Tesla Model Y Complaints

3,785 consumer complaints on file.

#11648794March 17, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Phantom braking event on highway. Going about 65 miles an hour. It slammed on the brakes. Car is on latest software. I have the video clip whet it shows me trying to get the car under control.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648458March 15, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Tesla remotely disabled my vehicle twice (February 28, 2025, and March 6, 2025) without prior notice, legal justification, or a court order. February 28, 2025 – Tesla Disabled My Vehicle for 3 Days My Tesla Model Y was remotely locked without warning, leaving me stranded and unable to use my vehicle. Tesla refused to provide a reason or reinstate access for three days. March 6, 2025 – Tesla Disabled My Vehicle Again & Attempted Repossession Tesla again remotely disabled my vehicle, then sent a tow truck for repossession without legal notice. I called the police, who confirmed Tesla had no legal repossession order. Tesla refused to restore access, forcing me into a coerced “voluntary surrender.” How This Posed a Safety Risk I was stranded in public locations without notice or transportation alternatives. Had the vehicle been in motion, this could have caused a road hazard. Tesla’s lack of due process denied me the chance to dispute the action before losing my vehicle. Confirmed by Law Enforcement & Tesla’s Own Records Police intervened on March 6, 2025, and confirmed Tesla had no valid repossession order. Tesla has refused to provide written documentation or a legal explanation for these actions. Regulatory Concerns Tesla’s unilateral ability to disable vehicles raises serious consumer safety issues: What prevents Tesla from disabling vehicles arbitrarily? What legal safeguards exist to protect owners from unjustified manufacturer lockouts? Should federal law restrict Tesla from disabling vehicles without court approval? Request for Investigation Tesla’s remote disabling practice endangers consumers and should be urgently investigated by NHTSA to determine if federal safeguards are needed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648453March 15, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
This car is three months old. Driving near my home on a four-lane divided road with 55MPH speed limit. While having either cruise or auto-steer enabled and using cruise control only, experiencing ongoing instances—during every drive—of unexpected and unexplained hard, sudden braking, reducing vehicle speed dramatically (multiples of 10MPH in less than five seconds). Each time, there has been very light traffic, and there is nothing I can see on the road that could explain the reason for the braking, hence the unexpected nature. The problem could easily cause a rear-end collision soon if another car is following closely, and I’m not able to correct and accelerate fast enough. Vehicle is very clean all around, including camera locations, and the weather is perfectly sunny and temperate each day. I do not recall this event happening while driving at night in my semi-rural area. I have not yet reported the problem to Tesla, so they have not inspected or attempted service on the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648401March 14, 2025
SEAT BELTS, SEATS
Continued failure of the OCS system after repair by tesla. This is the system responsible for determining if a passenger is in the passenger seat and without this is a safety issue. As it could affect airbag deployment.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648183March 13, 2025
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM
When I try to defrost my windows, it does not work. They are so foggy when I’m going down the road I am concerned that I will wreck. I was told my vin was not included in the recall. I think it needs to be.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647993March 12, 2025
SUSPENSION
Front lower control arm bushings are torn. This was discovered at 32000 miles. Premature failure of suspension parts can create a unsafe driving condition. Currently available for inspection. But will be replaced under warranty as soon as possible.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647937March 12, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The vehicle comes with a software feature that automatically shifts the car into park "to prevent rollaway". It does it at random times when we are driving and has multiple times almost caused an accident because my vehicle will suddently stop when I am in the middle of a road or pulling out onto a busy road. The most recent incident was on March 11 2025, I was pulling out from a parking lot, taking a right onto a very busy road. The software unexpectedly shifted the vehicle to park, stopping it completely while I was halfway in the road, with other cars approaching me at 45-50mph. In a panic it was difficult to shift back into drive quickly, and nearly caused an accident that could have been fatal. I called the manufacturer and was uanble to get through to an agent, so I sent an email and have not yet received a response.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647887March 12, 2025
STEERING
Power steering occasionally cuts out during low speed manoeuvres, such as parallel parking, parking, and turning while stopped. When trying to forcibly replicate the issue (by moving steering wheel lock to lock while doing parking manoeuvres) computer showed codes EPAS3P_a122_olpActive and EPAS3P_a074_overHeatProtect. Tesla says this is "working as designed" and will not fix. I have asked the car to be serviced for this issue twice now. Safety is a concern as the issue is unpredictable and I believe the steering could become difficult suddenly in a situation where it is necessary to move out of the way quickly. (Ie. Stopped in traffic with emergency vehicles incoming)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647858March 12, 2025
SUSPENSION
Took my car into tesla service center for alignment and they said that i need to change my front lateral link. I asked if it was damaged by anything i did and they said no. At 31k miles this is not normal. They won't cover it under warranty. It's a critical component and can cause a major accident resulting in injury or death.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647726March 11, 2025
TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the TPMS warning light illuminated, with the “TPMS Fault” message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with TMPS failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with an undisclosed recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647705March 11, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while at a stop, the brake pedal was depressed when suddenly the steering wheel seized to function, and the vehicle started to move forward independently, causing the driver to veer to the right to avoid crashing into a home garage. The contact attempted to get back into the street however, the vehicle kept moving forward independently as the contact kept depressing on the brake pedal crashing the front center of the vehicle into a sign pole. The vehicle continued to accelerate independently causing the contact to crash into a second sign pole on the front passenger side where the vehicle came to a stop. The vehicle was damaged by the fender upon the first impact and was damaged on the front passenger side upon the second impact however, the vehicle was not destroyed. The air bags did not deploy. The contact and his wife suffered from whiplash however, medical attention was not required. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the place of the accident to the contact's home. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 10,100.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647275March 9, 2025
SUSPENSION, WHEELS, STEERING
Two weeks I had my model Y serviced for shaking of the car and steering wheel. They deemed the cause of the shaking due to unalignment of the wheels and they claimed to have fixed the issue. After receiving the car for the week after it began to make a sound of something hitting every time I made a U turn or any time I turned the wheel. While driving 3/8 with my family in the car I made a U turn in a parking lot and heard the same loud sound of hitting. When I went to check two large approximately 3 inch bolts were on the ground but no nuts in sight and my control arm broke the bottom plate and was completely unattached from the car. Thankfully the bolts came off while in a parking lot and not 20 minutes prior when I was driving on a windy road. Within 24hours Tesla contacted me saying my car was ready for pickup without any explanation of why the bolts came off, No full inspection completed for other issues and no alignment of the tires. Under the Tesla mechanic notes they only reinstalled the bolts and tightened the front wheels and not the back. Upon further research online I have found numerous other people complaining of the same issue of the bolts for the control arm falling off on Model Y and 3 Teslas due to forgetting to weld the bolt nuts to the sub frame.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647215March 9, 2025
STEERING
The steering wheel is locking up. First while parked and attempting to leave. It does eventually unlock and appears to not have what i would refer to as power steering. While driving it appears to not have power steering and the steering periodically locks up which i would immediately brake a have to repeatedly yank hard on wheel until it unlocks at this point as of the moment of this writing the steering wheel is completely locks up and cannot be yank out of lock at all. I have a video of some incidents happening. One heading into on coming traffic another of the car driving up on a snow bank ( if the bank was not there the car would have ended up in a ditch ). There are caution indicators on the screen but none say stop do not drive. The first caution or warning indicator says stability control disabled drive with caution. Next indicator states traction control disabled drive with caution. Next indicator steering assist reduced steering may require increased effort. I find myself very lucky that no real damage injury or death occurred it was that dangerous on my over an hour drive. When the steering locked up in the parking lot i did contact tesla and initially everything was fine but locked up again in parking lot. I contacted them a second time with the wheel unlocking at the but no one said dont drive nor did any indicators state that actually indicated i could drive but with caution. I believe that if i were on a busy highway things would have been much worse. I was lucky. There was no indication of a totally locked steering wheel in there diagnostics indicators also nothing stating do not drive. Actually quite the opposite. I can provide driving video upon request. There were other warning indicators i have some recorded. None of the indicators stated a totally locked steering steering wheel lock up and nothing indicating do not drive. I would welcome your agency to come inspect this. It is a total danger to society.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647142March 8, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Vehicle was stopped at a red light. On its own it began driving- accelerating forward from a complete stop - ramming the car in front - then into an active intersection. Thankfully the steering was responsive but not the brake until a few seconds after incident began. Miraculously no one was injured. We have Tesla’s dashcam video of incident but unable to upload onto this platform (it only takes photos).
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646831March 6, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC, AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH and depressing the brake pedal; however, the vehicle accelerated independently and failed to brake without warning. The contact assured there were no distractions that could have caused the crash. Due to the failure, the contact crashed into another vehicle as the air bags deployed. Despite the air bag deployment, the vehicle continued to accelerate and repeatedly hit the same vehicle. The brake pedal eventually responded after depressing multiple times to the floorboard and the vehicle finally came to a stop. The contact did not sustain any injuries and did not seek medical treatment. The driver of the other vehicle did not report any injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the scene to an independent tow yard. The contact mentioned reviewing the Tesla App on the crash however it was not recorded and there was a recording lag. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 39,264
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646817March 6, 2025
STEERING
3/5/2024. Upon startup, car does not have power steering. Error code UI_a020 on screen and steering wheel very difficult to move as car reverses. Put car back into park and arranged for alternate transportation. Manufacturer advises "monitoring and reporting back when/if alert re-occurs"
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646740March 6, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY, STEERING, SUSPENSION
My steering is making loud noises and so is the suspension. It’s so loud it’s embarrassing to drive. The steering wheel also came apart because it wasn’t glued down properly and had air bubbles. I see recalls for cars but not my specific vin. Tesla says no wheel replacement for me and cost of replacing link assembly parts and bolts would cost me 2000$
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646734March 6, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
After update 2024.38.2 they introduced a "Active Curve Assist" which can't be disabled while using the cruise control. This has caused the car to excessively brake (70mph to 45mph), a couple times while a vehicle is following resulting in a near rear end collision and has created dangerous situations
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646579March 5, 2025
AIR BAGS
I have an intermittent warning message "Front passenger safety restraint fault" which started about 1.5 years ago. Tesla added a "filter" which sorta resolved the problem, but as i mentioned its an intermittent problem. I submit another service reqyest for the same issue January 2024 at 51k miles but they denied my warranty claim because it is past their 50k basic warranty. I resubmitted a service request around September 2024 to look at the issue but they said they will look into my request for warranty but never got back to me. Fast forward to 2025 I submit another service request because the warning message keepings popping up more frequently and I read that Tesla SRS warranty is up until 60,000 miles which as of January 2024 I was still within. Now they are denying my claims because I didnt request a service within warranty period. I wasn't aware of the SRS warranty and Tesla employee saying i am outside the warranty and deny my warranty claim which was either incorrect, a lie or both. I have tried explaining to them multiple times but every time they say its outside of warranty now.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646403March 5, 2025
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
I bought a tesla model Y 2025 and got my car delivered on [XXX] I barely drove it and within a week, I noticed all sensors stopped working (ALL cameras and camera-related functions stopped working, including the legally mandatory backup camera for new cars, GPS has stopped working, making the premium connectivity package I paid not usable). Not only was I not able to use the self driving capability, which I paid $8000 for, but also the car lacked the most basic safety features. I contacted Tesla service center, they refused to admit that the sensor malfunction is a security concern, and still put me on an appointment three weeks later (dec 13). After the first appointment, they did not fix the problem at all and noted it was a major computer issue, as reported by several media outlets [XXX] ). So my brand new car has a defective core component upon delivery. I was scheduled to meet them after they get the computer part on Dec 27. The appointment was rescheduled to Jan 14 again for missing parts. During the process, I found some weird tricks online and semi-fixed my car’s navigation but the sensor issues still exist. And on Jan 14 again, they claimed the computer part was missing again and I had to wait until that upcoming weekend to fix it. To summarize the situation: I was given a car that is defective upon delivery on its most important core component for 2.5 months, when the car lacks even the basic legally required safety features, as well as premium features that I already paid off! During the process, I also spent a lot of time dealing with their customer service, and rescheduled appointments (I even had to drive to their service center several times to get a loaner and had to return the loaner early before they did not have parts to fix my car). Their negligence on safety, and promised features is simply astonishing and unacceptable. 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

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