2023 Tesla Model Y seats problems

Filed Feb 3, 2026 · Seat belts, Seats · TX

Safety complaint: intermittent uncommanded rear-seat folding while driving; rear (3rd-row) seat belt anchorage integrity. Issue 1 — 2nd-row right seat: Since the purchase, the right-most rear passenger seat in the 2nd row intermittently activates its seat-folding motor while the vehicle is moving. In each event, a passenger was seated in that seat with the seatbelt fastened. The motor engages (audible whirring), and the seat attempts to fold fully forward; the passenger’s body prevents a complete fold, so the seat partially collapses while occupied. This has never occurred when the seat is unoccupied. The most recent documented event times provided to the manufacturer for electronic log review (CST): • Fri Jan 23: 7:40 AM; 7:41 AM • Mon Feb 2: 7:26 AM; 7:29 AM; 7:53 AM; 7:54 AM The manufacturer requested these exact times to check vehicle logs, but reported they could not find evidence in the logs and could not reproduce the issue during service/test drive. Issue 2 — 3rd-row seat belts: During a service visit on Feb 3, 2026, the manufacturer found that the 3rd-row seat belt anchors were not secured to the vehicle (documented as a safety concern) and performed a repair/adjustment to secure the left 3rd-row seat belt, then validated its operation afterward. The manufacturer had also previously documented (March 17, 2025) that the 3rd-row seat belts were not properly mounted and were unsafe/operational for passengers, but took no action in March 2025. No crash, fire, or known injuries to date. Request to the federal safety agency: Please log and review this as a potential safety defect involving (1) uncommanded activation of a rear seat-folding mechanism resulting in partial seat collapse while the seat is occupied and the vehicle is moving, and (2) rear (3rd-row) seat belt anchorage/installation integrity, based on recurring real-world events and manufacturer service documentation.

Filed Dec 6, 2025 · Seats · TX

Rear AC fails or does not turn on reliably, even with proper settings and a child in the back seat. • I live in Texas; inside temps can rapidly become dangerous, and a child’s body heats several times faster than an adult’s, increasing the risk of heatstroke. • The vehicle is under warranty, yet the defect remains unresolved and directly affects the safety of a restrained toddler who cannot move to cooler air

Filed Jun 23, 2025 · Airbags, Seats · WA

Front Passenger Seat Occupancy Sensor Defect – Tesla Vehicle In March 2025, my Tesla vehicle began displaying a warning message indicating a fault in the front passenger seat occupancy sensor system. I brought the car in for service on March 14, 2025, and the system was reportedly replaced. However, in April, the issue recurred — the seat sensor alarm would activate randomly, particularly after going over bumps, falsely indicating that a passenger was present when the seat was unoccupied. I returned the car to Tesla service, and they again claimed to have repaired the issue. Despite this, the false passenger occupancy alerts continued. In May, I contacted Tesla and submitted several videos clearly documenting the problem. Tesla performed a remote diagnostic and stated that the seat occupancy sensor was functioning as intended. On June 22, 2025, I brought the vehicle back in for in-person inspection. Tesla physically examined the vehicle and acknowledged that the false alarm could be reproduced in a similar model vehicle, effectively confirming a design defect. Despite this, Tesla maintained that the issue did not affect the safety or function of the front seat. I believe this defect presents two significant safety concerns: 1.The frequent false alarms are distracting during driving, increasing the risk of an accident. 2.The defect raises serious concerns about the reliability of airbag deployment and other safety systems, which rely on accurate seat occupancy detection in the event of a collision. I have video evidence and service documentation supporting the timeline and recurrence of this defect. The problem has been reviewed multiple times by Tesla service teams, both remotely and in person. Tesla has acknowledged the issue can be reproduced but has taken no corrective action. I have videos of the defect I can submit and documentation of my conversations with Tesla.

Filed Nov 19, 2024 · Airbags, Seat belts · NJ

Received a sign on my car 4 times- front right safety restraint system fault All 4 times I have taken my car to get serviced for them to fix it but still sign returned 4 times total.

Filed Oct 28, 2024 · Seats · 14,500 miles · CA · 4 injuries

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the front driver-side seat inadvertently adjusted the seat repeatedly; the contact had to pull over and allow the vehicle temperature to cool down for several minutes for the vehicle returned to normal operation. No warning light was illuminated however the "Restoring Driver Position Settings" warning message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that his daughter was in a booster seat, seated in the rear driver-side seat and was repeatedly hit by the driver-side seat; the impact of the driver-side seat left no bruises however, the contact along with his wife, his daughter, and his son all experienced emotional distress due to the incident. No medical attention was sought. The vehicle was taken back to the place of residence. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,500.

Filed Sep 23, 2024 · Seats · CA

This has happened several times and I am unsure what to do to prevent it. I have small children who have various things in the back seats. Sometimes during sudden braking a water bottle or a toy will roll under the drivers seat and under the pedals which makes for a very scary situation. I’ve read online that this has happened to other Tesla owners as well. I hope that there can be a fix for this as currently there is no barrier between the drivers seat and the back seats.

Filed Aug 27, 2024 · Airbags, Seat belts · NC

My vehicle is less than a year old and still under warranty. The dashboard display is showing the following error message: “front passenger safety restraint system fault”. Tesla informed me that the occupant classification safety system filter module has failed and must be replaced. Tesla has agreed to fix the component under warranty, but they informed me they could not schedule a repair until October 31. It is my understanding that damage to this component could prevent the airbags from functioning properly during an accident, so I am concerned that the car is not safe to operate with passengers. I have asked Tesla repeatedly if the vehicle is safe to operate and they refuse to answer the question.

Filed May 22, 2024 · Airbags, Seat belts · TX

I’ve received repeated errors of front right safety restraint system needs service with an indication of the airbags being disabled. Tesla has attempted to fix this on two occasions by replacing various wiring and seat belt parts, but the problem returns each time.

Filed Apr 21, 2024 · Seats · MO · 1 injury

We had our 5 year old son buckled in his forward facing car seat in the back passenger seat. When I started to drive my car, the front passenger seat started to move back, reclined on its own and fully crushed my sons legs in the back seat (fully reclined back). My son started to scream in pain. After securing the seat forward, we noticed our umbrella fell from the front seat and landed where you control the seat alignment in front. We were shocked to see that a 1 lbs umbrella can be heavy enough to control the seat alignment. If I hadn't quickly reacted to the seat moving back, it would have caused a serious fatal injury to my son. I strongly urge the manufacturer to consider fail proof ways to prevent this from happening.

Filed Mar 21, 2024 · Seats · OR

On two occasions, once for me, and once for my wife, when adjusting the seatback, the switch stuck and the seatback shoved me forcefully into the steer wheel. Both times while we were driving. This could have easily caused an accident, or, for a heavier person, caused significant injury.