37 of the
487 complaints about the 2020 Tesla Model Y are about the
throttle and cruise control — 8% of everything
reported for this model year.
Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before
900 miles.
F
37
Complaints
13
Crashes
0
Fires
3
Injuries
Exactly what failed
Vehicle Speed Control
3594.6%
Accelerator Pedal
25.4%
Acceleration & Cruise Control across every Tesla Model Y year
On Tuesday, [XXX], around [XXX] returning home and in my driveway when the following happened. Pulling into the left side of the driveway because a utility van was parked on the right side of the driveway with the rear door and driver’s side door opened with no one in the vicinity. There was not enough room to go forward into the garage. I was almost at a complete stop with the intention of getting out of the car to shut the drivers side door. That was when the car sped up at full speed and turned to the right into the van and continued in the right direction into the garage. The car was headed to the right back corner of the garage smashing into paint cans, a freezer, sink and cabinets. I had no control over the car from the time the car sped up and smashed into the back of the garage and it all happened in a matter of a few seconds. The vehicle has been totaled by the insurance company. This incident was recorded in the vehicle’s computer. The police department was called the same day and a police officer came to the house to record the incident. The car was towed to Gerber Collision & Glass, 10491 Corkscrew Commons Dr., Estero, FL 33928, phone (239) 947-6050. The car computer system should have recorded the event. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11656833 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Dorsey, IL
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On drives longer than 40 miles, camera faults cause cruise control systems to degrade in function and then when the faults are cleared, full functionality resumes without driver alerts. Side repeater camera feeds and rear camera feeds inconsistently load, or take an extended time period to load (10+ seconds). Tesla has confirmed that the autopilot computer (HW3) likely needs to be replaced, but this error/messaging is not directly accessible to the customer. The inconsistent failure behavior of the vehicle could easily lead less technical owners/drivers to incorrectly interpret how the car is behaving. The only message you receive while driving could be that 'cruise control is not available', and 'automatic emergency braking unavailable' with a message that the features may be restored later in the drive. My coworker has a 2022 Model Y and the same component failed on his vehicle and needed to be replaced under an extended warranty that was purchased from Tesla. I'm unsure how widespread the failure of this critical safety system is; we both purchased FSD and both had the same component fail and need replaced. I don't personally know others who own this vehicle with the FSD package to know for sure.
NHTSA complaint #11633239 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Cold Spring Harbor, NY
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I own a 2020 Tesla Y with Hardware version 3 and after a few weeks of a free trial, purchased Tesla's Full Self-Driving Software (FSD) version 12.3.6. Since then, the FSD software was updated to version 12.5.4 and then 12.5.4.1. FSD version 12.3.6 had some safety issues. But version 12.5.4 and 12.5.4.1 has had more issues that have resulted in nearly having accidents that I have had to suddenly avoid. FSD version 12.3.6 issues: 1. Wandering outside of center yellow dividing stripes when on a curvy two-lane roadway 2. Failing to yield to oncoming traffic when making a left turn and oncoming traffic was not clearly in view due to a curvy two-lane road 3. Attempting to make a left turn into a busy intersection when the turn signal was still red FSD version 12.5.4 and 12.5.4.1 additional issues: 1. Attempting to enter a two-lane roadway from a stop sign, when the perpendicular traffic was active and they had no stop sign, requiring me to slam on the brakes. 2. Sudden and erratic braking on a two-lane roadway, including directly under a signal, when no objects, people or other vehicles were in front of me, which nearly resulted in the vehicle behind me hitting me in the rear 3. Software sending a tone and screen alert to grab the steering wheel immediately, due to a "System Failure." 4. Software sending a tone and screen alert that to grab the steering wheel immediately, due to "one or more cameras blocked," when no cameras were blocked.
NHTSA complaint #11620036 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 68,000 milesNew York, NYCrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
The contact owned a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH in rainy weather, the vehicle inadvertently spun in circles, and he lost control of the vehicle. The contact took his foot off the accelerator pedal. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle crashed into an embankment and then spun twice before inadvertently driving into the forest and coming to a complete stop. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact and his father, who was a passenger, were uninjured. There was no medical attention received. The vehicle was first towed to the tow yard, and then the insurance company had it towed to the salvage yard, where it was deemed totaled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to contact the local dealer for the computer data. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.
NHTSA complaint #11611115 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 14,000 milesWest Hills, CACrash3 injured
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
The contact owned a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while reversing at low speed from his driveway, the accelerator pedal inadvertently depressed into the floorboard, resulting in sudden unintended acceleration. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The vehicle struck two other parked vehicles in another driveway before crashing into a residence. The residents were not injured. The contact sustained a fractured neck, and shoulder pain from his seat belt, and head pain from striking the steering wheel. The contact's front passenger sustained a bruised shoulder, and the rear passenger, who was laying down on the rear seats, rolled over during impact and hit the rear seats, sustaining back and leg pain. The contact and his passengers were transported by ambulance to the hospital. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard, where it was deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that after reviewing the event data recorder (EDR), the data showed that the contact had his foot depressed on the accelerator pedal during the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.
NHTSA complaint #11570095 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Coos Bay, OR
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While driving in cruise control mode, not auto steer, and with no vehicle in or obvious obstruction in front, the brakes will be applied without warning (phantom braking). It has happened multiple time in the years of ownership. It has happened once or twice with a vehicle following resulting in near rear-end collision. In one case this resulted in the follower reacting with "road rage," passing with horns blaring and braking in front of my vehicle. I have this recent incident on video as it just requires me to honk the horn and the last 5-10 minutes of driving is recorded.
NHTSA complaint #11541770 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 23,000 milesSan Diego, CACrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2020 Tesla Model Y. The contact was driving approximately 3 MPH as she was parking the vehicle, front end first, the vehicle independently accelerated as she removed her foot from the accelerator. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact's vehicle crashed into the vehicle's front end that had already been parked, the vehicle was not occupied. The contact stated that she depressed the brake with force. The contact stated that the force of the crash had moved the other vehicle out of the parking spot and into the lot. The contact's vehicle had a crushed front bumper and the other vehicle also had damage to the front bumper. The contact's vehicle was drivable. There were no injuries and the police were not involved. The contact had not been taken to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.
NHTSA complaint #11536365 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lombard, ILCrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
During phone calls, the system would start making sparking noises and stall the calls. While navigation was input parts of the screen would disappear. While backing up, the rear cameras would freeze and stall. The rear camera freezing had caused us to get into an accident, and caused us to have 4 near misses. When I was trying to download the latest software release, the software download froze and never downloaded. I started to drive to the Tesla dealership and as I was doing so, the screen picture of my vehicle disappeared along with the gear shift indicator, the surrounding cameras failed. Then when I put on my turn signal, the sound disappeared. Then eventually the indicator disappeared. The entire screen froze with no information, and then went black while I was driving to the Tesla dealership. The system was black and finally did a reboot after 4 minutes, all while I had no display of my speed. I took it into the dealership, and the checkin girl was concerned about the safety and gave me a loaner. The technician was not really concerned and said it was not able to replicate the issue and said there was no safety issue as you can still drive the car. This is not correct as you do not have the speed indication when your screen freezes or goes black. I sent them pictures as the screen kept doing one thing after the other in a matter on one drive from my home to the dealership in 15 minutes. This is similar to the other recalls that Tesla had to make on the model S and the Model X and some model Y's. This should have been taken care of under the current recalls for the infotainment system that the other models years were facing as it is giving the same issues on my model.
NHTSA complaint #11527838 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Centennial, CO
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While driving at highway speeds (50mph-80mph), on 2 lane or 4 lane highways, in the day or night, in sunny conditions and overcast sky's, while using the cruise control (auto-pilot), the car will suddenly and unexpectedly apply the brakes. It happens between 8 and 10 times on every road trip, each way. Not only is it a shock to me as there is never a visual obstacle that seems to be causing the hard braking, but it is a dangerous safety issue to other motorists too. This has caused cars behind me to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision. Other motorists have mistaken this hard braking as me "Brake-Checking" them and very nearly cause a road-rage incident. I've had the car for about a year and have opened several service appointments with Tesla. Each time they close the case before the service appointment with a version of the reply "this is normal" and "there is nothing to repair". They also claim that the car will learn how the react next time by my reaction to the incident this time. I have reacted the same way (by pushing the accelerator pedal until it regains forward motion) each time this has happened in the 8-10 times on each of the 6-8 road trips I've made in the last year. Clearly, the car isn't learning anything from my reaction to the sudden and unexpected braking. My safety is worth my time to make them take this seriously as they don't seem to be concerned with my safety!
NHTSA complaint #11527902 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Concord, MA
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Car accelerated on its own, with no pedal pressure. My right foot was on the mat
NHTSA complaint #11523021 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vail, AZ
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Nearly Every Single day on my drive home north on AZ hwy 90 my 2020 Tesla Model Y abruptly disengages and breaks from cruise control. it is especially startling when I pass a vehicle and then return to my lane only to have the car dramatically slow. I could be ok if it just disengaged cruise but daily multiple times it breaks on a fast moving highway
NHTSA complaint #11513779 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Newport, RI
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
• Cruise control braked hard unexpectedly and for no reason. I'm describing a specific instance here, but this happens regularly. Specifically, the traffic aware system frequently misinterprets the data it is collecting. In this case, a car in an exit lane, slowing down to take a ramp. I was not in that lane, but there was no painted line between my lane and the exit lane. My car slowed to match the speed of the car on the exit ramp. In other cases, my car has slowed drastically when a car in a slower lane slightly veered into my lane by only a couple inches. There has been no risk of a collision when this happens, but my car suddenly braking then causes a new risk of collision for the cars behind me. • Car rapidly decelerated from 70mph to 35 mph while there was another car behind me. He was caught off guard and had to manually brake hard himself to avoid hitting me • There are numerous independent confirmations of this behavior online, but I do not specifically know of any from an official "independent service center." Tesla denies the existence of the behavior. • There is no real "component" to inspect, this is a software issue • There were no warnings or other indications before it happened.
NHTSA complaint #11507574 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fort Collins, CO
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While driving on the highway at 59 mph using Tesla Autopilot functionality the vehicle braked so hard the wheels locked up and skidded without warning. There was no vehicle directly in front but there were two semi trucks on either side and vehicle directly behind me. The vehicle behind had to brake hard not to run into me. I took control of the vehicle and pressed the accelerator to regain speed and avoid an collision.
NHTSA complaint #11507405 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Brandon, FL
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Phantom braking during a drive on highway. Out of no where, the car breaks even when there is no one stopping in front of you. This resulted in car behind panicking and almost rear ending.
NHTSA complaint #11498494 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Scottsdale, AZ
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While driving on highway using cruise control, the vehicle (without the driver's assistance) applied brakes to quickly slow the rate of speed. This occurred three times in the span of ten minutes. The weather was sunny and no other vehicles or objects were in the vicinity of my vehicle. After the third occurrence, I stopped using cruise control for the remainder of the trip.
NHTSA complaint #11495898 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Longmont, CO
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On a 900 mile drive, in one day, the “speed cruise control” would abruptly brake, as if it were seeing someone in front of us. It did this at a minimum 5 times. Never was there a car closer than 1/4 of a mile in front of us. Once it went from 78mph to 38mph in about 3 seconds, when there was a car about 3 car lengths behind us. On the return 900 mile drive it continued, at a lesser rate. I have reported this to Tesla, and they claim “my” car reports do not show anything out of the ordinary, and these errors are sometimes caused by…and they gave numerous reasons, such as speed limit data inaccuracies, etc. they also have determined that my car does not show any computer faults so there is nothing they can do. Unacceptable
NHTSA complaint #11495597 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Chicago, IL
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
During routine highway driving while using the included Autopilot (Adaptive Cruise Control) software, the vehicle will suddenly and without warning abruptly slow and apply breaks. This slowing can occur when traveling at 70mph (the posted speed limit) and attempt to slow to a speed of 45mph. This change causes a great safety hazard in the event of being closely followed or rear ended. This phenomenon is known to tesla and been colloquially termed "phantom breaking". No hazard or other external reason is present to merit a sudden breaking.
NHTSA complaint #11493436 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hot Springs, SD
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While on cruise control at @72mph the car has been “phantom” braking. The last time there were flurries, but the first several times there was nothing impeding the car nor were any vehicles within camera range. This is a very unsettling feeling. No, no and no. There have been reports to your site with this regard. tyvm
NHTSA complaint #11490740 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
San Bruno, CA
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The GPS is malfunctioning- showing the car in a random location, direction and speed. All automation needs to be disabled. The car will attempt to make a non-existent turn based on where it thinks it is, or will speed up or will suddenly decelerate because it thinks it is coming up to a cross street or traffic control.
NHTSA complaint #11478664 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Laguna Niguel, CACrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Re: VIN-[XXX] My wife was driving the car in this accident. I am reporting it as it happened. When: Oct 29, 2021 at about 2:45 +/- 40 minutes. Where: in the parking lot of a shopping center. In Quail Hills shopping center in Irvine, California. Summary of what happened: a) Unintended and sudden acceleration. The car accelerated suddenly by itself and caused an accident when I was trying to park the car. b) Two more cars were involved and were damaged. My car did not respond to brake and it hit two other cars. c) The car was inspected by repair center and was fixed. Damages were extensive. d) A warning appeared on the screen that said "Automatic braking disabled." during or after the accident. e) We reported the accident to Tesla and requested the EDR/crash data report. They have not provided that. I called several times, sent emails and even went to a Tesla service center. But have no received the report yet. The best way to reach me is via my cell phone:[XXX]. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
NHTSA complaint #11467419 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Springdale, AR
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Phantom Breaking - While utilizing cruise control (not even autonomous driving function) the car will randomly slow down/ apply breaks and decrease speed without warning. This has happened multiple times and there is no warning before hand 1) Looks to be the cruise/ automatic emergency breaking malfunctioning. Yes available 2) Dramatic slow down/ breaking on highways going ~70 MPH with cars behind threatens to lead to an accident 3) I have seen numerous corroborating reports but have not taken my car in yet as it does not seem like a solution has been found 4) No 5) No
NHTSA complaint #11466995 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Liberty, MO
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Touchscreen repeatedly freezes. Won’t show gear selection, speed, or any other items. The touchscreen freezes then takes some time to crash to black screen before reboot. Has happened daily since Tesla update. Tesla refuses to provide a fix and continues to tell us to wait for an update. This is unsafe.
NHTSA complaint #11466013 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Huntersville, NC
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Four times in the last six weeks (three while driving) the car has lost all power. My screen either freezes or goes completely black so I have no speedometer, the blinkers do not work, I cannot control the windows or open the doors without the manual override. This usually lasts for 3-5 minutes, sometimes longer - and then the computer resets and everything reloads. Tesla is telling me it is a known issue and I have to wait until they figure out the firmware issue and get the next update. They were not at all concerned about the safety of the car and gave me no suggestions on how to continue to drive safely. The date entered below is the most recent occurrence
NHTSA complaint #11460855 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Daniel Island, SC
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While using adaptive cruise control, the car decelerates for no apparent reason. The rapid deceleration of the vehicle could cause the following car to rear end my car. There is no warning when this occurs. I have not reported it to the manufacturer because forums and news show that all owners are impacted. This has happened many times.
NHTSA complaint #11456753 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Mokena, IL
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Operating the vehicle at highway speed of 70 miles per hour on interstate 80 in Illinois. No visible traffic going in either direction for approximately 1/2 mile in all directions when the automatic braking happened for no apparent reason. Scared my wife and myself (both 74 years old) to death. Threw us both forward. My wife now refuses to drive in this Tesla and wants me to sell it. "Phantom Braking" is not an acceptable phenomenon. If there was a tailgating semi behind us we would both be dead today before people die. This must be fixed!!!
NHTSA complaint #11456499 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lake Oswego, OR
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
When using the autonomous driving mode, the car unexpectedly decelerates with no warning and with no obvious traffic or other issue triggering the behavior. This has happened several times in dry, light conditions with no surrounding traffic. After experiencing this I have not used the autonomous mode again as it's completely unsafe.
NHTSA complaint #11452746 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Highland Heights, OHCrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
We were trying to park the car at Costco Parking lot on Jan 14th, 2022 in the early afternoon. A car had pulled out of a parking spot and indicated us to move forward in that spot. When we tried to move forward,the vehicle suddenly accelerated and hit three other cars. The airbags did not come on. We have asked Tesla to look into this and are awaiting a response. There was damage to front end, both bumpers, hoods, front grill etc. The accident was reported to the Police, Insurance Company and Tesla. The vehicle was towed to Tesla dealership and then was sent to another repair facility, Gerber Collision in Beria, Ohio.
NHTSA complaint #11451841 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Sterling, IL
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On open freeway, I 76 between 7 am and 8 am Tuesday November 16, between Ogdallala NE and Brush CO. Using adaptive cruise control with autopilot steering (as well as without autosteer), multiple episodes of severe "phantom breaking" where the car slams on the breaks for no apparent reason. No other cars around. Flat, clear open freeway. Reported the issue to Tesla service. Even though there were multiple (>10 episodes in one hour) they have demanded to know the exact time stamp. I was able to give time within 1 hour period, vehicle location. Service says if there is a hardware issue they will look at it. If it is "firmware" it will need to wait for a firm ware update. This is dangerous. What if the car slams on the breaks at 80mph, with someone following close behind? You might be rearended. Really serious safety issue. My car has latest FSD beta 10.4. This is much worse than before this "upgrade"
NHTSA complaint #11440863 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Jericho, NY
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The car accelerates on its own, twice in last two weeks. First time was at a intersection, I applied accelerator pedal after the light turned green, with normal pressure. The car sped up unexpectedly and I had to immediately apply brake to slow it down. The second time I put it in reversal and as soon as I applied accelerator it jerked and sped up unexpectedly. Luckily both time the acceleration occurred when car were in slow speed and applying brake stopped acceleration. it also occurred twice before these recent two incidents since we bought the car 10 month ago but they happened far apart in time and we were not sure of its occurance. But the frequency with which the unexpected acceleration happens has become alarming and we become more sure of the certainty. I start to worry about what would happen if this occurs when the car is moving at high speed and whether applying brakes can be effective to correct the acceleration.
NHTSA complaint #11426266 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Naperville, ILCrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
My wife and I drove into a parking lot in a strip mall located at 1301 IL Route 59 to park the car. I was driving very slow at 5 miles an hour. As I pulled into a parking spot facing IL Route 59 which is a three lane highway, the vehicle malfunctioned causing it to uncontrollably accelerate. I was not able to control the car as it jumped the curb of the parking lot and went through the grass on the side of the roadway towards IL Route 59. To avoid driving onto IL Route 59 I was able to steer the car right and struck an AT&T telephone box which brought the car to a halt. Police arrived on the scene to check the status of the accident. A police complaint has been filed. Police did not issue a citation to me as this was not my fault and there was clearly a defect in the car that caused this accident. Luckily my wife and I were not injured and the car was towed to a body shop for repair. I called Tesla customer support and they said that they would review the car diagnostics to determine the problem. There were no warnings, symptoms or messages to indicate this behavior by the car. It just accelerated in its own. Please see attached documents for more information.
NHTSA complaint #11423453 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.