Tesla Model Y Complaints (2023)

1,194 consumer complaints on file.

#11536082August 2, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While driving about 75 mph on an expressway using autopilot or just cruise control, the car decelerated to about 40mph within a few seconds. Thankfully there were no other cars behind me. They likely would have crashed into me if so. I believe Tesla calls this problem “phantom braking.” There were no other cars or objects in front of me when this happened. This happened all within 2-3 hours on a road trip in sunny and dry weather on a pristine road. The first time was on “auto pilot.” After that scary experience, I only used cruse control and it happen twice more on the same trip. Again, weather was clear, it was during daylight and there were no other cars or obstacles in front of me when the “phantom breaking” occurred. Tesla said to hit the car icon on the car’s control screen if it happens again. Frankly, I feel it is unsafe to use autopilot or cruise control to do so to try and duplicate the experience to report it for Tesla.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536063August 2, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
In a church parking lot ( while I was about 30ft away from my car with the phone key in my hand) somebody was able to drive my car away ( she has a same color Tesla Y as me).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536046August 2, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On 8/1/2023, driving between Mojave, California and Inyokern, California on highway 14, a newly paved and striped highway being followed by a Mercedes Van, I was doing 70 in a 65 zone. No traffic in front of us. No road signs. No turn outs. No side roads. No bridges, overpasses or underpasses when suddenly the car braked from 70mph to 48mph before I pressed down on the accellerator to keep the Mercedes from hitting us. the front end of the Mercedes dipped as he hit the brakes hard and he honked his horn which is what I would have done under similar circumstances. In the next half hour we experienced the phantom braking phenomenon five more times before my wife found complaints about "phantom braking", a phenomenon we'd never heard of or had been warned about. We turned off the Automatic Emergency Braking and experienced no more events until after stopping in Lone Pine for charging. When we reentered the highway we experienced one more event before turning off the Automatic Emergency Braking system, once again. Hours before we'd been in Southern California driving on Highways 5, 101 and 405 cruising along at 70 with traffic close in front and behind us. If the phantom braking had occured there, we might not be here today. Calling the Tesla dealership in Reno the salesman was non-plussed about our experience and informed us we should be ready to hit the accellerator at all times. This is not an acceptable response to what could easily have been a major accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536021August 2, 2023
STEERING, VISIBILITY/WIPER
Steering got locked and stiffened in middle of the road in traffic.had to call 911 to help me to move my car.this was scary as it could have lead to crash or accident.some time front wiper is automatically wiping in dry summer days which is sometimes blocks the view while driving. Had to switch off the auto mode for wiper.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536004August 2, 2023
STEERING
Steering is locking up while driving. This happened 5 times in the past three weeks. Vehicle is scheduled for service.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535974August 2, 2023
STEERING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
All of a sudden, steering wheel control was lost. Steering wheel was so hard to rotate that it was even difficult to park the car. Also, I was getting lots of pop up messages from tesla vehicle operating system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535963August 2, 2023
STEERING
Loss of power steering making vehicle very hard to steer. The day before power steering was lost, steering became step like - not turning smoothly but in incremental steps. The problem was confirmed by Tesla service and repair has been performed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535961August 2, 2023
STEERING
After a software update I lost all power steering and could not drive the car. It had to be towed and the power steering motor replaced
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535941August 1, 2023
STEERING
Unable to steer. Received the power steering error mentioned in reports, I don’t remember the error code. Happened in my driveway, so no issues with respect to time or place. Rebooted the car and the error went away, but still scheduled service due to error code. It resulted in bringing the car to a service center where the steering rack was replaced.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535936August 1, 2023
STEERING
While backing the vehicle out of my driveway the steering wheel completely froze and would not turn in either direction. The vehicle reported a fault, so I turned the vehicle off then back in and it returned to normal. There was an error reported in the app under the service section however it has now disappeared.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535881August 1, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I recently purchased this vehicle less than a month ago and i have more than 15 Forward Warning collisions that come from nothing. Vehicles will be 100 yards out and my tesla thinks i am about to collide prompting the forward warning signal. I am driving passed the mailman and it thinks i will hit, my neighbors cars parked on the side of the road also prompts the message. This has caused my tesla insurance to rocket 30% more. I reached out to tesla, the car had a problem with the cameras pitch, alignment, and angle. However, they will not adjust my insurance despite the service center agreeing that the issue was with the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535818August 1, 2023
STEERING
Service pushed a software update intended to fix a parking assist issue, and after that the power steering failed with a "steering assist reduced" message. I did a full power off and waited a few minutes, and since then it has worked fine. Also of note I mentioned this in my service ticket and they didn't respond at all. I attached a screenshot of the conversation from the Tesla app.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535787August 1, 2023
STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
The steering wheel on my 2023 Tesla Model Y, brand new with only 800 miles on it, kept on locking up out of nowhere, in the middle of the drive, and even on the highway, posing a major safety concern for me and everyone driving around me. My safety was put at risk since I could not steer my vehicle off the road and into a safe area, posing a risk-prone of a severe accident through rear-ending. The problem was notified to Tesla Service, which responded super late to this incident where I had to call them and wait on hold for 1 hour to speak to a representative who then followed up and told me to drive it to the closest service center, which I declined since the steering wheel locking up at random is a major safety. Tesla stated that I would need a new steering rack installed on my brand new 2023 Model Y. I don't understand how these vehicles are inspected and pass quality control on such a major issue. This issue is not just about a broken part but a LIFE or DEATH SITUATION and should be dealt which severely. I got multiple lights and messages when the failure occurred while driving, with steering assist required being the last notification which I have attached in the pictures.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535749August 1, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
The car completely stalled on the freeway. Giving less than 20 secs of warning that the vechicle will shut down. I got over from the fast lane to middle lane and car shut down. I had to call 911 and tow truck. I towed it to tesla and they said the rear unit failed… car was just purchased new a few months before this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535745August 1, 2023
STEERING, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Steering wheel locked up one morning and immediately reported it to Tesla and they corrected it, but it seems like they just did a flush of the system. Not sure if there is still some fundamental flow. Charging port also kept on not responding either which basically makes the vehicle unable to move if it can't be charged.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535728August 1, 2023
STEERING
Loose power steering control while driving. Mostly happens when car is backing but also has happened while driving. Twice, we narrowly avoided accident. We called Tesla and they said to reset the software upon which it did not show for a day and again started showing up. We are taking the car to be looked up by Tesla service center. This is extremely dangerous situation as loosing power steering makes car really hard to steer!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535713August 1, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while pulling into the driveway, the vehicle accelerated at high-speed causing the vehicle to strike a wall at the contact resident. The contact stated the brake assist did not activate. The vehicle had major front-end damages. The contact's resident wall was damaged. Both the contact's wife who was driving and the passenger suffered concussion and whiplash. The contact's wife suffered neck injuries but neither the driver nor the passenger sought medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a repair center. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the vehicle data. The failure mileage was 3,746.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11535712August 1, 2023
STEERING
Had car less than a month. After a Tesla software upgrade, error message that power steering assist was disabled. Unable to turn steering wheel. Reset software twice with no change. Left the car for awhile. When I came back, steering worked. No issues since.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535710August 1, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
While on the highway i lost all power steering and acceleration and breaking power. no blinkers or access to my cars screen would not put car in park while on the side of the highway. i had to cross 4 lanes with no power, blinkers, minimal breaking. The control computer completely broke and stopped working. this was a week after delivery. Telsa towed my car for free and fixed the issue. But did not give anything for almost killing me on the highway. what repair notes say they fixed/replaced. Steering Colum control module bolt Rc Airbag harness Faulty SCCM,CAN
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535700August 1, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I experienced multiple dangerous phantom braking instances on Eastbound I10 between Van Horn and Ozona, Texas when the TACC system was in use. The car is on firmware 2023.20.9. There were no obstructions in the road and no traffic in front of the vehicle when the car suddenly braked going from 80mph to 50mph in a second before I could take control and accelerate. In two instances, cars were behind me creating a dangerous situation both in terms of an unexpected slow down on a barren stretch of interstate and possible road rage if motorists believed I was brake checking. There were no warning messages on the screen and no audible warning sounds. This is a consistent problem with this vehicle and seems to happen regularly on desert interstates or other highways where there are not many trees on bright sunny days. These events seem to happen on stretches of highway in which there may be a loss of cell signal so I wonder if that is a contributing factor. Regardless, Tesla needs to fix this issue as it is unsafe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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