I have experience phantom braking on my Model Y many times when I used FSD(full self drive) on the freeway. The car just randomly slows down / decelerates abruptly even if there are no obstacles or other cars in front. This results in a serious situation when the vehicle behind may ram into you causing a fatal accident. I have always reported this issue using voice control REPORT BUG and got acknowledgement saying THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK. But I have never heard from Tesla that they have fixed or are fixing it. This is repeated happening every time I use FSD on freeway even as of last week (week of Aug 21, 2022)/
2021 Tesla Model Y driver assistance complaints
Page 9 of 22: complaints 221 to 250 of 630, newest first, as owners wrote them.
During daylight hours when the autopilot is engaged at normal highway speeds - the Tesla brakes engage and quickly slow down the car. It occurs on long straight roads with no traffic. This appears to be a "phantom braking" issue that is causing my car to suddenly brake for no reason. There are never any cars around when this occurs-- just long clear roads. This can be very dangerous. Last known occurrences were on Aug 13 at 8:30a and 10:29a of this year.
Tesla Autopilot (Adaptive Cruise Control) rarely recognizes parked vehicles or obstructions beside the driving lane (right or left side) based on the display console driving environment display. Bicyclist, pedestrians, and other large roadside obstructions are also rarely recognized. Might explain the recent Tesla collisions with stopped emergency vehicles while in Autopilot mode. Don’t know if Teslas recent elimination of radar sensing made this problem worst or not. This failure to recognize nearby obstructions happens daily.
I had unexpected and sudden braking while using Tesla autopilot while in TAC mode or adaptive cruise control. Not Autopilot that steers and keeps you in the lane and not Full self driving, my car does not have FSD. I had 5 or 6 incidents while heading West on I 10 towards Yuma on I 8. There was no rhyme or obvious reason for the braking. No one in front of me or behind me. The amount of braking over the separate incidents was different each time. On the way back to Tucson it happened another 5 or 6 times.
I own a 2021Tesla Model Y. I took possession of it on August 7, 2021, in Santa Barbara, Ca. Ever since, I have had numerous instances of abrupt automatic emergency braking (phantom braking) episodes while using cruise control or autopilot. On January 26, 2022, I had 47 episodes, in just a couple of hours. This is typical. Several of the phantom braking episodes occurred with vehicles tailgating me. This is a grave safety issue and requires immediate attention. My Tesla Model Y has been to the Tesla service center over 4 times regarding this problem without resolution. They say phantom braking is a software issue and only the engineers can fix it. I was assured soon after delivery that the software would be updated quickly, and it would fix the problem. The issue still exists. I am very disappointed with the vehicle and fear for my safety. Please require Tesla to remedy this very serious safety issue immediately.
Autopilot was on during a light rain event where I was traveling less than the posted speed limit on the I95 northbound Highway. The autopilot appeared to force the car to abruptly jolt the steering wheel/tires, causing a slip/ hydroplane of the front end which forced the car into a left/sideways slide across the highway. The car slid sideways for about 100 feet or so before going straight into the concrete divider along the Highway (front driver side initial impact, then rear driver side 2nd impact). Control could not be regained with the vehicle. Steering did not work (tried to correct the path), it felt as if brakes did not slow the vehicle as the car approached the divider. Autopilot was fully engaged and lane keeping was active… with at least one hand on the steering wheel and moderate level of attention to the road. I must say I had likely became over-reliant on the autopilot. No warning was provided to me as, prior to the incident. A similar hydroplane problem can also be seen on a YouTube video posted online for the same model car. I experienced the same outcome as the other vehicle except I hit a divider after crossing lanes. I am however very pleased with how well the car handled the impact and how well the airbags went off, although also unfortunate- I do feel like the car may have been partially responsible for the accident itself.I have experienced a few prior occurrences where the car will jerk the wheel when in autopilot to keep or find a lane, even with hands on the wheel and full attention facing forward.
multiple incidents of phantom braking well traveling on I 90. 5 documented incidents. Have requested vehicle service however previous service for this type of incident did not correct the issue. at one point the car slowed from 75 to 50 before i could react. there were no other vehicles near my vehicle when the events occurred.
While driving cross country on interstate highways using cruise control my car would try to stop itself. During a 500+ mile day it would do this 10x per day. Most times hard enough to engage seat beats. There has been no inspection. Tesla is denying a problem. The danger is if someone is following too close they could resend me. I was never in traffic when this happens. Never anyone in front of me or next to me when this happens. On line they call the phantom braking. I can’t tell if it’s braking, or the cruise control disengages and the car is suddenly stopping because of one pedal driving mode.
My wife and I have owned the Tesla Model Y for one year. We have taken it on several long distance drives from our home in Moscow Idaho to the Oregon and Washington coasts, Vancouver BC and Seattle. During each of the trips we experienced phantom braking when the car was driven with cruise control engaged at highway speeds on 2 lane highways. Phantom braking has occurred when 1) there was no oncoming traffic during daylight hours 2) with oncoming traffic that was not in our lane 3) when there was a slight turn in the highway and no traffic. The most recent phantom braking events occurred 7-14-22 and 7-30-22 on Washington highway 26. When the phantom braking occurs it appears to be random. The car will very quickly drop from 65mph to 55mph causing us a scare. We do not use the cruise control feature anymore on the two lane highways. Its just too scary when it happens. We have complained to Tesla and have submitted service requests and was told they are aware of the problem but no corrective action has happened yet.
Currently and noticing other reporting the inaccurate location of the GPS in the car. At times the car gpe will drift into areas not associated with the cars correct location. If the car is in adaptive cruse or teslas autopilot the car will maintain the posted speed limit for that GPS location or a delta of the users defined (+ - 10 or 15 mph). This cause a car to abruptly reduce the speed if not within the posted speed limit for that area. For example a car in autopilot or adaptive cruse going 70mph on the highway, the gps will start drifting into areas outside of you location and abruptly reduce the speed to assumed location. This is even more troublesome if autopilot is engaged where the car will try to change lanes as directed by the gps.
We experienced 3 phantom braking events while using the autopilot feature of the Tesla model Y on our trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. While on autopilot on the 5 freeway northbound, the car just braked when the lanes in front of us are clear.
Reporting numerous instances of ghost braking while Adaptive Cruise Control is enabled. These are instances of sudden deceleration of the car when no other vehicles or obstructions present while traveling on 4 lane highways at freeway speeds. Requires overriding ACC feature by engaging the accelerator to maintain speed and avoid a possible rear end collision. Rear end collision is the most of the highest risk when this sudden deceleration occurs. No warnings were given before the deceleration. These episodes are most noticeable when traveling at freeway speeds of 65+ mph in open terrain with no curves. One instance could be attributed to a shadow across the roadway, however, more times than not shadows across the roadway didn't cause ghost braking. The point being that there often is no rhyme or reason that can be identified or repeated. This problem is a known problem that Tesla is aware of as well as the NHSTA.
While driving at highway speeds the adaptive cruise control suddenly slams on the brakes for no reason. It is more frequent when there is little to no traffic. This happens regularly, it is not an isolated incident.
On multiple occasions the vehicle in question exhibited dangerous behavior while the "Autopilot" cruise control system was engaged. This is not "fully automated cruise control FSD" but the standard "Autopilot" system. Each of the incidents listed below occurred on multiple dates, multiple times and in various times of day, speeds and weather conditions. 1. While driving at speed, the vehicle, upon detecting the cars in an adjacent lane separated by pole dividers were stopped, suddenly slammed on the brakes in an attempt to stop the car, risking a collision from behind, even with my own lane completely clear of other cars 2. While driving at speed, the vehicle, upon detecting a higher or lower posted speed limit sign alongside the road, suddenly braked or accelerated without warning, risking a collision in front, or behind 3. While driving at speed, the vehicle, upon detecting emergency flashing lights from a passing police, ambulance or fire vehicle, regardless of that vehicle's location or direction, suddenly decelerated without warning, risking a collision from behind 4. While driving at speed, the vehicle, upon detecting a change in lane width, the loss of a lane marker, or the presence of a concrete barrier in place of a lane marker, suddenly swerved to attempt to remain in the center of the changed lane width, and on more than one occasion, almost swerved into a barrier or another vehicle
On October 12th, 2021 my vehicle had multiple instances of phantom braking that occurred on highway 10 in California while traveling Eastbound with autopilot engaged. This was a trip in excess of 400 miles. Two of these instances occurred as my vehicle approached rainwater washes where metal barriers appear on both sides of the road ( see 33°38'10.5"N 115°05'01.6"W for an example ). The third instance occurred when a truck in the slow lane began drifting towards my lane slightly. In each of these three instances the car did a heavy braking at which time I quickly disengaged the autopilot by tapping the brake and speeding back up. Thankfully no accident but these three occurrence were scary. I reported phantom braking into the voice command database of the vehicle after each occurrence. According to a tesla representative these are saved.
A. 3 or 4 times while I was driving on the highway with cruise control the car very suddenly de-accelerated even though the road ahead was completely clear. This happened before. B. Also later on the same trip the car hit a part of a tire tread left on the road. The underside of the car was apparently damaged. The screen message was "okay to drive. power reduced". Over next several hours the power, and later other functions like air conditioning, and maximum speed was reduced from 69 to 67 to 65 to 62 mph and message "okay to drive" was repeated. Suddenly while car had message of 62 mph maximum speed it suddenly wouldn't go over 37 mph. Seconds later it dropped to maximum 13 mph while still showing "okay to drive - 62 mph max speed". I pulled over on shoulder and car wouldn't go into drive function.
While in cruise control, which is adaptive, vehicle will abruptly slow down for no know reason. Usually there are no other vehicles, no highway obstructions, nothing that I can see. Tesla finally told me that this is a "known issue", after making a service appointment, and them calling me to cancel the appointment.
Car regularly brakes for no reason causing near accidents constantly and posing a huge safety risk. Additionally, the full self driving option is totally unusable. Both these issues have been reported to Tesla multiple times. We have been told the only way we can have an actual working cruise control is to disable the full set aware driving without refund for that Bert expensive option
The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that the vehicle had received a software update through the Wi-Fi from Tesla. The contact stated that the camera for the autonomous self-drive feature had become excessively sensitive sounding the alarm for the Occupant Detection and Lane Assist at the slightest movement. The contact stated that the issue caused multiple distractions while driving. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The contact had informed the manufacturer of the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the dealer. The approximate failure mileage was 36,314.
The driver infotainment system locks up randomly. Which makes all safety features, turn signal indicators, backup camera, reverse mode (mirrors drop), speedometer, collision sensors, etc NON-FUNCTIONAL. Until either the system crashes or finally unfreezes. This also removes one-pedal driving as well when frozen. Version is 2022.16.3
While using adaptive cruise control we have experienced multiple incidents of our vehicle braking hard, fast, without warning, and for no reason. The most recent incident just happened (07/21/2022) while driving on a 4 lane highway. My husband was using ADP traveling at approx 65mph when suddenly our Tesla model Y began rapidly braking, throwing my upper body towards the dash and causing us to almost be rear ended by the vehicle traveling behind us. Thankfully, I did not hit the dash and the vehicle behind us was paying attention and swerved into another lane to avoid a collision.
The vehicle loose power all of sudden while driving disabling all power including loss of power steering, failure of lane departure avoidance, regenerative brakes, parking breaks, traction and stability controls. This has caused hazardous dangerous conditions on the road. The vehicle had to be towed to local Tesla repair/service center on 4 occasions. We have been given false reassurance with no definitive fix yet, continues to be an ongoing issues that recurs after few weeks that vehicle comes back from service center.
On July 16, 2022 I was traveling west on I-40, east of Tucumcari, NM. I was using Traffic Adaptive Cruise Control (TACC). There were no cars within a mile of me, front or back. The weather was clear, the road was flat. The car suddenly braked without warning. The objects stored in the back of the car flew forward, striking the two front seats. The wheels did not lock up. I immediately stabbed the accelerator. I saw the power line bar graph indicator go fully to the right. I contacted Tesla to request a service appointment. Tesla initially set an appointment but then cancelled it, explaining there was nothing wrong with the car. I was reminded that TACC (along with virtually all other Tesla driving aids) is "beta" and may therefore not function as intended or expected. It was the responsibility of the driver to assume the risks implied. Prior to this event, I had already decided not to use any technology more advanced than the speed control (TACC) as they behaved poorly. I thought that adaptive cruise control (Tesla: TACC) was a such a common technology that it wouldn't exhibit phantom braking. I was wrong.
I own a 2021Tesla Model Y. I took possession of it on August 7, 2021, in Santa Barbara, Ca. Ever since, I continuously experience automatic emergency braking (phantom braking) episodes while using cruise control or autopilot. It is very dangerous because I almost got rear-ended. I've had it in Tesla's service center several times for inspection. They always say the technicians can't fix the phantom braking problem, that only the engineers can, and that they are working on it. It's been one year and there hasn't been a software update to remedy the dangerous flaw. Will you please force Tesla to fix the hundred, perhaps thousands, of Tesla Models 3 and Ys that have this problem? An investigation and recall would be welcomed. Thanks!
The vehicle was on cruise control (NOT auto-pilot). Driving on Freeway approximately 82 mph when the vehicle slowed to 60 mph instantly numerous time within my 160 mile drive. There were no vehicles in front or beside me. There were no obstacles in the roadway or on the side of the road. Sunny day with no clouds. There were no warnings lamps or messages that would indicate the car was going to brake. My safety was put at risk if there was another driver behind me, I could have been rear-ended. It Could also had been very dangerous if there was adverse weather. Tesla was not able to recreate the problem and never found any problems with the vehicle. This was not the first time we took the vehicle in for phantom braking. Tesla blamed the driver. I was also told by a tesla representative the the vehicle can brake unexpectedly by sensing a shadow on the road from a cloud. Apparently there is no way to disable this feature. The vehicle has been deemed unsafe to drive by our senior management as this is not the first time this has occurred and Tesla has not remedied the problem.
On a roadtrip between California and Wyoming, the adaptive cruise control, full-self driving, and emergency breaking engaged for absolutely no reason on dozens of occasions - what I understand is termed "phantom breaking." This was so bad that on Sunday, July 10, I noted each severe incident. Some of these occurred with absolutely no traffic in the road, some during busier periods. In each case, it was scary and dangers -- to the point where my dog went flying off the seat. While this was an issue throughout the road trip, I only noted incidents on July 10, but please be aware this happened on many other days as well. Here are the significant incidents on July 10. Please note there were less severe incidents on this day that I didn't note because it would have been too many to count. 12pm mountain time just outside Idaho Falls, ID -- car braked with no warning from 70 MPH to 60 MPH 2pm mountain time - 77 miles outside twin falls, ID 256pm mountain time - right outside twin falls 408pm mountain time - heading south from Twin falls towards Nevada -- the car braked three times in rapid succession 447pm mountain time - heading south past Jackpot NV 450pm Mountain time - same 420pm Pacific time - 16 miles north of Wells NV, braking multiple times in succession 524pm pacific time - just west of Wells, NV, sudden braking from 85 mph to 65 mph 643pm pacific time - half way between Wells, NV and Winnemucca NV
My car is experiencing phantom braking nearly every time I use cruise control. It only happens when there are no cars or other obstacles in front of me. It happens at various speeds. The braking slows the car to a stop within seconds if I don’t immediately disengage the cruise control, even at highway speeds.
While adaptive cruise control was engaged on highway, it would disengage and harshly break even though there was nothing ahead as an obstacle. If there was a vehicle behind, it would have created a significant change of collision. During a 5+ hour drive, this occurred 20+ times. It seemed to occur when cresting small hills where visibility was somewhat limited ahead and when there were few cars ahead. In a few occurrences, there was a warning chime, but in other cases, it disengaged and braked silently. This just happened yesterday, so it has not been inspected by Tesla.
Going 40 MPH on CA 210W in left lane. Full Self Driving available on vehicle but no autopilot/lane assist activated at time of incident. Steering wheel locked up completely; I was unable to turn the wheel at all so I ended up drifting across 4 lanes of highway (miraculously didn’t hit anyone) and ended up under a semi. Car airbags did not deploy and system did not detect a collision. Contacted Tesla to ask about the cause of the accident multiple times; never got an answer. They had us pull the USB in glovebox and see if anything is on there but there wasn’t even though dash cam was activated. They “escalated” the ticket to a supervisor and have been ghosted ever since asking for an answer. We scheduled a service appointment to have them check out the vehicle and they canceled it. It is a miracle that I did not die; I have severe PTSD from the incident which has affected my career negatively. I would like Tesla to take accountability for things like this; it’s scary that they don’t and threaten legal action instead.
Phantom braking during normal highway travel at high speed, multi accuracies in one trip. The braking made vehicle travel speed dropped from 70MPH to 50MPH suddenly and pose great danger.
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