2023 Tesla Model Y Air Bags & Restraints Problems

Rear seat belt latch won't latch. This becomes a problem because dirt and debris fall into the seat belt latch since the seat belts latches are lower than the seat cushions. Child eats something with crumbs and the crumbs fall into the seat belt latch. Over time these build up to the point the seat belt won't click in.

Vehicle: 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range Complaint: I am reporting a serious safety issue involving a vehicle sold by Tim Dahle Nissan Murray in Murray, Utah. Approximately three weeks ago, I purchased a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range from this dealership. After purchase, I discovered that the rear seat belts were not functioning. I have evidence indicating that the dealership was aware of this defect prior to the sale. This is a critical safety issue, as seat belts are required safety equipment under federal motor vehicle safety standards. The vehicle should not have been sold in this condition. Additionally, the vehicle had an issue with the right rear wheel/tire losing air. When I returned to the dealership, they failed to properly inspect or repair the issue. Instead, they reduced the air pressure in the other tires to match the leaking tire, rather than addressing the defect. After leaving the dealership, the tire again lost air. Upon inspection by another service provider, the wheel rim was found to be bent. When the tire was inflated to proper pressure, it began leaking air immediately. This created an unsafe driving condition, as the vehicle could not maintain proper tire pressure. I was forced to have the vehicle repaired by Tesla at my own expense ($1,390). The combination of non-functioning seat belts and an unsafe wheel condition placed my family, including my newborn child, at significant risk. I am requesting that this matter be investigated as the dealership knowingly sold a vehicle with defective safety equipment and failed to properly address additional safety-related issues. Also a police report was filed but I do not know how to get ahold of that it was filed with the Murray police department

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the driver's side seat belt retractor unit detached. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 38,581.

Safety complaint: intermittent uncommanded rear-seat folding while driving; rear (3rd-row) seat belt anchorage integrity. Issue 1 — 2nd-row right seat: Since the purchase, the right-most rear passenger seat in the 2nd row intermittently activates its seat-folding motor while the vehicle is moving. In each event, a passenger was seated in that seat with the seatbelt fastened. The motor engages (audible whirring), and the seat attempts to fold fully forward; the passenger’s body prevents a complete fold, so the seat partially collapses while occupied. This has never occurred when the seat is unoccupied. The most recent documented event times provided to the manufacturer for electronic log review (CST): • Fri Jan 23: 7:40 AM; 7:41 AM • Mon Feb 2: 7:26 AM; 7:29 AM; 7:53 AM; 7:54 AM The manufacturer requested these exact times to check vehicle logs, but reported they could not find evidence in the logs and could not reproduce the issue during service/test drive. Issue 2 — 3rd-row seat belts: During a service visit on Feb 3, 2026, the manufacturer found that the 3rd-row seat belt anchors were not secured to the vehicle (documented as a safety concern) and performed a repair/adjustment to secure the left 3rd-row seat belt, then validated its operation afterward. The manufacturer had also previously documented (March 17, 2025) that the 3rd-row seat belts were not properly mounted and were unsafe/operational for passengers, but took no action in March 2025. No crash, fire, or known injuries to date. Request to NHTSA: Please log and review this as a potential safety defect involving (1) uncommanded activation of a rear seat-folding mechanism resulting in partial seat collapse while the seat is occupied and the vehicle is moving, and (2) rear (3rd-row) seat belt anchorage/installation integrity, based on recurring real-world events and manufacturer service documentation.

I am requesting an urgent review of the airbag non-deployment for my 2023 Tesla Model Y involved in a front-impact collision on [Jan 19th 2026]. Because the vehicle has been declared a total loss and may be released to salvage at any time, I urgently request that Tesla preserve and review the vehicle’s crash data (EDR/SRS) and confirm whether the restraint system performed as designed.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH in light rain, the vehicle suddenly braked and causing the vehicle to lose control. The contact stated that the vehicle was on cruise control and auto drive assist. The contact stated that the vehicle veered to the left, crossed two lanes of traffic, and crashed into the highway divider wall. The contact stated that there were no warning lights. The contact stated that the left front end had crashed first, and then the driver's door and left front fender had crashed into the dividing wall. The contact stated that the driver's front air bag had deployed and burst; there was a large tear starting from the top of the air bag all the way to the steering wheel. The contact stated that he had burns on his hands due to the air bag explosion, bruises on his chest, and right arm. The contact stated that the police and emergency services arrived. A police report was filed. The contact stated that he was transported to the hospital, and the vehicle was towed to a manufacturer's collision center. The contact stated that the manufacturer's collision center downloaded the collision information from the vehicle's main frame and shared the accident report with the contact. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

Rear passenger seat buckle not working. We have always had a car seat that was tethered at this seat and have not had to use the seat buckle until yesterday when we decided to reconfigure to high back booster configuration and tried to use the seat belt to buckle the kid in.

Subject / Issue: Driver Seat Belt Failure – Safety Restraint System Defect VIN: [XXX] Vehicle: Tesla Model Y 2023 Complaint Description: On November 11, 2025, at approximately 10:00 PM, while driving near my home, the driver seat belt cable snapped, leaving only the shoulder strap functional. This occurred under normal driving conditions, with no accident, impact, or misuse. The vehicle was then parked at my residence at [XXX] , and the failure made the car immediately unsafe to operate. The driver seat belt assembly and anchor points are part of the federally regulated Safety Restraint System, covered under FMVSS 209 (Seat Belt Assemblies) and FMVSS 210 (Seat Belt Anchorages). A functional seat belt is critical to occupant safety in any collision, and this defect directly compromises the primary safety system of the driver. Immediately after discovering the failure, I contacted Tesla Service via the Tesla App. My initial communication explained that the seat belt cable had snapped during normal driving, leaving only the shoulder strap, and requested immediate escalation to a Service Manager and replacement of the entire seat belt assembly. Tesla acknowledged receiving my vehicle at their service center (7077 W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89117) but did not provide a repair under warranty. In multiple follow-up communications with Tesla Service (including with Efrain), I emphasized that this is a serious Safety Restraint System failure, federally covered under FMVSS 209 and 210, and that it was not caused by user damage. Despite these repeated notifications and requests for escalation, Tesla Service refused to repair the seat belt under warranty, citing Owner’s Manual exclusions and limitations, and insisted that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. Tesla provided no written justification explaining how a federally covered safety restraint component could be excluded from warranty. The vehicle remains at t INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2nd Seat belt does not latch and cannot be secured. This poses a serious safety risk while driving.

While driving, a persistent error appears on the screen with a chime: "Front left safety restraint system issue" (Error Code: RCM2_a128). After researching online, it appears this is a commonly reported issue among Tesla owners and may have serious safety implications. The error code RCM2_a128 indicates a fault in the vehicle’s safety restraint system, specifically related to the seat belt or restraint mechanism on the front left side.

The primary safety restraint system, specifically the driver's side airbag, failed to deploy during a significant frontal impact collision. This severely compromised my personal safety, as my head struck the steering wheel with force, leading to injury and pain. Had the impact been more severe, the lack of airbag deployment could have led to much more serious, potentially life-threatening, injuries. Immediately after the impact, the primary braking system also malfunctioned, and the vehicle's warning and autopilot systems became compromised, posing further safety risks. The specific airbag non-deployment problem has not yet been reproduced or formally confirmed by a dealer or independent service center, vehicle is currently scheduled for its first post-accident inspection at a Tesla Collision Center address 6010 Richmond Ave, Houston TX 77057 on June 11, 2025, and is available for inspection. To date, the vehicle has not been formally inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives for these specific malfunctions. Police responded to the accident scene and filed a report, but no technical inspection was conducted by them. There were NO prior warning lamps, messages, or symptoms indicating a malfunction with the airbag system before the collision. However, immediately after the collision, the primary brakes failed and the warning system and autopilot system showed signs of malfunction/disruption; no specific warning lights related to these post-impact issues appeared prior to their malfunction.

The contact owned a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, occupied with his son in the vehicle, another vehicle collided into the front center of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to merge into another lane. The air bags did not deploy.  The contact sustained injuries to his neck, shoulder, and lower back. The contact son sustained injuries to the neck. No medical attention was required. The vehicle was towed to Al's Towing Yard. The contact stated that a police report was filed. The contact mentioned that the seat belts did retract. The contact stated that the failure was not diagnosed by a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and they informed the contact to call his insurance company. The approximate failure mileage was 30,491.

The panel covering the driver seatbelt popped open & now the seatbelt position cannot be adjusted correctly. It appears as if the track holding the seat belt behind the panel is loose /rattling and the seatbelt system may need to be tightened down. I immediately contacted the dealer/manufacturer & Tesla wants 17 days to simply look at the issue.

Rear left seat buckle won’t latch.

My wife was driving the car on March 7th 2025. Before she leaves the house, she had her front defroster on and the windshield was clear before she leaves the house. 5 minutes later, the front windshield became so foggy to the point she could not see anything in front of her and the front defroster was still on. And because of that so foggy windshield she moved out of her lane with no lane departure warning or anything and then she hit the railway pole without any emergency brakes going off or any warning signs letting her that she is about to hit something. The whole front of the car was gone and the car was totally lost but no airbags deployed at all and that was also concerning. Also there was no issues or any warning lamps or messages before the loss. The car was taken to a body shop and was inspected by the body shop and I believe a representative from my insurance company went to inspect the car at the body shop. So these are the parts I felt faulty or causing the safety concern: - front defroster - automatic emergency brakes - lane departure warning - forward collision warning

The seatbelt does not latch in the buckle.

Whenever the temperatures drop below 40 degrees, the driver seat belts stops functioning properly. Have to pull several times before the seat belt strap can pull all the way to be clicked on. Once seat belt is locked in place, while driving the seat belt feels like it could choke me. Once temperatures are normal, the seat belt operates normally. Also, the rear center seat belt intermittently will not lock in place. Have already reported these issues to Tesla and waiting for them to schedule the car for service at their service center.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an unknown seat belt message was displayed along with an audible chime while the front driver's side seat belt was securely buckled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who replaced the front driver's side seat belt buckle, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V376000 (Seat Belts); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,792.

My car was hit by another car in front left corner and side door at very high impact. Car has severe damaged and it is totaled now. Air bags on the driver side did not deploy even at such high impact. No air bags were deployed. There was only one person, myself driver, in the car. Police came and investigated the accident and filed report. I have also submitted the air bags issue to Tesla.

Received a sign on my car 4 times- front right safety restraint system fault All 4 times I have taken my car to get serviced for them to fix it but still sign returned 4 times total.