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

I was driving my Tesla in self drive mode, and ibecause it started raining. I reduce the speed to standard. I had a notification on the screen, an alert in red. That the tesla reached the maximum speed in that mode “standard”. I was surprised and decided ti canceled the FSD feature and took control of the vehicle. Then when I was driving in the expressway very close to my exit on the right lane, the car accelerated by itself and turn to the left unexpectedly. I tried to returned the car to my lane and I never had control again of the car. Not the steering wheel, not the breaks responded. I was spinning on the expressway until I hit the concrete barrier with the rear bumper. Hopefully I did not hit any car nor they didn’t hit me. The car shutdown after the impact. Tesla sent me the footage of the impact, ignoring the moment that caused that incident that was some seconds before. The brakes were automatically turned onz and the wheels did not move. I know something wrong happened. Specially because the incident some minutes before when I was driving in standard mode and accelerated with no reasons. I have safety concerns. Also I noticed that after the last upgrades the car was havung navigation issues that I reported immediately when the autopilot was removed and we have to select the options.

NHTSA ODI 11743089

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH in light rain, the vehicle suddenly braked and causing the vehicle to lose control. The contact stated that the vehicle was on cruise control and auto drive assist. The contact stated that the vehicle veered to the left, crossed two lanes of traffic, and crashed into the highway divider wall. The contact stated that there were no warning lights. The contact stated that the left front end had crashed first, and then the driver's door and left front fender had crashed into the dividing wall. The contact stated that the driver's front air bag had deployed and burst; there was a large tear starting from the top of the air bag all the way to the steering wheel. The contact stated that he had burns on his hands due to the air bag explosion, bruises on his chest, and right arm. The contact stated that the police and emergency services arrived. A police report was filed. The contact stated that he was transported to the hospital, and the vehicle was towed to a manufacturer's collision center. The contact stated that the manufacturer's collision center downloaded the collision information from the vehicle's main frame and shared the accident report with the contact. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

NHTSA ODI 11708923

While operating my Tesla Model Y in a commercial parking lot at a T-intersection controlled by a stop sign, the vehicle unexpectedly and automatically accelerated without driver intent. The incident occurred during a low-speed maneuver. Upon the unexpected acceleration, I immediately attempted to regain control by applying the brake pedal repeatedly and firmly. Despite clear manual brake application, the vehicle did not decelerate as expected and continued to move forward. I also attempted to stop the vehicle by pressing the Park button, but this action did not stop the vehicle. The vehicle continued uncontrollably for approximately 150 yards, traveling over curbs, striking a fence, and ultimately colliding with the garage structure of a residential home. Throughout this sequence, the vehicle remained unresponsive to braking and stop inputs. Vehicle data later confirmed that brake pedal application was detected prior to impact, yet braking response was insufficient to prevent continued motion. At the time of the event, the vehicle recorded system fault states, and collision avoidance systems did not activate. Despite significant structural impact and property damage, airbags did not deploy. The incident raises serious safety concerns regarding: •Brake-by-wire system execution during fault conditions •Pedal input arbitration between accelerator and brake •Failure of collision avoidance systems to intervene •Failure of restraint systems to deploy during a severe impact •Vehicle behavior when control systems are in a fault state This event occurred without warning and despite appropriate driver response. Based on vehicle data and system behavior, this appears to be a system-level failure rather than driver error.

NHTSA ODI 11706979

Pulled into hospital parking garage. Stopped to pull parking ticket. When the parking gate was raised, Tesla immediately took off at very high uncontrolled speed. Basically a runaway vehicle. There was no accerlation on my part. Brakes did not work. Hit parked car in the garage about 300 feet from the parking gate. I was taken to hospital with broken wrist. Car has been totaled.

NHTSA ODI 11697204

Driving our 2023 Tesla model Y east on [XXX] on [XXX] near Pecos TX. Car suddenly lost power and started hard braking. We were rear ended by a large pick-up truck that was following as we were both traveling approximately 80 miles per hour when this occurred. The car was towed back to Dallas from Big Springs, TX (approximately 280 miles). The car's rear-end damage was such that my Tesla was deemed totaled by the insurance company. This power failure and hard braking had happened to me repeatedly over the last few years. When I spoke to Tesla at the Dallas service center about this issue, they acted as though they had never heard of this happening to anyone. We were both shaken by this accident but other than some soreness the next day we are physically OK. Tesla repair estimate was approximately $22,000. I was forced to buy another car. I had not planned on doing this as my car was fairly new with low mileage. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11695497

June 9, 2025 Phantom acceleration. No foot on accelerator. Car jumped from 5 to 35 mph. Breaks unresponsive for 3 seconds, smashed into 4 parked cars, creating a Chain-Reaction crash, my Tesla Model Y Totaled, Airbags deployed. Burlington Police Department arrived, took statements, filed report, no copy yet.

NHTSA ODI 11692951

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint against Tesla, Inc. regarding multiple critical safety failures that occurred with my Tesla Model Y (VIN: [XXX] ) during a collision on Saturday, [XXX], while I was traveling eastbound on [XXX] from the [XXX] exit to the [XXX] exit in Pennsylvania. At approximately [XXX], I was driving in the left lane when a BMW SUV abruptly cut into my lane ahead of me, accelerated briefly, and then suddenly braked. I immediately applied the brakes multiple times in an effort to stop my car. Even though there was sufficient space to stop safely, the braking system failed to respond, resulting in a collision with the BMW in front of me. Despite my efforts to avoid the impact, the following dangerous and unacceptable failures occurred at the time of the accident: 1.Failure of Regenerative Braking / Deceleration: When I lifted my foot from the accelerator, the vehicle did not decelerate as expected under Tesla’s regenerative braking system. 2.Failure of Braking System: Despite pressing the brake pedal twice—including a heavy application—the braking system failed to prevent collision, contrary to Tesla’s advertised safety performance. 3.Failure of Collision-Avoidance Features: Critical safety systems—including Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, and Obstacle-Aware Acceleration—did not engage to mitigate or prevent the impact. 4.Failure of Airbag Deployment: Despite the severity of the crash, none of the airbags deployed, exposing me to serious risk of injury and raising grave concerns about the integrity of the Model Y’s occupant protection systems. 5.Post-Collision Failure of Regenerative Braking: Following the accident, when I attempted to drive the vehicle, the regenerative braking system was completely non-functional, creating a continuing safety hazard and rendering the vehicle unsafe to operate. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11688217

The vehicle in front of us came to a sudden stop, but my Tesla failed to issue any alerts or activate automatic braking. When we attempted to brake manually, the car did not allow full braking and continued moving forward, ultimately causing a collision. This strongly suggests a malfunction in the Tesla’s safety or braking system. As a result, I’ve suffered significant financial losses due to the vehicle being totaled and damage caused to other vehicles/other persons injuries involved. This incident is also likely to lead to increased insurance premiums moving forward.

NHTSA ODI 11677984

While in an automatic car wash with the vehicle in "car wash mode" the vehicle suddenly stopped free rolling and the vehicle behind the Tesla Model Y crashed into the Tesla. The Brown Bear car wash reported that these types of incidents are common at Brown Bear car washes and that they ocurr when the drivers of Tesla cars remove their seat belts while the car is in the car wash.

NHTSA ODI 11643017

After leaving the supercharger (car charged to 92%) I came to a stop light. The car was NOT in autopilot. I took my foot off the accelerator pedal. The car had nearly come to a complete stop when it starting accelerating again. My foot was NOT on the pedal. I tried to brake and the brakes would NOT work. I turned the car to try to avoid hitting the car in front of me while pressing on the brake. Brakes still would not work and I slammed into the car in front of me. I believe that the car was not able to put the energy from the acceleration back into the battery (regenerative braking technology) and therefore pushed it back into acceleration mode. I also believe this caused the brakes to not work. I know there have been many recalls in China and other complaints of the same issue. I've had the car for 2 years and had never had this problem before. Another note when the accident happened the screen was showing a software update that wanted to be installed. This was a very disturbing and rattling happening and I'm not worried to drive the car after a super charge.

NHTSA ODI 11635254

Was driving in traffic and when the cars were coming to a stop I was putting my foot on the break to prepare for a stop but it kept creeping forward and I’m pushing down the breaks as hard as I could but nothing. It ended up hitting the big rig in front of me. The mode of my breaks is on hold it’s always been on hold I even tried to push the parking button but it would not budge, continued forward the collision stopped the car

NHTSA ODI 11631186

I was fully stopped at red light of intersection of [XXX] . Suddenly my vehicle accelerate it self and start auto drive at high speed and malfunction, hitting multiple parked vehicles. My vehicle was on auto holding brake feature. I was not able to control my vehicle, even when I tried pressing the brake. No warnings or alarms from my vehicle when crashes into multiple parked cars. On [XXX] incident happened. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11618657

Date of incident 9/9/24 11:15 AM 2023 Tesla Model Y traveling north bound I-15 using Tesla Autopilot intending soon to exit Pioneer Crossing / American Fork UT in the far right lane — vehicle made sudden move to right glancing off wall causing scraping damage to right front quarter panel, and hub cap. Although I stepped on the brake in attempt to take control of the vehicle I immediately experienced uncontrolled acceleration and difficulting in steering. I chose not to exit and fought to keep the vehicle in varying freeway lanes attempting to brake to which the vehicle continued to attempt to accelerate against the braking, I also simultaneously and frantically continued to push the right stalk upwards in attempt to disengage Autopilot assuming that was causing the unintended acceleration. I was fighting to keep the car in a lane with faulty steering at time awakwardly steering to avoid slower moving vehicles. I eventually ended up coming to a complete stop in the middle lane of I-15 north bound 9/10ths (nine tenths) of mile north of my intended exit (mile post #278 Pioneer Crossing). Because of faulty controls I was afraid to try to move the vehicle to the side — I immediately put on emergency flashing lights and called 911 on my cell phone. While nervously waiting for emergency services approaching vehicles slowed and made their way around me — per instruction I stayed in my vehicle with seatbelt on. One large pickup truck struck my vehicle driverside rear as he passed by and failed to stop. Utah Highway Patrol and Fire Department Ambulance arrived within approximatley ten minutes. Two highway patrol officers stopped traffic and assisted in me slowing driving my vehicle to the center emergency lane. One office stayed with me until tow. He commented the right rear wheel appeared not aligned correctly suggested the rear axle was possibly broken. I was not injured beyond being extremely frightened. No passengers.

NHTSA ODI 11614493

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

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

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 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

Vehicle reversing malfunctioned , may be a software defect. Vehicle while reversing without pressing the accelerator went berserk and hit another vehicle in the driveway. Vehicle data was provided by Tesla but there is no evidence of collision nor any video recording of the incident. No issues were seen nor any warnings displayed prior to the vehicle reversing itself. However insurance deemed it as driver fault without any confirmation by the manufacturer (Tesla).

NHTSA ODI 11558823

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while his grand-son was driving 40 MPH with his friend in the front passenger's seat, he depressed the brake pedal as he was approaching a stopped-occupied vehicle. A light indicating that the brakes were engaged illuminated, but the vehicle failed to respond. Additionally, the automatic emergency braking system failed to engage, and the vehicle crashed into the rear of the vehicle in front of him. The air bags deployed. The contact's grandson and his friend were able to exit the vehicle. The vehicle then turned off and locked, which rendered the vehicle unnoticeable by oncoming drivers. Another driver who noticed the incident parked behind the vehicle and activated the hazard lights to prevent other drivers from crashing into the vehicle. The contact's grand-son sustained a burn on the right hand from the driver's side airbag deployment. The friend and the other driver did not sustain any injuries. A police report was filed. The contact's grand-son received first aid assistance from the ambulance. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla collision center, which denied assistance. The vehicle was then towed to a Collision center that was certified to work on Tesla vehicles. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

NHTSA ODI 11556484

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

Two times in one week with two different drivers driving the same vehicle the vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration while parking. In the first incident this resulted in damage to the bumper into a wired fence which the vehicle did not alert but rather accelerated instead of applied regenerative breaking. Four days later the same incident happened with sudden unintended acceleration occurring while parking the car. When sending the car to Tesla for service due to the safety concern and damage this resulted in they said this was a user error which can’t be the case as this incident happened with two different drivers driving the same vehicle. When reading about this there have been numerous complaints which have shown that there is an electrical “ They show that the sudden unintended acceleration of Tesla cars may have been caused by negative voltage spikes that are logged as a fully depressed pedal, fooling both Tesla and the NHTSA investigators that there has been no hardware or software defect.”

NHTSA ODI 11549924

On August 12, 2023, I went to the Plano TX Tesla Delivery Center to pick up my new TeslaY model as scheduled at about 11 am. CST . The vehicle had 3 miles on it. After taking a couple of rounds around the delivery center and becoming comfortable with the default settings, I started driving back home which was 9 miles away. While on the drive, I noticed that the screen was showing “calibration in progress”. When I reached home at around 11:40 am. CST, Tesla showed a total of 12 miles on it, and as the garage door opened, the screen showed STOP as it said the calibration finished. As instructed, I stopped moving the vehicle on seeing HOLD/STOP while entering the garage from the driveway. Suddenly, the car jerked forward forcefully, as if a magnet had attracted it inside with the pedal going down. The car went into the garage and hit the garage wall, damaging the common garage wall and the other side being the master bathroom (by damaging the cabinets, big wall mirror(s), counter top etc), and also damaged the front bumper of the car. I was shocked and terrified for a while. So immediately rushed to the center again and reported the incident at Plano Service Center, who created a ticket on the same day. They said that this case would be sent to the engineering team for review. on Sep 10th, I got a reply from Service saying they have reviewed the Engineering study for the vehicle and the results displayed show that the vehicle operated as intended due to the use of the accelerator pedal at the time of the incident. Also reported to Auto insurance who came and assessed the damage to the bumper which also rattles or squeaks. The service for collision is scheduled for Dec 7th 2023 by Tesla Collision Dallas center. What if the same happened on the main road or in the streets where I live where there are a lot of kids playing on the streets? When I think of it, I get scared and panicked and Thank God that it occurred at my residence without any outside incident

NHTSA ODI 11548768