The back camera of the Tesla model y does not provide necessary image quality to identify any objects/persons of cross traffic when reversing the vehicle. In one incident I was about to hit a person behind the vehicle as there was no proper cross traffic alerting and no proper camera view. When I approached Tesla for support they identified the problem and determined it is by design and would not be able to help much. As per the images uploaded, there is clear distinction of camera quality between side camera and back camera. Also the images taken when the vehicle is in stop mode making the back light illuminate otherwise the images would be much darker. Also I want to point out that the back camera functions good during day time and the issue happens only during night.
2023 Tesla Model Y driver assistance complaints
Page 8 of 19: complaints 191 to 220 of 549, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Random hard breaking at highway speed, multiple times on a road trip between Las Vegas and Tucson. It's an obvious hazard as traffic following the Tesla will likely not have sufficient time to react safely. How is this not regulated ?
Component that failed: Automatic Emergency Braking What happened: When traveling at night on an ice covered road, the car abruptly and erroneously engaged the automatic emergency braking which almost resulted in a crash. I was driving the vehicle using full manual mode and the car does not have a full self driving subscription; no cruise control was engaged and I was traveling at a steady speed of 35MPH. There was no inclement weather, but the road was covered in snow and ice. The road was a two lane county road with opposing traffic. As a light duty truck passed me traveling in the opposite direction the car abruptly engaged automatic emergency braking. I was centered in my lane, there were no obstructions in my lane, nor was the oncoming vehicle in my lane. The AEB was so incredibly aggressive that I briefly lost control due to the slick road. The AEB also appeared to override the antilock brakes as I did not feel any vibration to indicate that the brakes were oscillating in an attempt to maintain control. The AEB event lasted less than a second and I was able to recover control. HOWEVER, if my car had slid to the left instead of to the right, I would have been in a head on collision with a larger truck at an equivalent of 70MPH, given the size difference and a potential half overlap crash, there is a non-zero chance that it would have been fatal. I contacted Tesla and have received no response and there is no ability to disable AEB. I DO NOT WANT safety features that can kill me without warning based on some nebulous neural network implemented at a breakneck pace by employees that have never driven in snow.
I was driving in the left lane of the highway. Just up ahead I saw something sitting on the guardrail to my left which was jutting into my lane, right about eye level. It looked like a long wood 2x4. I swerved to my right to avoid hitting the piece (scared it would shatter my windshield) and the steer correct safety feature (probably wrong term) quickly threw me back to the left and into the guardrail. I turned my steering wheel to the right to get away from the guardrail and it threw me back into the guardrail. It did this a few times. I didn’t understand what was going on. It felt like I had no control over the car. It just kept slamming back into the guardrail. I finally took my foot off the gas and it slowed down and stopped throwing me around. Luckily, there was no one next to me and no one else in the car with me. No one got hurt. If it wasn’t for that “safety” feature, my car wouldn’t have been damaged. I did call the police to let them know about the wood piece that was sitting on the guardrail so hopefully it gets removed and no one gets hurt.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the vehicle decelerated quickly to 50 MPH as if the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to depress the accelerator pedal to regain forward momentum. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times and an inadvertent braking failure had occurred when the cruise control was engaged. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.
I received a false forward collision warning on the intersection of Alder Woods Dr. and Sweat Leaf Te. intersection for a parked that is legally parked on the street. Tesla's forward collision mistook the parked car, for a moving car. Driving conditions were clear with no snow, no ice or rain. None of the car cameras were blocked either. I took a picture or the street and the car that is parked on the street.
To Whom It May Concern at the federal safety agency, I am writing to urgently express my concerns about the latest software update for the Tesla Model Y’s autopilot system, which, in my view, significantly compromises safety. As a Model Y owner, I have generally found the vehicle and its features to be reliable and safe. However, the recent update has introduced an overly stringent hands-on-wheel detection mechanism that is not only inconvenient but also potentially hazardous. The new update requires frequent and often forceful interaction with the steering wheel to assure the system of driver presence. This change is drastically different from my previous experience, where I received only one hands-on-wheel violation in two years. The current sensitivity of the system disrupts the smooth operation of the autopilot, leading to frequent and abrupt disengagements. I have found myself struggling to maintain the system’s activation, inadvertently causing the vehicle to exit autopilot mode multiple times. This issue goes beyond mere inconvenience; it actively detracts from driving safety. The need for constant and sometimes aggressive adjustments to satisfy the system’s requirements is distracting and can lead to erratic vehicle behavior. The irony is stark: a system designed to enhance driving safety and ease is now a source of potential danger and stress. The unpredictability and over-sensitivity of the updated system could lead to dangerous situations, especially on highways or in heavy traffic, where sudden disengagement of the autopilot can be particularly risky. As a driver, I now find myself more focused on keeping the autopilot engaged than on the actual driving conditions and surroundings, which is surely contrary to the feature’s intended purpose. I urge the federal safety agency to investigate this issue as a matter of urgency.
The new safety requirement for Tesla to update its autosteer to be more stringent and align to safety regulations is a complete disaster. This requirement results in multiple false alarms and creates more distractions than prior to the update. Furthermore... it's upsetting that this department has an apparent obsession with Tesla's technology. Rather than promote and work with Tesla to create a future where technology can meaningfully assist drivers on the road and reduce fatalities and car crashes, this department is doing its best to ensure that no progress is made. Lastly - it would be nice to see some actually meaningful and relevant statistics regarding Tesla autopilot incidents. Rather than reporting a meaningless number of incidents with 0 context, instead try comparing the number of Tesla incidents to non-Tesla incidents. And analyzing if there's a statistically significant difference between those two groups.
To whom it may concern. The Tesla auto pilot feature was substantially altered recently because of a recall and reports of driver misuse. Auto pilot is inherently a safety feature - under auto pilot the driver is assisted to navigate while being protected by collision avoidance. It also substantially reduces driver fatigue by relieving the driver of the duty to clutch the wheel. We are aware some drivers have abused this system or misused it by not attending to the driving task - and we support efforts to manage this behavior. However, the changes forced upon Tesla drivers have ruined autopilot - in both ineffective and illogical ways. Frequent alerts take driver attention OFF the road, including being chastised for looking at prior alerts. Many drivers will simply no longer use it. The consequence of ruining the driver autopilot experience has bad consequences for safely. To my knowledge, ~40,000 people died in automobile accidents in a typical year, and that number is rising as more drivers are distracted by cell phone use. Most of the deaths can be related to driver error. Advanced driver assistance features are the obvious answer. A few anomalies should not deter policy from missing the value of advanced assist features. Please let Tesla engineers return to more balanced alert mechanisms and pursue other more effective means of detecting and curtailing abuse. Far more deaths will occur if autopilot and other advanced systems are curtailed because features are rendered useless by restrictions the mostly punish safe drivers. Thank you.
While driving our new Tesla MYLR in heavy rain, with Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) on, we experienced two Front Collision Warnings (FCWs) in quick succession, causing the car to massively reduce speed, causing a car behind us to nearly hit us. I believe this is called "phantom braking" in the common parlance. I believe this is also an issue with the wiper system. We were driving about 55mph on a two lane road. It was raining hard and the wipers were set to Auto. The wipers weren't working fast enough to clear the rain well, and adjusting the wipers in the Tesla are not easy to change, requiring hitting the end of the left stalk, then scrolling left or right with a scroll wheel while looking at the screen. There was not another car in front of us and TACC (but not autosteer) was on. All of a sudden a loud alarm sound blared, a FCW appeared on the display, and the car slowed to about 35 mph. The car behind us got very close to hitting us. This happened again about 5 minutes later. It scared the bejeezus out of us. This seems very dangerous!
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving in reverse, the back-over protection camera was inoperable. The contact stated that due to the failure, the contact crashed into a parked vehicle which was parked behind the contact's vehicle. There was no damage to the other vehicle. However, the contact's vehicle was damaged on the driver's rear panel. The contact stated that after researching, the contact discovered the soon-to-be Tesla recall SB-24-00-002, in which notifications will be sent out in March. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,702.
Vehicle has frequent occurrences of phantom breaking while in cruise control. Tesla reviewed 3 occurrences and determined the system was working as Tesla intends it to and refuses to remedy. The system is prematurely identifying potential hazards which are not yet hazards and applying the brakes thereby creating a hazard due to vehicles being behind me and could reared my vehicle. One instance is driving on a 4 lane highway with a median, cross section traffic vehicle coming from left hand side pulls into the median and is not a hazard. The Tesla system decides the vehicle is a hazard and applies the brakes which could have resulted in a rear end collision. Another similar instance was a cross section vehicle at a stop sign which slightly moved forward while at the stop sign. The Tesla system decides the vehicle is a hazard and applies the brakes which could have resulted in a rear end collision. Tesla camera systems also falsely identify emergency vehicle lighting which results in immediate braking on an interstate. This system flaw almost resulted in an 18 wheeler rear ending me.
the federal safety agency changes that forced the Tesla update as part of campaign #23V‑838 do NOT make the vehicle’s autopilot system more safe. Moreover, the car is actually now MORE UNSAFE and distracting with disruptive beeping and alerts. the federal safety agency should have Tesla reverse the changes to basic autopilot in this update. Furthermore, the federal safety agency should pivot its focus to other manufacturers’ autopilot-equivalent software features, as many of them are even less restrictive or even more dangerous. For example, the blue cruise can disengage without any warning to the user. There have been no recalls relating to this.
I was driving my 2023 Tesla Model Y on I-680 South on Nov 8 2023. The car was on adaptive cruise control. I was driving within the speed limit. The truck infront of me abruptly stopped as there was another collision in the lane I was on. I applied brakes but the car did not stop on time, and I rear ended the truck. I have received the vehicle data report from Tesla. Attached the report for you reference. I believe the adaptive cruise control did not slow down as it should have and when I manually applied break, the vehicle did not stop.
Tesla wipers doesn't work in “automatic settings” this is quite dangerous and warrant a recall.
The cruise control has been braking for no apparent reason, putting myself and the people behind me at risk. It also tried to stop at multiple green lights rather than continue driving. The his also outs me, my passengers and people behind me at risk. There were no warnings about this behavior. I have the latest update and will also contact Tesla about the issue.
Car slams the brakes while on autopilot with no obstacles on the highway. Car speed reduced at least 20 miles for no reason. Weather was clear.
While driving at hwy speeds in the #2 lane the #1 lane to my left was closed with construction cones. I was in the lane with cruise control activated and driving at approx 70 mph with flow of traffic. I had been in this lane for a few miles when all of a sudden the car rapidly decelerated approx 10-15 mph in a very short distance. I took control of the acceleration by quickly taping my brakes. Luckily there was no one behind me, as it could have created an accident risk. My only guess is the car interpreted the line of cones as a hazard even though they were not in my lane.
False Forward Collision Warning took place on Jan 4, 2024 at 6:40pm in Herndon, VA while I was driving on Reston Pkwy: I was driving around 30mph on the rightmost lane, Tesla issued a false forward collision warning for a car that was in front of me, right before Dulles Access Rd exit. Driving conditions were clear with no snow, ice or rain. None of the cameras were blocked either, there was no daylight. False warnings (both sound, and red screen flash) created a safety risk by startling me, distracting me and creating unnecessary confusion.
My Tesla Model y is installing the same updates multiple times. The updates installing multiple times is causing erratic functionality issues with the car's software. Tesla has been unwilling to resolve the issue and claim the car is working just fine. When I asked the local service tech I was told the car shouldn't be installing the same update multiple times. I don't feel safe in my car when I don't know when it is going to act up next.
During highway driving, on two separate occasions that were two days apart, while using cruise control set to ~72MPH the vehicle suddenly tried to stop. It quickly decelerated by ~25MPH before I intervened by pressing the accelerator. There were no obstacles in the road and on the second instance there weren't any other vehicles in site (was in remote northern NH/VT). Had someone been driving behind me we very well could have been rear ended. I was driving with by wife and three kids and did not feel safe.
I was driving on a 2 lane road with cruise control engaged (not full auto pilot). As I approached an intersection with an oncoming semi-truck, the vehicle slammed on the emergency braking system slowing from 60 mph to 45 mph in about 30 feet. I think it is called phantom braking. I was driving into the sun at 2:45pm.
False Forward Collision Warning took place on [XXX] at 8:07am in Herndon, VA while I was driving on Eds Dr: I took a U turn at the intersection of Eds Dr to [XXX] Dr at the dedicated leftmost turn lane. There was a white minivan in front of me, with plenty of space between us, and both cars slowed down, almost stopped. Tesla issued a false warning when I entered the dedicated leftmost turn lane, which created a lot of confusion and stress on my side. Driving conditions are clear with no snow, no ice or rain. None of the car cameras were blocked either. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I experienced so called Phantom braking several times. First time it happened i wasn't aware about this and look up online and realized that this is a known problem and Tesla is aware of this. It is a safety issue when traveling on highway the vehicle unexpectedly slows down by about 20-30 mph. I complained to Tesla but they only gave me generic answer w/o any solution and plans to fix the problem. I noticed that Phantom braking happening mostly when i'm passing the big semi's, but not always. I have to always be on alert and make sure nobody follows me too close.
Automatic Emergency Braking caused the vehicle's speed to suddenly decrease by more than 40 MPH when traveling at highway speed (75 MPH) on a multiple lane interstate highway. Cars located behind our vehicle in the same lane had to take emergency evasive action to avoid rear-ending our vehicle. There was no obstacle in front of our vehicle that should have activated the AEB system. The incident occurred suddenly, spontaneously, and without any visual or audible warnings.
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with my new Tesla Model Y RWD, which I received on December 3, 2023. I have encountered two major issues with the vehicle and the customer service. First, I was promised by Tesla representatives that I would receive six months of free Supercharging after delivery, as part of a referral program. However, this offer has not been activated yet. When I contacted Tesla, one of the supervisors told me that I was not eligible for this offer, because I placed my order on September 23, before the program started. This is unacceptable, as I was assured multiple times by Tesla agents that they would honor the offer and match it before delivery. I also offered to take back my self-driving capability which is available to me for free for the first 3 months. Second, I have experienced serious problems with the auto-pilot feature of the vehicle. I have used it four times briefly in the last month, and every time the car slowed down significantly when it was supposed to cruise at 50 mph. Twice, I had to avoid rear collisions by pressing the accelerator or the brakes. I reported these incidents to Tesla through the app, but I have not received any response or explanation. The most alarming event occurred on December 26, when I was with my family on a return trip from IKEA in Woodbridge, VA. The weather was bad and the Tesla suddenly stopped on the road. I suspect that the front camera falsely detected an obstacle and caused the car to brake abruptly. These issues are not only frustrating, but also dangerous and potentially life-threatening. I am very disappointed with the quality and performance of the Tesla Model Y, as well as the lack of customer support and accountability. I request that Tesla either provide me with a satisfactory solution or compensate me for the inconvenience and risk that I have endured. I have a legal background and I am aware of my rights and remedies under the Lemon Law and other consumer protection laws.
I was driving in left lane of highway at night with cruise control engaged, traveling 70mph. Autopilot was NOT engaged - only the Traffic-Aware Cruise Control. I turned on my right turn signal to change lanes. At the same time a car came up behind me in the left lane and was tailgating me. As I began my lane change, my Tesla did a hard brake that slowed it down considerably and was not initiated by me. I had to accelerate hard to recover, and don’t know how the car behind me didn’t rear end me. There were no cars close ahead of me in any of the lanes. There was no warning displayed or sounded by my car. This vehicle had done the same thing more than once in the days prior to this incident, but in less dangerous situations and in the daytime. The car has not been seen by any service center, but I will be reporting the malfunction to Tesla. The car is new and had been on the road 12 days when this incident occurred.
I am reporting a false/phantom Tesla forward collision warning took place on Dec 13, 2023 at midday at 12:22 PM ET, clear road conditions with no rain, snow or ice, clear visibility without any fog, while I was driving on Alder Woods Dr. at Fairfax, VA. Tesla's forward collision warning system issued a warning for a legally parked car on the street which didn't pose any safety threat. The system mistaken the parked car with a moving car on the road and issued a warning which caused a lot of anxiety and distraction on me and my passengers traveling with me in the car. I passed the parked car without any problem, so did many other drivers ahead and behind me. This incident clearly shows that Tesla's forward collision system is not accurate and it is creating a lot of problems.
I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding the safety of my Tesla vehicle following the latest software update 2023.44.30 after I learned that the changes imposed were after the campaign #23V‑838. Prior to these alterations, I felt that my vehicle was safer, and the recent modifications have raised apprehensions about its overall safety performance. I have noticed that since the recent update, the frequency of beeping noises while driving and engaging auto pilot (the free built-in adaptive cruise control) has significantly increased during routine tasks such as adjusting the volume, changing music, or even turning the heat on or off. This heightened beeping is not only distracting but also induces stress and anxiety, creating an unnerving driving experience. It is my belief that the increased frequency of these beeping sounds may contribute to a less safe driving environment. I urge you to thoroughly investigate the impact of these audible alerts on driver concentration and overall safety. Your attention to both the safety features and the auditory aspects of these changes is crucial. I appreciate your prompt consideration and investigation into these issues for the well-being of Tesla vehicle owners. Sincerely,
Phantom breaking multiple times in one trip, car will break on empty road no obstruction or any reason for breaking almost caused an accident on highway
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