2023 Tesla Model Y Complaint Log

My driver side tail light has water leaking into it, I reached out to Tesla to have it repaired. Tesla informed me that the amount of water in my taillight is considered acceptable, and that they will not swap it out.

On multiple occasions while utilizing the Autopilot system it will suddenly break with no objects in front of the car. On each occasion it was on the highway with no cars in front of the vehicle. The car would suddenly decelerate at full regenerative force with no cause and with many cars behind me, potentially leading to a crash or causing the vehicle to lose control. No messages or alerts appeared on the driver display. No automatic emergency break warning was actuated.

We were turning onto a crowded street, and halfway through turning the power steering suddenly failed. We couldn't get the steering wheel to move. We were facing perpendicular to the street and several cars were within inches of hitting us. We got out of the car (in the middle of the crowded street) and back in, at which point the steering worked again. We thought this was a one-time issue, but as we got to the parking lot at our apartment complex, we experienced the same power steering failure. We can't drive this car under the assumption that we'll be safe.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while dropping her son off at work, she placed the vehicle in drive(D) and the “Car Unable to Charge” message was displayed. The contact stated that the driver’s side of the vehicle had no electric power. The contact stated that the passenger’s side of the vehicle still had power. The contact stated that she could not open the driver's side door and used an emergency override switch to exit the vehicle. The contact stated that she was unable to close and secure the door afterwards. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The contact stated that the tow truck driver had to use a bungee cord to keep the driver's side door closed. However, during transporting the vehicle to the dealer, the driver's side window cracked and fell inside the door frame. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the driver’s side body control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,564.

The Facts of the Incident: On [XXX], at approximately [XXX] PM, [XXX] , was driving our 2023 Tesla Model Y on Arizona State Route [XXX] ), a two-lane highway, enroute from Orange, California, to the Grand Canyon South Rim. The vehicle carried a total of four passengers, including my wife, myself, and another couple from San Diego. During our journey, an alarming and life-threatening situation unfolded. Without warning, our 2023 Tesla Model Y abruptly veered to the left, dangerously encroaching into oncoming traffic. Despite my immediate attempts to regain control by steering the vehicle away from the oncoming traffic, the steering wheel became unresponsive, effectively locking in place. This mechanical or software malfunction prevented me from correcting the perilous situation, resulting in a head-on collision with a large Ford 350 Truck, which was also traveling at a high speed, estimated to be more than 60 miles per hour. Fortunately, while there were injuries, there didn’t appear to be any life threating injuries. Because of the resources required to further investigate and do an analysis of the vehicle, as well as the challenge of dealing with Tesla Inc., law firms have declined to pursue further investigations. Morgan and Morgan initially started an investigation with Knott, LLC, Arizona, but then dropped the pursuit due to costs. The vehicle is still on-hold by my insurance company, USAA, but they may not hold it much longer before placing it on auction. However, it is urgent that NHTSA take possession and complete further analysis of this vehicle. Your assistance and consideration are appreciated, and I look forward to assisting with this investigation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I used to have a 2021 performance y (the 2021 had none of these issues), and purchased a 2023 in early October. My current milage is 2,783. A few weeks into owning this car I could feel something hitting the cabin floor in varying situations. Initially I thought it was a road debris, but it was only at lower speeds. I should only be able to hear road debris and not feel it in the floor. I have come to believe that the car has loose structural bolts. I have a crease/dent in the roof pillar (passenger rear above door). It is an almost impossible spot to hit without a scratch or breaking the glass, and it would take an exorbitant amount of force to bend that pillar. I now have singled it out to torsion moments like entering a driveway or ramp. I believe this twisting could potentially compromise the battery pack and lead to fires in wet conditions.

Steering Assist is reduced shows up in the screen. The steering then becomes hard to manouver and you lose parts of the control of the car.

When on autopilot mode with traffic aware cruise control (TACC), the Tesla model Y car gets unexpected unpredictable random sudden slowing down with braking causing panic, inability to react, unsafe for the following car the rear. Appears to have unexpected unnecessary phantom braking unsafe for driver, passengers and the rear following car.

My husband and I were driving from Cincinnati Ohio to Harrisburg, PA on Monday, Oct 16, 2023 on the highway (turnpike). At least four times the car tried to kill us by starting to slam to a stop ON THE HIGHWAY when using cruise control. Fortunately each time there were no cars immediately behind us or we would have had a major accident. We stopped and called Tesla in Mechanicsburg who consulted with someone on another line. We had both hands on the steering wheel and were doing everything correctly. They concluded that it was either the car sensing we were driving near mountains, or around curves. it happened once with a mild curve but the other times the road was straight. There was a small drizzle of rain (they said it could be rain) or they also said it could be sun. At this point I said "this is ridiculous as how can we drive this car to Florida (in the sun) if this might happen. Their conclusion: Take it off cruise control. We did and continued home but it is ridiculous that we cannot use the cruise control for fear of it happening again! And they said risks include mountains, rain, sun and curves in road. These conditions are the conditions almost everyday for most people in Pennsylvania! If there had been a truck behind us or a car, we would be dead.

During the week of October 09 2023, I started receiving two failure alerts on my 2023 Model Y. The first is that lane keeping assist was unavailable. In spite of this alert, the system continued to function properly. The second warning was a Steering Assist Reduced warning. At first, this also seemed to not corollate to a noticeable issue with the vehicle. On the evening October 15, when leaving a supercharger station, I noticed a momentary stutter in the steering wheel that accompanied the above mentioned alert. No other issue was observed. On the afternoon of October 16, when leaving from work, after putting the vehicle in gear, I had no steering ability at all, it was a similar feeling to the steering wheel lock on older vehicles. The wheel would move approximately 1" in either direction. I immediately shut the vehicle down and performed a reset by holding in both scroll wheels on the steering wheel. This did not clear the code, but did return steering ability. Since I could not predict when the steering might go out again, I contacted Tesla and had the vehicle towed to the nearest service center.

Steering wheel locks frequently, especially when driving on busy road. Very dangerous.

While using cruise control on a recent road trip, the car braked suddenly for no apparent reason. This happened 7 times over a time frame of 11 days of driving. Each time it occured while traveling on a freeway (2 lanes each direction), large median, very light to no traffic, during the day, the car slammed on the brakes, without warning while traveling the speed limit (up to 75 mph). The first time it occured, I almost came to a stop before recovering and accelerating to normal speed. This happened on Oct 15. The second time it happened, was on Oct 16. After the 2nd time, I would not use cruise control unless there was no other traffic. There were four times of phantom braking on Oct 30 alone. I have not yet submitted a service request to the manufacturer.

I had 3 incidences where my Tesla braked hard while using basic cruise control. There was no car in front of me in all cases. One time there was a car to the side of ne. The incidences happened on October 15, 2023 while driving on I-15 and I-70 through Utah. It happened around 1 pm, in sunny weather. The car braked hard for now apparent reason, and this is very dangerous if a car was behind me. The passengers in the car became scared. I looked for settings to disable the automatic braking when using cruise control, but changing the various settings gs did not help. The random braking did not happen if cruise control was off. I had to stop using cruise control for fear of my safety. There should be a way to turn off auto-braking when using cruise control.

Phantom breaking while on autopilot. The car slows down abruptly with no vehicles or obstacles ahead. This is a new issue that started after a recent update. Also since latest update Autopilot has became more sensitive(in a good way) to situations that do require speed reductions. But, the phantom breaking is scary and frustrating.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while driving approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle stopped inadvertently while the cruise control was engaged with an unknown red warning light illuminated. The contact had not depressed the brake pedal. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. An unknown Tesla Service Center was notified and stated that the Firmware was being updated; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the Firmware was not updated in the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated while attempting to reverse the vehicle, the screen failed to display a rearview image, compromising the back over prevention system. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 7,500. The VIN was not available.

My car randomly brakes while using autopilot/cruise control on the highway. It will brake and move the car toward one side of the line. This happens sometimes every 20 minutes on a roadtrip. On one occasion, it threw the car to the far left side of the line and then reacted to the on the left. It threw the car back to the right side of the lane, near the car on the right side. There were cars on either side of me and neither were coming into my lane.

The horn is not working properly. When pressing the left side horn button the horn does not activate. The right side horn button does work properly.

Power steering randomly goes out while driving. Most often happens after reversing, but also happens consistently while in drive. I was essentially unable to turn the car, so I was stuck in one spot and had to get out of the car so that the car could reset. This happened in several low traffic areas but also happened while I was at a red light at an intersection. The system did say “steering assist degraded” and that the cameras were blocked, but not sure if that has to do with the same issue. Never has been inspected, but I did see reports that this has happened to other 2023 Model Y and 3 owners. We have a service appointment with Tesla coming up to address it.

Defective factory paint. Dirt under the clear coat on hood - inspected by a reputable auto detailer/body shop.

I was traveling on VA 286N/Fairfax County Pkwy, prepared to take a left turn to Franklin Farm Road at 7:54am on October 5, 2023. 1. Left arrow were green for a while 2. When it turned to orange and red, the car infront of me slowed down and stopped 3. This is when I had the false and faulty forward collision warning 4. I stopped without any problem

While driving in second lane from Left on I-90 at approximately 60 MPH an indication of 'tire pressure low - Pull the car over' was observed on the screen. Car was pulled over and it was noticed that driver side rear tire was blown. It was separated at the wall. Tire pressure was per the recommendation from manufacturer as there was no deviation indication prior to the incident. After driving on same section of the road for at least two times no potholes were observed as the section of the I-90 around that area appears to be relatively recently laid. The tire was inspected at home after the incident and there was no FOD found in tire. As a first impression it appears to have failed at the tire wall. Expectation is that after failure the tire wall should be able to sustain the vehicle weight and operation of vehicle at least for a very short distance to pull over the car from the traffic on a highway for safety of driver/passengers and other vehicles on highway. In this case the consequence of incident could have been a very serious life threatening event. A detailed analysis of design specification and manufacturing process of tire including quality program and sustainability would make sense to verify if this is a design and/or manufacturing failure, to validate and re-evaluate the certification and prevent this type of issue. Also it is quite surprising that tires for this make of vehicle are not covered under warranty. It would also be important to find out idf similar incidents have happened but not reported. For the owner of this vehicle there was no satisfactory and technically convincing response to questions about probable cause and concerns about safety at the authorised service center except the replacement of tire by same make and model of tire with cost of replacement paid by owner/customer.

Two times in one week with two different drivers driving the same vehicle the vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration while parking. In the first incident this resulted in damage to the bumper into a wired fence which the vehicle did not alert but rather accelerated instead of applied regenerative breaking. Four days later the same incident happened with sudden unintended acceleration occurring while parking the car. When sending the car to Tesla for service due to the safety concern and damage this resulted in they said this was a user error which can’t be the case as this incident happened with two different drivers driving the same vehicle. When reading about this there have been numerous complaints which have shown that there is an electrical “ They show that the sudden unintended acceleration of Tesla cars may have been caused by negative voltage spikes that are logged as a fully depressed pedal, fooling both Tesla and the NHTSA investigators that there has been no hardware or software defect.”

I had three false forward collision warnings on October 3, 2023 - all the false and faulty warning incidents took place on slowed down traffic for the car travelling infront of me: 1. US Route 50, From Fairfax to Arlington direction, at 8:21 AM 2. US Interstate 66, From Fairfax to Arlington direction, at 8:25 AM 3. US Route 50, From Arlington to Fairfax direction, at 2:25 PM Tesla doesn't any resolution for the problems that I shared above, I reported them in the form of an email, as bug reports and as a service request

Windshield cracked while driving on the highway The vehicle is not available for inspection as we have taken it to Tesla Service center to replace the windshield The cracked appeared in the top center. if it had happened on the driver side it could have resulted in an accident. The manufacturer is denying faulty product. The warning signs were there all along. About a few weeks back we could hear the cracking sound from the windshield. Since we could not pin-point the location we didn't think it was a faulty windshield.

My Tesla Model y is installing the same updates multiple times. The updates installing multiple times is causing erratic functionality issues with the car's software. Tesla has been unwilling to resolve the issue and claim the car is working just fine. When I asked the local service tech I was told the car shouldn't be installing the same update multiple times. I don't feel safe in my car when I don't know when it is going to act up next.

Driving on Highway 46 in California at a speeds ranging from 65 to 75 mph in both adaptive cruise control and autopilot when the car suddenly braked abruptly for no reason. There wasno traffic or obstruction. This occurred several different times on this highway in both directions and on different days during daylight hours with both light and moderate traffic.

Phantom Braking occurs regularly when operating on Adaptive Cruise Control/Auto Steer (Beta). The car slows down to a crawl or comes to a complete stop unexpectedly at high speed on a freeway. Lucking there was no vehicle in the vicinity. There is no warning or notification on the car screen about this. Simply slows down for no reason. I have heard of several class action law suits concerning this as well as numerous users posting similar concerns online. I have not contacted the manufacturer in this regard since they are very difficult to reach.

Car was on TACC. It was early evening so the sun was making a lot of shadows on the road from trees. Car kept repeatedly slamming on the brakes approaching each tree shadow. The road was absolutely clear of any real hazard. Almost caused car behind me to collide into the back of me, and then they passed me while honking and very angry. I can't blame them.

I received this new car 11 days ago - it has none of its safety assist driving features and Tesla is not responding to my requests for assistance. I can't get a response to my requests for help. The clearly is absent of multiple points of functionality. Thank you

While driving, the car suddenly lost power steering. We had to struggle to get the car to the side of the road. Had to do a reboot to get the power steering back.

On Friday, 9/29/23 at 2:24 pm, I was driving on the toll road (freeway) through the Chicago area. I was using my car’s adaptive cruise control. There was no car or other obstacle in front of me, and weather was clear. Abruptly, my car slammed on the brakes, causing an immediate deceleration. If a car had been behind me, I would have been rear-ended at freeway speed. This abrupt deceleration caused my head to snap back, leading to muscle soreness for the past couple days. I called Tesla shortly after, and the guy said he was able to determine there was something wrong with cruise control. He said if I chose to continue using cruise control for the remainder of my trip (Chicago to Minneapolis), I should be extremely careful. I scheduled a service appointment with Tesla, which they just cancelled because they said their remote diagnostics showed no problem with my car. They said the cruise control system is in Beta and therefore it can cause unexpected and unnecessary braking. This is a known issue for Tesla, many owners have complained both to Tesla and to NHTSA. I could have been seriously injured or killed if I had been rear ended at Chicago freeway speeds (i.e., fast).

While driving on the highway, I had set the cruise control to max 65 mph. After some time it suddenly set the cruise control to max 35 mph and suddenly reduces the speed even though all front vehicles were running around 65 mph. It was incredibly dangerous and the vehicle behind me was about to hit.

When we use the traffic aware, cruise control, we experience, automatic braking, even though there is nothing in front of the car. It’s not clear what triggers, the automatic braking. But it could be a slight elevation change or visual detection of a bridge abutment. We feel that it is a hazard because the car can rapidly deaccelerate when you were traveling at speeds of 60-70 mph. This has happened to us numerous times since we purchased the car.

Upon starting the vehicle, the center console displayed a fault code "UI_a020" and a message that steering assistance was disabled. There had been no earlier indication of faults or degraded operation - only minutes earlier, the car was driving fine. The vehicle was now very difficult to maneuver. Rebooting the car did not clear the fault code. I was able to navigate the short distance back home, though it was not a pleasant experience. Upon returning home, I scheduled an appointment for a repair with the local service center. Later, I checked my vehicle again, and found the fault code had cleared and it was operating normally. I still kept the service appointment, and the tech I spoke with mentioned they have had recent reports of faulty steering racks. They replaced the entire steering rack. (I do not have the faulty unit available for inspection.) This vehicle was only a few weeks old at the time of the incident.

I read this news today and something very similar has happened to me on autopilot. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/tesla-crash-santa-clara-18365723.php The car suddenly speeds swerves to the right. Since I was alert I was able to pull it out of autopilot and assume control.

This faulty and false forward collision warning incident took place on US Route 50 from Arlington to Fairfax direction, in slowed down traffic for a vehicle that is in front of me having plenty safe distance on September 27, 2023 at 2:27 PM. Notice that there is no hard breaking recorded by the car right after this incident.

My wife pulled into our driveway at 5 mph. Suddenly our Tesla Y. Auto accelerated,before my wife could realize it ramped into our garage through the door and collided on the wall of our Laundry room and kitchen damaging Foundation of the laundry room.My wife was also injured badly. This incident has shaken my wife. We complained to Tesla and filed the complaint but they are not even following up. Please investigate this issue

3 day old Tesla y coolant warning light came on, went to the service center and car has been there for 24 hours no update and now they extended to another 24 hours no reason given.

Phantom Braking of vehicle when using either TACC or Autopilot on highways. Vehicle will suddenly slow down/apply brakes when traveling at highway speeds. Unsure why vehicle is doing this. Sometimes it looks like the vehicle thinks it see's a person in the highway? There are never any obstructions.

On September 23rd our vehicles cruise control stopped working. We submitted a service request to Tesla and they scheduled a service appt for October 16th. They later cancelled this appt saying that it is a known firmware issue that would be corrected in a future, undetermined, firmware update. On November 16th we took the car to a Tesla service center and they confirmed it is a firmware issue, but could not correct it. We have now been without the adaptive cruise control function on our car for over 2 months with no idea when or if this problem will be fixed.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became stiff and difficult to maneuver. The steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact veered off the roadway. The contact notified a tow truck company, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact was concerned for her safety while driving the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,400.

Right headlight and turn signal stopped working within approximately 110 miles on the odometer. Tesla did not make it a priority to fix the light and turn signal which poses a safety hazard to the driver and other vehicles on the road.

While driving with autopilot/cruise control, the car started braking heavily with no obvious obstruction on the road. This happened 5 times over 2 days of long distance driving.

It’s just been 2 weeks in I bought my Tesla Y 2023 model. Was exploring entertainment options in in park mode and then when I had to leave, I see this steering assist reduced and wasn’t able to move my steering at all, I was like what.. a brand new car having such safety issues, thank god didnt happen while I was on road, would have definitely killed me. Tried rebooting or reset but still the same. After multiple attempts, power steering came back on and I was able to get home. After reaching home immediately requested a service through my Tesla app. This is very frustrating to see issues in a brand new car.

I was driving my car, and the steering wheel locked while driving and pushed me into the oncoming lane. We were lucky there were no other cars coming the other direction. I had to reboot the car to get it to drive again. The steering locked up again while getting the car home and also in the driveway. Tesla towed the car and replaced the entire steering rack of the car. I then saw an article about this exact issue and wanted to add my car to the other complaints. My car is only six months old.

I lost all power in my steering and was completely unable to steer. I contacted Tesla who advised me to conduct a soft reboot and the issue was resolved only to return about an hour later. I contacted Tesla again for roadside assistance. I was advised to complete a soft reboot and drive the vehicle to the nearest service station. I refused to drive the vehicle, as I did not feel safe to do so. Tesla sent a tow truck to pickup the vehicle and drop off at a Tesla service station. After 3 days, I was informed there was a malfunction in the vehicles steering rack and the entire part will be replaced. I conducted research and found a lot of owners are experiencing the same issue with 2023 Tesla Y, some even having crashes as a result. This is very unsafe and needs to be addressed.

I was driving at a very slow speed of 1 mile per hr as I entered into the Kohls complex in Pleasanton ca. Then as I was pulling the car to a parking spot, all of a sudden I felt the car accelerated on me. My foot was always on the break and I pressed the break but the car still accelerated at a speed I had no control and it went over the parking bump and hit 2 cars that was parked opposite. I felt out of control and scary because the car was not doing as intended, to stop when pressed the break. I then pressed the park button. Then I also reversed because the car was not stopping. There was totally 4 cars damaged including my car. 2 opposite and 1 parked side of me. I could feel the sudden acceleration in the car and out of control feeling. Luckily there were no people in other car so no one was hurt. I was also not hurt. - Not sure what malfunction happened , but the break in that instant of time was not acting as it should for few seconds. Yes, the car is available for inspection - My safety was at risk as the car was no behaving the way it should and I got scared as to what would happened next. Since there were no people in the other car, there was no risk. but if there were they probably would have got hurt. - I reported the issue to Tesla center. They said they will look but never heard back anything from them . - None of them has inspected the vehicle yet. - No warning signs were there. after it hit i could hear the beep

Steering assist reduced error message. All of a sudden I was unable to steer the steering wheel. This was scary and dangerous.

I was driving and the steering wheel completely locked up, I could barely turn the wheel even when using all my strength. The car would only go forward and backward. I was fortunately pointed slightly towards the curb so was able to glide the car to a stop on the side of the road. There were no warnings prior to failure and I immediately lost all steering capability. The car was towed by Tesla to the service center.