2021 Tesla Model Y brakes problems

Filed May 26, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · FL · 1 injury

Phantom brake incident today,5/26/26. Traveling 35mph, brakes slammed on for no apparent reason. Seatbelt tightened and my head launched forward. Neck is very strained.

Filed Mar 28, 2026 · Brakes, Electrical · CA

I was entering the on-ramp to [XXX] , from [XXX] , to merge onto the freeway east bound towards [XXX] , when my Tesla suddenly lost all power, the brakes did not work and the power steering completely failed making it feel like it was locked up. I was traveling approximately 40-50 mph at the time nearing the gore point to merge onto the freeway. Fortunately I was in the inside lane and I rolled to a stop away from other vehicles. I could not steer at all. Had I been completely on the freeway, I could have been rear ended badly. I had my two young boys in the vehicle with me, both [XXX] and [XXX] . We were completely trapped in the vehicle with no power. My [XXX] old remembered to use the manual latch to get out. I opened my door manually and It broke my driver side glass window. Vehicles were passing us rapidly to enter the freeway. I called my husband who is a police officer and he came and picked us up. We called Tesla who said they could not get a read on our battery whatsoever. We called a tow company and had this vehicle towed to Tesla repair center in [XXX] , after reporting our traumatic event. They claim our warranty is expired, but our vehicle only has 37,638 miles and should be covered under the 8 year, 120,000 mile warranty that covers a major malfunction like this. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jan 27, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · MN

When driving with cruise control engaged the car randomly brakes and shows a "curvature assist " indication. The car quickly slows from 55 to 35 with no warning. This primary happens on a straight road, not a curve. I am concerned about the traffic behind me.

Filed Dec 31, 2025 · Brakes · CA · crash · 1 injury

Picked up car from tesla service on 12/30/2025. On [XXX] at around [XXX] I had pressed the car break and suddenly accelerated and lead to crashing into the pole. I am concerned about the safety and if it is drivable. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Nov 21, 2025 · Brakes, Driver assistance · MN

The car has a feature called "curvature assist" that takes control of braking and steering at times when using cruise control. The incidents are at times surprising as there is no curvature present but the braking is suddenly applied. This is a surprise for both the driver and any following traffic. The car would be safer if this feature could be disabled but that is not possible.

Filed Nov 2, 2025 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

On October 2, my Model Y battery was replaced with a defective cell. Tesla service center replaced the battery. The vehicle could not charge or operate, making it unable to be driven. Today, November 2, while driving my car, my Tesla ABS system and other battery components experienced total failure while driving. For a brief period of time, I was unable to brake completely and my vehicle felt like it was skidding. At the time this occurred, my 1 year old daughter and pregnant wife were in the vehicle. This could have been much worse.

Filed Oct 17, 2025 · Brakes · CA

I am reporting a safety issue involving my 2021 Tesla Model Y. The vehicle recently displayed a “Parking brake function degraded” warning. The car has only 91,000 miles and is approximately four years old, which is far too soon for a failure of a critical safety component such as the electronic parking brake. Please investigate whether this issue is part of a wider defect affecting Tesla Model Y vehicles. This should not occur on a relatively new car with moderate mileage.

Filed Mar 6, 2025 · Airbags, Brakes · 39,264 miles · CA · crash

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH and depressing the brake pedal; however, the vehicle accelerated independently and failed to brake without warning. The contact assured there were no distractions that could have caused the crash. Due to the failure, the contact crashed into another vehicle as the air bags deployed. Despite the air bag deployment, the vehicle continued to accelerate and repeatedly hit the same vehicle. The brake pedal eventually responded after depressing multiple times to the floorboard and the vehicle finally came to a stop. The contact did not sustain any injuries and did not seek medical treatment. The driver of the other vehicle did not report any injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the scene to an independent tow yard. The contact mentioned reviewing the Tesla App on the crash however it was not recorded and there was a recording lag. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 39,264

Filed Feb 19, 2025 · Brakes, Electrical · NC

Alerts regarding vehicle steering, stability, emergency braking, lane control traction, received all at once and the Tesla AI advisor indicated others were reporting the same. No other vehicles in lanes around us showed up on the vehicle LCD screen as normally they do too. Car did not brake normally (foot off accelerator and no braking) and handling seemed different although we were very cautious. Tried to resolve with screen reboot and multiple drives as AI Advisor suggested and it did not self resolve. Contacted Tesla service and they suggested HCU was faulty (hydronic control unit) and ABS modulator. Also wanted to look at vehicle low voltage circuit. They scheduled me for a first available $1600 service on Feb 26th (in 9 days). See attached. Seems like a significant safety issue and defect and should be recalled before some gets hurt, especially if others are seeing this too.

Filed Jan 22, 2025 · Brakes · MA

After a snowstorm, I shoveled my driveway in front of the car which was facing toward the road (the driveway is on an incline, not steep), cleared the snow off the car and then pulled the car forward/put it in park so that I could shovel the rest of the snow. It took me and my 15 year old son 10 or so minutes to clear the snow behind the car. Then I started to salt the driveway behind the car and a snowplow driving by started honking. I looked up and the car was sliding down the driveway towards the road. Luckily it slowed and stopped, only slightly into the road and did not hit the snowplow, or anything else and I was able to get in and move it. I have a video clip of it which I am unable to upload here - the front tires were rotating while the back tires were locked in place.