of an eye. I was very fortunate that no other car was trailing behind me which would have caused a disastrous accident.

SYSTEM MALFUNCTION: Emergency braking ("phantom braking") while set to automated driving/adaptive cruise control. OUR SAFETY PUT AT RISK: On a 2,000 mi. road trip from Denver CO to Tucson, AZ and back, the vehicle slammed on the brakes at 75-80 mph speeds over two dozen times. All incidents occurred either driving south on I-25 or west on I-10 going to Tucson, or on I-10 east and I-25 north on our return. By far the most dangerous event occurred when we were driving east on I-10 in SE Arizona on our return to Denver on 29 January. Driving in the right lane at 75 mph on a perfectly clear day with excellent road conditions, the vehicle suddenly slammed on its brakes. Following closely behind us was a semi-tractor-trailer, that also slammed on its brakes, blasted its horn, and very nearly rear-ended us. The truck driver then followed us at very close range for the next ten miles, If we slowed down, the truck slowed down. If we speeded up, the truck speeded up. We disengaged cruise control so we wouldn't involuntarily brake hard once more. Finally, the truck drive honked once more and dropped back as we sped up. In our view, this was an evident case of road rage on the trucker's part that might have ended tragically. REPRODUCTION OF PROBLEM: We have a 2/27/23 appointment with a Tesla service center here in Colorado to check out the automated driving/cruise control/camera and sensing system. However, this problem only arose under quite specific topographical, and road surface/light conditions on I-25 and I-10 in rural areas, so I'm doubtful Tesla service techs would be able to replicate the conditions. WARNINGS: There were no warnings emitted by the vehicle either audibly or visually (on the display screen) prior to any of these incidents.

phantom braking