2023 Tesla Model Y: brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking)

Filed Sep 19, 2026 · Airbags, Body · CT · crash · fire · 1 injury

The Autopilot/Active Safety sensor system and automated emergency braking (AEB) component failed. The vehicle experienced an uncommanded, severe "phantom braking" event and simultaneous steering lock. The vehicle is currently [State if it is at a tow yard, repair shop, or totaled, e.g., at an insurance-designated salvage yard] and is available for inspection upon request.

Filed Sep 9, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · NY

I own a 2023 Tesla Model Y (VIN: [XXX]) equipped with Full Self-Driving and Hardware 3 (HW3) computer. Over the last couple of years, while using Autopilot/FSD, my vehicle has repeatedly exhibited phantom braking, including sometimes coming to a complete stop for no reason. My vehicle has also swerved into the lane of oncoming traffic on many occasions. On one occasion, this happened three separate times in one day, and the following day the vehicle swerved off the side of the road while FSD was engaged. I have reported these incidents to Tesla Service repeatedly for years, including photos of related screen malfunctions and "What Happened" incident data, documented in the Tesla app as well as in-person at service center visits. August 2026 was the first time Tesla told my husband and me that this was a known hardware/software (Hardware 3) issue, despite years of prior reports. Tesla has given conflicting information about whether a hardware upgrade is possible: I was told the HW3 computer cannot be upgraded and was encouraged to purchase a new vehicle instead, while a service representative separately mentioned a $3,000 upgrade option that "probably wouldn't fix the issue anyway." I am concerned this vehicle poses an ongoing risk of a head-on collision or road departure to myself and other drivers. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 10, 2026 · Driver assistance · NV

Our car phantom brakes when traveling through shadows frequently and occasionally at random. This occurs at high speed as well as low speed.

Filed May 24, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · NM

I have written several times before about my car's phantom braking in cruise control. When the Santa Fe Tesla dealer, where I bought the car, told me recently that the problem had been fixed, I was disappointed they didn't bother to tell me, but thrilled to hear the news. On May 12-13 I drove over 900 miles. I tried cruise control for significant portions of both drives and did not experience one problem. Finally, I thought, they fixed the problem...and how nice it was to have cruise control for extended drives. Not so soon: on May 19th I was driving 2 friends up to volunteer at the Wildlife refuge on I-25 in northern New Mexico. The phantom braking happened again. My friends were dismayed...one thought I had seen something in the road that she didn't see. The other, in the back seat, tried to understand what happened. Please, this is beyond the pale! Of course I will call and take the car in to the dealer...an hour's drive for me. I will be surprised if they fix it, and if they do it under warranty. I did just buy new tires (see previous report about original tires with multiple flats and not even making it to their 40,000 mile warranty) so I'm no longer worried about getting a flat in the rural areas where I live and drive.

Filed May 11, 2026 · Driver assistance · GA

I would like to report a serious safety concern regarding Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) on HW3-equipped vehicles. My vehicle repeatedly performs sudden and aggressive braking while FSD is engaged, even when there are no visible obstacles, vehicles, or hazards ahead. In some cases, the vehicle slows dramatically or comes to a complete stop unexpectedly. This creates a significant rear-end collision risk, especially on higher-speed roads where surrounding traffic does not anticipate abrupt braking behavior. This issue has been occurring for approximately one year and appears to have worsened over time and TESLA hasn't released a single FDS software update for over a year for HW3 vehicles. I recently brought my vehicle to Tesla service, paid for diagnostics/repair, and the issue still remains unresolved. I have also personally experienced the same behavior in another HW3 Tesla vehicle provided as a loaner from a Tesla service center, which suggests the issue may not be isolated to my individual car. Based on my experience, this appears to affect multiple HW3 vehicles operating with FSD enabled. The unsafe braking behavior causes surrounding vehicles to tailgate closely and react suddenly, increasing the likelihood of accidents. In my opinion, the current FSD behavior on affected HW3 vehicles presents a safety hazard for both Tesla owners and other road users. I believe this issue warrants immediate investigation. Until the root cause is identified and corrected, Tesla should consider disabling or restricting FSD functionality on affected HW3 vehicles to reduce the risk of accidents caused by phantom braking and unsafe autonomous driving behavior.

Filed May 6, 2026 · Driver assistance · NC

Recurring camera and Autopilot defect on a 2023 Tesla Model Y (HW3 with in-cabin camera, in scope for the federal safety agency Recall 23V838). 7 service visits in 13.5 months and ~14,000 miles of my ownership. Tesla verified the camera/Autopilot defect in writing on 12/5/2025 and replaced the upper Quad Camera Cover (P/N 1755687-00-B) and Interior Camera (P/N 1588124-S0-I). Same defect returned by 4/27/2026. On 4/28/2026 Tesla service issued a Could Not Duplicate citing 'no log data showing signs of autosteer having an issue or any camera blocked alerts.' But Tesla's own VIN-linked telemetry, which Tesla provided me via Privacy Portal data request, contains: 28 Autopilot FAULT events on 14 of 27 retained days; 1 ABORTING event matching my report to the minute; and 17 highway-speed (>=50 mph) phantom-brake-class hard decelerations <= -0.20 g. The worst event: 4/28/2026 at 2:12 PM EDT, less than 90 minutes after Tesla returned the vehicle. Autopilot was in ACTIVE_NOMINAL state with cruise engaged at 63.6 mph. System produced an unprompted -0.252 g (-2.47 m/s^2) deceleration. Driver was not braking; system was driving. Additional phantom brakes: -0.297 g at 62.9 mph on 5/2/2026; -0.294 g at 70.0 mph on 5/3/2026. Multiple Take Over Immediately alerts without explanation. Camera Blocked alerts in clear conditions. Driver-monitoring system flagged 'hands NOT detected' on 339 of 684 monitoring detection events during the 27-day window despite hands being on the wheel — the recall remedy mechanism is failing on this vehicle. This vehicle is in scope for the federal safety agency Recall Query RQ24009 (open), investigating whether the 23V838 OTA remedy actually fixed the underlying Autosteer defect. My data is direct fleet-level evidence the remedy did not work on this VIN. Currently in active New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

Filed Mar 2, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · HI

I am reporting two severe 'phantom braking' incidents involving my Tesla vehicle while driving without autopilot. In both instances, the vehicle initiated hard emergency braking on a high-speed roadway with no obstacles, pedestrians, or vehicles in my path. This sudden, uncommanded deceleration created an immediate risk of a rear-end collision from following traffic. Incident 1: November 2025 at approximately [XXX]. I was traveling at 30 mph on [XXX] . The car suddenly braked to 0 mph. Weather was sunny, and the road was straight. There were several vehicles following behind me. Incident 2: [XXX], at approximately [XXX]. Location: [XXX], Honolulu. The vehicle decelerated from 10mph to 0 mph without warning. In both cases, the car stopped suddenly and was placed in Park. I had to put the car in drive to resume driving. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 2, 2025 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · CA

When using the adaptive cruise control or “autopilot” feature on my Model Y, the vehicle will brake extremely hard without warning. This sudden, unnecessary braking is commonly referred to as phantom braking. The failure is available for inspection upon request. This malfunction poses a significant safety risk to myself and others, especially vehicles following behind, as it could lead to rear-end collisions. The issue is widespread, with many other drivers experiencing the same problem. The problem is easily reproducible on highways, particularly at certain intersections where no obstacle is present. The system will sometimes display a “curvature assist” prompt despite the road being straight, causing the vehicle to brake abruptly. I have not taken the vehicle to a dealer because the warranty has expired. The issue has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center, nor has it been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. However, I reported it directly to Tesla and have received no response. No warning lamps or error messages appear before the failure, aside from the inaccurate “curvature assist” prompt. Cause: UNKNOWN.

Filed Aug 14, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA

Driving on I 880 south on the fast lane. The car suddenly braked for no reason and began to shutdown. It warned me to pull over before complete shutdown. Luckily there was space on my left and I was able to rolling stop. Nothing on the screen was working. Turned on hazard light. Got out of car with my phone. Accessed Tesla app and ran battery check. After couple mins the error went away. Tried to slowly move with hazard light on. It appeared to have fixed itself. Slowly merged back into freeway when it was safe. Attached notification when I tried to schedule service request.

Filed Jun 19, 2025 · Driver assistance, Electrical · MI

I am writing to raise a safety concern regarding the use of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system on my 2023 Tesla Model Y when a rear hitch-mounted bike rack is installed. Numerous users, including myself, have experienced dangerous or erratic behavior from FSD when carrying bicycles on a rear-mounted rack. Specific issues include: False detection of a trailing vehicle directly behind the car. Phantom braking or swerving, including abrupt lane changes or acceleration. Unreliable navigation at intersections (e.g., nearly running stop signs) due to apparent misinterpretation of sensor data. In some cases, tailgating or aggressive following behavior by the vehicle. These behaviors appear to stem from the FSD system misinterpreting the presence or visual signature of the rack and bikes as another vehicle. In several online reports, this has led to unsafe maneuvers. To temporarily mitigate the issue, some drivers have resorted to taping over the rear camera, which is neither safe nor user-friendly. While I recognize Tesla has made improvements such as camera obstruction warnings (e.g., in FSD v12.5.6+), these do not address the core misclassification problem. My requests: That Tesla officially acknowledge and investigate FSD misbehavior in the presence of rear-mounted bike racks. That Tesla provide clear driver guidance on whether FSD should be used when such a rack is installed. That the FSD system include an option for a “Bike Rack Mode” or alternative logic to prevent rear-camera misinterpretation. That this concern be escalated within your safety and AI development teams to ensure user safety is prioritized.

Filed May 5, 2025 · Driver assistance · CA

While proceeding across the southbound two lanes of a divided 4 lane street the vehicle inexplicably braked violently to a complete stop. When stopped the vehicle was across the two lanes of the road (as I was headed for a divided left turn lane). The was traffic on the road that had to stop for my vehicle. It took a couple of seconds for the car to release the brakes and allow me to continue across the street. This could have cause a wreck if the street traffic had not been paying attention or had assumed I was going to continue as should have been expected. I had to try to hit the gear shift stock in order to get the car to continue moving, although I am not sure that the car required this action. I did not know for how long the vehicle would be immobile. I could have been injured or killed due to this "phantom braking" incident.

Filed Dec 9, 2024 · Brakes, Driver assistance · GA

At 10:11 PM driving on 95 south at 78 miles per hour the car stopped on its own violently braking and swerved across the intersection. Then we kept getting alerts about the cameras. I have pictures of the alerts. There was no obstruction on the highway. Car just braked for no reason. Very scary