Home · 2023 Tesla Model Y · Complaints

What 1,087 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Tesla Model Y

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (1,087)Crash / fire / injury (154)Driver assistance (461)Steering (192)Speed control (163)Brakes (148)Electrical system (109)Suspension (96)Lane Departure (74)Visibility & wipers (60)Wheels (42)Backup camera & sensors (40)

28 of 1,087 complaints match · Steering · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters · page 2 of 2

Nov 14, 2023SteeringBrakesCrash

The process of the car losing control around 10:50am to 11:55am: We were driving on Woodgate Road and were making a U-turn. The car lost control just after the U-turn. The steering wheel spun and failed. The car sped up and the brakes did not work. The car hit the curb and the left tire burst. It went straight over. It was about 3 meters from the sidewalk to the hillside covered with weeds, and it was impossible to stop because the hillside was too steep.

NHTSA ODI 11555138

Sep 15, 2023SteeringCrash

- Failed system: Steering wheel was locked up in the middle of driving. Driver was making a right turn at an intersection. Suddenly a "Steering Assist Reduced" UI_a020 warning appeared on screen, and driver was unable to turn the wheel. No autopilot in any level whatsoever was turned on. - Safety risk: Driver hit another car due to the loss of control of the vehicle. Thankfully it happened in a city intersection. If it happened on a highway, much more damages and casualties might have been incurred. - Reproducing the problem: Right after the accident, driver was ordered to pull the car over to the side. But even after a few restarting of the car, the UI_a020 warning reappeared sporadically. From that time we completely stopped driving the car and drove it only occasionally to load/unload it to tow trucks. So we did not have much chance to reproduce the problem. We have some photos and video clips of the UI_a020 warning taken on the date of the accident. - Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others?: Not yet. Currently the vehicle is at a Tesla Approved body shop (collision center) for repair. - Any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure: There was no UI_a020 warning that we recall prior to the time of the accident. This could be unrelated to the UI_a020 issue, but one day before the accident, I was trying to unlock the car using my cell phone, but the car did not recognize it. Only after turning off and on the Bluetooth several times was I able to unlock the car. This had never happened before and after.

NHTSA ODI 11544655

Apr 21, 2023SteeringDriver assistanceLane DepartureCrash4 injuries

Tesla autopilot made a turn into oncoming traffic without warning and caused a collision.

NHTSA ODI 11518309

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Working with the data? Download all 1,087 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2023 Tesla Model Y verdict →