2021 Tesla Model Y: jerking or lurching

Filed Sep 16, 2025 · Driver assistance · AZ

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system has repeatedly demonstrated unsafe behavior in my 2021 Model Y (VIN [XXX] , ~60,184 miles). The issues involve Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Assistance, and Forward Collision Warning. FSD frequently follows vehicles too closely, leaving insufficient distance. When I disengage, I am left with no safe option: braking hard risks being rear-ended and triggers a hard-braking event, while lifting off the accelerator leaves me dangerously close, still flagged as unsafe following. FSD often waits until less than a mile before highway exits to attempt lane changes, causing last-second darting, missed exits, or unsafe maneuvers. It also performs excessive and unnecessary lane changes that add risk without improving efficiency. Merges are frequently unsafe, forcing me to brake hard to let others pass or accelerate aggressively to avoid being cut off. On several occasions, FSD has jerked or swerved into adjacent lanes without signaling, seemingly triggered by shadows or changes in the road surface. These phantom maneuvers are unpredictable and hazardous. On [XXX] at about [XXX], at a T-shaped intersection, FSD failed to yield to a vehicle traveling straight with the right of way while I was making a left turn. I had to slam on the brakes to disengage, narrowly avoiding a collision. This was the second such incident in the same intersection in one week. These repeated failures—unsafe following, late exit attempts, failed merges, phantom swerves, and failure to yield—create significant risks for me, my passengers, and surrounding drivers. The problem has been reported to Tesla multiple times via in-car voice reports and a written service request, and logs from my vehicle should confirm these events. No warning lamps or system alerts appeared before or during the failures. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Oct 29, 2024 · Brakes · CA

I was driving in the dark down a straight road traveling around 60mph when the car abruptly slammed on the breaks and came to an almost complete stop. I was not using self driving, I was in control of the car but when this occurred I did not release the gas. Out of Instict I tried to get the car moving again and pressed the gas but the car did not respond so I pressed the brake and then the gas and the car started driving normally again. Thankfully there was nobody in the car with me and no cars behind me. The braking was abrupt enough that my neck hurts from the jerking forward of my body.

Filed Sep 30, 2024 · Driver assistance, Steering · NY

When driving on highways the car will jerk the steering wheel and cause the car to turn when the car is in the center of the lane. This causes the driver to counter the force from the steering wheel to keep the car on the road. This only happens when autopilot and full self driving are not being used. I have taken it to the service center twice. The first time they said it was an issue with the car alignment so they realigned the tires and the second time they said it was a problem with the car’s computer so they replaced the computer. This continues to happen and is dangerous. Sometimes it will give a lane departure warning while other times there are no warnings.

Filed Sep 9, 2024 · Steering · CA

My husband was driving the used Tesla we recently purchased from the Tesla dealership. We were driving on the highway with regular traffic and no issues around us. Autopilot was not on (we have never employed this feature). All the sudden, the car quickly jerked to the right on its own and then swerved back on its own. We were driving towards the sun so maybe the camera saw a shadow that wasn't actually there. We think either there is a steering issue or that the car might be reacting erroneously to something that isn't there. Just wanted to report this safety concern because I had my baby in the car and this could have caused a car accident.

Filed Oct 14, 2022 · Driver assistance · OH

When on cruise control, the vehicle frequently brakes hard at highway speeds, jerking our bodies and forcing cars behind us to brake hard as well. Sometimes this happens when we’re beside a semi truck or a car changes lanes far in front of us, but often there’s nothing. There is no warning prior to the braking.

Filed Sep 6, 2022 · Driver assistance · NV

During a drive on 09/06/222 the car had 3 instances of phantom emergency braking while using autopilot. All the times there were no cars around the Tesla, the stop was a hard brake that jerked passengers around as well as shifting cargo. This has happened periodically before but now it is become common on every drive. Two of these instances occurred with in minutes of each other. The other happened later in the drive after stopping to charge. A hard stop like these could cause a serious accident if someone is following to close. These hard brakes could also cause whiplash style injuries, seatbelt abrasions, or bruises to passengers. There were no warnings, messages or sysmptoms prior to the issue.

Filed Aug 26, 2022 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · FL · crash

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.

Filed Apr 3, 2022 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · WA

Frequent abrupt and unsafe phantom braking while using cruise control. Mostly due to headlights from semi-trucks coming in opposite direction but occasionally from just a dark patch on the road. On a long road trip from WA to AZ, it made using the speed control feature impossible. The vehicle would lurch hard enough to physically throw you forward in your seat and rapidly slow the car (increasing potential to be rear ended). No warning messages or failure notifications. The problem was reported to Tesla (not to police, insurance, etc because no accident ensued) and the response was in a nutshell “it is working how it should “.

Filed Mar 25, 2022 · Driver assistance · OH

While driving on the highway from Ohio to Arizona in December and returning to Ohio in February when using the adaptive cruise control, my car would suddenly and without warning brake and felt as if it would stop if I had not pushed the accelerator. I drove a total of 10 days, and it happened on some days two or three times, once happening five times. Luckily when it happened the traffic was light, but if someone had been behind me, I'm sure there would have been a rear end collision. It caused my wife and me to lurch forward from the sudden deceleration, and our seatbelts kept us from hitting our heads. When I got home, I reported it to Tesla by phone and was told that someone would get back to me. On March 24 I received an email, stating that "this behavior is a known limitation" and "Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may react to vehicles or objects that either do not exist or are not in the lane of travel, causing Model Y to slow down unnecessarily or inappropriately." Tesla did not offer to remedy the problem, saying only that "The braking behavior will improve over time with software updates." Tesla suggested that somehow I did something wrong, when it stated: "When using Autopilot features it is the driver’s responsibility to remain aware and be ready to take corrective action at all times." There was no corrective action to take except for the sudden braking of the car.

Filed Feb 17, 2022 · Brakes · CA

I’ve had this vehicle since June 2021 and experienced times when it would automatically brake abruptly, as if I were about to hit the vehicle in front of me. The first couple of times, I thought it was something I had to calibrate within the digital dashboard, but realized that it wasn’t something that could be adjusted — it was just the vehicle’s way of using it’s sensors to prevent me from colliding with the vehicle in front of me. The problem is that I wasn’t ever in danger of hitting anything in front of me. There were even times when I was gradually braking, but the vehicle automatically took over and broke for me. The painful part of it is that when this happened, it was so sharp and abruptly braking that I could feel my head jerk forward. It wasn’t until recently that I learned that this is actually a very big problem experienced by many other Tesla Model Y owners — called “Phantom Braking”. I’ve also had many other issues with the vehicle’s operating system, and have had to bring the vehicle in for Tesla service 5-6 times within a period of 7 months of taking lease of the vehicle.

Filed Feb 14, 2022 · Driver assistance · MN · crash

First, the car was not in auto pilot mode or cruise control. The car was driven into the garage, 22 inches from the landing and put in park. The “P” was lit so it was in park when it suddenly lurched forward and hit the landing and the four way flasher came on. Damage has been repaired but was $2500. Per Tesla, the car was not at fault and the car functioned as intended but it was driver error. With all the safety features that this car has, why did it not sound a warning or apply brakes to prevent this from happening. I have read about hundreds of thousand’s of incidents of sudden unintentional acceleration but yet nothing has been done about it. There is another problem with phantom braking when the car suddenly stops if you use the cruise control. I do not use cruise control because of this problem. Tesla continues to add games and other nonsense but have done nothing to fix these problems. I reported this to the Minnesota Attorney Generals office and they suggested that I contact the federal safety agency. Their response from Tesla was also that it was driver error and it was not, the car was in park.

Filed Feb 3, 2022 · Acceleration, Brakes · IL

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?