2017 Tesla Model S Brakes Problems

During a road trip (May 2023) with cruise control activated, I had at least 5 phantom braking events. The most serious was in Las Vegas on the freeway with a very severe braking event. I now no longer use cruise control in crowded traffic so that I won't get rear ended when a phantom braking event happens.

This alert is about "phantom braking", which is well known to Tesla owners, and the subject of much online discussion among owners who seem to all experience this and are furious that it continues to exist. Here's what happens, very, very often yet: with adaptive cruise control engaged (with or without "autopilot", ie 'autosteer' also engaged), the brakes are applied suddenly without any need for braking (no objects in the way of travel, etc). We just completed a trip on I-94 from Billings/Red Lodge, Montana across North Dakota, where phantom braking was experienced probably 50 times, with no other vehicles ahead of us, and on perfectly dry pavement, etc. There had also been very dangerous icy conditions (lots of even "skating rink ice") on the stretch of I-94 in Montana, from Billings into North Dakota. Had the phantom braking occurred on one of the sporadic ice patches further east, it could have easily caused a serious accident, not just been a scary nuisance. In situations with heavy traffic, phantom braking could easily result in rear-end collisions by cars that may be following too close to react before we, the Tesla drivers, override the phantom braking by hitting the accelerator--even that simple maneuver cannot be executed before the car has suddenly decelerated 10-20 mph or more. Some of the phantom braking seems to have been somewhat corrected where we'd first encountered it, on I-394 west of dntn Minneapolis--it doesn't happen as often now as it did a few years ago. There we'd suspected it may have been triggered by the shadows cast on the pavement ahead of us by overhead bridges. But this rash of events across North Dakota this week brought our worst memories and fears back with a vengeance--and with zero theories that could explain it. On a recent online discussion about this issue, there were several pleas for Tesla to give us a "dumb cruise control" option till this gets fixed. Please help foster solutions to this difficult situation! Thank you.

Vehicle automatically and unexpectedly applies brakes when using Cruise Control when no other cars are in proximity or approaching. Sometimes braking is light but other times it is a jolt that is extremely starling. Often happens multiple times within minutes. Unpredictable when it will occur. I have taken the vehicle to Tesla 3 times and they say that they know about the problem but their Autopilot is still in Beta and are not actively working on a fix. On 4/28/2022, while on a trip, there were 5 incidents between 9:51am and 1:43pm.

On several occasions, I have been doing highway driving, and my 2017 Tesla Model S suddenly brakes without warning. It happens primarily on cruise control and around curves on the highway. On a trip to Atlanta earlier this year, it happened twice. I bought the car used in 2021, and it drives very well, but the unexpected braking at high speeds is scary.

On at least three (3) separate occasions, my Tesla has automatically slammed on the brakes. Once it happened while driving on Hwy 101 in high speed traffic flow. I was passing a right side on-ramp and I believe the Tesla got confused when it saw a car approaching the highway from the merge lane on my right. One time it happened on Hwy 101 in a construction zone marked 55mph. Perhaps the auto drive cameras got confused by the poorly marked road and lack of lane markings as traffic merged. One of the times it happened in Santa Barbara on State St, in a 35 mph zone. In each of the above cases, *I was not in autodrive*. I was subscribed to Beta software updates, but after these scary incidents, I discontinued Beta and went back to Standard updates.

Multiple times during our drive experienced random braking and alert sounds going off. Had wife and dog in the car which were also jolted forward due to the sudden braking in the middle of the freeway. Clear weather (post-rain) in night conditions.

When in Full Self Driving mode, on the highway going on an overpass.... the vehicle suddenly applies the brakes. Imagine going from 70 mph to 40 for no reason. I discussed with Tesla, they said the vehicle is reading the speed limit from the road below the overpass. Very unsafe.

Ever since I purchased this car I have suffered from Phantom Braking when using Cruise Control. As a result, I am unable to use any of the advanced Autopilot features. I spent $10,000 for something that has never even begun to work. Phantom Braking occurs seemingly at random, with no vehicles in front, nothing on the road and no overpasses or shadows. I try every few months to see if anything has improved, most recently in January on 101 north of Petaluma. The car suddenly braked, freaking out my passenger. I only try it when no other vehicles are around, so that I am not rear-ended when it happens, after some very scary near-rear-ending events early on. I have reported this problem to Tesla on MANY occasions but after being told "it is a known problem" I have given up reporting it. Is it repeatable? Yes, just drive on cruise control. Safety risk is being rear-ended. Has the problem reproduced by service? No, has it been confirmed, Yes. Has it been inspected by Tesla? Yes Warnings prior to the failure? No

Driving with autopliot engaged. I was in the left lane of a two lane highway when another car entered the highway to my right and car suddenly slammed on the brakes. i disengaged the autopilot. It happen several more time, so it is now a function I no longer use unless the highway is empty. I believe is was a $1000 option.

The brakes have engaged while driving at high speeds (perhaps on about a half dozen occasions) when using either the adaptive cruise control or auto pilot, at a time when there were no road hazards or other cars in the forward or side vicinities. The braking that occurred was severe - a hard braking if you will. On two occasions, this same kind of braking occurred at the same point on a certain freeway that I was traveling on. This braking also occurred once while driving on a city street at low speeds with auto pilot engaged. The dates in which these incidents occurred were all in 2021. The only specific time frame I remember was in July 2021

THIS IS MY SECOND TESLA. I'VE HAD NOISES IN SUSPENSION AND HAVE BEEN TOLD IT WAS A CONTROL ARM AND PAID FOR IT. NOISE IMMEDIATELY RETURNED. LATER TOLD ITS STABILIZER. THAT WAS ON FIRST TESLA. MEDIA CONTROL UNIT CONSTANTLY FAILED. SECOND TESLA - [XXX]- SUSPENSION PROBLEMS. SOMETHING FEELS LIKE IT WILL POP OF I TURN WHEEL TOO FAR AND THE BRAKE OR SOMETHING MAKES A LOUD NOISE WHEN DISENGAGING. THEY SAY THEY CAN'T DUPLICATE BUT IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME I BRAKE OR RELEASE HOLD. MY MCU IS FAILING ON THIS CAR. THEY REPLACED THE RAM BUT IT STILL FAILS. GPS IS BARELY FUNCTIONAL AND MY REVERSE CAMERA WILL NOT APPEAR MANY TIMES. SOMETIMES MY CAR WON'T CHARGE. THEY IGNORE AND SAY IT'S NORMAL. MCU NEEDS REPLACEMENT. I SPOKE TO A TESLA EMPLOYEE AND I'M SURE YOU KNOW, BUT HE SAYS THEY ONLY WIPE AND RECYCLE THE RAM USED ON THE MCU. THAT WOULD EXPLAIN FAST FAILURES AGAIN. THEY ARE TRYING TO STALL OUR WARRANTIES OUT TO FORCE PURCHASE OF THE SECOND MCU THAT THEY CLAIM IS THE BEST SOLUTION. THEY ARE NOT GOING TO STOP THESE BEHAVIORS IF WE AREN'T PROTECTED. I HAVE VIDEO I CAN SHARE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*TR

THE CAR FAILED TO COME OUT OF THE ENHANCED AUTOPILOT MODE, EVEN AFTER PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDALS, AND WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH A RED LIGHT, CAUSING A COLLISION RESULTING IN TOTAL LOSS OF BOTH VEHICLES. I BELIEVE THE 'SELF DRIVING MODE', OR THE ENHANCED AUTOPILOT MODE WAS DEFECTIVE. WE WOULD LIKE TO GET THE VEHICLE DATA PERTAINING TO EVENTS JUST BEFORE THE CRASH, BUT TESLA WOULD NOT GIVE IT WITHOUT A COURT ORDER. EVEN BEFORE THIS INCIDENT I HAD NOTICED THAT ENHANCED AUTOPILOT MODE MADE DANGEROUS MOVES ON HIGHWAY. AT ONE INSTANCE, I WAS DRIVING IN THE RIGHTMOST LANE (IN THE ENHANCED AUTOPILOT MODE), AND A DRIVER TRYING TO MERGE IN THE HIGHWAY WAS NOT WILLING TO SLOW DOWN, BUT NEITHER DID THE TESLA, AND I HAD TO BRAKE TO AVOID THE COLLISION. THE AUTOPILOT DID NOT DETECT THE OTHER CAR THAT WAS RAPIDLY CLOSING IN TO THE TESLA.

WE WERE IN A PARKING LOT OF "KIDQUEST MUSEUM" IN BELLEVUE , WA. , TAKING OUR GRAND DAUGHTER, ONE YEAR OLD, TO THE MUSEUM. OUR CAR WAS IN STATIONARY POSITION. WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO PARK. DURING THIS TIME, OUR MODEL X, TOOK OFF WITH UNINTENDED ACCELERATION AND WE COULD NOT CONTROL THE CAR. IT WAS INSTANTANEOUS, OUR CAR WENT AND HIT A PARKED CHEVY VAN. THIS VAN FWENT UPSIDE DOWN AND WENT OVER THE FENCE INTO THE LOT NEXT TO IT. AFTER THE IMPACT OUR CAR WENT AND HIT ELETRIC POLE, WENT INTO BUSHES AND OVER AN ELECTRICAL BOX OF 5 BY 5. I COULD NOT OPEN THE DOOR. THERE WAS SMOKE IN THE CAR (MY WIFE THINKS SMOKE MIGHT HAVE STARTED WHILE THE CAR WAS ACCELERATING"). MUSEUM STAFF CAME AND OPENED THE PASSENGER DOOR. AFTER SHE GOT OUT, FIRST THING THEY DID WAS TO OPEN THE REAR PASSENGER DOOR AND TOOK OUT OUR GRANDDAUGHTER. I CAME OUT THRU PASSENGER DOO. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS HURT. MANY OF THE AIRBAGS CAME OUT. WE ARE UNBELIEVABLY LUCKY. THE PARKING LOT IS APPROXIMATELY 100 FT X 100. THIS IS THE PARKING LOT USUALLY WHERE MANY KIDS ARE IN THE LOT. FORTUNATELY THAT MOMENT THERE WAS NONE. ACCIDENT HAPPENED AROUND 4:20 P.M . WEATHER WAS GRAY BUT NO RAIN. WE STILL CAN NOT COMPREHEND HOW CAR CAN TAKE OFF AT THAT SPEED. NONE OF THE EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM OR THE CAMERAS WORKED TO STOP THE CAR

PLEASE NOTE - THIS IS A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE TESLA MODEL 3 WHICH DOES NOT YET APPEAR ON YOUR DATABASE. AT LEAST 50 OF THESE HAVE ALREADY BEEN RELEASED TO TESLA EMPLOYEE GUINEA PIGS AND ARE LOOSE ON THE HIGHWAYS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THOUSANDS MORE WILL BE ON THE ROADS SOON. THE FOLLOWING VIDEO SHOWS JUST HOW MUCH OF A DANGEROUS DISTRACTION THE CENTRAL TOUCH-SCREEN IS: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=JL7A-9DGSB0 ALMOST EVERY FUNCTION OF THE CAR IS CONTROLLED BY THE TOUCH SCREEN. THE MAN WHO POSTED THIS VIDEO IS PROBABLY TYPICAL OF THE TYPE OF PERSON WHO WILL BE DRIVING THESE CARS. HE IS YOUNG, ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT NEW TECHNOLOGY AND OVERCONFIDENT IN HIS ABILITIES. HE STATES THAT HE CAN SEE THE TOUCH-SCREEN OUT OF HIS PERIPHERAL VISION WHILE STILL WATCHING THE ROAD AHEAD. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. A SIMPLE EXPERIMENT USING MY OWN LAPTOP WHILST SITTING IN FRONT OF A WINDOW PROVES THAT ALTHOUGH I CAN SEE THE IMAGE OF THE SCREEN IN MY PERIPHERAL VISION IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLACE A FINGER ON ANY OF THE ICONS WITHOUT LOOKING DIRECTLY AT THE SCREEN. THIS IS THE SAME KIND OF THINKING THAT LEADS YOUNG PEOPLE TO TEXT AND DRIVE AND IS CAUSING A SHARP RISE IN THE ROAD TOLL. THE NARRATOR OF THE VIDEO REPEATS THE CLAIM OF ELON MUSK THAT IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER BECAUSE TESLAS WILL SOON BE CAPABLE OF SELF DRIVING AND ALREADY HAVE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING (SOMETIMES!) IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD IT IS ILLEGAL TO EVEN TOUCH A PHONE WHILST DRIVING. THIS CAR IS EVEN MORE DANGEROUS THAN THAT. EVEN TO CONTROL THE SCREEN WIPERS AND AIR FLOW IT IS NECESSARY TO FIDDLE WITH THE SCREEN. PLEASE STOP THIS DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT BEFORE IT GOES ANY FURTHER. THIS REPORT WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE MEDIA SO THAT IT IS ON RECORD THAT NHTSA HAS BEEN WARNED OF THE DANGER. THANK YOU. CONCERNED CITIZEN DUMMY USA ADDRESS USED TO SATISFY YOUR WEBSITE. GENUINE CONTACT DETAILS SUPPLIED.

WHILE TURNING RIGHT AND SLOWLY PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE WHEN I HIT THE BRAKE THE CAR ACCELERATED RAPIDLY AND JUMPED OVER THE BUMPER AND LANDED IN A GRASSY SPOT. FORTUNATE IT DIDN'T HIT ANYTHING OR ANYONE, I'M CONCERNED THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN AGAIN AND NOT HAVE A BENIGN OUTCOME. TESLA'S FIRST REACTION IS "I" MUST HAVE HIT THE GAS PETAL BY MISTAKE; I WOULD LIKE TO ACCEPT THAT HOWEVER I DON'T. TO START A TESLA YOU TOUCH THE BRAKE, MORE TESTING IS NEEDED TO ASSURE BRAKES DON'T CREATE FALSE ACCELERATION THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. I WAS AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR HOME ON A BUSY STREET WHERE PEDESTRIANS CROSS AT STOP LIGHT; IMAGINE THAT OUTCOME? TESLA NEEDS TO RUN TEST TO DETERMINE IF THIS MALFUNCTION OF RAPID ACCELERATION WHEN APPLYING BRAKES IS AN ENGINEERING PROBLEM AND NOT WRITE IT OFF AS DRIVERS HITTING THE GAS!

The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The contact stated that the vehicle quickly decelerated without warning to 50 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,798.