Automatic Emergency Braking. Known also as "phantom braking." Tesla is aware of the problem. Regardless of whether or not I'm using the standard cruise control or the more advanced full self driving feature, the car routinely hits the brakes even when there is no obvious obstruction in front of it. If the car suddenly brakes on the highway with another car behind it, it risks a rear end collision. No other warnings appear. The car simply brakes for no reason. This automatic emergency braking system should be removed for standard cruise control. It's more of a hazard than a benefit.
2021 Tesla Model Y brakes complaints
Page 7 of 7: complaints 161 to 181 of 181, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I drive on the highway from Dallas to Austin to Houston every week. Every trip I have about 2-4 phantom braking incidents at full speed. It seems to occur at similar points every time. It is incredibly alarming and I have to slam on the accelerator to not cause an accident. This needs to be repaired.
Unexpectedly slamming on my brakes in response to imagined hazards, such as oncoming traffic on two-lane roads. This happens often and I have to shut off this feature to avoid a spin out on icy roads. Very hazardous. overly sensitive to trucks in the opposite lane. Car lurched from 50 mph to a near-stop in response to a large truck. Is this phantom braking?
On numerous occasions while using cruise control the the Model Y brakes would be suddenly applied in the following situations. While in the inside lane of a curve in the road when several approached from the other direction the brakes would be suddenly applied when the front of the Model Y was pointing at one of the middle vehicles in the line of approaching vehicles. This sudden braking does not happing when traveling down straight sections of roadway or when traveling in the outside lane of a curve.
Multiple times on highway car “phantom breaks” when there are no obstacles/cars in front of me. I noticed that the car seems to regularly do this at certain places the highway. For example, on one stretch I’ve had it happen multiple times going under a specific bridge when I’m in cruise control. The car seems to think the speed limit has reduced, leading me to believe the car is reading the overpass speed liMit, not the highway, and adjusting. On another highway, after a steep decline there is an incline. At the end of the decline, the car slams on the breaks as if it thinks the incline in the road is an obstacle.
The full self-driving mode in my tesla does not react correctly to speed limit changes in small towns. I will be driving with the FSD at 65 MPH when I get to a small town and the speed limit changes to 45 and then down to 25 for residential area the cars speed does not decrease quickly enough to be at the correct speed limit by the time the car reachs the speed limit sign. Based on the speed limit laws I was taught was the car you are driving and are slowing down you must be at that limit when you reach the speed limit sign or else you can be ticketed for speeding. The Tesla FSD is not in compliance with that specific rule of the road.
While on a 475 mile road trip, my vehicles emergency brake system was activated while using cruise control on more than one occasion with no visible hazard ahead of me. This caused my car to brake at speeds upward of 70 miles per hour on two lanes highways, leaving me to fear that any car behind me could easily rear end me and harm me or my children who were in the backseat. On another occasion during this same trip, the weather began to turn. Snow began to fall heavily leading to poor road conditions. My model y activated corrective steering twice at speeds of 10-20 miles/hr, both times attempting to swerve my car into the lane next to me occupied by a semi truck. These issues are unacceptable and need correcting as they pose a threat to passenger safety.
When driving on a two lane road and approaching an oncoming 18 wheeler the cruise control consistently slams on the brakes and I am concerned about the well-being of my 5 and 4 year old in the back seat. It whips them forward. I am also concerned about cars following me and getting rear ended with the force it is applying this phantom braking. I called Tesla and they said this is expected behavior and it might be fixed in a future firmware but no guarantees. I think this is an unacceptable answer regarding the safety of my family.
My wife and I purchased our Tesla model Y back in February 2021. We picked it up back in May 2021. The selling point for us was how it drove in the winter since we live in central WI. When we test drove the car in a snow snow at the highland park dealer. The car handled great in the ice and snow due to the car having the winter driving option. My wife nearly got into an accident due to no longer having the option for winter driving. The regenerative braking option is great until you drive in winter conditions. Ice and snow will cause the vehicle to slip and slide whenever letting off the throttle. The safety concern is that if a line of vehicles is in front of you and one person slams on the brakes letting off the throttle is essentially the same thing as slamming on your brakes. Which you never do while in a snow storm. We essentially bought the vehicle with and for this option to to control the vehicle better based on weather conditions. Removing the the winter driving option was not only wrong but a law suit waiting to happen due to the safety issue it brings.
I was driving on Interstate 80 in NJ this morning. I was in the middle of three lanes. In the lane to the right of me were two tractor trailers. Adaptive cruise control was engaged. For no apparent reason my vehicle suddenly braked hard, startling me and making me wonder what I might have missed in my surroundings. There was no hazard...this was frightening and a major flaw in the system that I have seen referred to as "phantom braking." It has happened to me a couple of times before but never on such a crowded roadway...I could have been rear ended. This component of the vehicle has not been subjected to a service call...the car has 5,000 miles. There was no warning.
While driving on a two lane highway at 70mph with adaptive cruise control on, every time a semi would approach the car, the car would brake really hard with no notice. Not one car caused this issue. It was only large semis trucks or trailers.
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would brake independently without warning. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer to be inspected. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 970.
Sudden, hard self breaking when in autopilot mode. Danger of collision at high speeds.
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the steering wheel seized and the brakes failed to engaged. The vehicle went into autocorrect on its own and was swerving then crashed into a semi truck. No medical attention was received on the scene but the contact later seeked medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a Tesla approved collision repair center. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that they will escalate the file over to headquarter to evaluate. The failure mileage was approximately 2,800.
This problem happens repeatedly. It has been reported by multiple Tesla owners but no action has been taken by Tesla. When driving with the cruise control engaged, the car will brake very aggressively. This happens most commonly when there is no other traffic on the road and no debris on the road. It seems the car believes there is something in front of the car for which it needs to stop, even though the road is clear. But if I press on the accelerator the car resumes normal cruise operation. If there is a car behind me I am worried that the car behind me will crash into me. The braking action is VERY aggressive.
I had turned into the Taco Bell address: 5217 Mudd Tavern Rd, Woodford, VA 22580 when the car surged and sped. I was able to avoid a person and the dog. But the car continued to accelerate. I tried to utilize the brake system but it did not engage and continued speeding into the next parking lot address 5217 Mudd Tavern Road, Woodford, VA 22580. The car did not stop for trees and so I had to stop the car by impact with a dumpster in the Best Western Plus parking lot. This happened on June 5th 2021. I have tried to get the video from the hotel but to no avail. The Senior Deputy is [XXX] Spotsylvania county. They have the scene photographs. His email is [XXX]. Phone [XXX] ext 3936. The case file number is [XXX]. Over the last 40 years of driving my records are excellent. I really would like to understand the reason for the crash. I am not getting any assistance in a rapid manner to determine the cause. Since I have driven multiple car type over the years I need to understand why this car caused this. Hoping nobody else has to go through this. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
My car wires got overheated because of failing cooling system , tesla refused to pull logs on my car, talk to tesla reps named fitzgerald who said I have failing cooling system ... But they refused to fix new car under warranty forcing me to pay extra for damages... Tesla manager mitch at agora center failed to provide me with video pics of rodent eating wires, even though I have cameras around my car 24/7 showing no rodent ever approached my car, but tesla manager refused to fix my car asap using warranty forcing me to drive unsafe car to another tesla service on monday in van nuys... And pay for damages out my own pocket...
I talk to specialist they said I have cooling system failure, and guy from tesla fitzgerald who remotely connected to my car before my appointment with you , also said I had cooling system failure not rodent problem... Tesla rodent damage excuse is scam and fraud not to use my warranty but profit by making me to pay directly for damages that its not my fault and thats illegal and unfair
Today, mar. 22, 2021, in my brand new 2021 tesla model y, which I have now owned for one month, I was sitting at a red light at a fairly large intersection on the outskirts of annapolis, md. I had my foot resting on the floor as the car was stopped and in hold mode. Suddenly, with the light still red and on its own, my car accelerated through the red light into the intersection at top speed. (I was the first car in line at the red light.) I slammed my foot on the brake but nothing happened, it kept going right through. A van crossing through the intersection in the other direction proceeding through his green light was narrowly, within an inch, missed by my car, which kept going all the way through until it finally stopped at the other side. Conditions were dry and the weather was nice. It was approximately 1:00 in the afternoon est. I continued to drive until I came to a safe place to pull over, and then called tesla service and roadside assistance, and found their attitude to be very defensive. I was terrified to drive it so I had them come and tow it to the service center where they say they will look at the log. About a day or two ago, a software update was pushed to my car; that was the second sw update since I bought the car one month ago. This was absolutely the most terrifying thing that has ever happened in my 42 years of driving. I could have been killed or my car could have killed someone. Thank god no pedestrians were crossing in front of me at the time, and that I somehow missed that passing van. I I felt the need to report this incident to the authorities -- I told tesla I want them to take back the car and give me a new one in exchange. It is only one month old and has just 801 miles of driving on it thus far. I was not using auto pilot, to my knowledge, nor was I using cruise control. I do not have the self-driving package.
Went to stop on bellflower ave in long beach around 8 am 2/11/21 to turn in to the long beach va and had loss of brake pressure. Basically stopped from regenerative braking. Had to push brake pedal to the floor to engage at all. Thankfully did not have an accident. Tesla found an internal failure of a brake caliper with a leak. This is unacceptable quality control for a brand new car. Thankfully I was not on the freeway when this happened or god forbid, with my kids in the car.
When the gas pedal is released at speeds greater than 15mph, the regenerative breaking system is engaged to such a degree that the tires break traction when driving on slippery surface like snow or ice. The car then goes out of control and slides in an uncontrolled manner. The car has various setting for breaking, but even the setting that offers the least breaking (called "roll"), results in significant braking action when the gas peddle is released at speeds above 15mph' enough force that driver and passengers fall forward against seat belts. My experience with my 2-week old car is that the car went out of control, and I slid across the road into an embankment. I have 30 years of intense, remote winter driving experience, and I have had zero accidents, until now in a brand new tesla. The car should offer a setting where no mechanical or regenerative breaking is applied when the gas pedal is released. Alternately, the anti-lock system should be activated when the gas pedal is released so that the breaking system can disengage if wheels stop rotating (if a slide/skid is detected). It's a huge flaw that needs to be addressed in this otherwise impressive car. Here's the gist: all good drivers know that if you press a car's brake while on snow or ice, (particularly in a turn or when there are other inertial forces) the car will go out of control. However, the tesla model y goes out of control when you lift your foot off the gas ' no brake needed. This is a novel behavior and the car should either not do this, or there should be a significant warning to new drivers.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2021 Tesla Model Y?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history