2021 Tesla Model Y: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Sep 24, 2026 · Acceleration, Airbags · CA · crash

On September 23, 2026, the vehicle was being driven at low speed when the driver experienced sudden and unexpected acceleration. The vehicle rapidly accelerated and a collision occurred. The driver reports that she did not intentionally accelerate the vehicle to this degree. Vehicle data and the Event Data Recorder (EDR) were subsequently obtained. The data records the vehicle accelerating from approximately 0 mph to approximately 35 mph in about four seconds, with the recorded accelerator-pedal-position signal reaching 100%. The EDR does not record brake application before the first crash trigger. Vehicle data records driver brake application shortly after the initial crash trigger, including ABS activity. The cause of the accelerator-pedal-position signal is UNKNOWN. It has not been determined whether the recorded signal resulted from driver pedal application, the accelerator pedal/sensor system, or another vehicle system. I am reporting this because of the sudden acceleration and severity of the resulting collision and would like the incident reviewed as a potential vehicle safety issue. The EDR also indicates that airbag and seat-belt pretensioner deployment was not commanded during either of the two recorded crash events. Given the severity of the collision, I am also reporting the lack of airbag deployment as a safety concern. I do not know whether the collision met the applicable deployment thresholds. The vehicle is available for inspection. The EDR report and complete raw vehicle-data CSV have been preserved. There were no known warning messages indicating an accelerator problem before the incident.

Filed Jun 4, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · CA

The vehicle’s secondary Autopilot Processor / car computer is internally faulted and stuck in a continuous wake/shutdown loop. This causes severe standby battery drain (~20 miles of range lost per day while parked) and completely prevents all over-the-air software updates - including federally mandated safety recall remedies. On April 4, 2024, Tesla Service diagnosed the fault and linked it to the drain and inability to update. On the same visit, Tesla added two safety recalls (23V‑838 Autosteer controls and 24V‑051 Brake/Park/ABS indicators) to the work order. They then demanded ~$3,000 customer payment for computer replacement before the recalls could be performed. After I declined the paid repair, Tesla marked both recalls as “completed” via software update despite the same invoice stating the vehicle could not receive updates and remained on software version 2023.38.9 (which predates both remedy firmwares they claimed was installed). Tesla is effectively paywalling federally required safety recall remedies by requiring the customer to first pay for computer replacement first. Two additional recalls remain open (21V‑389 seat belt fasteners and 24V‑554 hood latch). The problem has been confirmed and documented multiple times by Tesla Service.

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 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 Oct 7, 2024 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA · crash

The issue appears to be an acceleration malfunction and brake failure in my 2021 Tesla Model Y. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. On [XXX] at [XXX], while waiting for the garage door to open, the car experienced an unknown unintended acceleration malfunction, surging forward uncontrollably. It didn't wait for the garage to open, crashed through the garage into the family room, causing significant structural damage to the framing and door. The City of Eastvale declared the house unsafe, sealing it off. I am now homeless and staying with friends temporarily. During the crash, the airbags did not deploy, and the ABS system failed, preventing an emergency stop. The car stopped 4-5 feet away from my wife, who was on the sofa, posing a critical life-threatening situation. Thankfully, [XXX] and I survived, but this incident caused severe mental trauma for my family. We have not reported the incident to Tesla. The dashcam footage appears deleted during the crash and the car seemed to have only recorded footage before the crash and after. This issue has not been reproduced or confirmed by any dealer or service center, but further investigation needs to be done. The vehicle has not been inspected by Tesla or any service center. However, the police and insurance representatives have been involved. We are coordinating further inspections to find the cause of the acceleration and brake failure. We aim to invoke the Tesla Event Data Recorder (EDR) tool to investigate what exactly went wrong with the car. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms before the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Dec 22, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · MA

11/29/23: vehicle begins to flash warning alerts (e.g., traction control disabled, lane departure warning unavailable), then power steering stopped working, and brakes pulsed violently when used (almost like ABS was active). Software update was available shortly thereafter, assumed this would remedy the situation. 12/5/23: same problems recur (loss of power steering, odd braking behavior, vehicle alerts). Vehicle was towed to Tesla for service. Tesla was able to ID the alerts in the vehicle history but could not identify the root cause. Took the vehicle one extended test drives, but was unable to cause the problems to recur. Tesla is unable to identify any further actions to prevent recurrence.

Filed Jun 6, 2022 · Driver assistance · KS

During 350 miles of driving, I experienced over 35 phantom braking events. Most were while driving at 75 mph. Some were while driving 45 mph. It did not matter whether I was in Autosteer with cruise, cruise alone or driving manually. I turned off Emergency Braking on the screen. I still had incidents. Some incidents were severe to the point that I could feel the ABS. There were no other cars, structures, signs etc. in the vicinity. Had there been a semi following me, there would have been an accident. If another car, I could only hope that they had traffic aware cruise and emergency braking. This is unacceptable as it is so dangerous.