Tesla Model Y Complaints

4,325 consumer complaints on file.

#11661345May 15, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The issue lies with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system 12.6.4 on HW3. While driving on roads with lower speed limits (such as 35 or 45 MPH), the vehicle occasionally brakes abruptly for no apparent reason, even when there are no vehicles or obstacles ahead. This unexpected braking behavior can be dangerous, as it may lead to rear-end collisions if the driver behind is not attentive or prepared to stop suddenly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11660814May 14, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
This incident happened on [XXX], I just got the Tesla data and police report. Here are the events as I remembered: - I was driving my 2023 Tesla Y with FSD supervised (v13.2.8) along [XXX] entered from [XXX] and driving close to north of [XXX] without any issue - Noticed a car in front of me braking hard (about 6secs from the recording dashcam footage) - Realized FSD was not braking hard enough (or at least it did not feel like it) - Slammed on the brake for what felt like an eternity (about 2 secs from the dashcam footage) - Rear end collision on the front car at ~25 mph, airbag deployed. I remembered feeling the brake pedal vibrating but did not stop the car at all. By analyzing the raw data provided by Tesla, it is found brake, accelerator, AEB, ABS and TSC were completely messed up after FSD failed, please refer to the attached analysis report. Note: The dashcam video file and the original Tesla data are available for reviewing if any need as I cannot upload along with this report. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11660602May 13, 2025
STEERING, SUSPENSION
Steering became difficult to turn to the right with the wheel sticking to the right when trying to turn or drive the vehicle. Tesla claims we had some kind of a large impact. Maybe a pothole. Tesla claims well this is a heavy vehicle. Out of no where we had to replace the entire steering rack. I've never had to replace an entire steering rack for a pothole. Seems ridiculous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11660772May 13, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Just days after taking delivery of our first Tesla (2022 Model Y, second-hand ), we experienced a dangerous incident. While Autopilot was engaged, the vehicle failed to slow down or properly navigate a curb near a roundabout. Despite our immediate manual intervention, the front wheel was damaged, resulting in loss of steering and a repair bill exceeding $7,000. After the incident, we were surprised and alarmed to learn that Tesla’s Autopilot is widely known to be unreliable and risky in urban settings. Yet, Tesla imposes no restrictions or clear warnings on its use in such areas, even where the vehicle’s software could easily identify elevated risks. Autopilot handles highways reasonably well, following lanes, making turns, and maintaining distance from other vehicles. This creates a misleading impression that it will perform just as effectively on city roads. However, city roads are far more complex, and the brief transition from Autopilot to human control is often insufficient to prevent accidents. Our experience painfully illustrates this. What concerns us most is that Tesla includes Autopilot as a standard feature but fails to adequately educate users about its limitations. There are no effective restrictions to prevent the system’s use in high-risk scenarios, nor are there built-in warnings when the system is engaged in unsuitable driving environments. This creates extremely dangerous situations for customers. Every life is valuable and deserves proper protection. In addition to the physical damage, the emotional toll after the incident has been significant. What feels especially unjust is Tesla’s response. The company has shown indifference, refusing to take responsibility or provide any compensation for an incident caused by clear system design flaws. We are submitting this report in the hope of preventing similar accidents and receiving the compensation we rightfully deserve. (The vehicle issue has been inspected and confirmed by the Tesla Service Center)
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11660756May 13, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with the full self-driving system activated, the message "System Malfunction - Take Over Immediately" was displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable diagnose the vehicle or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 39,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11660166May 10, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Tail gate hinges will easily bend when the tailgate is closed manually during failure to power close. Tesla refuses the repair and states that vehicle owner will need to take vehicle to collision center to replace hinge even though no collision is involved. Resolution is to replace hinges and align door which tesla refuses to do under warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11660109May 10, 2025
SUSPENSION
Driving less than 5 mph, upper and lower control arms break off, throwing front driver side body onto front driver side tire. It could’ve been extremely bad if we were driving on the freeway and even caused death.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659869May 9, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Adaptive cruise control changes speed without warning, often when passing a truck clearly in another lane, but also for no apparent reason. This occurs an average of approximately once every 5 miles, but at irregular intervals. It slows quickly enough to be a hazard. This occurs in all modes (set by speed limit or manual).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659665May 8, 2025
WHEELS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS
I am submitting this service request and formal incident report concerning a serious malfunction of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system on my 2020 Tesla Model Y. While operating the vehicle on [insert road name or location] with FSD fully engaged, the system initiated a left-hand turn but failed to complete it properly. As a result, the vehicle mounted the sidewalk, causing a blowout of the rear tire and visible damage to the passenger-side rims. Following this incident, I had the tires and wheels replaced. However, the vehicle now exhibits the following ongoing issues: - Rubbing noise from the front passenger wheel well when turning - Multiple system alerts, including: - Autonomous Emergency Braking Disabled - Steering Alignment Issue - Stability Control and Traction Control Warnings
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659635May 7, 2025
STEERING
Steering assistance reduced alert is showing up on vehicle. It is difficult to drive the car. The car has less than 33,000 miles on it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659627May 7, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On April 14,2025 My 2022 Tesla Model Y caught on fire while charging. The fire Started from underneath the car near the trunk. The Fire burned the side of my house as well. The Fire Department Ruled it as an electrical fire due to the Battery.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659450May 7, 2025
SUSPENSION
During VA state safety inspection, inspector found “Rear upper rear control arm knuckle joints have play.” And rejected inspection stating serious safety issue. I checked online that tesla model Y 2022 has recall for this suspension issue but my VIN is not in it. 21V-912 / SB-21-31-004 Recall Why is my vehicle excluded from recall? It has the same issue as other Tesla.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659331May 6, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have a Tesla Model Y and a Model 3. Both of them 2020 year purchased. The miles on Model Y is 96K and 43K respectively. In Feb 2025, my Model Y windshield had cracked and I had made a Tesla Insurance claim and paid the 500$ deductible and got it replaced. Now, in May 1st week, the same Model Y's windshield is cracked. When I take to Tesla service center, they say that its because of an external impact and so, they can't consider a warranty claim and I have to make another payment for this. That's the first thing. Now, with my Model 3, there is a crack developing on the rear windshield. I understand from Tesla that it has to be replaced too. I had a chat with Safelite auto glass company technician and he said that Tesla's glasses are too thin to accmmodate sensors and thats why this is happening repeatedly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659346May 6, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The automatic rain-sensing wipers on my 2024 Tesla Model Y fail to activate during rain from delivery date, leaving the windshield uncleared and forcing manual activation. To be clear, this feature does not work at. This happens consistently and creates a significant safety hazard due to impaired visibility while driving. Tesla uses a camera-based system rather than a dedicated rain sensor, and despite service visits and software updates, the issue persists. I believe this presents an undue safety risk that should be investigated.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659100May 5, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While proceeding across the southbound two lanes of a divided 4 lane street the vehicle inexplicably braked violently to a complete stop. When stopped the vehicle was across the two lanes of the road (as I was headed for a divided left turn lane). The was traffic on the road that had to stop for my vehicle. It took a couple of seconds for the car to release the brakes and allow me to continue across the street. This could have cause a wreck if the street traffic had not been paying attention or had assumed I was going to continue as should have been expected. I had to try to hit the gear shift stock in order to get the car to continue moving, although I am not sure that the car required this action. I did not know for how long the vehicle would be immobile. I could have been injured or killed due to this "phantom braking" incident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659090May 5, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Tesla refuses to clear this recall, despite the software having been rolled out via over-the-air updates years ago. I now have to sell my vehicle because I'm unable to import it to Canada.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658970May 5, 2025
AIR BAGS, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving my 2026 Tesla Model Y when another vehicle pulled out from a driveway and struck the front/side of my car. The Tesla failed to initiate Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and no airbags deployed. This raises serious concerns about the functionality of Tesla’s safety systems in real-world scenarios. The vehicle has not been modified in any way and was in standard driving mode. I have contacted Tesla Support requesting a diagnostic and explanation, but I believe this incident should also be reviewed as a potential safety defect.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658669May 3, 2025
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
- Computer appears to stop working in colder temperatures (or random). - ALL cameras, including rear view camera (needed for backing up) and side cameras stop working. Error message shown on touch screen saying cameras are not available. - All road sensing information including other cars, lanes markers (everything) disappears from touch screen dashboard and no longer works. There are no longer any warnings for anything. - GPS tracking stops and no longer tracks along with the car. Car becomes a safety hazard due to poor visibility. Especially evident during reverse.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658497May 2, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
While reversing in this 2021 Tesla Model Y (software v12, 2025.14.1, Full Self-Driving Supervised), the vehicle’s ultrasonic sensors showed a wall directly behind on the display. However, the Tesla Vision camera system did not visually render the wall, and neither Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) nor Obstacle-Aware Acceleration activated. The car reversed under driver input directly into the wall, causing a collision with property damage. The safety defect appears to be that the ultrasonic sensors, although still present and visually displayed, are no longer integrated into the collision avoidance systems after Tesla’s software updates activating Tesla Vision. As a result, the AEB and OAA systems seem to rely only on camera data, ignoring ultrasonic sensor input — leaving a dangerous blind spot in reverse. This problem affects safety because the driver receives no warning that AEB or OAA will not engage based on ultrasonic detection alone. Tesla’s updated owner manuals (2023.12) state that AEB is now designed to work in reverse, but in this case, the system failed. The issue has not yet been inspected by Tesla or a dealer but appears reproducible on vehicles with ultrasonic sensors running Tesla Vision software. This is likely a widespread defect affecting 2020–2022 Tesla Model 3, Y, S, and X vehicles equipped with ultrasonic sensors but updated via software. There were no warning lights or system alerts before the failure. I request NHTSA investigate whether Tesla’s software has disabled or failed to integrate ultrasonic sensor data into rear collision avoidance, creating an undisclosed safety risk for owners.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11657979April 30, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Control arm bolts failure. As my wife was driving from a stop light making a right turn at below 10 mph she heard a loud bang. Both of the bolts connecting the control arm had fallen out onto the ground causing the wheel to fail and push back into the wheel arch. The problem has been reported to the dealer but from research and conversations with them this is fairly common. Should that have happened on a freeway it could have been catastrophic.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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