2023 Tesla Model Y: windshield wiper failure

Filed Nov 2, 2026 · Brakes, Electrical · AZ

I am writing to formally escalate the recurring and increasingly serious technical and safety issues with my Tesla Model Y. Since July 2026, my vehicle has experienced multiple system malfunctions despite three service appointments, including the replacement of the vehicle computer during the most recent service. The frequency, severity, and nature of these failures have raised serious concerns regarding the vehicle’s reliability, roadworthiness, and overall safety. What initially appeared to be intermittent system alerts has now escalated to situations involving reduced propulsion, loss of critical vehicle functionality, and the vehicle becoming completely immobile while driving. I am extremely disappointed that these issues continue to occur even after multiple service interventions. I no longer have confidence in the vehicle’s ability to operate safely and reliably. he above incidents, combined with the repeated failures since July 2026, demonstrate a pattern of unresolved and potentially serious vehicle malfunctions. My concerns include: Repeated Park Assist and Adaptive Headlights malfunctions. Camera failures and abnormal vehicle visualizations. Vehicle computer replacement without lasting resolution. Electrical system power reduction and potential vehicle shutdown. Front motor disabling and reduced propulsion. Sudden reduction in acceleration and maximum speed. Windshield wiper failure during rainy weather. Automatic Vehicle Hold becoming unavailable. Automatic Emergency Braking becoming unavailable. Lane Departure Avoidance becoming unavailable. Vehicle becoming completely immobile while driving. Potential inability to restart the vehicle. Failure of driver-side door and trunk access. Unpredictable vehicle behavior and loss of confidence in its safety. These are not merely inconvenience-related issues. They involve fundamental vehicle operating systems and safety-related functions.

Filed Sep 23, 2026 · Electrical, Steering · 9,149 miles · NJ

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from under the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was determined that the front lateral link assembly and full body suspension needed to be replaced. While a USB cord was connected to the USB port, the USB cord overheated and almost burned out due to a battery surcharge, and the air was leaking into the front passenger’s side door. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that while attempting to make a left turn at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became stiff and failed to turn as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the trunk door latch was rusted and the front windshield wipers activated independently. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,149.

Filed Jun 20, 2026 · Driver assistance · GA · crash

The car's computer shorts out and disables all safety features including navigation, blind spot monitoring, all cameras, emergency braking, autopilot, lanekeeping, auto headlights and wipers. This is a known issue that Tesla will not repair. This resulted in a collision due to poor rear visibility, lack of cameras, and disabled emergency braking. In addition, intermittently there is loss of power steering. Despite this being a known issue, Tesla will not replace my computer, insisting I pay several thousands of dollars for the repair. I feel they must issue a recall and cover this safety defect. The car software cannot be updated, either. Please intervene. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] I do not have the claim information for the other car involved, but can get from State Farm. I do have the repair costs for my vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 15, 2025 · Driver assistance · GA

This started at about 65000 miles in my 2023 Model Y. The rear camera first lost picture and I received a warning that it may be intermittent. It has progressed now to the point that autopilot, navigation, all cameras, cruise control, auto headlight, and auto wipers are all nonfunctional. The car does not know its location. All safety features such as lanekeeping, cross traffic alert, auto braking are disabled. The rearview camera no longer functions. Software updates no longer complete downloading. While there are numerous reports of computer short circuits in hardware 4 cars, the only solution I am offered is to have the computer replaced at my own cost of just under 3000 dollars. And that would be warranted only for one year or 12500 miles. Reviewing the submissions on the federal safety agency website as well as searching online, this problem is not infrequent. I do not feel safe letting my wife or daughter drive the car. Certain 2024 and 2025 models with this problem have been recalled for new computers. This must be expanded to include 2023 models as well.

Filed Aug 18, 2025 · Visibility · NJ

Front wipers stoped during use on windscreen, returned to functionality and then minutes later shut down. No ability to manually or via rain sense to get arms to move. Performed soft, hard, and thired suggested Tesla reboot. Not resolved. Service scheduled for 15 days rendering vehicle unsafe to drive.

Filed Aug 2, 2024 · Driver assistance, Visibility · CA

The automatic windshield wipers will not turn on during rain and mist. Also the wipers will not turn on when there is water and visibility is very poor. For unknow reason the car jammed the brake almost bringing the car to a stop on the freeway on cruise control and nearly caused a pile up.

Filed Jul 31, 2024 · Visibility · GA

I have a complaint about the wiper system. The wiper settings include "Off", "Auto", and numbers 1-4 corresponding to different wiper speeds. The "Auto" detection is based on the front facing camera rather than any rain sensors, and is incredibly inconsistent. It regularly turns on the wipers in completely clear and dry conditions and often fails to turn on the wipers even in heavy rain. This would be more of an annoyance than an issue if it were possible to adjust the wiper speed manually, but it seems that the wipers still utilize some form of auto detection even when set to numbers 1-4. In this particular incident, I was driving in heavy rain, and had the wipers set to "4", the highest setting. Even in this setting, the wiper speed would often slow down regardless of the weather conditions, drastically reducing visibility in an unpredictable manner. At one point, the wipers, still manually set to the highest setting, stopped altogether, and I instantly lost all visibility and I had to emergency brake, as I could not see the road. On the highest setting, the wipers stopped for well over a second, and did not start again until I pressed the wiper button, restarting the wipers. It is one thing to rely on a proprietary and unreliable detection system when wipers are set to "Auto", but I feel it is a major security issue to deceptively allow this unreliable rain detection to override manual wiper settings set by the driver to the extent that the wipers may stop moving entirely in the middle of a downpour on the highest setting.

Filed Jun 11, 2024 · Visibility · MA

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the windshield wiper was activated; however, the windshield wiper blades to function as intended. The contact stated that the wipers were set on automatic; however, the wipers failed to activate as needed. The contact stated that due to the failure, the vehicle was almost involved in a crash. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed May 30, 2024 · Visibility · MI

While driving on a freeway during very heavy rain, the windshield wipers were working in auto mode. All of a sudden the wipers stopped working. Even though the visibility was almost non existent due to windshield wipers not working, I managed safely to pull over to the curb of the freeway. Upon further investigation, I realized that the auto mode of windshield wipers was not working, but manual mode was working. With the manual mode I was able to get home safely. At home in my driveway I tried the auto mode again and it worked for a few seconds and stopped. Two days later my wife contacted Tesla about the issue and was informed by service representative that it`s a known problem to Tesla for the vehicle, but as of now they do not have a fix for the problem and there is no known expected time for the fix.

Filed May 28, 2024 · Visibility · WA

Windshield wipers put in manual maximum sensitivity mode. During the trip they stopped working multiple times. They just froze. When a manual one time wipe button was pressed wipers menu showed “II” manual sensitivity and started working. Selected back manual III sensitivity. Wipers worked for a while and stopped again. SW version: 2024.14.6. Autopilot was not engaged.

Filed May 3, 2024 · Visibility · CA

The "auto" setting of the windshield wipers does not work 90% of the time. It cannot sense rain properly. My grandmother's 2002 Lexus had better rain-sensing wipers than my 2023 Tesla. This is extremely hazardous in the sense that at medium speeds, when water from rain does NOT quickly evacuate the windshield, it causes a massive block to the view of all patrons in the car. Do you think it is important for the driver to see the road in front of them? It is also very dangerous because when this does not work, the quickest way to change the setting is to tap the end of the left stalk with your left hand, and then QUICKLY use your right hand to select the desired wiper speed on the car's screen. This is a dangerous task to have to do quickly when you cannot see what is in front of you.

Filed Apr 20, 2024 · Driver assistance · CO

I was driving our Tesla Model Y and, when attempting to use the windshield wiper, full self driving was enabled. The feature was never enabled my by husband or I through the touch screen on the car. We purposefully did not want to be helping to test this feature as we have a 2 year old and 2 month old that are often in the car with us (both of whom were in the car when this happened). This happened twice on my drive on the afternoon of [XXX]. I did not have a destination plugged into the map on the tesla and was navigating via google maps on my phone (which does seem to be required for this feature to be enabled according to Tesla's help video on youtube: [XXX] ). Both times, a pop up appeared on the tesla screen asking me to give feedback on the auto driving feature while I was driving. Both times, I was able to disable the feature after about 5 seconds by pressing the brake pedal. Upon returning home, my husband was able to go into the car's settings and return the car to "traffic-aware cruise control." He was able to confirm that "Full Self Driving (supervised)" had been selected despite neither of us enabling it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)