2018 Tesla Model S: brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking)

Filed Oct 22, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · TX

While driving using cruise control, in the space of 9-10 miles, the vehicle had 14-16 instances of sudden, unexpected braking for no reason. Most were moderate braking incidents slowing the car 15-30 mph before I hit the accelerator to get the car back up to speed. 2 incidents were where the car slowed 5-10 mph then resumed speed. Very disconcerting. There was little to no traffic on the road and in every case, there was no other car within a 1/2 mile or more to the front. Finally got fed up with this and turned off cruise. Left cruise control off as I passed through a city then decided to try it again. Soon after engaging cruise at 72 mph, the car suddenly and violently braked for no reason. It was such a hard braking that one of my dogs in the back seat crashed into the front seat. The hard braking continued until the speed was about 20 mph at which point, I hit the accelerator in order to resume speed. Note that no other car was visible on the roadway which was a 4 lane highway. Conditions were clear and dry. Soon after this incident, while still on cruise, the car suddenly braked moderately hard. Since the road was clear before and behind me, I decided to see what would happen. The car slowed to 38 mph and stayed at that speed for 3-4 seconds then slowly resumed the set speed. A short time later 1-2 miles further, the exact same sequence happened again. Again, note the road was clear with zero traffic ahead of or behind me. I then turned off cruise and decided to drive manually the rest of the way. This car is dangerous and should be removed from the road

Filed Jan 8, 2023 · Driver assistance · WA

Repeated problems with "phantom braking" when adaptive cruise control or autosteering is engaged. The vehicle would make unexpected hard breaking without any obvious triggers. In the past, I have made multiple "report bug" to Tesla immediately following phantom breaking, but no improvement noted thus far. This problem recurred yet again on I-5 today; the vehicle suddenly made a hard break despite absence of any issues in front of me; this resulted in the vehicle behind me having to take immediate evasive action by breaking and making a sudden lane change to avoid a collision.

Filed Dec 18, 2022 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · WI

Driving down an interstate at the speed limit, with light traffic. No cars immediately or in ahead of me. The car put on the brakes, or what is commonly referred to as "phantom braking" as I understand it. It has done this on prior occasions and I am familiar with it. It generally seems to be triggered by inconsistent pavement coloring or shadows. The car rapidly braked until I took over (I was using "Navigate on Autopilot" which was managing the speed and lane-keeping). There were no injuries or dangerous situation created during this event, besides being quite abrupt and startling. There are no known failures or issues in my vehicle that would have been likely to contribute. This occurred on Nov 24 in the late afternoon, driving westward. Weather was overcast.

Filed Jun 11, 2022 · Driver assistance · CA

--- System: Autopilot, emergency braking, collision detection. Vehicle IS available for inspection if requested. --- How safety was put at risk: In 2018, while driving on the interstate at about 70-80 mph with Autopilot enabled the car suddenly braked for no reason. By our estimates the car's velocity changed by about -20 mph in a very short time. There was no debris in the road, obstruction or reason for the car to do this. If there had been a car behind us it would have resulted in an accident. --- Has problem been confirmed by service center: Yes --- Has vehicle been inspected by manufacturer: Yes --- When we contacted Tesla they initially denied anything happened but when we took it to another service center a different engineer confirmed that something happened but would not provide the logs. After 6 months of fighting with them trying to get more information we gave up and had to stop using Autopilot due to safety concerns. --- Were there any warnings: No. It was abrupt and frightening. --- Additional: I have email correspondences with the service center and invoices if requested. However due to their extensive nature I'd rather speak to someone at the federal safety agency before gathering the documents.

Filed Jun 5, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA · crash · 1 injury

I purchased the Tesla Mold S with Autopilot feature in August 2018, then upgraded it to Full Self Driving for $5,000 and got it through a software update at the end of 2021. But this FSD feature has many defects such as hesitating before turning or stopping at a sign, which makes the car swing around like a drunk; Sometimes it doesn't turn the turn signal on when changing the line, and even enters into the reverse lane. If the above problems can be taken over by switching human drive to avoid accidents, phantom braking is a terrible safety problem that can not avoid accidents. There have been many times in which the vehicle suddenly decelerated and braked without warning while driving by FSD. Fortunately, the rear vehicle did not follow too close or the rear driver took deceleration measures in time to avoid rear-end collisions. But on January 5 this year, not so lucky, I was just out of the Tesla services center of Berkeley, my vehicle under SFD to the Ninth Street and Gilman Street intersection and is turning left from north to the east after the green light on, but the phantom braking happened when driving road central, the vehicle behind me didn't react and bumped into my car. The rear-end collision not only caused serious damage to the vehicle but also caused very discomfort in the driver's neck from the violent vibration of the collision. Although the accident was dealt with by the insurance companies of both parties and the damaged body was repaired in the Bodyshop designated by the insurance company, I contacted the customer service of Tesla many times and reported the accident to them, hoping that they could arrange a comprehensive inspection to make sure that no other parts were damaged in the accident besides the body. However, Tesla's customer services reacted badly, either prevaricating or ignoring it. The accident has been nearly half a year since the accident happened, but I have not received a positive response or solution from them.

Filed Jun 3, 2022 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 36,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2018 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with the Self-Driving feature activated, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

Filed Jun 3, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

My Model S routinely experiences "phantom braking". I'm driving down the freeway with the Tesla "autopilot" engaged and it momentarily hits the brakes, usually slowing 15-20mph before it either it recovers or I intervene. I've also experienced "phantom braking" with just the traffic aware cruise control engaged and not the "autopilot".

Filed Jun 3, 2022 · Driver assistance · MA

Hello, I am a Tesla Model S owner for the past four years (bought it on june 15, 2018) and I absolutely love my Tesla and its autonomous driving auto pilot. It generally performs well except for a very serious glitch of Phantom braking when approaching overhead bridges / passes. When on autopilot, many times when the car approaches an overhead bridge / highway pass or train bridge running perpendicular to the highway, the car will abruptly brake very hard and give warning for forward collision. I think this started happening after Tesla modified the auto pilot software in the wake of a collision between a Tesla Model S and a tractor trailer that was perpendicular to the car in sunlight and that killed the driver. Now very often the software mistakes the bridge as a big tractor trailer or something that is about to be hit and jams on the brakes, greatly increasing the risk of my car being rear ended by another car from behind who on an empty highway has no reason to expect me to brake suddenly (in fact I have no reason to expect it either). I reported this to Tesla engineers on phone and during routine service and they said they could not replicate it and instead asked me to report such incidents when they happen by using the voice command button on steering & say "Report Bug", which automatically transmits all logs of car for the last few minutes to Tesla engineering directly. I have been regularly reporting such phantom braking incidents to Tesla this way (which I think is actually another really amazing invention by Elon Musk, kudos to him), but not sure if they have taken action on this as it still happens once in a while and is very scary. Again to clarify, I love my Tesla Model S and am a huge fan but really worried that this phantom braking of my car, which I have after four years of driving my Tesla, noticed ALWAYS happens when the car is approaching an overhead pass or bridge, is a HUGE safety risk and hope you can convince Tesla to fix.

Filed Feb 20, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

I have experienced many times "phantom braking". When I reported that to a Tesla service center 2 years ago, they did not know of this problem. It is scary and dangerous especially for the cars following me It only happens to me on the freeway when in ADAS mode. There is a exact place on the 5 freeway SB near Disneyland, that each time I drive there, phantom braking happens. Further also random without noticing any reason for it.

Filed Feb 17, 2022 · Driver assistance · NJ

Operating vehicle on highways while utilizing Autopilot and/or Autosteer(FSD) braking will randomly occur without any warning. This is commonly referred to as “Phantom Braking.”

Filed Feb 6, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

I purchase a used 2018 Tesla Model S about two months ago. Braking is very "jerky, causing me and my passenger to "lurch forward" unnecessarily. I run into this "phantom braking" issue numerous times every time I drive. It happens both on Automatic Cruise Control and FSD and under different circumstances" and encompasses: (1) Sudden braking for no apparent reason; (2) Sudden braking that is unnecessary or is too forceful for the circumstances; (23 If the car is on automatic cruise control or FSD, it will slow down and stop too far away from the car in front. So, I push the accelerator to close the gap. When I left my foot off the accelerator, the software apparently thinks it's too close the car in front, and jams on the brakes unnecessarily. Also, when on automatic cruise control, if the car in front of me goes around a curve and then shortly thereafter stops a stop sign/light, my car, sensing that the coast is clear, will accelerate to the speed limit. as it approaches the curve, which it should not do. Then, when the car in front suddenly comes into view, my car will have to "jam on the anchors" in order to stop in time. While I'd rather be "safe" than "sorry," the degree of this phantom braking should be addressed.

Filed Feb 5, 2022 · Acceleration, Brakes · MD

This incident happened some time ago but I read recently about complaints related to "phantom braking" which I also experienced. I was driving on the highway at speed with my cruise control activated. There was no traffic close in front of me, but a large semi was in the lane to my right. This vehicle triggered sharp braking of my car. It was very scary, but I immediately overroad the braking to avoid being hit by a vehicle behind me. I have never used my cruise control since that incident.