Tesla Model Y Complaints (2025)

96 consumer complaints on file.

#11704831December 13, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, STEERING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The vehicle was in supervised full self driving on the turnpike, when all of a sudden it darted out of the lane into th grass hitting a guard rail.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11702810December 3, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
ON 11/29/2025 AT 1635 HOURS, OUR TESLA MODEL Y - AWD WAS PARKED ON OUR DRIVEWAY WITH A LESS THAN 1% INCLINE AFTER IT WAS SNOW BLOWED, CLEARED OF SNOW. THE TESLA WAS PLUGGED IN TO ITS CHARGER. THE VEHICLE THEN UNEXPECTEDLY, UNCONTROLLED BEGAN MOVING FORWARD, STRIKING THE CAR IN FRONT OF IT SHORTLY AFTER I WALKED IN FRONT OF THESE TESLA. THIS INCIDENT COULD HAVE SERIOUSLY INJURED MYSELF OR ONE OF MY CHILDREN. TESLA SAID CAR IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED AND WAS DUE TO COLD TEMPS, SNOW AND SLIGHT GRADE OF DRIVEWAY. VIDEO IS AVAILABLE FROM SECURITY CAMERAS ON HOUSE WHICH CAN BE SUPPLIED UPON REQUEST AS YOU SYSTEM DOESN'T SUPPORT THE VIDEO UPLOAD.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11702617December 2, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, SERVICE BRAKES
SUMMARY OF SAFETY DEFECT: Multiple critical safety systems randomly disengage without warning while the vehicle is in operation, creating an immediate crash hazard. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: For approximately one month, my vehicle has experienced intermittent, unpredictable failures of multiple safety-critical systems while driving. These failures occur randomly during operation and include: Regenerative Braking System Failure (PRIMARY SAFETY CONCERN) Lane Departure Warning System Failure Automatic Vehicle Hold System Failure Traction Control System Failure Automatic Emergency Braking System Failure Electronic Stability Control System Failure SAFETY HAZARD ANALYSIS: The sudden disengagement of regenerative braking while driving poses an acute collision risk. Tesla vehicles are designed with regenerative braking as the primary deceleration method when releasing the accelerator. Drivers develop muscle memory and expectations based on consistent vehicle behavior. When regenerative braking unexpectedly disengages mid-drive, the vehicle's deceleration characteristics change dramatically and without warning, creating a dangerous situation where: The driver expects normal deceleration upon releasing the accelerator The vehicle instead continues at speed, requiring sudden brake application Reaction time is insufficient to compensate for the unexpected behavior change Rear-end collisions or other crashes become likely, particularly in traffic Similarly, the Automatic Vehicle Hold feature unexpectedly disengaging means the vehicle may roll when the driver expects it to remain stationary at traffic lights or stop signs. PATTERN AND FREQUENCY: These system failures occur randomly and unpredictably while driving. The issues sometimes resolve after: Restarting the vehicle Restarting the cent However, the failures recur without warning during subsequent driving. MANUFACTURER RESPONSE: Service Visit Date: November 28, 2024 Diagnosis: Tesla Service Center acknowledged this as a
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11702284December 1, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
INCIDENT REPORT – TESLA Y – UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2025, APPROXIMATELY 2:40 PM On the above-referenced date and time, we were returning home with the intention of pulling the car into our garage, an activity performed over a hundred times in the one year we have owned the car. Because of the need to back in to allow the car to be charged, the following procedure is adhered to: 1.Disengage self-driving (if it was being used) in the street prior to entering the courtyard for residence. 2.Pull forward three-quarters of the way into garage (since the residence is the last on the courtyard and the car cannot be pulled beyond the garage opening to directly back in). 3.Place car in reverse and slowly perform K-turn to back into garage. On the date in question. The following anomalies occurred: 1.After placing the car in reverse (action 2), instead of starting to back out, the car lurched forward. The brake was immediately applied and the car stopped about a foot before hitting the garage wall. 2.The brake was applied again to assure self-driving was disengaged and proceed with action 3. 3.Car was placed in reverse and accelerator was lightly pressed to slowly back out of garage. Rather than slowly back out (as was done hundreds of times) the car immediately accelerated and rapidly gained speed. 4.The brake was applied to stop the car but could not overcome the acceleration (pictures of skid marks were taken). 5.In order not to directly hit the wall located across from garage, Car steering wheel was turned to minimize any direct contact ( skid marks will show turn). 6.Car came to a stop when it hit the wall causing significant damage to the car and causing damage to the wall (pictures can be forwarded).
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700754November 21, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My vehicle experienced multiple safety system malfunctions before a minor collision occurred. While driving, the car displayed warnings indicating that traction control had been disabled, followed immediately by a warning that the automatic vehicle hold/brake hold was disabled. These failures happened before any impact. At the same time, the vehicle’s cameras were not functioning correctly, and the vehicle did not provide any forward collision warning. The automatic emergency braking system also did not activate. Because these systems failed, the vehicle did not warn, slow down, or brake to avoid a collision. After the collision, the vehicle showed several additional safety system failures. These included automatic emergency braking unavailable, and repeated safety restraint system faults affecting both the front left and front right restraint systems. The airbags did not deploy even though conditions suggested they should have, and afterwards the vehicle displayed persistent airbag and seatbelt system error icons. The restraint system appears to have gone offline. The vehicle is currently unsafe to drive due to failures in braking, traction control, perception/camera systems, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and the airbag/restraint systems. These failures occurred before the collision, contributed to the collision, and continued afterward. The manufacturer’s service center has declined to provide towing or a loaner or rental vehicle while the safety defects are being investigated, which will take about 30 days.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11699999November 17, 2025
LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Self driving was maintaining vehicle. Looked at roadway before reaching down to passengers side for water bottle. The weight shift in the seat turned the self driving off immediately while turning sharp left. The Tesla Model Y crossed the left interstate lane barely missing an 18-wheeler. Drove 80mph in the central ditch, branches, and rocks. Car was still in drive, and rolled up to roadside which was covered in dust. The two eighteen-wheelers that I cut off then Drove away, and drove tesla to next exit to see damage.(dashcam footage available.)
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698816November 11, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, SERVICE BRAKES
On November 10, 2025 while my 2025 Tesla Model Y was being driven, in Miami, Florida, around 2:55–3:05 PM, the brakes failed completely. Despite firm brake pedal pressure, the vehicle did not slow down or stop as expected and continued forward until a collision occurred. The brake pedal felt normal with no loss of resistance, but the car did not decelerate as expected. No forward collision warning (FCW) or automatic emergency braking (AEB) activated prior to impact. There were no audible or visual alerts displayed before or during braking. After the collision, the vehicle’s screen displayed messages stating “Airbags Deployed” and “Automatic Emergency Braking is unavailable. Feature may be restored on next drive.” However, the airbags did not deploy. A burst of white particulate dust, consistent with airbag propellant or deployment powder, was released inside the cabin. None of the vehicle’s cameras recorded the incident; there is no Dashcam or Sentry Mode footage from that time. At the same time, the cell phone, which was actively linked to the vehicle through Bluetooth and the Tesla app, stopped transmitting location data through the Life360 app for a few minutes. This may indicate a coinciding electrical or data interruption affecting both the vehicle and connected devices. This incident placed my families safety and that of others at serious risk. Multiple safety systems appear to have failed simultaneously, including the braking function, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, camera recording systems, and airbag deployment.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11695159October 23, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The horn becomes MUTED during rain. Major safety defect. Tesla service center checked and replied 'it works normal when water driesd out'. This is a major safety problem. Technician is telling me that's how it is, does that mean raining days I have to drive without a functional horn? Sunny days it works fine, as that's how every vehicle should be. But under slippery, foggy and limited vision raining days, car becomes mute on horn, how would that be fine and normal? The horn is a federally mandated safety feature. A horn that fails in the rain is a safety defect. Tesla need to have attention on this and either fix the issue or replace the horn with other better designed product. I'm not the only model y owner who has this issue, Google it, you'll see that's a 'common problem '
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11692470October 10, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My model Y tesla deployed the emergency brake system while I was driving the vehicle. There wasn’t any vehicle or anything in the way for my tesla to do the emergency brake. I did get whiplash from the incident and been experiencing neck and shoulder pain. Lucky I was able to get an appointment to service my Tesla the next morning but at this moment they haven’t given me any diagnostic. My Tesla did have a message related to the camera that showed up like 5-10 minutes prior to the incident but the warning message disappeared after a few seconds.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11692302October 9, 2025
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
We were T-boned in a serious accident that totaled the car, but none of the airbags deployed and the seat belts did not lock.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11690679September 30, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
While on a two lane road, my car decided to go around the car in front of me into on-coming traffic while in Full Self-Driving mode. I had to jerk the car to the right to prevent a head-on collision!!!! I missed the on-coming vehicle by seconds!!! This was terrifying!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11687450September 15, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Vehicle Autopilot settings with default settings, 1) traveling marked highway speed of 75 mph, vehicle detects something in either the lane to the right or left will slam on the brakes possibly causing a rear end collision, 2) traveling at marked highway speed of 75 mph, vehicle detects curve signs either to the right or left will slam on the brakes possibly causing a rear end collision, 3) traveling in town at marked speed of 40 mph, vehicle detects a vehicle turning at a safe distance for the speed either right or left will slam on the brakes possibly causing a rear end collision. Vehicle Autopilot settings: Forward Collision Warning “OFF”, Lane Departure Avoidance “OFF”. Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance “OFF”, Automatic Emergency Braking “OFF”, Obstacle-Aware Acceleration “OFF”, will remain set for the current drive without any of the above safety issues. Next drive the Automatic Emergency Braking “ON” and the above safety issues can happen. Tesla must make immediate software improvements in the Automatic Emergency Braking system and/or allow continual “OFF” setting disabling of the Automatic Emergency Braking system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11685462September 6, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I am filing this complaint regarding recurring safety, security, and system failures in my Tesla Model Y, concerns about unauthorized access, and Tesla’s refusal to provide complete diagnostic and privacy data. These issues have directly endangered my safety and prevent me from confirming whether the vehicle has been compromised. The vehicle’s touchscreen and associated software systems repeatedly failed. An unfamiliar key fob activity was detected on July 27, 2025 and on at least two occasions prior to July 27, 2025, the touchscreen went black and could only be restored via a full hard reboot. Safety Risks: * Loss of touchscreen functionality could disable access to critical driving and emergency controls. * Potential unauthorized access poses risks of theft or malicious interference with the vehicle. * Chemical/gas odors could indicate exposure to harmful substances. Tesla service center inspected the vehicle but reported no issues; I believe the inspection may not have been fully conducted as requested. The vehicle has not been independently inspected outside of Tesla. Police and insurance representatives have not been involved. Warning Signs Prior to Failure: * The touchscreen went black twice in the two days prior to July 27, 2025. * Unfamiliar key fob activity was detected on July 27, 2025. * The charger port opened by itself multiple times. * The vehicle locked while I was inside on one occasion. Attempts to Resolve: * Tesla’s mobile service rescheduling and service center inspection did not identify or resolve the issues. * Five privacy/data requests submitted to Tesla for access and diagnostic logs returned incomplete, empty, or irrelevant files. Desired Outcome: * A complete copy of all records and data related to my vehicle, including access logs, diagnostic logs, security/camera events, and system communications. * A thorough, transparent inspection of the vehicle by Tesla, conducted in my presence, with full documentation of findings provided.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11684325September 1, 2025
EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:CARRIER/RACK
Bike rack fell off of car on northbound interstate 294 less than 1/2 mile from the 127th street exit. I believe I set it up correctly. Pin was in and the knob was tightened. No accidents as traffic narrowly avoided the unit and bikes. IDOT showed up quickly to remove. I believe the safety pin is inadequate to hold the unit on. Pictures attached.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681019August 15, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I have had multiple incidents of "Curvature Assist Active" message appearing on screen while on Cruise Control. It suddenly reduces the speed of the car. This happens on a straight road with no curves or slope. It also happens at random. On the same stretch of road at the same time of the day, this issue pops up sometimes and doesn't on other times. Every time this comes up, the car reduces speed suddenly. For example, I go from 45 mph to 23 mph in a few moments. If there is a lot of traffic behind me and the car behind me was not expecting such a sudden decrease in speed as there is no obstruction in front of me, this could lead to a safety issue. I took the car in for repair. The technicians could not find out what the issue was. They said they recalibrated the sensors and test drove and did not see this occur. As this is occurring randomly it might not have shown up when they test drove. But, it happened to me when I took the car back and it keeps happening randomly at least twice a day. There is no specific location and/or time of the day. Tesla doesn't provide an option to disable this "Curvature Assist" feature for something so basic as Cruise Control. Along with this I have had 2 incidents where my car applied brakes suddenly when there was no obstruction in front of me. In both incidents, I had to immediately take over and speed up to avoid any issue with traffic behind me. If there is any safety incident due to these issues, Tesla will have to be held liable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11678755August 6, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
Tesla removed the creep/roll braking function (which mimicked an automatic transmission) from the Model Y 2024 forward. You now have to use the accelerator to control slow speed maneuvers like backing. It seems that it would be pretty easy to press the accelerator too much and have the car lurch forward or backwards. Seems like an accident waiting to happen. It would be safer to have your foot on the brake pedal and allow the car to creep backwards similar to an automatic transmission. Tesla should return the "creep" function as an option. This is what China is doing and the US should do the same.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11677115July 29, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
In FSD mode, my Tesla Model Y always heads to the "Do Not Enter" road and I have to take over manually to prevent entering the "Do Not Enter" road. This has happened almost all the time I am there. This is a very unsafe. Tesla needs to correct this issue at their highest priority.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11673834July 15, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
It is impossible to disable automatic emergency, breaking system permanently. The vehicle brakes strongly and abruptly causing the cars behind to slam on their brakes and potentially cause accidents. Every time I disable it, it comes back on next time we get into the car. There has been several instances where the vehicle hit the brakes really hard, even if there was nothing in front of it.. I was told that this is happening because Tesla does not use sensors but realize on cameras for these features and it can be quite wrong. I don’t know how to drive this car safely because the car makes decisions for me. Since it happens all the time, I’m having to keep my foot on the gas, and when it slams on the brakes, I counter it by pressing the gas pedal. The incident date is just an estimate, but it happens all the time.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11669250June 25, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Smoke began coming out of the vents while driving. Battery was at 2%. Driver pulled over, exited vehicle and within 2 minutes flames could be seen (on video) coming from the center, dash area of the vehicle. Fire developed rapidly. Lt. Copley Detroit Fire Department, Fire investigation section 313-237-0466
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11668644June 23, 2025
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
Shortly after purchasing the vehicle in late 2024, I began experiencing multiple safety-related malfunctions. These issues include: Full Self-Driving (FSD) malfunction: On the third use of FSD, the vehicle attempted to enter a left-turn lane but failed to fully move into the lane, resulting in the right front panel of the vehicle colliding with the bumper of a truck in the adjacent lane. There were no warnings from the system prior to the collision. The incident occurred at low speed. The truck sustained no visible damage, and the rubber from the truck's bumper transferred to the car, which was removed by hand later. This event raised serious concerns about the safety and reliability of the FSD system. No police report was filed, and the manufacturer was not present at the scene. Backup alert system failure: On several occasions while reversing, the car failed to issue audible or visual alerts despite vehicles being within 10–15 feet. In one instance, the screen finally showed a red zone when a car was within 10 feet, but still provided no audible warning. This issue has been intermittently reproducible but not consistent. It poses a significant risk to pedestrians and other drivers, particularly in low-visibility or driveway situations. Manufacturer's Response: The vehicle was inspected by Tesla. After one in-person service visit and extended discussions, Tesla service representatives stated there was “nothing more they could do” and that a buyback was the only next step. A buyback request was submitted by a Tesla representative but has not been acknowledged or resolved more than 45 days later.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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