Tesla Model Y Complaints

4,325 consumer complaints on file.

#11448165January 20, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
There is no heat in car. The Climate Control Failed. Cabin Climate Control System requires service is the error message. Its a known problem with Tesla Model 3 and Model y The temperature in the car was in the single digits. The window would not defrost and had a hard time seeing. Tesla expected me to drive the car in a snow storm to bring in for service. I canceled the appt with the next available appt 10 days later. Service scheduled for Jan 27th 2022. the 1st time it failed was Jan 15th 8:00am.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447921January 18, 2022
WHEELS, STEERING, SUSPENSION
My wife made a left turn onto Agana Drive from Patterson Avenue in Santa Barbara, California a few blocks our home. After coming to a complete stop before making the turn, she drove about 150 feet when the car swerved to the right and the right rear passenger side of our Tesla Model Y hit left rear driver’s side of another car (BMW). I drove over to assist her and it appears from the AAA tow truck driver that a part of the axle on the right passenger side rear wheel broke later confirmed by my insurance agent and my auto mechanic. It was surprising since she was had completed the turn, was driving slowly straight on Agana Drive at approximately 25mph when this part broke. Apparently, nobody was seriously injured, the parked car had nobody in it and no real estate property damage appears to have occurred. was knocked up and over the curb due to the force of the impact braking the other car's rear axle and bending the frame. Our car is still being repaired a month later. Tesla appears to know about the problem since, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there is a recall scheduled for 2020-2021 Tesla Model Y cars with a recall date of 2021-11-20, recall no. 21V912000, recall notification stating Tesla, Inc (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. The front and rear suspension knuckles may fracture, causing the suspension links to separate, recall consequence stating Suspension links that separate can reduce vehicle stability and control, increasing the risk of a crash and a recall action stating Tesla Service will inspect and replace the knuckles as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed 18 January 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla’s number for this recall is SB-21-31-004. Contact for more details and information.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447971January 18, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Started driving the car in cold weather and received message climate control needs service. The heater would not warm up. Tried shutting the car off and on and it still would not provide heat. It was under 20 degrees and had no heat or defrost.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447787January 17, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Driving on 2 Lane Rd. Using Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC). 45-50 MPH. Vehicle will brake suddenly when a large vehicle cement truck, school bus approaches in opposite lane. It also happens when I am passing a bicyclist on my right side. It also happens intermittently but not as severely when there is nothing around me. This is a very dangerous situation because of the possibility of a rear end collision caused by the sudden braking. It is a reoccurring problem. I have not contacted Tesla as I assume that was a known problem. There was no advance warning of the braking.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447440January 14, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Tesla recently release their version 11 user interface. This update took a lot of safety features and put them behind menus. Windshield wipers, defrosters, seat warmers were all easily accessible in the previous version. Now they are wall hidden behind menus. If you need one of these features while driving, you get distracted while trying to find it which is dangerous. But these features are necessary to use while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447549January 14, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
After taking the vehicle on a road trip through Canada, the vehicle’s heating and cooling system failed. We had been driving for ~15 hours. The error message was VCFRONT_a447 Cabin Climate control system requires service. This is a safety issue for traveling in cold climates as well as eliminating fog on the windshield that would cause a driver to lose visibility. A two button reset did not resolve the issue. A hard reset seemed to, but 15 minutes back onto the road, we saw the same error message again, and the heating no longer was warm. Please take action to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447511January 14, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
2022 Tesla Model Y Long Range frequently experiences "phantom braking" and false emergency braking. Even without the use of "autopilot," the vehicle will abruptly slow down or even hard brake. No warnings, no messages, nothing. Each time, there is nothing in front of the vehicle, no curves, clear weather, etc. In another scenario, such as driving down a neighborhood street with curves, it thinks you are going to hit a parked car, and slams on the brakes as well. At least here you do get an alert indicating what the car was thinking. Even though it was clearly mistaken. Had it properly accounted for steering position, would have realized there was no danger. This is all extremely dangerous and is just asking for an accident due to being rear-ended. In addition, there have been many complaints about this on the forum for years, and even the latest software updates have not resolved.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447501January 14, 2022
LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The cruise control and auto pilot functions failed while driving in the rain. The car would not disengage from auto pilot and continually would engage back into auto pilot and eventually locking tires and spinning out across all lanes of the freeway. My safety and all the drivers around me are put at risk when something that dramatic occurs. The car spun out completely out of control and after doing a complete spin the car continued to spin losing all control and ended up inches from the center median and was facing oncoming traffic. Unknown- I instantly called tesla and removed my memory stick from the vehicle, they are still conducting their "investigation". Took it into the dealer and had them look into the issue. They are currently remotely working on what caused the issue with their engineers. No warning lamps or messages appeared prior to the occurence.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447472January 14, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
While driving on ice and snow covered roads the regenerative braking feature comes in so strongly that it makes driving dangerous as the car loses traction and control every time the foot is removed from the accelerator. The regenerative braking automatically applies once the foot is removed from the accelerator. Tesla used to have an option to reduce the strength of the regenerative braking but removed that option in October of 2021. That change in software has made the vehicle unsafe to drive on slick roads. I was able to maintain control of the vehicle because of my driving skill, but did lose control numerous times during a 50 mile trip because of the increased regenerative braking feature. Tesla vehicles manufactured before October 2021 still have the option to reduce regenerative braking power, I also own one of those vehicles. I have attached a photo of that screen that shows the option.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447363January 13, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, STRUCTURE:BODY
I think regenerative braking makes the Tesla Y fishtail and swerve when driving in snow, ice or slippery surfaces when you decelerate or go downhill. The regenerative brakes cause the car to suddenly brake in snow or ice. If you brake suddenly in snow in a normal car, you may swerve, and this swerving is worse if the car is turned slightly. A friend swerved suddenly going downhill in WA in a snow storm. He recovered by lightly touching the accelerator. My Tesla Y spun 90 degrees when I took foot off accelerator in snowstorm in RI and I was able to recover. Minutes later on expressway at 25 mph, I took foot off accelerator and the car spun 180 degrees and hit a guard rail. In the Chevy Bolt owners manual, under winter driving, the first bullet point they make is to put the car in D--which turns off regenerative braking. You can reduce the amount of regenerative braking on a Tesla, but you can not turn it off. Under driving in winter on the Tesla on the website, there is no mention of reducing the regenerative braking in snow or ice. I think any EV with regenerative braking is at risk of spinning out in snow, ice or on slick surfaces.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447424January 13, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Autopilot How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Yes. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? It has been confirmed by Tesla. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning lamps or lights. The issue appeared a couple of days after I took delivery of my Tesla Model Y. Please read for details below. This car is UNDRIVEABLE due to its Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) System. Tesla does not provide a basic Cruise Control that just conforms to a set speed. A driver is left with no option but to use their TACC or Autopilot both of which are utter garbage. Every couple or so miles my Model Y slows down in the best case scenario or slams the brakes for no apparent reason in the worst case scenario. My car has made me and my passengers sick because of this issue. Not to mention that at multiple occasions while driving on a highway my car has slammed the brakes when there was NOTHING in front of it, almost causing the car coming behind me to almost rear-end us. This is dangerous and stressful for my family and I and for people who drive behind my car. This is a massive safety issue which makes the car un-usable for long drives. Even the most basic car from the 1990s has a cruise control yet Tesla does not provide that option in their cars. So a person has to resort to using the TACC or Autopilot both of which are useless and dangerous because of this phantom braking issue. Please have Tesla provide a fix for this dangerous problem. This makes my car un-usable for long drives. Please help!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447350January 13, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Several times now the car has done a phantom braking event where the car brakes for no reason when using adaptive cruise control on two lane highways. Mostly it's when large vehicles like a semi truck or RV passes in the other lane. Sometimes it appears to be due to shadows like overpasses or trees. The car slows down so quickly sometimes that if someone were following me it may cause a rear end collision. Most of the time the slowdown happened without warning. I have submitted a service ticket with Tesla about this but this seems to be a systemic problem on the TMC forums: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/phantom-braking-in-my-new-model-y.253378/#post-6301315 https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/phantom-braking-and-active-safety-features.248184/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/possible-to-deactivate-tacc-and-use-regular-dumb-cruise-control-phantom-braking-unexpected-slowdowns.235813/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/27-phantom-brake-in-10-miles-how-often-should-i-press-camera-button-to-report-10-6-1-fsd.250396/
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447253January 12, 2022
WHEELS
Vehicle was sold to me on 12/23/2021 (winter) in Paramus NJ. Tesla did not notify or otherwise inform me that this Performance Model Y comes with summer tires. A week ago my wife found she had little to no traction on wheels while going to work - she almost had an accident. A friend told me i might have summer tires. Tesla website has no info on this topic. After contact Tesla support they confirmed that this vehicle has summer Tires. I think Tesla is putting drivers in danger by letting them drive off the lot in summer tires during winter months and not informing them of it. Additionally, the summer tires immediately loose warranty when used in temperatures below 40 degrees.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447132January 12, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Please see attached PDF
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447120January 11, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VISIBILITY/WIPER, EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BACK UP LIGHTS:SWITCH
In a recent software update, my Model Y’s backup camera has essentially become inoperable. Sometimes the backup camera does not display, or if it does the video feed lags significantly from real time making it unreliable and dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447065January 11, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I drive on a 2 lane undivided highway/road. When I have cruise control activated I have severe braking occurring when I drive past any larger truck/bus. It has almost caused me to be rear ended on more than one occasion.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446998January 11, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Heat stop working in MN where the temperature are in the negative or single digit.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446960January 10, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Last year Tesla switched to a heat pump system for heating the interior of the car. Since that change the 2021 models are regularly loosing heat when the temperature gets below zero. Sometimes restarting the car will bring it back but not always. This can lead to drivers being stranded with no heat in potential dangerous temperatures. Tesla was aware of the issue last winter and it has still not been addressed and the issue is persisting in newly built cars.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446805January 9, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Multiple occasions of the vehicle's heat/ac system failing in cold weather.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446804January 9, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The car's adaptive cruise control system will suddenly and dangerously brake in random situations on multiple occasions. It presents a very dangerous condition should there be cars behind that can't brake in time
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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