Tesla Model Y Complaints (2023)

1,136 consumer complaints on file.

#11536112August 2, 2023
POWER TRAIN, STEERING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request?: I got delivery of my new Model Y and odometer was reading 3 miles, i took the delivery and drove 10 miles and it stuck the steering wheel , "rear motor got disabled alert" and vehicle went to slow speed on freeway all of sudden, i had truck behind me it would ended up very bad for me and family, i had to immediately put emergency signal and stop on road side, i tried to call tesla road safety helpline and they were totally busy and did not receive call. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? ; this car "rear motor disabled " twice in middle of freeway , Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center?: Yes they confirmed but unable to give me more details . Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? : No they kept it secret with less info. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear?: No warnings, just stopped over in middle of freeway . so scary specially to new car. I would like NHTSA to inspect all new model Y car which have problems reported please check online and see the percentage of people received this kind of risky issues.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536101August 2, 2023
STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
Summary: Loss of power steering/inability to steer the vehicle occurred twice (7/16/23 & 7/29/23). Issue appears consistent with Investigation PE 23-014. Other functionality was also lost on each occurrence. Details: 7/16/23 - Driver entered the car and immediately received several alerts including Steering assist reduced, stability controlled disabled, traction control disabled, Lane departure avoidance features unavailable, and Vehicle hold disabled. Steering wheel could not be turned and regenerative braking was not functioning. A video of the issue was created and is available upon request as it could not be loaded in its current format. Tesla was contacted on 7/17/23. They stated that a firmware update failed on the evening of 7/15/23. The vehicle was towed to service center and firmware was updated. the invoice from the service center as also attached. 7/29/23 - Driver entered the car and immediately received several alerts including Steering assist reduced and Lane departure avoidance features unavailable. The steering wheel could not be turned, but only with extreme force. There was no firmware update at this time. I was able to drive the car 3 miles to my home at very slow speeds. 2 videos of the issue were created and are available upon request as they could not be loaded in their current format. Tesla was contacted on 7/30/23. The vehicle was towed to service center where they determined that the steering rack needs to be replaced. The vehicle remains at the service center for repair. Background: Car was just received on 6/30/2023. I have had other issues as well. Upon receipt, the electronic seat mechanism was not working and my cameras do not appear to be measuring distances properly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#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

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