Tesla Model Y Complaints

4,325 consumer complaints on file.

#11665628June 8, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
On June 6, 2025, at 5:30 PM MST, I was scheduled to take delivery of a Tesla Model Y at Tesla’s Aurora, CO Delivery Center. Upon inspection, I found visible rear paint damage. Tesla staff verbally acknowledged the defect but refused to provide any written documentation of the issue or the repair plan. I declined delivery due to the defect and the lack of formal repair documentation. I was then told by Tesla staff that if I refused a second delivery — even if the issue remained — I would forfeit my $250 deposit. This was framed as non-refundable and used to pressure acceptance. I also attempted to trade in my leased vehicle (financed by Santander Consumer USA). Tesla and Santander gave me conflicting information about the lease structure, trade-in value, and ownership responsibilities. No formal documentation was offered to clarify. I contacted Tesla’s lease return department, requested written confirmation of the defect, and later filed complaints with the BBB and the Colorado Attorney General. I am seeking CFPB support to investigate Tesla’s and Santander’s leasing practices, use of deposit threats, and lack of transparency in trade-in and vehicle condition handling.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665568June 8, 2025
SEAT BELTS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I leased this brand new but demo car with 1850 miles, 2 months old from Tesla Seattle. This is a brand new total redesign-2026 Model Y. I was assured that they do multiple point testing before delivery and I had to trust their process. Unlike any other car dealers, I was NOT allowed to test drive this car before I sign the lease. The car was not in great condition (in addition to the expected wear and tear as a demo car). a) It's charged to only 60% battery rather than the full 80%. b) The stains all over suggest that apparently no one did any finish work as expected. I have pic proofs available upon request. The delivery manager Jill manually wiped off some stains when I pointed them out. c) There was a dent of 2-3 inches on the hood which indicates a possible past accident. After driving the car home, SERIOUS ISSUES were identified (because no test drive was allowed before I take the lease of the car). 1) The driver's car seatbelt does NOT LOCK upon a sudden pull, mimicking the situation in a crash. THIS IS A COMPLETELY RECALL ISSUE AS IT COULD CAUSE PPL TO DIE, AND MYSELF AS A MOM OF A SMALL CHILD INCLUDED. It locks about 3 out of 10 times. My previous cars- Mercedes, Toyota, Hyundai and BMW all lock on EACH sudden pull! 2) The passenger seatbelt has the same problem. 3) The backseat seatbelts are much better, and locks much more often than driver's and passenger's. It locks about 8 out of 10 times. I went to Tesla Lynnwood WA on Jun 6 and the service manager Cayla and tech said there is no issues despite that MY seatbelt performs so much worse than (1) other two 2026 Model Y, one of which is a newer demo (2) older Model Y, 2025 and prior, locks on EACH sudden pull as well! (3) ALL 3 new 2026 model Ys ALL have much less reactive seatbelts! Another issue I had which makes me needing to have this car replaced under LEMON LAW is, (A)My phone key gets disconnected randomly and I had to use card key all the time (B)My 2nd card key can't open the car at all!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665554June 7, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The low voltage battery went out after rear right door was opened to put children in car seats. Drove 45 minutes to a train museum with the kids. Everything was working fine on the way down. Once done with the museum and back at the car, opened right rear door to put my younger child in the car seat. My older child decided to enter the car through same door as she didn't want to wait for me to finish to take her to the other side. Once my younger child was buckled up, I closed the door to come over to the other side the buckle in my older child into car seat. The door would not open. The phone application would not get the car to unlock the doors. I could not open any of the doors. Children were trapped inside. My oldest child was not yet buckled and I was able to instruct her to crawl to the front and try opening both doors with the electronic button, which did not work. I then instructed her to use the mechanical door latch vs the electronic and she got the door open. Had it not been for the fact that she was still unbuckled she would not have been able to get to the front to open the doors. I would have needed to call 911 for help getting the kids out as the car was unresponsive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665528June 7, 2025
SEATS
I picked up a new model Y Juniper. I have an issue with the driver's side seat. The seat bottom is shifting and popping when turning. They replaced the seat with a brand new one. I still have the same issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665422June 6, 2025
SUSPENSION, STEERING
A suspension rod/bolt fell off my car. When I was making a right hand turn my car began screeching and shaking, I lost control for a second and almost hit another vehicle, luckily I was able to stop my car. I had my car towed to a Tesla service station for repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665380June 6, 2025
SUSPENSION
Upper and lower control arms failed, and front suspensions bushings became torn. The car did not present any warning lamps or warning messages. The issue became apparent when a loud creaking/squeaking sound started coming from the front of the vehicle, and could be reproduced by turning the steering wheel, or by accelerating or braking. Control arm and suspension failures have been a frequent issue amongst Tesla owners, and the NHTSA should consider a recall for the design flaw.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665184June 5, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The rear light bar is extremely unsafe, it is especially undercarriage lighting which is illegal to have on while the vehicle is in motion. Not visible enough during inclement weather conditions, and can cause glare issues for other drivers while the roads are wet, due to its downward shining. The light can easily be obscured by hauling things such as bike racks. People are wrapping the plastic panel u deer the light which can alter performance. The light does not illuminate the full width of the car giving drivers behind a false sense of the car’s width. This has to be the most unsafe light on any car on the market
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664977June 4, 2025
POWER TRAIN, SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My 2026 model Y won't stop on the road when I released the gas paddle and even i felt it speeded up a little bit at 35 miles.it put me, my [XXX] daughter and other's safety at risk. I hit on the brake and feel need to hit harder abnormally to slow the car not even mention to stop the car. It took me long way to stop the car. At Once I stopped the car, it tried to speed up and I hit the paddle again. right after, then it tried to rocking back and forth and vibrated finally stopped. I tried serval time to repeat the issue it still exits. and I called Tesla customer service. they haven't look at it yet. but I in the service mode here is the some components are malfunctioned. 1. Rgenerative braking backfill, braking pedal torque is unavailable. 2. Traction control setting is unavailable. 3. DI_Brake torque is invalid. DI is Drive interface. 4. HOLD stopping mode is unavailable. there is no any warning showed in the console before and after the issue happened. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664968June 4, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Description of Incident: I was taking my family on a road trip from Disneyland back home to Chandler, Arizona when our 2022 Tesla Model Y displayed a battery issue. We stopped in Palm Springs to charge, but the battery would only charge very slowly and capped out at 32%. We brought the vehicle to the Palm Springs Tesla Service Center, where they diagnosed a failure in the high-voltage (HV) battery and stated it would need to be replaced — a process that would take about a week. Given that the car is only two years old, I found it concerning that a battery expected to last around 10 years would already need replacement. We were provided a loaner vehicle and returned to Arizona. When the repair was completed, I drove the loaner vehicle back to Palm Springs (a 5-hour trip) to pick up my car. On the return drive home, I stopped at a Tesla Supercharger in Quartzsite, Arizona, but the vehicle would not charge. After spending over 90 minutes on the phone with Tesla roadside assistance, a tow truck was dispatched and took both me and the car to the Glendale, AZ Tesla Service Center. There, I was informed — again — that the HV battery needed to be replaced. I explained that this component had just been replaced two days ago in Palm Springs, and asked for an explanation. I was not provided with any specific technical reason for the repeated failure, other than being told that the battery "just needs to be replaced again." Safety Concerns: At this point, I am deeply concerned that there may be a more significant or systemic issue with the vehicle’s electrical or battery systems that has not been properly identified. The repeated HV battery failures — combined with the lack of a clear explanation — raise serious safety concerns for my family and me, especially given how reliant the vehicle is on this system for power, propulsion, and emergency response.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664727June 3, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
The Hood paint thickness looks too thin and painting quality so bad. As soon as it got the stone chip, it makes the body metal part exposed to the air. This defect has hazard of corrosion the Hood metal and it makes that metal get brittle. When the driver get the accident after corrosion, it makes passenger in death or severe danger.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664697June 3, 2025
TIRES
A little background information, on Dec 2023 I installed 4 new Hankook Ion Evo AS (255/45R19) for my Tesla model Y at the Correa Tire shop in Dorado Puerto Rico and the manufacture date on those tires was 4422 and at the time the car had close to 30k miles. On April 2025 one of the tires broke and I replaced it at the same place with the same tire model. Less than a month after the new tire was installed, while riding on the highway at close to 65mph the recently replaced tire completely broke off leaving only the sides and the rest of the tire flew off the car (see pictures attached). This happened suddenly with no previous indication or car notification of any issue with the tire. Fortunately, I was able to stop the car without losing control and apparently the tire did not hit other oncoming cars. This was a very scary situation, which could have resulted on a serous and even fatal accident. When I checked the new tire, or what remained of it, I noticed it had the same manufacturing date (4422) as the tires I had replaced in 2023. The next day I went to the tire shop and explained the incident and they informed I had to buy a new tire while they investigated the situation and if there was any issue with the tire. At that time I also opened a complaint with Hankook US. After waiting various weeks for a response, and expecting reimbursement for the damage tire, I have not received any information from the tire shop and Hankook said they did not receive a claim from the tire shop.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664691June 3, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
This is a proactive step to report that the headlights on Model Y Juniper 2026 are not projecting seamlessly onto the road. The low beam shows patchy lights and also has a blocked-out grey patch on the right-hand side of the car. This patch is not due to any wreckage of the headlights. The high beam is also not precise and feels as if it is a column of light, which is not very clear to drive in. I took my car to Tesla's dealership, and according to them, that is how the lights project, even on their demo car. I think the headlights should project a clear light onto the road, and these are not. This could cause an accident due to a lack of clarity.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664408June 2, 2025
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS, SEATS
Every few months, my car receives a warning stating "Front passenger safety restraint system fault". This error noted that there are issues related to checking the front passenger seatbelt/airbag status, and that they may not work as expected. Tesla has tried to repair this 4 times on my car already, but the error keeps coming back after a few months. This is now the 5th time this is happening in my car over the 3 years I've owned it. The date/mileage listed is when this issue first started occuring.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664345June 2, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING
I am writing to report a concerning incident involving the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature on my 2026 Tesla Model Y. The incident occurred on Saturday, [XXX], at approximately [XXX] EDT at the intersection of [XXX] . My wife and I were traveling from Safety Harbor, FL to Foxtail Coffee on [XXX] , a trip of approximately two hours. The FSD system performed well for 98% of the journey. However, at the aforementioned intersection, the vehicle was stopped at a red light in the left lane, first position, for approximately 45 seconds. Suddenly, without warning, the car accelerated and ran the red light. Thankfully, there was no cross traffic, and no collision occurred, but this was a frightening experience that significantly undermined our confidence in the FSD system. Even though we love the vehicle, we felt the need to report the incident INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664227June 1, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
We experienced an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation with Tesla Y model on [XXX] around [XXX] and would like to report to NHTSA. We were driving on [XXX] going towards Nashua and my TESLA-Y car when the steering wheel froze and I got message that front camera was not working. When I tried to steer the car in the lane, the car suddenly braked and took two 360 degree spins (turns) on the highway with cars streaming at high speed around us. We went from the left lane to the right most lane after two 360 degree spins and ended in the right lane. Luckily, no other autos hit us and I was able to take control of the car and pull over in the right lane. The incident is recorded int the Tesla's harddrive which we can make this available to you. the car started working normally so we drove back home. We have had minor control incidents with the lane assist and auto pilot systems of this car in 2023 and 2024. We have complained and showed the problem to Tesla dealer in Watertown, MA. However they said there is nothing wrong with the car. We request you to investigate this incident with Tesla and find out the cause for the car to take this dangerous breaking and spinning incident on a highway. Thanks, [XXX] and [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11664202June 1, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:PARKING ASSIST:SOFTWARE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING
Our 2022 Tesla Model Y Performance backed out of a driveway into the street and parked in the middle of the street with nobody inside the car, creating a traffic hazard. This happened after around an hour parked. The Smart Summon feature was enabled in the car. Possible cause was that Summon was accidentally activated by phone jostling in pants pocket. Car was looked at by Tesla and found to be in good working order and was considered safe to drive. No explanation of cause of the event was offered by Tesla. We turned off the smart summon feature in the car. Suggest adding an additional step in the Tesla app such as requiring a numerical code input to eliminate the possibility of accidentally summoning the car by random inputs to Tesla app when phone is in a pocket. We have time stamped surveillance video of the event. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11663705May 29, 2025
STEERING
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while washing the vehicle, the contact became aware that the entire inner sidewall of the tires were warped and damaged, and the TPMS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that a cause for failure could not be determined; however, the tires were replaced and the front-end aligned. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted, and the contact became aware that the tires displayed inner sidewall damages. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 21,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11663292May 27, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The incident occurred on [XXX] around [XXX] (from the dashcam footages) in a highway (don't know the place, but I have a police report). I was driving my Tesla model Y 2026 with Full Self-Driving (FSD v13.2.8) Beta engaged when the vehicle suddenly off the road and hit the fence on shoulder. I retrieved dashcam footage from the incident, including footage leading up to and during the accident. the FSD system malfunctioned, the car is in a body shop and is available for inspection upon request if done quickly; Huge risk to myself and others because no way know when the FSD failed; from this link, same issue: [XXX] the vehicle has not inspected by others no any warnings, the fsd had been working properly in the firt 300 miles trip; but all of sudden, swerved to the roadside with full speed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11663167May 27, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Vehicle had a open window during rain storm. Interior got wet. Next day the vehicle was left to dry out. Vehicle caught on fire and engulfed in flames in the backseat. Nobody was harmed fire was contained by the Frisco Fire Department. Vehicle was then towed away.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11663141May 27, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while idling, waiting for their garage to open, the vehicle began to move forward independently. The contact attempted to apply the brake pedal, but the brakes failed, and the vehicle accelerated forward at a higher speed. The vehicle crashed into an unoccupied vehicle parked in the garage, causing the other vehicle to crash into the garage wall and into the laundry room inside the home. The Tesla's air bag deployed. The contact confirmed that no self-driving or other feature was activated at the time of the failure. The vehicle was towed and deemed totaled. The contact sustained injury to their neck, knee, and hands. Medical attention was sought via ambulance. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was 45,417.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0

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