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

2023 Tesla Model Y has frequent phantom braking issues when using cruise control. Let me clarify I am not using any sort of auto-pilot or self driving options. I am simply using cruise control. The incidents that cause many braking issues are unjustified to the point I have no idea what the Tesla may have recognized to make it slam on brakes. Very dangerous

NHTSA ODI 11612070

We were about the park in the marked parking lane and the vehicle unintedly accellerated, the brakes did not work and we saw message "Automatic emergency brake not available" and Air bags not available. We tried to control the vehicle to avaoid crashing into the porch of the infront apartment and steared the speeding vehicle and the vehicle hit the pillar of the aparement and finally came to halt few meters away in the parking lot as the front right wheel broke. 1. The ADAS Automatic emergency breaking seems failed 2. Forward collission warning seems not working 3. The safety of the driver and the passenger were at risk while the collission happened 4. I am not sure if the similar incidents happened or can be reproduced by the dealer/manufacturer. 5. Vehicle components inspected by the Tesla collission center but no software logs inspected and they said that they cannot get the device crash/event logs. 6. At the incident/while the incident was underway we saw few message that displayed "Automatic emergency brake is not avaiilable" and "Air bags are not available"

NHTSA ODI 11608563

My Tesla car (Y model) had a glitch (malfunction) that caused it to suddenly brake twice when there was no objects in the road. I had my accident on [XXX] on [XXX] when the car enabled emergency brake for no reason when I was driving in my lane with no objects in its way. I was able to gain control of the tesla back and thankfully nobody hit me as a result. The second glitch happened couple minutes later when the phantom braking spinning my car around causing it to hit the concrete barrier and causing a damage to the car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11606571

The contact called on behalf of her mother who owned a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while the mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact's mother depressed the brake pedal, however the vehicle did not stop. The contact stated that the vehicle crashed into a concrete pillar. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was not equipped with a self-mode drive. The contact's mother sustained injuries and was transported to the local hospital. The contact's mother was treated for a broken right ankle, a broken rib, and a possible torn ACL. A Police report was filed, however, the information was unavailable. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,613.

NHTSA ODI 11604282

In May 2023, after I took my car from the Tesla service center in Santa Ana, I realized there was an issue of shaking and shredding from the motor, and it got worse when I pressed the brakes. That happened when I drove the car down a steep road from [XXX] down to [XXX] in the city of Laguna Beach; Then I drove the car to a different road from [XXX] , then down from [XXX] to [XXX] and [XXX] , where it is down steep as well. Then the same issue showed up, and I couldn't keep pressing break because the shaking got worse, so I let the car roll with shaking till it reached the straight road and stopped. Since then, I have started to avoid steeping, but once, it showed up on another downhill street, which was not as steep as the others. Still, it was a longer downhill, coming from [XXX] down to [XXX] till it splits to [XXX] and [XXX] . At that time, I did not have time to take it to the service because I was very disappointed with them after taking it for several issues several times. They never fixed them, and because I had my mother, who was in critical health issues, I needed to be with her all the time and take her to her appointments for her surgeries and wound care for several months until this year in March. Then I realized that the issue keeps changing from existing to disappearing to existing again. Still, instead of starting at a speed of 1 mile, it begins at 9 miles and disappears at a speed of 11 - 12 miles. It does not have a high level of shaking, but it still exists. I am unsure if that changes with the different updates they do through the air for the car. But the issue still exists, and the shaking levels change. Lately, they have taken it seriously after several attempts to report it and bring it to the service center. After nine days, they concluded that they had tried a similar car. This issue does exist, and it is normal when I have tried multiple cars, including their several demo cars at different times. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11601365

On [XXX] around 9:20 pm we were driving south on [XXX] in Vancouver, WA. The car was on cruise control (not autopilot or autosteer) at 65 mph. The car braked really hard and dropped the speed to nearly 20 mph. We do not know why the car braked, there was no one in front of us. Fortunately there was no one behind us other us we could have been rear-ended. I quickly took control of the car and increased the speed. We have not driven the car on highway since then or taken the car to the dealership yet. There was a message on the screen after the incidence but it disappeared before we could read it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11594688

I reported this issue previously (11589255) and am providing an update: I took my car to the nearest dealer with my less-than-1-year-old non-functioning key card that TESLA told me I had to replace at a cost of 2/$45. I mentioned to the dealer, who is kind an helpful, about the automatic braking in cruise control. I had already disabled "Apply Brakes when Regenerative Braking is Limited" under Dynamics on the screen. (see photo) He showed on the screen, under Autopilot, that I could disable Automatic Emergency Braking, which I did. I was concerned that this warning pops up: "The vehicle will not automatically apply the brakes even when a collision is detected" (see photo) but he suggested I try it to see if it would solve the cruise-control braking. I was hopeful, and disabled it, knowing that it might take a while to know if that solved the problem. I drove the 30 miles home on the frontage road instead of the interstate, and when there were no other cars around, I set cruise control at 50 mph, the speed limit. I came to a series of small hills in the road, and was reminded of the first time the automatic braking happened, on a 60 mph road with longer amplitude hills of greater height. Amazingly, it happened again! Pretty significant braking and slowed me to 25. This time I waited it out to see if it would resume the cruise control at 50. It did not. I have since restored the Automatic Emergency Braking as that seems important for a crash situation. I have restored the "Apply Brakes When Regenerative Braking is Limited" since that obviously was not the problem either.

NHTSA ODI 11592201

I bought a 2023 Tesla Long-range Y in June 2023 at Tesla Santa Fe, New Mexico. I have had trouble with the brakes applying on their own during cruise control. It was very scary the first time it happened, but luckily there was very little traffic on the 2-lane highway I was traveling on. The Tesla dealer in Santa Fe told me they don't have a software fix yet and he simply avoids cruise control. After a few months I cautiously tried cruise control again and got away with it...but the third time, months later, it happened again. When the free month trial of Auto Pilot was installed, I did not intend to use it. Toward the end of the trial, I used it on [XXX] coming home to Las Cruces and realized it might actually auto-brake on the freeway, which could be a disaster. After that trip a Tesla friend shared his near-accident-causing experience with the cruise control braking. Another issue is that the key card didn't unlock the car, then wouldn't start the car. I called Tesla and was told I could reset the key card using the Tesla App, but it did not work. The next day I called Tesla support; he ran the diagnostics and said "oh yes, your car needs to be re-booted". He did so, and the key card worked to lock the car, but not to unlock or start it. I asked him to send me a new key card. "We sell a set of 2 for $45" (this is what came with the car). I told him I paid $53,000 for the car less than a year ago, it did not come with a charge cable, and now the key card didn't work? He looked to see if the key card was covered under warranty and found it was not. I have been unable to reach a person to speak with at either the NM dealer where I bought it or the El Paso dealer where I test-drove and attended the seminar, and have waited on the phone for exorbitant amounts of time while the bot tells me I can manage most problems on the Tesla app. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11589255

I am reaching out on behalf of my wife who met with accident on 3/24/2024.She was driving Tesla Y model and this accident occurred due to System failure of Vehicle , brakes and Steering wheel get locked and she was not able to do anything and car hit the couple of trees on other side of parking lot . She was not using Autopilot feature and it vehicle didn't stop after applying the brake instead of stopping , its get accelerated and steering was also locked.

NHTSA ODI 11586423

Driving on a two lane highway at 70 mph, the vehicle has applied the breaks extremely abruptly without reason, three times in the past week. Slamming on the breaks suddenly reduced our speed from 70 to 45 mph before I could return to the speed limit. I came very close to being rear-ended last time. The drivers behind me were angry as well, assuming that I was “break-checking” them. I am extremely concerned for my family’s safety.

NHTSA ODI 11577950

Phantom braking has occurred on 4 different occasions nearly causing a rear end collision during one of them. On all occasions it occurred with no other car in front of us. Tesla Service was contacted through their app for service and we were told this is a known issue and to simply apply pressure to the accelerator. No warning lights or other was given before the incident. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by Tesla or independent service center?

NHTSA ODI 11577438

The car autopilot system does VERY Hard brakes when coming to stop at red lights ( when there is a car in front of it) very unsafe. Also while driving in the street or freeway, mostly when passing under a bridge, all of a sudden the car pushes brake automatically which is truly dangerous and unsafe. Also when the auto pilot is on it, disengages whenever close to a curb or anything else and you have to take over control very last second to avoid any accidents. This is a safety issues. safety issue. Please fix. I took the car to dealership and both times they say it’s something called phantom braking and that they wouldn’t be able to fix the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11574801

On a trip to and from New York to Canada between February [XXX], the car came to a sudden stop on the interstate when there were NO VEHICLES OR OTHER OBSTRUCTIONS IN FRONT OF THE CAR. However there WERE several vehicles behind me on 2 of these occasions and I was extremely concerned that I was going to be hit from behind. It was just like the events described here - [XXX] . Why isn’t NHTSA doing anything about this? There is no way to use cruise control without this technology which is extremely DANGEROUS. We would NEVER have bought the car had we known about this. Who wants a car where they can’t use the cruise control without fearing the safety of themselves and those behind them??!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11573894

I have been trying more than 4 times with TESLA to get this open recall fixed but failed.

NHTSA ODI 11573801

As I was trying to make a turn on a street which I have used for months, the vehicle started accelerating on its own. So much so that it laterally flew over a median curb and hit another vehicle. I could not steer the vehicle nor stop it despite the fact that I hit the breaks several times. It truly was a very scary experience, and I am not sure what caused it. I have read of similar issues in the past, but I never thought that this truly happens. As a result of the acceleration, I got into an accident that damaged four vehicles. I am a very good and confident driver with clean driving record, and I have no explanation as to what happened, other than that the vehicle took control on its own. There were no warning lamps before, the vehicle has not been inspected yet, but I assume it will be after I have reported this very issue to the insurance company. While I am fine, my safety and the safety of those who were involved in the accident could have been extremely in danger.

NHTSA ODI 11571454

After making a right turn, the car accelerated automatically and drove onto the sidewalk. The driver was hitting the brakes and attempting to redirect the vehicle with the steering wheel but both components of the vehicle were locked, causing the vehicle to lose control and crash into several things on the sidewalk (flower pot, parked cars, building pillars). The Tesla is completely dead so we are unable to retrieve any data within the vehicle. The safety of civilians on the street as well has the driver and passenger of the vehicle were at risk due to the lack of control of the vehicle. Two weeks after the accident, Tesla sent out a recall notice in regards to autosteer which can increase risk of collision, but prior to this no notice/warning was in place. The police were involved and at the scene at the time of the event and a police report has been made. No messages were seen on the screen or on the Tesla app in regards to any car mode (autopilot, cruise control, etc.) the vehicle could've been on, nor any warnings about risk of collision due to the recall.

NHTSA ODI 11571548

I am experiencing sudden braking, without me using any of the braking system. Scared my wife and I. Our safety was at risk 3 times, when this sudden braking happened. Sent a message to Tesla but did not get an answer yet. The warning lights were activated when the sudden braking happened. my first sudden braking happened on January 17th 2024, and then 2 more the following two days of the same month. Now we are driving the car, but we are deactivating the automatic braking system anytime time we get in the car,

NHTSA ODI 11571410

Tesla model Y AWD 2023 Took delivery of a new Tesla about 3 weeks ago. Upon returning to Crofton Maryland from Charlottesville Virginia January 15 on a snowy day, we parked our Tesla model Y AWD in our driveway. The vehicle was subsequently engaged at the parking gear position with the operator and all passengers out, my wife then opened the trunk to unload our groceries to the garage. Within three minutes of parking the vehicle with its trunk still open as we still had more items to unload, we witnessed the Tesla sliding 30 feet from our driveway and coming to a stop due to a dipped in between the driveway and the street as well as the buildup snow. All these happened within moments of my wife moving from behind the vehicle to the garage. Luckily, there was none of my family behind the vehicle or any other pedestrian around. The incident has since been reported to Tesla.

NHTSA ODI 11566161

I was driving my 2023 Tesla Model Y on I-680 South on Nov 8 2023. The car was on adaptive cruise control. I was driving within the speed limit. The truck infront of me abruptly stopped as there was another collision in the lane I was on. I applied brakes but the car did not stop on time, and I rear ended the truck. I have received the vehicle data report from Tesla. Attached the report for you reference. I believe the adaptive cruise control did not slow down as it should have and when I manually applied break, the vehicle did not stop.

NHTSA ODI 11565502

Car slams the brakes while on autopilot with no obstacles on the highway. Car speed reduced at least 20 miles for no reason. Weather was clear.

NHTSA ODI 11563899

The vehicle's steering wheel vibrates regardles driving on highways/freeways and/or city streets. It happens since day 1 of ownership and has been owning for 4 months now. The vehicle's screen got blacked out twice when it was moving; thus, i couldn't read speed and perfom other functions such as turn on AC and/or heat. The regenerative braking/one pedal driving sometimes does not work. It sometimes accelerates itself after slowing down after accelarator was not depressed. Autopilot was not used at the times of unintended acceleration. Had submitted questions and service requests to Tesla. Unfortunately, Tesla did not provide any feedback or perform any service related to these issues.

NHTSA ODI 11563066

Phantom breaking multiple times in one trip, car will break on empty road no obstruction or any reason for breaking almost caused an accident on highway

NHTSA ODI 11561767

The vehicle applied the brake without any warning. The road was clear with no other vehicles ahead and behind at the time. The speed at the time of the incident was 78 miles/hour.

NHTSA ODI 11560633

The car was behaving like in “rolling” mode even though it was set to “hold” mode. The modes refer to the stopping modes. I have reported the incident to Tesla and it’s been in the shop for over 1 week.

NHTSA ODI 11560466

I was driving on the freeway on cruise control. As I was manuvering a slight curve in the road, there was a car in the lane to my right. All of a sudden my Tesla just started stopping almost violently. Luckily no one was behind me. It was the third time this has happened. Scary. No warning or anything.

NHTSA ODI 11559371