2021 Tesla Model Y Complaint Log

Warning popped up for Faulty Passenger Seat Belt Tensioner. On checking, the seat belt tensioner was broken and the whole seat mechanism had come off. This surprised serious safety incident happened without anyone sitting on Passenger side or using the seat belt.

This is a manufacture defect. The windshield water comes down and fall dropping on the upper control arm. I Needed it to replace this every year. This is a well documented issue. It is all over the web. This is insane.

Car was summoned and turned a sharp right directly hitting the car parked next to it while pulling out. The location was the parking lot of [XXX] on [XXX] . I have a full video of this which shows the car pulling forward then taking a sharp right impacting the vehicle parked next to it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

In 2024 Tesla sent an over-the-air software update to my 2021 Model Y that gave us a month of free "full self driving." We did not ask for this. At the end of the 30 days, our cameras and GPS system failed. The Service Center said they had never seen this before despite many reports online posted by other Teslas owners. Tesla service said it was not fixable and recommended replacing computer at a cost to me of $2500. Now Tesla has posted a safety recall for this exact problem. They admit it was their fault and the recall states Tesla will replace the computer at no cost to the customer. However, they are only willing to fix the 2023-2025 models (those years are still under warranty). I feel that Tesla should fix all the model years that were affected. Tesla has again declined to fix my car. This is the recall website: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

At 59k miles the steering rack failed, warranty expired at 50k miles. This was a $3,000 repair. A number of fellow Tesla owners have encountered this same failure.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated after placing the children in the vehicle, he was unable to enter the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle lost electric power while attempting to open the door with the key fob and with the phone App however, the door remained closed. The local Fire Department was contacted, and the contact was advised to break the window to remove the children from the vehicle. The contact broke the driver's side front window to remove the children as recommended by the Fire Department. The contact stated that the 12-volt battery had overheated; however, a report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that the window was replaced, and the 12-volt battery was also replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,175.

On [XXX] my husband was taking our [XXX] son to the grocery store and put him in his car seat. He then shut the door and went to open the driver door and the car had locked and would not unlock leaving our [XXX] trapped in the car. We called Tesla immediately and they said the 12 volt battery had died and we needed to call 911. Luckily while I was on the phone with 911, one of the windows was slightly cracked and my husband was able to get the window down further so we could get our son out. You are suppose to receive 3 warning messages from Tesla saying the 12 volt battery needs to be replaced or is dying we did not receive a single one. This is life threatening and extremely dangerous. Our friends who had heard our story just sent us a news story that this happened to a grandmother and her grandchild recently in Arizona too. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Tesla FSD consistently ignores temporary lane closures, and will cheerfully try to drive over the barrier poles. The locale is the San Diego Pure Water Project construction zones. They set up lane closures that change every week or so. They use a line of red poles along the middle of the road to block off a lane and direct both lanes of traffic into one lane. Sometimes there is also a large CLOSED sign in the middle of the closed lane. Tesla never sees the red poles and often does not see the CLOSED sign. I attach several photos each showing both the Tesla screen and reality in the same image. (Unless Tesla fixes this soon) I can send you lots more photos if you wish.

Power was lost completely while car was on the road, breaks stop working and unable to stop. Driver had to go off road to prevent collision and road a accident. Towed to Tesla center. Diagnosis is “internal short” but did not elaborate. No explanation and answer why break did not work. External damage due to accident was not covered.

Tesla released a feature called Obstacle Aware Acceleration. The Owner's Manual states: "Obstacle-Aware Acceleration is designed to reduce the impact of a collision by reducing motor torque and in some cases applying the brakes, if Model Y detects an object in its driving path. The touchscreen displays a visual warning and sounds a chime when the brakes are automatically applied. For example, Model Y, while parked in front of a closed garage door with Drive engaged, detects that you have pressed hard on the accelerator pedal. Although Model Y still accelerates and hits the garage door, the reduced torque may result in less damage. Obstacle-Aware Acceleration is designed to operate only when all of these conditions are simultaneously met: Drive or Reverse is engaged. Model Y is stopped or traveling less than 10 mph (16 km/h). Model Y detects an object in its immediate driving path." However, my vehicle (and at least some other Model Y Performance models) do not behave in this manner. Rather than reducing motor torque when all of the above conditions have been met, it reduces torque every time the vehicle accelerates from a stop. This has been replicated by my local Tesla Service Center, and they confirmed the vehicle did not detect any objects in it's path. This is dangerous because the vehicle accelerates so slowly from a stop that I may not be able to avoid an accident if the vehicle doesn't accelerate as expected.

I recently saw there was a recall update issued by Tesla regarding the seatbelt alert. My driver seat does not sense I’m in the seat, and allows me to drive with out a belt on. Even if they send an update to my car, I won’t be alerted. Someone could use the lack of sensor to not remain in their seat. Inflatable doll with sunglasses could take my spot. My question is, is this included in the recall regarding the seat belt notification when not buckled since it’s part of the safety restraint system?

Today the “control arm” and “axel” suddenly broke and stopped my car.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and attempting to open the rear passenger’s side door, the door failed to open from the outside. The contact attempted to use the emergency release and the door failed to open. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The contact reached out to the manufacturer. The manufacturer advised the contact there was no urgency in getting the failure repaired. The contact was informed by the manufacturer where the emergency release button was in the vehicle in the door behind the speaker however, the contact was unable to access the button. The contact was advised to contact the nearest Service Center for the vehicle to be inspected. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.

The automated wipers will stop working when it is raining making it very difficult to see the road and traffic, and they will start working when the windshield is dry. The speed that the wipers work at is also inconsistent - speeding up and slowing down even though the rate of precipitation has not changed. This happens randomly, and after learning that other Tesla Y owners have also had this happen to them, I suspect that this is a common issue in the Tesla Y’s wiper system / software. This has been ongoing since we bought our car in Nov 2021.

I was trapped in my car when the 12V starter battery died without warning and everything in the car shut down. I was very fortunate that I had my cell phone with me to call my friend who had just left. However, he was unable to help me open the car from the outside. I spent several minutes going through several questions in an attempt to make an emergency request for roadside assistance on the Tesla app in hopes they could talk me through getting out. I finally received a text stating my request was 'being reviewed'! I have claustrophobia so by now I'm not breathing comfortably. I responded that I was trapped in my car and needed immediate help. They responded telling me where an emergency release was. A release which every Tesla owner that I know has told me they had NO knowledge of. When I was towed to Tesla, the service adviser told me ' claustrophobic' people probably shouldn't buy a Tesla! Well... he was partially correct...only I would go further to say 'nobody' should be a Tesla... it is a death trap. What if I had put my 3 year old grandchild in her car seat and shut the door to get in the driver side? She would not be able to pull an emergency lever! I was sitting on a fully charged Lithium-Ion battery yet I was unable to open a door...so how about a safety bypass to this battery ?? Seems to me the default with a dead battery should be that the doors unlock...not lock! This is certainly NOT a 'smart' car....it is a potential death trap for which there are countless other reports in the news, yet Tesla and your organization has yet to take action.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving 20–45 MPH on a six-lane highway, the contact attempted a hard acceleration, and there was an abnormal banging sound heard. The battery was disconnected. The pyrotechnic fuse went into failure mode. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle slowed down, pulsated, and then shut down. The hazard lights, steering, and brake system became inoperable. The brake pedal was depressed to stop the vehicle from rolling. Additionally, while closing the driver's side door, the glass window fractured. The local dealer was contacted and retrieved a system failure with the 12-volt battery. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 58,044.

Tesla removed the ability to use only cruise control, with adaptive following distance, and have forced the only option to now use full self driving instead (with a recent soft-ware update). I do NOT feel safe using full self driving (even supervised) and believe Tesla is being unsafe forcing full self driving use. We used to be able to just use cruise control-with adaptive following distance-a driving option in all other recent cars!!! , but cannot do that now in Tesla? Why would a company take away what I consider to be a safer option?? This is not an improvement (but a forced help-Tesla-improve-it’s-unsafe-full self-driving-software!)

Yes, available for inspection Broken glass injury potential Not reproduced Not inspected yet No warning Spontaneous breakage. On the morning of the 9th, went to garage to leave for work and fracture was present. This was not present when arriving home the previous evening. I work 1.4 miles from home and travel surface streets with speed limit of 45MPH

Steering disabled due to software update resulting in vehicle undriviable and having to be towed from driveway Tesla requiring customer to pay for hardware replacement due to software update failure costing $2,921.24 for the replacement, out of pocket. Required replacement of steering Rack (Dual Motor) Part - Steering Gear Left Hand Drive (1044832-00-A)

Full self driving is not recognizing traffic signals. This results in the vehicle proceeding through red lights, and stopping at green lights. Without properly seeing/processing traffic signals, it approaches every intersection as if there are no traffic lights. Service center has had the car twice, without being able to remedy the problem. The 3rd appointment was cancelled by Tesla. I have called the corporate office and spoken with a service rep. He was unable to help provide resolution, saying only that my local rep would reach out. I have not been contacted. I've tried every other possible solution. Tesla doesn't want to fix it, or even acknowledge the problem, even though they've done a test drive with me and seen the issue with their own eyes.

The main screen on my Tesla Model Y flickers while driving, as well as charging. I have a video of it happening, if you slow the video down it completely shuts the screen down for a millisecond and then turns back on. I have sent this video to Tesla, as well as Tesla technicians has confirmed the issue happening when they had the vehicle. I have had the vehicle into Tesla 3 separate times for service, they don't know how to fix the issue and keep telling me to wait. I have been dealing with this issue since January 2024 and am tired of waiting and putting my safety at risk. I feel that I have been more than patient with them and now I feel that they are now blowing me off. They don't feel that it is a safety concern even considering that the display screen went out while driving 70 mph, for 13 miles and I couldn't get it to turn back on. Aditionally the side cameras on the vehicle intermittently go out. There is no warnings or symptoms prior to it happening it just happens. I have 29 times documented of it happening to me. I have requested a buyback which was denied as well as a loaner from Tesla until they can fix the issue, yet they denied that as well. It seems that Tesla does not care about the safety of me and I want this issue to be investigated. I have the video of the Screen flickering reach out to me to get it since I cant post it in the place below.

while driving on the NJ Turnpike I heard a large "pop" noise. Shortly after as I was on the Exit 7A exit ramp I lost all power steering. I nearly hit the guardrail before the car came to a complete stop. I was able to maneuver the car off the exit ramp and pulled over. The was an error message appeared on the screen indicating "power steering reduced." It wasn't reduced it was non-existent. The car was flat bedded to the Tesla service center and a week later the car repair was completed. The service center indicated it was the "steering rack" broke. Although I don't know exactly what that means, even the service center admitted that this failure should not have occurred. The car is 2 1/2 years old with 90k miles. It is out of warranty so i was responsible for payment. The reason for my complaint is that a catastrophic failure in the steering rack should not happen on a 2 1/2 year old car.

Vehicle not acting safely, speeding up to pass stopped school bus with stop sign out and yellow lights flashing. This is a generic VIN as it applies to the current software on all FSD cars.

Squeaking sound at low speeds, and turning. Tesla advised the problem is the suspension and control arms. Stated it is a safety issue. Repair cost about $1900.

Lane departure warnings activate briefly when driving straight ahead. Sometimes results in disablement of lane departure assistance feature. Tesla has attempted several repair attempts but issue persists: Calibrate radar Replace steering rack Correct steering angle

We Americans need you to stop auto manufacturers from using blinding headlights on their cars. This will cause accidents and you will be liable for allowing this to begin with.

Loss of steering control, frequently accompanied by driver-facing messages indicating that power steering assist is reduced or disabled.

Please look up my Facebook post for public safety awareness. All the details are explained [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Loud clicking noise hurt for several days, then when reversing and turning the steering wheel, the front right of the car collapsed; The suspension broke because a bolt came loose which was found in the driveway. Front right wheel area collapse and is touching the top of the wheel liner. There was no prior accident or damage causing the issue. Car had to be towed and repaired.

Cracked suspension way as described by Tesla service: Verified customers concern right away without driving vehicle. Inspected suspension and found that the ball joints on the upper control arm are making the noise. Inspected entire front end and found the the compliance and lateral links have cracked bushings. Replaced upper control arms, both lateral links and both compliance links. Test drove vehicle and verified that the noise is now gone. Performed four wheel alignment after repairs. Cost $2000 to repair. Ridiculous that these are failing so early in the life of the car.

Tesla Model Y's windshield is terribly and soft. A small stone fallen on the windshield it cracks right away. I had to replace my windshield every year or so.

Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault​ There have been hundreds of people if not thousands who are reporting this common issue on various forms online and its a very common issue.

I was driving on PA Turnpike in light rain . I never drive fast . Somehow my car start shifting from one side of the rd to another I slow down but I did not feel connection with sterling wheels car start spinning in circles and I crashed with 2 kids in the car.

March 31 I received an email from Tesla that I had been selected to participate in a free Full Self Driving (FSD) trial. I have no interest in FSD, and there was no way to opt out of this trial. At some point FSD was downloaded on to my Model Y as part of a regular software update. I was not given the opportunity to accept or refuse this particular feature. While both of these events feel wrong to me, it did not rise to the level of reporting to NHTSA until I realized Tesla had also ENABLED FSD on my car. In other words they switched my configuration from Auto Pilot to Full Self Drive, presumably as part of the software update that downloaded the software on to my vehicle. One could argue that because two features on my screen were different I was able to figure out my configuration had changed, and manually change it back. One could also argue that not everyone would sort this out, and the next time they pulled the stalk down to engage cruise control they would unknowingly engage FSD. And that is not OK. I find the timing of all of this ironic given Tesla just settled out of court on a fatality related to their vastly overhyped FSD.

Since March 2024, FSD has failed to function as designed. Tesla denied any problem with the vehicle until October 2024, when a manager told me it's a known issue with no available fix. The issue started with FSD not recognizing traffic signals. Meaning that regardless of whether a traffic light was green or red, the vehicle would treat it like an 4 way stop. It would come to a stop and then proceed through the intersection if it didn't detect immediate cars. This was dangerous and Tesla refused to acknowledge the problem for months. Since then the issue has evolved with FSD only engaging in certain situations (interstate driving). As of the most recent update, FSD won't engage at all.

2 of 3 backseat seatbelts suddenly stopped latching, middle seat, and driver side rear seat. These are the seatbelts we use the least in this vehicle. Yes, the dealer replaced the 2 failed seatbelts, but would not replace all seatbelts in the vehicle. The vehicle was only inspected and fixed by Tesla. No, there were no warnings. This is especially concerning since we use a seatbelt to secure a car seat in the backseat.

The horn placement on my car VIN [XXX] ) 2023 Tesla Model S Plaid is difficult to find when in an emergent situation. The horn is a small button on the right side of the steering wheel rather than the center of the steering wheel. Twice in the past week, I have failed to alert another car that they were about to hit me. I reflexively hit the middle of the steering wheel to alert the other vehicle. Given the horn doesn't reside in the middle of the steering wheel, I failed to get the drivers attention and had to swerve erratically to avoid an accident. The horn placement is dangerous, non functional and needs to be addressed by Tesla and NHTSA immediately. Tesla drivers who drive an updated steering wheel are essentially driving with no horn. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I often experience significant lag for rearview camera and the turn signal indicator lights. Sometimes it takes up to 10 seconds for the rearview camera view to come up. It's dangerous because it's hard to tell if the car is in reverse or not. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts to change gear. I have similar experience with the turn signal indicators. It takes multiple attempts for the signals to come up, or there is often significant delay on when I turn on the signal and when the lights actually come on.

The vehicle's primary Autopilot processor randomly and completely failed while in active use on February 10th, causing the vehicle to immediately change course towards a highway barrier at high speed. Since that moment, every time the Autopilot DAS computer is reset, the primary processor refuses to transition from the INIT state to the NOMINAL state and instead transitions to CRITICAL state. The vehicle had software update 2023.44.30.8 for recall campaign #23V-838, recall number SB-23-00-008 applied 1 month ago, which was supposed to decrease the probable misuse of the DAS system. However, many individuals reported that the recall immediately and irreversibly damaged their DAS computer, so Tesla offered them a free replacement without hassle. However, I have been struggling to work with Tesla's Carlsbad, California service center for over a week to get the DAS computer replaced at no cost, since the computer was damaged after an update caused the computer to become irreversibly damaged after their software update was installed -- a software update which was supposed to have made the Autopilot system safer, but which has instead unfortunately irreversibly damaged the Autopilot computer, and caused my vehicle to randomly and immediately weave towards a highway barrier at high speed. I am wrongfully being asked to pay in excess of $2500 for a replacement computer as a result of the update damaging the DAS computer. They claim the catch-all diagnosis of a "short circuit" internal to the DAS computer caused the damage which would be out of warranty, except the computer has never been opened by myself. They confirmed to me that they chose that diagnosis after a process of elimination without actually probing the electrical system within the computer. The Carlsbad service center refuses to give me an accurate estimate for any further engineering analysis, claiming it could take multiple hrs/days at $245/hr. This is extremely unreasonable and presents unlimited risk.

When driving the car abruptly slows down. This also happened on the freeway. I get an error message that says “power limited” and a turtle symbol. This is the second time this issue has happened. Tesla service center has not been able to confidently diagnose this issue. They say it’s resolved and once I leave the service center and the problem comes back.

I was driving to work this morning, February 7th, 2024 driving at freeway speeds. My Tesla touchscreen dropped out and went completely dark. The reset process is to press and hold for about 30 seconds and another 30 seconds for the full restart. I attempted this twice and proceeded to pull off the highway. During this period, I could not see how fast I was driving, whether my brake lights, turn signals, or headlights worked at this time to safely transit through traffic to get off the road. I put my hazard lights on, but again did not know if these worked or not. The screen finally came back online and seemed fine until I could get to work, this was an extremely scary experience and a perfect example as to why all cars should have a cluster driver screen mandatory, I will be getting rid of this car as soon as possible.

Left rear seatbelt is not locking

As the window starts to fog up, I turn on the defrost. The defrost does not come on for 2 to 3 minutes. However, there is some air that comes out that causes the window to fog up more. It reduces the visibility and I have to pull over because I can’t see. This happens every time I turn on the defroster. There is some delay of 2 to 3 minutes before the hot air actually blows out. I went to Tesla to see if this is a recall and they said my car did not qualify but it seems there are other test ones that have the same problem. It is dangerous when I am driving and the car windows if I turn the defroster on, it’ll cause me to lose complete visibility within seconds, and then it takes 2 to 3 minutes for the hot air to kick out.

front subframe and both front lateral links came loose due to welded nut not present

Vehicle screen has phantom touches. Extremely unsafe as the vehicle will turn volume to max, turn heat/air up and down, and make other changes on its own and while driving. Almost caused several accidents. Tesla had made me wait for a month before they will fix.

Rear ultra sonic sensors (USS) sliding into the vehicle. No impact or cause for rear sensors to move. Two of the four rear USS pieces are moving back in their housing and are no longer flush with the bumper.

Since installing the update for 23V-838; TC2023-657 compliance, you guys have absolutely ruined autopilot. Your regulatory overreach has resulted in my task workload increasing while using any ADAS systems Tesla supplies, and multiple times I have reached task saturation from the number of nags, alerts, and prompts that have appeared since applying the 23V-838; TC2023-657 update. In some cases I have engaged autopilot, been nagged, wiggled the wheel which disengaged, re-engaged, been nagged, wiggled the wheel which disengaged, re-engaged, 3 times in a row. I have benchmarked almost every other ADAS system on the market and you [XXX] have somehow regulated tesla auto pilot into a place where it has literally the most frequent nags, alerts, prompts, and annoyances of anything on the market. Ask yourselves whether you honestly think nags that audibly prompt and distract the driver for merely glancing at the autopilot set speed, briefly adjusting the map, or even daring to adjust vent position are really a wise tradeoff, or just something you cooked up because you have an axe to grind. Here's another one - as petty bureaucrats, would you rather have Autopilot or FSD on the road, or a hypothetically drunk driver? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The most recent recall and modifications to Autopilot have dramatically reduced subjective safety. I am more distracted by warnings and interventions by the system. The system is less able to adapt to changing conditions. It seemed to be far more effective from a safety standpoint prior to the recall. People were and are the problem with autopilot, not autopilot. As with people, it made/makes mistakes. But an attentive driver easily corrects. Full Self Drive is different, but if any driver has ever been under the illusion that autopilot does not require full attention, it is the driver's fault.

The purpose of this missive is to complain about how blindingly bright the Tesla Model Y's headlights shine into the eyes of on-coming traffic and pedestrian. The Model 3's headlights are marginally less blinding (probably only because they are a few inches lower than the Model Y's) and there seems to be no similar problem with the Model S and Model X headlights. I have no issue with bright headlights in general, but they should not be focused into the eyes of on-coming traffic and innocent pedestrian. To be clear, I do not own this Model Y represented by this VIN. Thanks! [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA Recall No: 22V-702, in 2022, was where there was supposedly an OTA update to stop the windows from increasing force in some situations when an object was stuck in the gap between the window and the frame. My 2021 Tesla received that update at the time, and I didn't think much of it...until January 2024 when it actually happened to me. I shut the door with my hand on the window, and at the moment it closed, the window went up to close the small gap. My finger was in there and as I tried to pull it out, the window was still trying to close, not allowing me to do so. Component that failed -- the window, supposedly fixed in 2022 Available for inspection upon request -- returned the leased car in September 2024 How was safety put at risk -- could not remove finger from gap between window and frame since window was continuously trying to close Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center -- I was ignored by Tesla HQ, and by my closest dealer. The Tesla dealer from which I leased the car (a different one) told me to make a service appointment. Has the component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others -- no Were there any warnings or symptoms -- no. No reason to think it would ever happen, then it did in January 2024.