2020 Tesla Model Y FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The full self-driving (FSD) stopped working although it was fully paid for at the time of vehicle purchase. Along with that, the car stopped receiving/installing over the air software updates, the lane markings in the display disappeared, and the automatic cancelling turn signals stopped working (requiring me to manually cancel them). I took it to Tesla service and was told that the car needs a new computer at a cost of approximately $2,300. To answer the bullet points above: 1. The main vehicle computer malfunctioned. 2. I paid for FSD for the safety it provides - without FSD, the car is simply less safe in traffic. 3. The Tesla service center confirmed that the vehicle computer has malfunctioned. 4. There was no indication of any kind, until suddenly the FSD stopped working and I noticed subsequently that downloading/installing software updates failed, lane markings disappeared, and automatic cancelling turn signals stopped working requiring manual operation.
On July 26 2023, FSD, camera and navigation were working fine untill i was told to update software in my car. Then the next day everything stop working. I could not use navigation, crusie control, FSD, and all cameras. So, I brought in service to check but they could not fix the issue and want to replace car computer which i have to pay for the issue i did not cause. This is unresponsible that i got it from them. I am not sure if this manufacter defect or firmware issue that cause it. But this is not something that i have ability to cause it. Now with this safey recall i could not update software since there is no option for to do so.
I am writing to formally file a complaint against Tesla, Inc. concerning a significant issue that has arisen following a software update issued to Model Y and Model 3 vehicles in early December. I am a Tesla Model Y owner, and following this update, I have experienced complete failure of critical vehicle systems including cameras, navigation, lane departure warnings, auto braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, windshield wipers, self-driving features, and car location data. The malfunction of these essential features not only compromises the safety and functionality of the vehicle but also indicates a severe underlying problem with the vehicle's computer system. The cost to replace the affected computer in my vehicle amounted to $2,400. However, upon reviewing discussions on Tesla forums, I have discovered that this is not an isolated incident; numerous other owners are facing similar failures, with some repair bills exceeding $3,000. Given the widespread nature of these issues and their chronological association with the December software update, there appears to be a high correlation between the update and the catastrophic failure of the vehicle computers. The financial burden of these repairs has unjustly fallen on consumers, although it is my belief that Tesla should be held accountable for these failures, given the direct link to their software update. I urge the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to investigate this matter thoroughly. It is critical to ascertain whether the December software update directly caused the failures of the vehicle's computer systems and to ensure that Tesla takes appropriate responsibility for the safety and reliability of their vehicles. This includes compensating owners for the costs incurred due to these failures and implementing measures to prevent such incidents in the future. Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.
The incident happened on October 23, 2023 at 3:02 PM. The car is being parked between two vehicles and the car triggered automatic emergency breaking, after the emergency breaking there were error on screen about “Automatic Emergency Breaking Unavailable, ABS disabled and Automatic vehicles hold disabled”. After seeing this error on screen the car did sudden uncontrolled acceleration which caused it to crash in to buildings. I have contacted Tesla to investigate this issue, provided error message and vedio recordings of the incident. After two months investigation, I have been told they did not find issue in the car and can’t go any further details to explain error on screen, sudden emergency stop and sudden acceleration on the car. The car has been deemed total by the insurance company. I would like to share my data with you so proper investigation can be done and prevent similar situation in future.
I had FSD engaged and the Tesla MY was navigating to my sister’s house in Falmouth, MA. My brother was in the passenger seat and witnessed the incident. The MY stopped on a road to wait to make an easy left turn onto another road. There was a vehicle in front of us waiting to make this same left turn. Another vehicle approached at high speed (my estimate is 60 mph) in the opposing lane. With the vehicle in front of me still waiting to turn, my Tesla abruptly pulled left and moved into the opposing lane about 10 feet before I managed to apply the brakes hard. The vehicle in the opposing lane swerved hard to their right to avoid a possible collision and continued on without stopping. It was overcast but not dark out. This is the worst I’ve seen during the past 3.5 years of driving this Tesla MY with FSD. Current FSD Beta version is v11.4.8.1.
This pertains to the new NHTSA recall 23V-838 that forces Tesla to issue an OTA update changing the use of autosteer and attention notifications. Prior to the new update, I would use autopilot to assist me while I change the climate controls or radio station. After the update, this would instantly notify me that I was not “paying attention” which I am. Eventually it would disable my ability to use auto steer. Large all screen in put makes it difficult for me to adjust basic amenities in the car such as climate controls and radio. Since the new update, I felt that my in ability to use autosteer to assist me has made this operation significantly less safe. Not being able to safely make inputs to the car infotainment has made it riskier. Being all screen, there is no tactile feedback to know where my controls are without looking at the screen. In addition, I feel that the additional more frequent notifications has become more of a distraction as I take my eyes off the road to look at the screen to see what issues I am running into. There needs to be a balance between constant notification and ability to control basic infotainment feature.
While driving on interstate highways and using autopilot, the car would "phantom brake" unnecessarily in numerous instances. Once it caused a truck to swerve dangerously to the next lane when the car suddenly brake in front of the truck. Mirages and sudden dips on interstate highways seem to be one of the main factors, but other incidents were less obvious what the cause was.
Driving on Highway 80, west of Elko, NV. No obstructions on the road, no cars within 5 miles, no animals or birds on the highway. The vehicle aggressively brakes. It did this 4 times with the assisted driving engaged and 1 with cruise control engaged.
We continue to experience phantom braking when adaptive cruise control is engaged on major highways. On a recent trip, it occurred three times on I-90 eastbound between Madison and Janesville, WI, and again in Indiana. Our car does not have “full self-driving.” Most of these were relatively mild, but one was so violent that objects in the cabin were thrown around. If a vehicle had been following relatively closely, a collision would have been likely. This seems most likely to happen as we approach an overpass.
Under clear conditions while traveling on the highway, if adaptive cruise control or self-driving is used, the car will randomly apply its brakes. The car will quickly lose 5-10 miles of speed, and poses a hazard to cars behind us. In the 7-8 times this has happened in the last two months, there has never been an obstacle in our path. Unfortunately, this has rendered cruise control unusable
I was on a self driving mode enabled but it’s been raining for a while and I believe it showed the poor weather condition so FSD is not enabled but autopilot was engaged (but not 100% sure about which mode it was) It was around 2am in the morning and was on 580 southbound from Dublin to SFO. I was on the second to the left lane. It suddenly tried to go diagonally to the first lane. (Not like normal lane change but very abrupt almost like making turn 90 degree left) so I tried to cancel by holding on the steering wheel. And then it went out of control and start rotating until it stopped by hitting the center guard rail on the passenger rear side. The car stopped facing backward on the road (on the center shoulder). Luckily it was late night (around 2am) and there were no car behind luckily. I could have dead if another car hit into my car. Tesla insurance of course didn't admin any of this and told me it was my fault.
I enabled Tesla's auto pilot feature while driving on highway. Throughout the drive of ~200 miles, the car had sudden phantom breaks for four times. It was very dangerous situations and could have easily caused serious accidents.
I was driving with cruise control on and the car violently hit the brakes when there was no one in front of us. We have noticed this is more common when cresting a hill. This happens at least once every time we are on a road trip. This needs to be addressed. We know we are not the only person having these issues with the Tesla and the “phantom braking”
The autodrive features malfunctioned. The vehicle is "phantom" braking when a human could easily see there was no reason to brake. This is happening with autopilot (lane keep and adaptive cruise control) engage at freeway speeds (60-70mph). This is occurring randomly on a curve, in the day, at night, in a straight road, cars or no cars nearby. The solution being offered is Tesla service will check the tire pressure and they "remote educated" me by providing links to their autopilot description on their website which states that this can happen. These are extremely dangerous situations and these solutions are not sufficient.
I had a major accident on Sep. 24th 2022 when the car sped the traffic light and was hit by another on coming vehicle. This crash has caused a life changing changes to me & others involved in the accident. The vehicle suddenly sped without my control without stopping on the red light. I also had a major financial & vehicle loss with legal activities still pending. Tesla is not investigating and not taking responsibility of this accident and the nearest dealership is avoiding my claims. My auto insurance Allstate is handling this claim.
The contact stated as he was driving behind a what he assumed was a 2020 Tesla Model Y when the vehicle suddenly stopped and turned to the right. The contact stated that the vehicle was traveling at approximately 40 MPH as it was approaching a toll plaza. The contact was unaware if the rear brake light had been illuminated on the Tesla. The contact stated that he almost t-boned the vehicle as it stopped and blocked the tow gate. The contact stated that he witnessed the vehicle stopping inadvertently several times. The contact was concerned as he read an article about Tesla vehicles suddenly stopping. The contact did not have the year or VIN of the vehicle.
The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving with the cruise control feature activated, the vehicle abruptly decelerated without warning. The contact stated that the dealer was made aware of the failure however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 700.
Phantom Braking in Autopilot: Coming back from Mammoth Ca in November 2022 on highway 395 and 14 we experienced sudden braking in cruiscontrol/autopilot numerous times with no cars in front of us while driving. One time there was a car behind us and almost caused an accident. This is a very dangerous situation in which Tesla must fix this issue or refund us money back for the Auto pilot feature. This has happened previously on long trips. We do not use this feature in regular commuting to and from work
At least 5 times in the last month, my Tesla Model Y will suddenly brake when there’s no obstacle in the way. This most often happens at highway speeds, a terrifying scenario. I believe it mostly (or exclusively happens) when I have cruise control on. I notice it happens when there’s a sudden change in the color of the road surface, like going from concrete to asphalt. It also happens when I’m cresting a hill - like it can’t see over the other side of the hill. I have not yet experienced it while having the “stay in the lane” feature, which also sets the maximum speed at 5mph over the speed limit. But it definitely happens when I have cruise control on. I have only had this problem for the past few months, so I wonder if there’s a bug in the most recent software version.
Many times over the past long highway drives while in cruise control, the car will suddenly and violently brake with no obstacles in the way. Thankfully no car has been immediately behind me so far, but I can concerned that this may happen again and I won't be so fortunate. I have a mobile service appointment upcoming but Tesla tells me they need to know the exact date and exact time (to the second) that this occurred which I am unable to tell them. This is frustrating.
I was driving east on I 90 not long after the Bonner exit east of Missoula, Montana. Due to various issues with road conditions I had been using Tesla's Autopilot rather sparingly. After Missoula the roads were clear, bright sunny day around 1 PM, there was no traffic close by. I had AP engaged at this point. For no obvious reason I got the BRIGHT RED STEERING WHEEL TAKE CONTROL IMMEDIATELY warning and chime...at which point, rather startled, I took control and after a minute or two re-engaged AP. Not long after that road conditions deteriorated and I drove most of the way back to Butte.
While driving cross-country on interstates, I've experienced multiple sudden braking incidents. Incidents occurred every day of a 3-day journey (so far). All have occurred between 12:00-14:00 local time on sunny days, dry roads, with no cars or other obstructions in front of the car--in some cases, with no cars in sight at all. Safety was not immediately threatened, but if in heavy traffic could have resulted in rear collision. I have submitted a service request to Tesla but will be traveling for the next two weeks so haven't spoken to a service rep directly--therefore no inspection, reproduction, or confirmation by deal or service center yet. No warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms.
I reported many instances of what is know as "phantom braking" when using Adaptive Cruise Control when we went on our first long drives in the car when we took delivery. They recalibrated the front sensing cameras and that helped. It did not eliminate all events, but ACC was then usable in certain driving situations, i.e., when not in fast congested traffic as in metropolitan traffic. We took a long trip on freeway and two lane highways a month ago, about 3,500 miles, which had a few, non serious events. about a month or so ago, Tesla had a software update that said it was going to install "Tesla Vision", a camera only senor system, elimination the radar sensing our car has. The result was having quite a few more events of PB. One particular one was on a freeway (I8) heading east at 75 mph with no traffic visible neither in front of or behind our car. It slammed on, hard, the brakes and would have brought us to a complete stop had I not applied power. I reported the high number of PB events to Tesla Service, to which they replied, in essence, that ACC is a Beta feature and you just need to pay close attention when using it and it's not perfect. Well, its not close to reliable and is capable of causing major accidents. We avoided several because I always have my foot near the accelerator in case the car decides to stop. Tesla said that they could find no hardware faults in our car, but I suspect it is software, not hardware. I will happily join a class action suit. I will put the day the last one happened below.
The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the cruise control activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure would occur before crossing a bridge, or while a dark colored vehicle passed her vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a Service Center and was informed that there was no fix for the failure. The contact was given tips on how to prevent the failure; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Driving in auto pilot mode in the three lane highway between Whitestown lebanon . I was going in the middle lane on autopilot .In the far right lane one Truck is merging into the right most lane.so truck is in the right lane and we are in the middle lane , but auto pilot assumed that we are going to crash and it tried to jump to the left lane and the vehicle automatically wobbled for few seconds and then it became stable in the middle lane. Had there Been a car in the left lane it would have been a fatal accident. If they said that it’s an assisted driving rather than auto pilot I would be more cautious. I bought this car due to the promise of autopilot thinking it’s safer it has put my life in risk which could have lead fatal accidents today. Please refrain Tesla from using the it asthe autopilot and putting peoples life’s at risk.please do take necessary actions to prevent this for any fellow drivers.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2020 Tesla Model Y has 44 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE complaints on file. 4 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.