When autopilot is engaged (I don't know if just cruise does this) on a highway entrance set to a reasonable speed like 35 or 45, as I approach the acceleration ramp the setting jumps to 90 and then quickly back to 85. I've found no reason to beleive that the car won't accelerate up to 85. There is no way for the driver to make such a jump. Driver is only able to jump in 1 or 5 mph increments. I have no trouble disengaging autopilot, but still... This has been going on for weeks, and despite a software update or two. I can provide video of this happening but I don't think I can upload it here.
2021 Tesla Model Y driver assistance complaints
Page 5 of 22: complaints 101 to 130 of 630, newest first, as owners wrote them.
During raining multiple teslas including my tesla last week experienced hydroplaning lead to close ti fatal accidents I believe the car inappropriately used emergency breaking that lead to accident, i am not if that was due to the car seeing water/reflection ln the ground I was driving the speed limit and all cars were driving at the same speed 70-75 mile per hour) I suddenly started spinning with no warnings It is impossible that multiple teslas experienced the same thing more than other cars I am trying to get the data from tesla to confirm this, but it is not easy to make them get us what exactly happened I am seeking third party analysis hopefully once i get the data, but it would be best done from the federal safety agency The damage to my car was due to hitting the road and my car went to the middle due to hight difference No other cars or objects were hit If i hit anything, it could have been fatal
This has occurred on three different occasions. I was driving on highway five on the way to Sacramento, and as I was passing a truck, I was in the fast lane, and the brakes came on, and the car slowed drastically. I was very lucky that I was able to hit the gas pedal to try to maintain speed so that I would not be rear-ended. I had the cruise control on. It is adaptive cruise control, there were no warning lights , and there was no indication to me that something was about to happen. This occurred on two other occasions always when the cruise control was on. I have not used the cruise control very much at all. I am afraid that the phantom breaking it will occur.
Driving Down freeway at 70 mph when my car stopped immediately ! No one or nothing in front of me . 6 cars behind me and everyone swerved to avoid me or they would have hit me. I was terrified. I called Tesla and they said it was “phantom breaking”. It happens to model 3/Y from 2021 and 2022. It happened 2x in an 8 hr period. July 22, 2023
Dear Tesla Customer Support, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my extreme concern and disappointment regarding a serious malfunction I experienced with my Tesla vehicle, Model Y, on 08/01/2023. The incident has left me deeply troubled and has raised significant questions about the safety and reliability of your vehicles. On the aforementioned date, while I was driving my Model Y, I noticed an unusual burning smell coming from the vehicle. Shortly after, the cruise control system began to malfunction erratically, leading to a loss of control over the vehicle's speed. In a matter of seconds, the display and all lights on the dashboard went dark, leaving me unable to monitor crucial information such as speed, battery level, and vehicle warnings. Worse yet, the electronic power steering suddenly failed, causing an immediate stiffening of the steering wheel and making it incredibly difficult to control the vehicle. As a result, my car veered into a curb, causing damage to the wheels and suspension and fire. I cannot stress enough how distressing this situation was. Not only did it put my safety and the safety of others at risk, but it also raises questions about the reliability and effectiveness of the various systems within the vehicle. I have always trusted Tesla's commitment to innovation and cutting-edge technology, but this incident has shattered my confidence in the vehicle's reliability. I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to investigate this malfunction thoroughly and provide a comprehensive explanation for what transpired. I request a detailed analysis of the root cause of the issue and assurance that appropriate measures will be taken to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. I have been a loyal Tesla customer for 2 years and until this incident, I have been delighted with the exceptional performance and features of your vehicles. However, this incident has left me deeply concerned, and I sincerely hope
I was on the highway with cruise set to 80. With no vehicles anywhere near in front of me, the car brakes hard and the cruise was set to 50. I was able to gain control by hitting the accelerator but slowed down quickly from the phantom breaking.
Phantom Braking. When there are refractions on the road seen in my lane in bright sunshine. Also in a 2-lane highway with oncoming vehicles that have lots of chrome also in bright sunshine. Never happens at night or when cruise control not enabled.
Approximately 11:26 am on Thursday July 27, and approximately 110 miles east of Gallup, New Mexico, I experienced when driving a 2021 Tesla Model Y, a series of extreme phantom braking events. One phantom braking event resulted in an extreme braking and the car gave a loud alarm signal. This happened while passing two rather closely spaced semi-trailer trucks that were in the right lane of the interstate highway 40 roadway going westbound. Both trucks were traveling without making any unusual movements. They were steadily traveling between 70 and 80 mph. There was a large SUV following our vehicle. This event resulted in an extremely hazardous condition. A high-speed rear-end collision was imminent. I, as the driver of the Model Y, immediately accelerated and steered over to the left-lane shoulder. No collision occurred and I was able to pass the two trucks and return to the right lane. Clearly, this behavior of the Model Y is extremely hazardous and must be corrected. It is my recollection that I had disengaged the auto steer mode prior to passing the two trucks and then reengaged the auto steer after passing the two trucks and moving to the right lane. I have experienced this behavior before as I have been driving the vehicle for the past two years of my three-year lease. Strangely it always occurs, it seems when driving on rural interstate, such as this case. Fortunately, these experiences helped me to instantly respond by accelerating and moving onto the left lane shoulder to avoid a disastrous accident. It is appalling that this has been happening. The Tesla gives absolutely no indication of the cause of the urgent breaking either before or after the event. Also there has been no notifications from Tesla on this dangerous phantom breaking. I am sending this report to Tesla and the federal safety agency.
sudden braking for no reason when driving with cruise engaged. several occurrence at different times. very dangerous. may be hit in rear
Computer will suddenly error out and cruise control, AEB, forward collision warnings, and lane keep assist are not available. A warning "cruise control unavailable" shows if you attempt to engage autopilot or FSD. No forward collision warnings, no auto slowing down. Not docked for close following. No visualizations made. Not resolved with soft or hard reboot. Sometimes will randomly will allow to re-engage, other times I have to park the car and let it go to sleep without charging or sentry mode for things to reset. I've driven many, multiple times including for 1.5-2hour segments with a frozen visualization and no AEB or cruise control or FSD. Speed independent, weather independent. Time of day independent.
My family and I were driving from San Diego to Arizona on Interstate 8. I was utilizing autopilot (adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assistance) and 4 different times the car slammed on the brakes from approximately 75 mph to 60 mph. We were driving on a bright, sunny, extremely hot day (116 degrees). Luckily there were no cars behind us or we could have been rear-ended. It's also noteworthy, there were no cars/vehicles in front of us or objects in the road when the phantom braking occurred. I now no longer feel safe using autopilot on our Model Y. No warning messages appeared and no additional information was provided by the car. We have used autopilot on several other road trips and never experienced this issue.
I was driving the speed limit with the adaptive cruise control engaged on I-95 in Maine with no one in front of to the sides of me. All of a sudden without warning my car brakes on the middle of the highway. I regained control right after and did not use the adaptive cruise control for the rest of the drive.
Phantom braking in autopilot. Traveling at 75mph with traffic behind, fortunately the car behind was not following closely. No warning message beforehand, just happened very suddenly with no obstructions in sight. Weather was clear and sunny, no traffic in front. Two minutes later, the car completely ignored a deer standing on the hard shoulder!
“Full self driving” (Tesla’s beta feature) swerved erratically when used on highway with bike rack attached to tow hitch loaded with 4 bikes. The screen intermittently showed a car following closely (which wasn’t there) and likely swerved to try and get away from it. This caused the car to move onto adjacent lanes risking bumping into other cars in those lanes
Countless times, at high legal speed, with adaptive cruise control enabled, on a straight blemish-free level highway with perfect visibility, sudden automatic deceleration was experienced-- several times every hour over 11 hours of driving. I have video recordings.
We have recently experienced a significant and concerning increase in incidents of phantom braking and have thus far been unable to receive an adequate response from Tesla. We have had at least six instances of this occurring today, 16-Jun-2023 in the first 6-7 hours of our cross-country drive, and I’ve shared these time stamps with Tesla service. This is because we experienced this same thing 2-3 times on another long drive in November of 2022, and Tesla service told us at the time they couldn’t do anything about it unless we had time stamps because otherwise, it’s too many pages of code to sort through and beyond that, you have to notify them within 12 days of the incident or they can’t look into it at all (which is what happened with me- although I had to chase them to even get a response). They also said it was a “known issue” but were unsure about a planned remedy. I took screenshots of that conversation with Tesla service and have attached to this submission in the event that’s helpful. We are still pending a response from Tesla service for the multiple incidents today. Interestingly, we had taken this car on multiple lengthy drives in all types of conditions prior to Nov 2022, but never experienced this issue previously. It certainly seems to be increasing in frequency and intensity (I know my n=1 for my sample size here makes this somewhat anecdotal, but it’s terrifying regardless) and it seems like only a matter of time until tragedy strikes.
Repeated "phantom braking" caused by shadows from clouds, pavement coloration changes, billboards some distance from the highway, large advisory signs, and even pieces of blown-out truck tires on the shoulder produce sudden deceleration of over 30 mph in just seconds from the automatic emergency braking system on my 2021 Model Y Performance. This mostly occurs on interstate highways or secondary highways when the vehicle is in cruise control or auto steer with cruise control mode. A recent trip of several thousand miles produced over 20 cases of phantom braking. The windshield area in front of my forward facing cameras is always kept clean. HAZARD: It has created the risk of rear-end collisions, or stimulated road rage from following drivers.
While driving northbound on the CA111 freeway along an elevated ramp leading to the Interstate 10 freeway, in the evening after sunset, and on a dry road, without another vehicle beside the car, with the 'autopilot' (not full version) engaged, the car suddenly initiated an uncommanded acceleration which required the driver to aggressively depress the brake pedal to stop the acceleration and to disengage the automated driving feature. This sudden acceleration placed the driver and occupants at risk to the car traveling around an elevated tight curve with a ramp speed limit that the car exceeded. Witnesses were in the car when this incident occurred.
While driving eastbound on the CA60 freeway and merging onto the Interstate 10 freeway, on a clear sunny day and on a dry road, without another vehicle beside the car, with the 'autopilot' (not full version) engaged, the car suddenly initiated an uncommanded acceleration which required the driver to aggressively depress the brake pedal to stop the acceleration and to disengage the automated driving feature. This sudden acceleration brought the vehicle dangerously close to another vehicle traveling in front before it could be stopped. Witnesses were in the car when this incident occurred.
While driving at speed (75-80 mph) on Interstate 90 and 80 (different days) auto aggressively applied brakes. No other autos, trucks or obstructions were anywhere close to the car. There was no forewarning the problem was going occur. All occurred in daylight from morning until mid afternoon. I recognize this as phantom braking. Tesla refuses to look at the car because I did not have the exact time the problems occurred, messages from 6/2/23. I am of the opinion if this was Elon's car they would look at it.
For last several months my 2021 Tesla Y is experiencing phantom braking while using cruise control. Happens about once every 50 miles on the highway and occurs on straight roads with no traffic in front or behind and no road hazards. Braking is sudden and hard and represents a significant hazard . Thanks
On a trip from Spokane to Seattle on 5/27/2023, while traveling at 72mph on I-90, we experienced “phantom braking”. This resulted in the vehicle rapidly decelerating based on its detection of something in front of the car to avoid a collision. This occurred 3 times on the trip, and in no case was there anything for the vehicle to avoid. Weather was clear and road conditions were dry. Our biggest concern is that there could have been someone following directly behind, and would have certainly caused an accident if this were the case. The Tesla was in “autopilot”, which is the only mode we have experienced this. We experienced this last year on the same stretch of I-90, just east of Moses Lake to just west of George Washington.
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 55-65 MPH, the vehicle experienced "Phantom Braking". The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000.
Driving I-80 on May 9 between 2 - 4 pm going approx 70mph using autopilot. Sudden, unexpected, rapid deceleration causing back seat contents (suitcases & my dog) to fly forward. Nothing in front of me, no visual obstruction, weather clear and sunny. Luckily no one behind me. It felt like I had slammed on the brakes. I did get off highway shortly after to get dog out of where he lodged in back seat.Tesla rep via text messaging said I caused this by tapping accelerator & no need for inspection, but I do not recall doing that. I did receive a message/warning around the approx time I think this occurred stating “Driving visualization temporarily degraded” (I have screenshot.) They did send me the spreadsheet data of that day but I can’t decipher it.
The problem I am writing about is not specific to my Tesla vehicle, but inherent to all Tesla's. I have read in the news about the issue concerning the full AutoPilot with drivers not paying attention figuring the vehicle will drive itself. Although, there is another inherent issue with vehicles without subscribing to AutoPilot while using the cruise control feature resulting in a problem referred to within the Tesla community as "phantom braking." While the cruise control is active and the driver is attentive with hands on the steering wheel, the vehicle intermittently jams on the brakes even though there are no obstacles in the road ahead. The driver and passengers are panicked requiring the driver to immediately respond by pressing the accelerator to avoid being rear-ended. My wife and I have experienced the issue on multiple occasions since owning our Tesla Y since September 2021. We have experienced the issue on clear days with perfect weather and a clean windshield. The road is clear with no vehicles in front of us on a divided highway traveling at highway speeds. We've also experienced the issue on a two-lane non-divided road with oncoming traffic in the other lane. Eventually, the problem becomes such an issue that we have to turn-off the cruise control to drive normally which defeats the reason why cruise control is desired. I had presented the issue with Tesla support, but I was basically blown off. Although, this issue is frequently commented by other Tesla owners on social media. Basically, the Tesla cruise control does not function like any of my other car's cruise control. The problem is thus software related to how the images from the camera are interpreted. I'm worried about my safety with the possibility of being rear-ended.
Over the past 2 weeks there have been multiple (5+ times in one day) instances of phantom breaking both using adaptive cruise control and autopilot. This often happens when approaching a bridge but also in areas where bridges are not present. Sometimes the sun may be towards the front of the car, sometimes not. Luckily no collisions, but the sudden breaking is a safety hazard and prevents the use of the car’s advanced features that are meant to reduce driver fatigue.
Phantom Braking while driving interstate 15 on May 8, 2023 at 11:15 AM. No other cars were within a half mile in front or behind. Car went from 70mph with hard braking until I took control to regain speed. Had there been other vehicles behind me, it could have resulted in a rear end collision. Reported to Tesla today, May 15th, but told there is no fix. I have not used the Autopilot feature much at all, since most driving is short city trips. I do not intend to use this feature for safety concerns.
I own a 2021 Tesla Model Y. I took possession of it on August 7, 2021, in Santa Barbara, Ca. Ever since, I have had thousands of instances of automatic emergency braking (phantom braking) episodes while using cruise control or autopilot. On January 26, 2022, I had 47 documented episodes, in just two hours. The experiences of severe phantom braking have been terrifying. The car often slams on its brakes for no apparent reason, many times on a four lane highway, or on a freeway with no cars or obstacles. I worry about getting rear-ended, which could end in severe injury or death. It has been in for repair five times, and the technicians are animate that a software update is coming very soon to resolve this problem (they've been promising that since a few weeks after taking possession of the Tesla). I expected the problem to be resolved by now. It hasn't. The AEB continues today. Can you please force Tesla to fix this problem immediately? It is very dangerous. Please provide a response identifying actions you are taking to resolve this very important safety matter.
For the FSD beta, it does not currently parse and respect road signage such as “No Turn on Red” and “Detour”. This constitutes a material safety risk and also a moving violation.
I experienced multiple instances of ghost braking while driving at highway speeds, one that resuled in a near collision with the vehicle behind me.
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