Tesla Model Y Complaints
3,785 consumer complaints on file.
- #11429760August 19, 2021ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owned a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph but doesn't recall; the vehicle began shifting from left to right for 5 - 10 seconds when another vehicle approached the passenger side of the contact's vehicle. The contact attempted to disable the autopilot by depressing on the brake pedal and maneuvering the steering wheel however, the vehicle would not allow the contact to control it and it spun around and hit the median wall on the highway. Medical attention was received on the scene for the contact's sister, who was a passenger. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla repair center, where there's an ongoing investigation. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that they would respond within 6-8 weeks after the investigation. The failure mileage was approximately 300.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11429270August 16, 2021UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was using the smart summon function to reverse my car parked under a parking roof held on pillars. When using the summon, the Tesla wheels rotated before it had reversed enough to be away from the pillar and scratched the side wall against it. Tesla refused to cover it under warranty even though there was no way I could have prevented it because it happened as soon as the car started reversing.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11428759August 11, 2021POWER TRAIN
Backing out of garage, the driver began to smell acid and burnt electronics from the back of car. After driving back home from work the driver inspected the car. The back driver side door reeked of burnt electronics and the entire car had an acid smell. After consulting Tesla, the first Tesla maintenance worker noticed the entire inside of the door had melted and all electronics were fried. He claimed he had never seen this before. The second maintenance worker came with parts and determined the window module had overheated and caught fire. The fire melted many components inside the door. A brand new 2021 Tesla Model Y should not spontaneously catch fire. Especially if it is residing inside the garage of a house. After replacing all the components, Tesla deemed the car safe to drive. Yet, a couple days later they requested we bring the car in so that they could replace the computer that controls the left side of the car to do more research and find the 'root' cause of the fire. There were no warnings for the driver, nor was the driver using that window module. We have not driven the car since as we feel unsafe in the vehicle.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11428320August 9, 2021ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-70 mph and merging onto the highway, the vehicle inadvertently swerved into the two other lanes. The display screen (eMMC) crashed. The contact attempted to reboot the system however, the touch screen failed to respond to the touch. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the dealer could not duplicate the failure and informed the contact that everything was fine with the vehicle. The failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to another dealer Tesla (3067 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60618) and after the dealer test drove the vehicle, the mechanic found out that there was a firmware bug that caused the failure. The dealer informed the contact that he needed to wait for the software update in order to resolve the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,500.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11427878August 5, 2021ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING, SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the steering wheel seized and the brakes failed to engaged. The vehicle went into autocorrect on its own and was swerving then crashed into a semi truck. No medical attention was received on the scene but the contact later seeked medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla approved collision repair center. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that they will escalate the file over to headquarter to evaluate. The failure mileage was approximately 2,800.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11427008July 29, 2021FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
I purchased the Tesla Full Self-Driving capability via subscription for my 2021 Tesla Model Y on Saturday, July 17, 2021. On Sunday, July 18, 2021 at approximately 12:40pm CT. while activating the Smart Summon feature in a private residential parking lot, the car drove itself into a tree damaging the front of the car resulting in a total cost of $1,799.32. Tesla is refusing to refund me the $200.00 for the Self-Driving subscription after their software malfunctioned. This is a dangerous feature that is available to millions of drivers. Video footage of the incident is here: https://vimeo.com/580859343 This is the description of Smart Summoned directly from Tesla’s website: https://www.tesla.com/support/autopilot#usingautopilot Smart Summon is designed to allow your car to drive to you or a location of your choosing, maneuvering around and stopping for objects as necessary. Like Summon, Smart Summon is only intended for use in private parking lots and driveways. You are still responsible for your car and must monitor it and its surroundings at all times and be within your line of sight because it may not detect all obstacles. Be especially careful around quick moving people, bicycles and cars. To use Smart Summon, open your Tesla app, tap Summon and then select the Smart Summon icon. To activate the feature, press and hold the COME TO ME button. Alternatively, tap the target icon, set the target destination of your choice by adjusting the map, and then press and hold the GO TO TARGET button. You can stop your car from driving at any time by releasing the button. Smart Summon works with your Tesla app and your phone’s GPS to operate. You must be within approximately 200 feet of your car to use. Smart Summon requires the latest version of the Tesla mobile app (3.10.0 or later). Please refer to the Owner’s Manual for additional details about this feature.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11426104July 23, 2021UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
There is no mechanical release for the rear doors. If the vehicle loses power you cannot exit through the back doors. In a crash where the Model Y completely loses power, rear seat occupants cannot get out on their own.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11425552July 19, 2021BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
I pulled up next to a parking space in a parking lot and the Tesla auto park feature was offered on the screen after detecting the parking spot. I pressed to auto park and the tesla proceeded to perform the auto park. During the parking the tesla hit the truck parked in front of the tesla while turning into the space and broke the taillight of the truck and scratched the tesla on right front side. I then braked and disable the auto park after the collision. I reported the incident to Tesla and they reported back that they don't see any issues with the sensors at that time and they say I need to take full responsibility. I cannot think of anything that was particularly challenging for this parking spot or surroundings. It seems a bad calculation by the sensors of Tesla or the software and it made a mistake. Given this experience I cannot trust any of Tesla autopilot features now. They have concluded they will not do anything about it.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11425174July 16, 2021AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact's sister owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while her sister was driving on the highway(speed unknown) with the autopilot engaged, an 18-wheeler drifted into her lane and hit her vehicle. Due to the impact, her sister's vehicle hit another vehicle and bounced back and forth between both vehicles. The vehicle continued to the drive despite the accident and no warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The airbags also failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact's sister and her mother, the passenger in the vehicle, were taken to the emergency room where they were treated for various body aches and bruising. The whereabouts of the other drivers involved in the accident were unknown. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard where it remained in their possession. The dealer nor the manufacturer have yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired or destroyed. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 2
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11424607July 13, 2021SERVICE BRAKES, POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
This problem happens repeatedly. It has been reported by multiple Tesla owners but no action has been taken by Tesla. When driving with the cruise control engaged, the car will brake very aggressively. This happens most commonly when there is no other traffic on the road and no debris on the road. It seems the car believes there is something in front of the car for which it needs to stop, even though the road is clear. But if I press on the accelerator the car resumes normal cruise operation. If there is a car behind me I am worried that the car behind me will crash into me. The braking action is VERY aggressive.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11424373July 12, 2021WHEELS
An independent tire shop and Tesla both told me my rear passenger wheel is bent. The tire on that wheel has been slowly bleeding air for the last month or so. This vehicle has 9500 miles and is not driven recklessly whatsoever. The wheel is available for inspection - I have swapped it off for another. The vehicle now shakes when driven at highway speeds and is a problem that Tesla and an independent tire store have both been unable to remedy. No warning lamps/lights/signals appear. This shaking suddenly started on 7/5, 2-3 weeks after the tire started bleeding air.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11423807July 7, 2021VISIBILITY/WIPER
My car's rear windshield got shattered on its own. It was parked outside more than 16 hours and its windshield broke on its own when no-one was inside the vehicle. When it shattered, we were near car only. This would have been disastrous if someone was sitting in the 3rd seat row, it could have fallen on them or would have impacted driving due to shattering noise. Vehicle inspection is still not completed by manufacturer. There was no other damage to windshield or no stone or any object was hit it. There were other people also around and they saw it got shattered on its own. I would be able to provide videos and photographs of the damage.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11423332July 3, 2021UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On 5/5/2021 my wife was driving in the Tesla Y taking her two grandkids to school and was stopped at a traffic light. The car was in Hold mode with a car in front of her and a car behind her. The car does not have Auto Pilot. All of a sudden the car started moving forward in an accelerated mode. My wife did not push the accelerator. The Tesla hit the car in front and then went into reverse and hit the car behind. Substantial damage to all three cars. My wife and my grandkids were terrified and everyone started screaming. My wife couldn’t release her seatbelt because it tightened during the crashes. She had to call for help. This happened at 7:30am. The San Jose police took a report 21-125-0191.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11422581June 28, 2021VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Phantom braking is a known problem with the Tesla Model Y. My adaptive cruise control has malfunctioned 2 times in 1 week. It's a very dangerous situation. Apply panic braking when the road has very little traffic and no curves. No warning signs at all. I reported the 2 incidents to Tesla. They essentially said that there was nothing they could do.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11422282June 25, 2021AIR BAGS, WHEELS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was changing lanes on the highway and my tire flew off the vehicle. Car lost control and slammed between railing and a large truck multiple times. Airbags did not deploy. Defective vehicle!
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11422253June 25, 2021VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
I had turned into the Taco Bell address: 5217 Mudd Tavern Rd, Woodford, VA 22580 when the car surged and sped. I was able to avoid a person and the dog. But the car continued to accelerate. I tried to utilize the brake system but it did not engage and continued speeding into the next parking lot address 5217 Mudd Tavern Road, Woodford, VA 22580. The car did not stop for trees and so I had to stop the car by impact with a dumpster in the Best Western Plus parking lot. This happened on June 5th 2021. I have tried to get the video from the hotel but to no avail. The Senior Deputy is [XXX] Spotsylvania county. They have the scene photographs. His email is [XXX]. Phone [XXX] ext 3936. The case file number is [XXX]. Over the last 40 years of driving my records are excellent. I really would like to understand the reason for the crash. I am not getting any assistance in a rapid manner to determine the cause. Since I have driven multiple car type over the years I need to understand why this car caused this. Hoping nobody else has to go through this. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11422193June 24, 2021TIRES
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y equipped with Continental Pro Contact RX tires, Tire Size 5255/4R/19XL(N/A). While driving at approximately 60 MPH, the contact stated that the front driver side tire popped as the low air pressure warning light appeared on the instrument panel. The contact pulled the vehicle over and had the vehicle towed to an independent tire mechanic. The mechanic could not determine the cause of the tire failure and did not have the proper tire size to replace the defective tire. The tire mechanic was finally able to order the tire from another city and repaired the tire nearly a week after the initial failure. The vehicle manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had been repaired. The tire failure mileage was approximately 2,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11421292June 17, 2021VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, WHEELS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On June, 4th, 2021 in the morning I went to Markham Park with my 13 year old daughter for the covid vaccine. We arrived and right after the shot on her we stopped our Tesla in a line where we should wait for about 15/20 minutes to see if everything was fine with my daughter. While the car was stopped in the line, I was talking to my daughter and the car started moving in the direction of the car in front of us and it hit the car many time till I turned the steering wheel to go away from there. Everything was very fast and confusing. I`m still trying to understand what happened with the car. The car was out of control and the car never tried to break or stop. I think it has stopped because I pressed the P button. I am so frightened and scared about what happened. My daughter and I, the passengers in the car in front of us and the people in the park could have been seriously injured. I opened a report at Tesla in the same day.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11421091June 15, 2021VISIBILITY/WIPER
Wiper failure when set to automatic (rain-sensing) when vision system shut down due to poor visibility. A little background: I've been driving for 50+ years, about 1.5M total miles, most of it commuting. I'm a software engineer with 45+ years of experience, mostly in embedded systems. Problem drive: most settings, including headlights and wipers, on auto. Autopilot was on. Drove into a heavy rainstorm, auto wipers worked well, speeding up until they were on high. Traffic speed dropped from 70+ to less than 35 due to rain. Drove into a band of torrential rain. Saw a pop-up on the screen that said something like autopilot turning off due to diminished visibility. Autopilot (speed control) then turned off. THEN THE WIPERS SHUT OFF. Let's see, guy designing vision system: can't figure out anything from camera images, so let's warn user and shut off stuff that relies on the camera. Like autopilot. Wipers? Leave them in the last state? Nah, turn off the enable signal to the auto wiper state, too. Torrential downpour, almost no visibility, and my wipers just shut off. I frantically kept pressing the wiper button on the turn signal stalk to force a couple of swipes and force the wiper pop-up menu, then take my eyes off the road with possibly someone stopping right in front of me (yes, I slowed down) to do hand-eye coordination on the wiper pop-up to hit the manual setting full speed button! Related to Tesla Model S/X recall for touchscreen failure disabling defog/defrost. Proper design requires hard controls (not just touchscreen) for safety-critical items, like lights, wipers, defog/defrost. That's why a hard control for hazard flashers is required. I've spent years designing life-critical medical systems. They all have hazard mitigation matrix sections - analyze possible fault modes, assign chance of happening and severity of impact if they happen, then have a mitigation strategy. This seems to be a system design flaw
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11419782June 5, 2021Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness
Harness will not fully tighten suddenly, car seat available for inspection upon request. Child’s straps are not able to pass the “pinch test” making it a safety issue, if in accident child could slip out of the straps. Car seat has not been inspected at this time.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0