2020 Tesla Model 3: brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking)

Filed Apr 5, 2024 · Acceleration, Brakes · FL

I took delivery of this Tesla Model 3 last month and have been using it often for my commute. Tesla’s “Traffic Aware Cruise Control” is dangerous and has put my life at risk multiple times now when driving on the highway at night. It slams on the brakes as if it is about to crash when nothing is ahead. It also slammed the brakes when passing a semi truck that was accelerating from being stopped on the shoulder. If anyone was behind me, they would have crashed into me. This “phantom braking” only happens at night. I would disable it immediately but it is not able to be disabled! This is the most frustrating part. I have a long commute on the interstate at night and really need cruise control, and now I am constantly worried when commuting that the car will slam the brakes. The fact that I can’t revert to an old fashioned cruise control with no sensors and no cameras is absurd and extremely dangerous. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? I don’t believe anything “failed”. I believe Tesla’s software is not ready for the real world and this “traffic aware cruise control” should be a beta feature that drivers can use at their own risk. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Unexpected, random slamming of the brakes at highway specs on the interstate at night. In all situations that the “phantom braking” has happened, I would have been rear ended if someone was following behind me. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No, as there has been no crash yet Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warnings, no messages, nothing. Just sudden braking when using “traffic aware cruise control”.

Filed Jan 31, 2024 · Driver assistance · CA

FSD Beta 11.4.9 and past versions. A possible explanation for some degree of phantom braking on controlled access roadways. FSD Beta reacts to a stop light at the end of an offramp when the direction of travel is inline with the ramp. This reaction does not occur in daylight, only in darkness. It occurs across multiple versions of FSD Beta and is consistent and repeatable at night under similar conditions. The point at which normal speed is resumed appears to coincide with the beginning of the offramp, but that may be coincidental. Since it doesn't occur in daylight it is less likely that the reaction is triggered by lane topography or some other factor relating to the converging right hand lane that occurs after the ramp is passed. In one test pass that was not recorded, the stoplight at the top of the ramp turned green while the braking was happening and the car seemed to react to the green light and resume speed, but that may have been coincident to the turn in the roadway or being adjacent to the beginning of the offramp. Another example where the light turned green has not happened again during tests. This test was at 3:08 am on a weekday with almost zero traffic in this direction and there were no vehicles within 0.25 mile behind the test vehicle at the time this was recorded. LINK TO VIDEO: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Dec 26, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · WA

While operating TACC with lane keeping assist, I experienced multiple iterations of phantom braking when the road and weather was clear ahead. This phantom braking could potentially cause other drivers to collide with the vehicle that unexpectedly braked in the middle of the highway. This problem has been a common issue with multiple people taking their cars to the service center to get checked out with no problem identified. There are no warning lights or indicators that the Tesla is going to phantom brake on the highway. Recommend having Tesla provide information regarding this phantom braking.

Filed Dec 16, 2023 · Driver assistance · MA

During a month-long road trip in the US, I experienced frequent "phantom braking" incidents while using adaptive cruise control. In some cases, Autosteer was also active. By "phantom braking" I refer to sudden hard braking by the car itself in clear daylight conditions on interstate highways with no vehicles visible ahead of me for at least 1/2 mile. By "frequent" I mean that this behavior occurred multiple times per hour over multiple days. I decided to cease using cruise control for the remainder of the trip after the following episode occurred. With cruise control active on a four lane interstate, I was changing lanes to the right to allow a pickup truck to pass me on the left. I had just passed a semitrailer, who was in the right lane. I could see him in my rear-view mirror as I began the lane change. The road was empty and visible for at least a mile ahead on a sunny morning. We were all traveling about 75 mph in a 70 mph zone. While straddling the lanes, the car suddenly slammed on its brakes, requiring both vehicles behind me to take evasive action. I over-rode the car’s action by pressing the accelerator pedal swiftly and firmly. No accident occurred. I stopped using cruise control entirely for several months, and I have only rarely used it since then, and only when the road behind me is empty. In those few recent trials, I have not experienced any phantom braking. Finally, I speculate that the braking may have been triggered by "mirages" of what look like puddles on the road. We humans are familiar with this phenomenon, but the camera AI may have interpreted those as obstacles.

Filed Nov 27, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · PA

While driving on the highway from philadelphia to allentown using I-476 north i was driving using cruise control and the car suddenly applied brakes ( phantom braking) there was no one either in front or sides or behind me. No accident happened

Filed Nov 3, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · CO

I've had the car since December 2019. The car will "phantom brake" when the autopilot adaptive cruise control is on. This happens intermittently, ~1 time per month on my normal commute. I will be going along, cruise set to 75 and out of nowhere it'll slam on the brakes and lose 10 MPH in a second before I can take over. This occurs with absolutely no traffic or reason, it'll be an empty highway and it does it. I drive with my foot over the accelerator so I can floor it to override the car. This is the exact opposite reaction I would think that someone should have to do with a safety feature. Tesla tells me the system is working fine, but random brake checks on the highway should never be normal. I don't understand how this system was approved to operated by the government.

Filed Aug 16, 2023 · Driver assistance · NE

The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that on three occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The contact continued driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

Filed Jul 29, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · WA

While driving on the freeway, my 2020 Model 3 “phantom braked” multiple times while using the cruise control. No autopilot for lane keeping assistance. There were no cars in front of me or any hazards. The pavement was pretty new. I was using this feature earlier in the trip with no issues then it started all the sudden with multiple incidents in a short amount of time.

Filed Jul 24, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · NV

Phantom Braking occurred almost 40 times on our recent trip from Northern NV to California and return. We left on July 16 and returned on July 21. Our route was from Minden NV to Las Vegas on Highway 95 and then onto Temecula CA on Highway 15 and 215. The return trip was on Highway 15 to CA 138 to Highway 14 to Highway 395. All travel was during daylight hours. Sometimes phantom braking was so severe, the deceleration cause us to be thrown forward towards the dashboard. We wore seat belts to prevent hitting the dashboard. This also happened on a similar trip in 2022 and was reported to Tesla and were told that nothing could be done. The current software version is 2023.20.9

Filed Jul 17, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · TX

Unexpected Phantom Braking was experienced in this vehicle on a sunny day at mid day on I-30 going East through Arlington. The car was operating on Traffic Aware Cruise Control. Travelling at approx 70mph the vehicle suddenly slowed very quickly below 50 mph before I interceded to resume control of the accelerator to resume my speed before I was rear ended. This occured as I was approaching an overpass in my middle lane.

Filed Jul 4, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

While driving on the freeway I5 in central California in the middle of the day there were no cars in front of me and the vehicle went into sudden PHANTOM BRAKING mode. I was driving at 75 MPH and it suddenly went into hard braking. Extremely dangerous. The vehicle behind me had to swerve around us. We could have been killed. I was using the cruise control but NOT the Enhanced Autopilot. This needs to be fixed. We escaped severe injury or death by sheer luck

Filed Jul 1, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA

Had cruise control on and “phantom braking” occurred about 10 times on a 22hr trip from California to Oklahoma. Very scary. Car went from 80 to about 40mph in seconds. How is this even possible for Tesla to have these vehicles on the road? I’ve only had the car for 2 weeks.