2021 Tesla Model Y: brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking)

Filed Oct 23, 2026 · Driver assistance, Steering · TX · crash

On [XXX], between approximately [XXX] and [XXX] AM, I was driving my 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range (VIN: [XXX]) with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) engaged, software version v14.3 Lite, on the southbound [XXX] frontage road at [XXX]. The road has five lanes in my direction, and only the leftmost lane is a left-turn lane. I was in the third lane from the left, and the navigation route required a left turn onto [XXX] at the upcoming intersection. FSD waited until the last moment to change lanes. The light turned red before it could complete the lane change, and the vehicle stopped straddling two lanes, still not in the left-turn lane. I expected FSD to continue straight and reroute. Instead, when the light turned green, the vehicle cut across the leftmost lane and drove up onto the median, apparently attempting to cross over it to complete the left turn. The other side of the median is oncoming traffic. There were two poles with city signs on the median, and the vehicle struck them. I took over immediately, but the collision had already occurred. No other vehicles or people were involved, and no one was injured. My vehicle sustained severe front-end damage, including a detached front bumper, a deformed left fender, and a shattered windshield. FSD/Autopilot features are no longer functioning. The vehicle did not automatically contact emergency services; I called the police myself. The incident was reported to the police (report #[XXX]) and to my insurance company, Progressive (claim #[XXX]). Tesla has contacted me to investigate. I have preserved the dashcam footage. Prior to this incident, I had also experienced repeated FSD issues after a software update in July 2026, including phantom braking and the vehicle suddenly stopping and freezing at intersections, requiring manual takeover. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 14, 2026 · Driver assistance · MN

In the 5 years we have had this vehicle there have been multiple issues with the Self Driving feature including: 1)Phantom braking on busy freeways in [XXX] 2)Swerving randomly into the other late on a curve on 4 lane hwy at 65 mph ([XXX] near [XXX]) 3)Attempting to switch lanes into fast traffic when we were at a standstill in rush hour traffic ([XXX]) 4)Slamming brakes on on a 2 lane road on a curve because there was a semi in the other lane (that had not crossed the line) [XXX] 5)Being a short way from exiting the freeway and having the car jump back into traffic ([XXX] at [XXX]) 6) Slammed on brakes when the car in front of us was exiting [XXX] normally on an offramp going northbourd around the city of [XXX]. These are some of the most egregious errors the car has made, but there are more not listed. I try it on occasion when there is a software update. It is not safe though- almost without fail I need to take over each time I try it. As [XXX] said on XXX "Hardware 3 simply does not have the capability to achieve unsupervised FSD due to physical computing and memory limitations." The full self driving is dangerous, yet each time I get in the car the computer encourages its use. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 17, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · GA

On XXX, while driving southbound on XXX from [XXX] toward [XXX], my vehicle’s center display (MCU) crashed and rebooted at highway speed, leaving me with no screen for approximately 5–10 minutes. Sequence of events: 1.Earlier in the drive, while using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 Lite, the vehicle exhibited phantom braking and speed oscillation (repeatedly cycling between approximately 73, 70, and 72 mph without cause). I disengaged FSD and switched to standard Autopilot. 2.During this portion of the drive, three alert codes appeared: UI_a111, APP_w207, and DI_a175 (the latter twice). 3.I stopped to Supercharge in [XXX] at 1:17 PM (33-minute session ending approximately 1:50 PM), then resumed driving on XXX [XXX]. 4.Shortly after resuming the drive, at approximately 1:53 PM, I tapped on one of the displayed alerts on the touchscreen to view details. The screen opened an in-car help/browser page, then the entire MCU crashed and went dark. 5.The display remained black for approximately 5–10 minutes while I was traveling at highway speed. During this time I had NO speedometer, NO navigation/GPS, NO touch controls, and NO visibility into vehicle alerts or state. In a Tesla Model Y, the center display is the ONLY instrument display — there is no separate gauge cluster. 6.The MCU eventually rebooted on its own and the display returned. The incident time is corroborated by a text message my wife sent me from inside the vehicle at 1:53 PM at my request, specifically to create a contemporaneous timestamped record. Safety concern: A driver-initiated tap on a safety alert — an action the interface invites — triggered a total display failure at highway speed. Loss of the sole speedometer and all vehicle status information while traveling at approximately 70+ mph is an unreasonable safety risk. This occurred on the same drive as continued phantom braking and speed oscillation events previously reported in ODI #XXX, o INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 7, 2026 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · GA

Separately, the system could not hold a consistent speed on open highway with no vehicle ahead. It would surge from a set 70 mph to roughly 72-73 mph and then drop back, repeatedly, producing a pulsing acceleration and deceleration. The system also hesitated frequently and issued repeated audible alerts without an identifiable hazard present. I previously filed a complaint regarding phantom braking on this same vehicle (ODI number 11450326, filed February 4, 2022), which described nearly identical behavior triggered by trucks on the same Georgia-to-New Jersey route. That complaint concerned FSD/Autopilot software from 2022. The behavior described here occurs on Tesla’s current v14 Lite software released to Hardware 3 vehicles in July 2026. The defect has persisted across more than four years and multiple software generations. Unexpected hard braking at highway speed with no hazard present creates a rear-end collision risk to my vehicle and to following traffic.

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 Feb 27, 2026 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · NY

Vehicle will suddenly apply brakes while using standard cruise control for no apparent reason. This is extremely dangerous as it has almost caused several accidents on the highway. I have almost been rear-ended several times. This is a very common problem and well documented problem referred to as "phantom braking" on Teslas and something needs to be done immediately.

Filed Nov 10, 2024 · Driver assistance · CA

To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to report yet another dangerous incident of phantom braking in my Tesla vehicle. As a Tesla owner who has previously filed multiple complaints about this issue, I am deeply concerned and frustrated by the lack of resolution to this potentially life-threatening problem. Today, I experienced a terrifying phantom braking event that nearly resulted in a catastrophic accident. I was driving on a completely empty road with no traffic in sight - no vehicles behind me, none in front, and none approaching from any direction. Suddenly, without any apparent trigger, my Tesla aggressively applied the brakes, violently decelerating from approximately 25 mph to just 3 mph in a matter of seconds. This abrupt and unnecessary braking action caught me entirely off guard. The force of the deceleration threw me forward, and I narrowly avoided losing control of the vehicle. Had there been any traffic behind me, I have no doubt this incident would have resulted in a severe rear-end collision. The frequency and unpredictability of these phantom braking events make me feel unsafe every time I get behind the wheel. It’s only a matter of time before one of these incidents leads to a serious accident or fatality. Despite multiple reports to both Tesla and the federal safety agency, this critical safety issue remains unresolved. I implore the federal safety agency to take immediate and decisive action to address this problem. The safety of Tesla drivers, their passengers, and other road users is at stake. Please investigate this issue thoroughly and compel Tesla to implement a permanent fix for the phantom braking problem. Your swift action on this matter is crucial to prevent potential tragedies on our roads. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Oct 15, 2024 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · FL

My Tesla still has the phantom braking problem. It is repeatable and consistent. I can tell when it will occur on a route that I drive regularly. Day or night does not seem to alter the occurrence. There is no indication on the touch screen when this occurs. Traffic volume does not matter. It always occurs at the same places so it should be relatively easy to fix if someone would just monitor my computer when it occurs. I regard this as a dangerous problem on the freeway because my car suddenly slows and if the person behind me is not paying attention, I am going to be rear ended. Such a serious fault for a vehicle that performs so well otherwise. Since Tesla does not have a service center in my town no one has offered to look at the problem but since it has been reported so often, I'm not sure they would. I would be happy to demonstrate the problem to a technical person who might be able to diagnose it.

Filed Nov 26, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · IL

Phantom braking. We were going at around 45 miles per hour on route 30 and the car suddenly engaged brakes without anybody in front of me. Apparently it's a known issue called phantom braking and I wanted to report it

Filed Nov 5, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · AZ

When travelling with adaptive speed control enabled the car will suddenly and violently decelerate 30 to 50 MPH below the set speed. This happens frequently and does not appear to correlate with anything specific. Sometimes it happens when passing a large white truck. Sometimes there is no other traffic anywhere near me. At the very least I would like Tesla to give me the option of disabling the "safety" features so the car operates like every other car with adaptive cruse control. This is not just me. Search the internet for Tesla phantom braking and you will find many instances going back years. It seems to be getting worse with each software update.

Filed Sep 11, 2023 · Driver assistance · WA

Driving with cruise control on the car would suddenly brake for no reason. Sometimes it was just a quick brake for a second or two but multiple times the car braked hard enough to have things in the car fly off the seats. These incidents happened on 9/5/2023. Needless to say we didn't use the cruise control after that, we are just glad no cars were behind us at the time. If this helps, we did use cruise control on a trip on 6/24/2023 with no issues.

Filed Aug 5, 2023 · MD

I was driving on 270 North from Washington to Frederick at around 70 MPH on cruise control. There were no cars in front of me. Then, all of a sudden, my Tesla Y braked hard (phantom braking) for no reason, to around 40 MPH, I panicked and had to override the cruise control to continue driving. There was a red car behind me; fortunately, he wasn't tailgating so he swerved in time to avoid crashing into the rear of my car. This is unacceptable!