2023 Tesla Model Y: screen or infotainment failure

Filed Nov 17, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · CA

On November 16, 2025, my Tesla Model Y experienced a complete and dangerous failure while driving. The touchscreen went totally blank and stopped responding. All essential driving information and safety functions were lost, including speedometer, gear selection, turn signals, HVAC/defrost, and vehicle controls. At the same time, the car made a continuous loud humming/buzzing sound and displayed a low coolant warning. This made the vehicle unsafe to operate because I could not see my speed, cannot shift properly, and could not access any safety controls. This is the second time my vehicle has experienced a critical malfunction. The first major incident occurred on July 28, 2025. A complaint has been filed with the federal safety agency under tracking number 11676662. Both failures involved sudden loss of essential functions, raising serious concerns about electrical, cooling system, or display system defects. I am reporting this because it is a serious safety risk and could lead to vehicle loss of control, inability to signal, or inability to see speed or gear position. The problem has been reported to Tesla and is pending evaluation at a Tesla service center. Warning messages and symptoms appeared at the moment of failure with no prior signs.

Filed Feb 20, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · NM

This is my 4th safety report about the same issue: unexpected braking while on cruise control. Since my last report, Tesla offered another free month of auto pilot but I did not take it for fear of this braking issue. On Tuesday [XXX] I was returning to my home in Las Cruces NM from Colorado. I was on [XXX] toward Albuquerque, and there was very little traffic. I decided to see if I could get away with the cruise control. As I was pulling into Bernalillo, there were some oncoming cars in a left-turn lane at a signal, and my car braked automatically...enough to lurch me forward. I decided to stop at the "new" Tesla dealer in Bernalillo (I got my car in Santa Fe) and ask about the automatic breaking and whether they'd fixed it. The 2 service employees looked at each other and one said "No". I then asked about whether I needed to re-boot my key card since my screen went blank while I was in CO, during a snow storm, parked. I luckily had my phone and on the Tesla App, under Roadside Service, it gave me the option to re-boot the screen! I did so. The serviceman said he didn't think the blank screen had anything to do with my key card, but I could re-boot it if I want to. (A prior complaint also reported the failed key card in less than a year and Tesla's unwillingness to replace it). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Dec 23, 2024 · Electrical · FL

The Main Display went completely dark and Required Rebooting of the Car when attempting to move the car from the PARKED state to DRIVE state. This was the second occurence of this issue.

Filed Jan 15, 2024 · Electrical, Fuel system · NC

I hit a rock at approximately 35 mph that got projected under my car and caused a bad leak in the battery coolant system. Received a low coolant warning about one minute after the incident. The alert indicated that the car was safe to drive but to schedule service asap. Tesla instructed me to drive to the local SC that is 15 min away when though enough coolant had leaked to render the user display black. I had no turn signals, no speedometer, nothing except the ability to move the car. Tesla alerted me the next day that the damaged occurred at a poorly protected point where the coolant lines connect to the HV battery and that the battery with less than 20K miles needs to be replaced. As a result, they discharged the energy from the battery to avoid a “thermal event”. In doing some research, I discovered a number of documented cases of similar failure due to the fact that a plastic part is used to protect this critical area and is known to break and not offer ample protection to the coolant lines and front drive system. I’m very concerned that had this occurred on the highway and I continued to drive that a “thermal event” would occur and put me in grave danger of a vehicle fire. This area is too critical for proper vehicle operation and safety around high voltage components to use plastic parts to protect them. I also discovered that earlier model Model 3s used a heavy cloth for this role before changing to the plastic version.

Filed Dec 24, 2023 · Lights, Visibility · GA

The backup camera failed to display any image, even with a vehicle restart by pushing the 2 buttons on the steering wheel to force a vehicle restart. I cannot see the back of the vehicle without the camera as the rearview window is so up high that it creates blind spots that I cannot see to safely get in or out of a parking spot and this creates a huge safety risk. Warnings that displayed was emergency braking unavailable and park assist unavailable. Also, the headlights on this vehicle is too bright that other drivers are flashing their high beam at me believing that I had the high beam on when I only have the low beam on. This creates a safety risk as the lights blind other drivers on the road and the same make and model of the vehicle can also create visibility problems when traveling in the opposite direction as it can also blind me. Those matrix headlight that can dim certain areas and not blind other drivers should be standard and enabled by default on all vehicles, including this one.

Filed Sep 13, 2023 · Electrical · CO

I was turning right from a residential street onto a busy street during rush hour. I heard a sound, which made me think I might have run over something. Immediately following the sound, an alert showed up on the car’s touch screen with the message: “Vehicle May not restart: Service required”. The car was immediately inoperable - the car could not move and it could not shift into neutral to be pushed off the road. The 12V battery of the car continued to function for roughly 10 minutes after the car became stuck, which I knew because I was able to exit my vehicle normally, the touch screen remained illuminated and I was able to turn my hazards on. It did eventually die and I became locked out of the car at that point. I was in the middle of a busy intersection with no hazard lighting at that point and the car could not be moved, so I called emergency services and requested a police officer for traffic redirection while I waited around an hour and a half for a tow. Regarding the initial sound that I heard, I checked under the car as well as in the street around it, and there were no signs of debris or any visible evidence of damage to the undercarriage of the vehicle. I can only assume that the sound that I heard was whatever failure that had occurred internally in the car. At the time of this incident, the car was charged to around 85% of battery, was only a few weeks old, had never been in any type of collision, or required any service. Tesla has inspected the vehicle and identified the malfunction as a failure of the front and rear drive inverter. The situation that I was in was dangerous to myself and to the other drivers on the road with me. A sudden and complete stop on a busy road or in a location without cell coverage could be life threatening. The fact that there were no warning lamps, messages or any warning symptoms of the failure is extremely concerning and puts drivers and others on the road with them at a high risk.

Filed Aug 21, 2023 · Electrical · CA

Today at 8:30am while Driving, my brand new Tesla: the touch screen went completely BLANK. I did not know how fast I was going. I was beyond scare. The safety FAILURE of this car is at its limit. What's next? The screen was blank the entire time while driving to a safe destination in Pasadena, CA. While I pulled over, I still had no way of know whether the car was in park, I could not control any devices as the screen was blank. (BLACK SCREEN). I called my husband who is a techy and he told me to hold down the two buttons on the steering wheel for 15 secs. which did reset the touchscreen. This car has too many BUGS and I do not want to die in this car. I can't pull over safety on the freeway all the time nor do I want to wait and see what happens down the road. I do have an appointment TOMORROW for something completely different (the dash cam ) but have been in contact with TESLA through the text portal and they have been made aware of my issueS. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN AS THE CAR IS ONLY 8 MONTHS OLD. MILES ON THE CAR 7,656 THERE IS A LEAK IN THE TRUNK CURRENTLY. THE DASHCAM DOESN'T WORK. The dash cam will turn on if the glovebox is open but it doesn't always work, however when the glovebox is closed it does not work at all. There is a list of problems and I hate doing this. $70K 6 months of waiting for what, a darn LEMON of a car. Last thing I want to say: I do NOT WANT to DIE IN THIS CAR. I'm not religious at all, but I DO NOT WANT TO DIE as this car doesn't seem safe. 7 months into owning it and man does it have problems. I don't know what more to say. I have contacted a lawyer to see what can be done. Mr. [XXX] from Woodland Hills, CA, appointment is on Wednesday. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)