The suspected malfunction involved Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and related automated steering, lane guidance, lane-departure avoidance and disengagement/warning systems. FSD was active before the event but changed to “Unavailable” approximately 1.35 seconds before impact as the vehicle began moving left toward a barrier. The exact cause has not been independently determined. The vehicle remains in my possession and is available for inspection, along with the EDR report and Tesla data files. My safety and the safety of others were placed at risk because the vehicle departed its travel path at approximately 65–67 mph. The warning and disengagement sequence provided only about one to one-and-a-half seconds before impact. The vehicle struck the barrier at highway speed, deploying the left side and curtain airbags. This created a risk of serious injury, rollover or collision with nearby motorists. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer because the vehicle was rendered inoperable. However, Tesla’s data confirms that FSD was active, became unavailable approximately 1.35 seconds before the crash, and that the steering angle moved sharply left immediately before impact. The data confirms the sequence but does not conclusively establish who or what initiated the steering movement. The vehicle has not received a technical inspection by Tesla or an independent defect specialist. Towing have handled it, but no one has technically evaluated the FSD or steering system. Crash data was retrieved from EDR. Earlier in the drive, the vehicle recorded “Autopilot features limited” and “camera blocked or blinded” warnings approximately 15 minutes before the crash. The vehicle later permitted FSD to engage. Approximately 1.46 seconds before impact, a hands-on warning was detected; FSD then changed to “Unavailable,” cruise control changed to standby and a lane-departure warning appeared less than one second before impact.
2022 Tesla Model Y: adaptive cruise control problems
249 of the 880 complaints about the 2022 Tesla Model Y describe adaptive cruise control problems.
- owner complaints
- 249
- of this car's complaints
- 28%
- typical mileage
- 3,500
- recalls
- 3
Adaptive cruise control problems by model year
What owners say
My chat constantly phantom brakes. This is a constant issue, I ve had the car since it was new and almost everytime im in adaptive cruise control it randomly brakes. Today with nothing in front of my on 3 separate occasions it applies the brakes and forces me to accelerate to maintain speed.
The Autopilot/FSD computer (driver-assistance ECU) on my 2021 Model Y (HW3) began failing intermittently on August 2, 2026, days after installing a software update -FSD v14 "Lite" branch. The component is in the vehicle and available for inspection. While driving at highway speed in high ambient temperatures (112–125°F), the system repeatedly disengaged with "Cruise control unavailable" (alert DI_a175) and "System error — take over immediately" warnings, and later alert APP_w46u on FSD engagement. Failures included: FSD and Autosteer aborting within seconds of engagement or disappearing from the menu entirely; complete loss of driving visualizations (no lane lines or vehicle overlays); rear camera blacking out; loss of speed-limit recognition and automatic turn-signal cancel. Both FSD and Autosteer Beta failed identically, indicating the fault is in the shared Autopilot computer/camera pipeline, not one feature. Because the same camera/compute stack supports automatic emergency braking, forward-collision warning, and blind-spot warning, the status of those safety systems during the failures is UNKNOWN — I had to complete long desert highway stretches fully manually, with repeated unrequested hand-backs of control creating a sudden-takeover risk. The fault is thermal-load related and intermittent: it recurred at high ambient temperatures, sometimes recovered after a rest or power-off reset, but on August 4 one full power-off reset at 88°F ambient failed to restore the system (it later self-recovered), suggesting progressive hardware degradation rather than ambient heat alone. Not yet reproduced by a service center: a Tesla service appointment is scheduled for August 13, 2026, and a service request with fault codes was filed in-app while the faults were active so remote diagnostics could capture them. No inspection yet by the manufacturer, police, or insurance. Public owner reports describe similar Autopilot-computer thermal failures on HW3 vehicle
Tesla Y on the freeway, FSD on(Full Self Driving), driving at 70 mph. I saw the cars ahead are slowing but my car was not slowing, so I braked and held the steering wheel firmly. However, my car still hit the car in front at 36 mph. The airbag deployed and luckily I only sprained my thumb in both hands in holding the steering wheel very hard. If I didn't take over my car would have hit the car in front at 70 mph. I downloaded Tesla "Vehicle Data Report" and it shows that the "FSD was active, Cruise Control State was active, Driver Monitoring Detection was detected and I applied the brake. I used FSD for over 3 years and no problem at all, until the accident. The Tesla Data shows that the FSD malfunctioned that caused the accident but my insurance told me that it was my fault and they increased my insurance for $227 a month.
While using cruise control at highway speed, the car suddenly slams on the breaks causing major panic. Oversteering onto incoming traffic and cars following are affected slamming on their breaks to avoid contact. Have contacted Tesla Service Center multiple times addressing the problem (Phantom breaking problem). What they keep on telling me is that there is no fix to the problem at this time. The cruise control intermittently turns off and on by itself with no warning or obstruction. No lamps warning or messages prior to failure. My Tesla 2022 Model Y (Performance) has been inspected at the Tesla Service Center many times, but to no avail problem still exists.
When using Tesla Autopilot (Adaptive Cruise Control) Tesla Curvature Assist will engage on straight roads during nice weather and great forward visibility. When Tesla Curvature Assist engages, the car brakes and slows dramatically. I have had drivers behind me think I was brake checking them or messing with them. This feature is dangerous and there is not an option to disable.
Tesla's FSD functions slowly has been reduced in the last years. Firts Tesla disabled the double pull function, resulted taken away the standard cruise control function. Lately, the fully paid ($12000) FSD is not recognizing streetsigns anymore, which worked perfectly before. This function is crucial to manage speeds, lanes, pedestrians and school zones or just attend in public roads! Tesla service center refuses to fix this issue or offer any additional solutions! This is very concerning and those vehicles with full FSD are not safe to operate on public roads anymore! Thank you
On [XXX], traveling westbound from [XXX] on [XXX] using adaptive cruise control. Pick-up truck rapidly pulled up behind and cruise control shut off, stated "unavailable" and Tesla started to brake...manually overrode. Travelled another 1/4 mile and reengaged cruise control after pulling away from following pickup. Pickup caught up and cruise control shut off again. At 4-way stop on [XXX] , rechecked system and then headed for [XXX] on adaptive cruise control. Pickup came up again and cruise control shut off. At next intersection I turned right and pickup turned left...had "electronics" sign on side of truck. Not able to get full name. Question: Is there electronic systems "out there" that can take control of Tesla adaptive cruise controls? I tried to pass this on to Tesla, but wouldn't or couldn't take the above message. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Phantom braking occurred when the adaptive cruise was engaged when a truck entered the road from the right side. The car abruptly slowed when the truck crossed my lane although there was no eminent danger. The car behind us nearly collided with us due to the sudden braking incident. This is the third sudden braking incident; however, the others were related to a bridge or overpass.
The adaptive cruise control doesn’t function correctly. I was on the freeway, which was 70 MPH, and all of a sudden the vehicle breaker abruptly while in autopilot. I saw that it registered the max speed as 40 MPH. It almost caused a collision.
Vehicle had a software update. After software update the car can see all speed limit signs while driving except for 65 mph sign. Traveling into a town car will register 45 mph, 35 mph, 25 mph signs and update the max speed to reflect the speed limit. However 65 mph signs are completely ignored. Resulting in the max speed being the speed of the last sign passed. Ie leaving a town where speed limit goes from 35 to 45 and then finally to 65 the speed on the car will only register the 45 sign and thus driver is unable to set the cruise or use autopilot at the correct speed. Contact was made with the service department but was told it was there was inconsistency between what the camera is seeing versus what is posted in the navigation maps package. It was submitted for review and will be fixed in the future but until then the only way to use cruise control at 65 is to get off onto a side road where no speed limit sign is posted turn around and get back onto the highway. I have since had 2 more software updates to the car and it is still broken.
In the Tesla Full Self-Drive adaptive cruise control system the set speed arbitrarily and abruptly drops from the set speed to 40 mph on an interstate highway. In other words, if set to 70 it will drop instantly to 40 mph for no reason.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Back over prevention: software
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2017, 2021-2023 Model 3, 2020-2023 Model Y, 2021-2023 Model S, and Model X vehicles operating software version 2026.8.6. The rearview camera image may be delayed when the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
- Risk
- A delayed rearview image reduces the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 3, 2026. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-26-00-001.
Recall number 26V283000 · Recall details
Forward collision avoidance: warnings: external/pedestrian alert
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2013, 2018-2021 Model S, 2020-2021 Model X, 2018-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. A factory reset muted the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
- Risk
- Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are muted, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, release 2023.44.30.14, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 27, 2024. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-24-00-006.
Recall number 24V153000 · Recall details
Forward collision avoidance: warnings: external/pedestrian alert
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Model S, Model X, Model Y, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. The Boombox function allows sounds to be played through an external speaker while the vehicle is in motion, which may obscure the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) sounds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles."
- Risk
- Pedestrians may be unaware of an approaching vehicle if the PWS sounds are obscured, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will disable the Boombox functionality when the vehicle is in Drive, Neutral and Reverse modes, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 5, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-22-00-003. Note: This recall has been superseded by Recall 22V‑235. Tesla's number for the new recall is SB-22-00-003.
Recall number 22V063000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2022 Tesla Model Y adaptive cruise
Is adaptive cruise control problems a common problem on the 2022 Tesla Model Y?
249 of 880 owner complaints about the 2022 Tesla Model Y (28%) mention adaptive cruise control problems. The model year with the most reports is 2021.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2022 Tesla Model Y?
There are 3 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2022 Tesla Model Y
Phantom braking 165Collision warning 28Ball joint 20Lane assist 18Wipers 18Headlights 17Backup camera 15Jerking 15Seat belt 15Sudden acceleration 12Power steering loss 10No deployment 9Door locks 8Loss of power 7Tire blowout 7Grinding brakes 6Fire or smoke 6Screen failure 6Stalling 6Pulling 5Windshield crack 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2022 Tesla Model Y?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history